Ukrainian Opera GAIA-24. Opera del Mondo Recognized as One of the Best in the World by Music Theatre Now

The prestigious international project Music Theatre NOW, which specializes in recognizing new achievements in the field of opera and musical theater, has revealed the results of its competition that identified seven of the best theatrical productions in the world. Among the laureates of this esteemed competition is the Ukrainian opera GAIA-24. Opera del Mondo, created by a team from the Opera Aperta laboratory. This success marks a significant achievement for Ukrainian art, which continues to gain recognition on the international stage.

GAIA-24. Opera del Mondo was selected from over 200 projects submitted for the competition from 2023 to 2025. The jury, composed of leading experts in the field of musical theater, noted the work of Ukrainian composers Roman Grygoriv and Illia Razumeiko, highlighting its uniqueness and significance. The award organizers emphasized that the winners are chosen based on their contributions to expanding the ethical and aesthetic horizons of art.

Among other productions that also made it to the best list were works from Lithuania, Austria, as well as collaborative projects from the USA and Mexico, Austria and Belgium, Australia and China, and Switzerland and France. This international context underscores the importance of GAIA-24 in the global cultural landscape.

The GAIA-24 performance addresses themes of ecological disaster and the consequences of Russian military aggression against Ukraine, particularly the devastating impact of the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Station in June 2023. The authors of the work draw on the image of Gaia, the ancient Greek goddess of the Earth, as well as scientific hypotheses that describe the Earth as a living self-regulating organism. The opera draws parallels between the war in Ukraine and the global war of humanity against nature, making it exceptionally relevant in the contemporary context.

In its statement, the jury emphasized that GAIA-24 is not merely an artistic work but a cultural intervention that reflects profound social and ecological issues. "GAIA-24 is a musical theater piece that acts as a seismograph, registering the tremors of a crumbling world and the fragile, persistent forces attempting to revive it," the jury stated. The high level of scenography, choreography, and dramaturgy of the production was also noted.

The jury, which selected the laureates, included representatives from musical theater and performing arts across four continents. Among them were Andrea Santorini, director of the largest opera theater in South America, Theatro Municipal di San Paolo; Manuela Kerer, creative co-director of the Munich Biennale for New Music Theater; Gabriele Martin, artistic director of the PuSH Festival of Performing Arts in Vancouver; Lemi Ponifasio, director and choreographer from Samoa/New Zealand; and Bronwyn Lace, director of The Centre for the Less Good Idea in Johannesburg.

The premiere of GAIA-24 took place in Kyiv in May 2024, after which the opera was presented at numerous festivals, including Rotterdam, Vienna, the Venice Biennale, Berlin, and Zaporizhzhia. Video materials for the opera were filmed on Khortytsia Island in the fall of 2023, adding a unique authenticity and connection to Ukrainian cultural heritage.

"We are grateful to the jury for this recognition. Thanks to the long-term support of several European festivals, independent contemporary Ukrainian opera, created by Ukrainian artists from Ukrainian landscapes, stories, bodies, and voices, an opera that paradoxically is not needed in Ukraine, remains necessary for the world and Europe, and continues to exist in our laboratory in Kyiv," the project authors stated. They emphasized the importance of support for the development of contemporary Ukrainian art on an international level.

The realization of the opera involved talented artists and ballet performers, including Marichka Shtyrbulova, Yuliia Vitrianiuk, Sofia Pavlichenko, Oleksandr Chyshyi, Kateryna Hordiienko, Danylo Zubkov, Kateryna Byshieva, Daria Hordiichuk, Daria Bohdan, Karolina Muzychенко, Akym Zvarych, Oleksandr Yavdyk, Aik Eghiyan, and Yevhen Bal. This team continues to work on new projects, including the opera Modraniht. Songs of Winter War, which is scheduled for its world premiere on May 10 at the MCQM during the closing of the KЇ FEST festival.

The title of the opera Modraniht refers to the beliefs of northern peoples. In Old English, Modraniht translates to Mothers' Night—a long-standing pagan celebration that falls on the longest night of the year. This opera will conclude an ecological trilogy that began with Chornobyldorf and GAIA-24. Opera del Mondo, both of which explore ecological disasters caused by the activities of totalitarian regimes in the USSR and Russia.