"Mōdraniht, Songs of Winter War"

I am incredibly happy to share about "Mōdraniht, Songs of Winter War" the latest production by Opera Aperta, set to make its world premiere on the 10th of May in Kyiv (Ukraine).

For it, I had the enormous honour to collaborate as curator for the expedition in Northern Spain earlier this year. The expedition in Northern Spain focused in "La Vijanera" which takes place very close to the village where I come from. La Vijanera is a winter ritual, one of Europe’s oldest winter masquerades celebrated in the village of Silió, Cantabria. This ancestral ritual is a communal act of transition as a form of an ancient bridge between the more-than-human world and the human spirit, ensuring that life returns once more to the valley. This research trip inspired the final performance which merge traditions with contemporary creation and reflections of the current times. 

I would like to thank the Opera Aperta team for their trust and inspiration, specially Olga and Illia, in addition, Enrique, Aline, Avelino, Adán, Cesar, Nacho and Chuchi for their support in the expedition, for their openness to share and support this creative journey, gracias.

Photo by Chuchi Lastra 

"How to do opera in times of war? Trying to answer this question, the Ukrainian Kyiv-based collective Opera Aperta, people who are living under the daily threat of the Russian war of extermination, is creating a new opera in the form of rhizomatic theatre, a theatre that can merge on stage different spaces and times.

On the evening of December 21st, Mōdraniht, the longest night — the “Night of Mothers“ in Nordic mythology, descends upon Europe. In mountain villages, residents gather for a ritual dance to shield their homes from dark forces and welcome the Sun, which must be reborn each year.
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Songs of Winter War is a journey of a human group / artistic ensemble through various musics, texts, temporalities, and spaces. Journey between macro- and micro-histories, from “theatre of war” to “inner theatre” of the body.

Opera Practica, “theatre about theatre” is an endless “Winterreise” towards the imaginary “east,” but also a voyage between the times, wars, and geographies. The opera project started in 2025 with an expedition from the Ukrainian Carpathians to Central Asia and Northern Spain, reflecting on the tragedy of the Aral Sea in Uzbekistan and on the phenomenon of La Vijanera, a winter carnival which still prevails in the small village of Silió in Cantabria.

This opera is the final part of the “ecological trilogy” by Opera aperta, started with the creation of the archaeological opera Chornobyldorf in 2020 and GAIA-24. Opera del Mondo in 2024, united by the topics of ecological catastrophes of the last decades, caused by colonial regimes of the USSR (Chornobyl and Aral sea) and later Russia (Kakhovka Dam explosion). 

The world premiere of the opera will take place in Kyiv as part of the first edition of the international festival of theater and performing arts KY FEST (Kyiv), followed by performances of the opera in Rotterdam (O.Festival) and Vienna (Wiener Festwochen)." 

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Dramaturgy, space – Razumeiko Illia, music,
conductor – Roman Grygoriv,
costumes – Kateryna Markush, Live electronics – Valeriia Vynohradova.
Producer – Olga Diatel
Artists: Marichka Shtyrbulova, Yuliia Vitraniuk, Yuliia Alieksieieva, Sofiia Pavlichenko, Oleksandr Chyshii, Kateryna Hordiienko, Dariia Bohdan, Karolina Muzychenko, Akym Zvarych, Ihor Boichuk.
Production coordinators – Yuliia Parysh, Iryna Onishchuk.
​Videography and live video – Ivanna-Kateryna Yakovyna. Lighting – Svitlana Zmieieva.
Curator of Expedition in Spain – Seila Fernandez Arconada.
Communications – Oleksii Havryliuk. Design – Yaroslava Kovalchuk.

Text by Opera Aperta

Tickets for Kyiv: https://kontramarka.ua/.../modraniht-songs-of-winter-war...
More information about Opera Aperta: https://opera-aperta.com.ua/