The Version of the Ukrainian Anthem Used by the Metropolitan Opera
You get an A+ if you said, ‘Obviously! It’s in B-flat major’
Just after Russia invaded Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera performed the most heartbreakingly beautiful of all the renditions of the Ukrainian National Anthem I’ve since heard.
On the opening night of Verdi’s Don Carlos, there was moment of silence for the tragedy. Then the music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin led the orchestra and chorus in its poignant rendition of the anthem. Standing next to Nézet-Séguin, with his hand over his heart, was the 24-year-old Ukrainian bass-baritone Vlad Buialskiy, the only chorus member without sheet music in front of him. As chorus began to sing the anthem, the audience stood in solidarity.
The idea for the anthem had come the Met’s general manager, Peter Gelb, earlier in the day.
“When I woke up this morning, I said why don’t we do the Ukrainian national anthem?” Gelb told the NBC flagship station in New York. He said the company approved and found the music, and the performers learned the lyrics that morning. Buialskiy helped with the pronunciation just before they took the stage that night.
After watching a clip of the performance on the news, I searched online for the arrangement the Met had used, thinking that other groups might like to sing or play the same one. I couldn’t find it. So I tweeted the MetOperaChoristers at @MetOperaChorus and asked if they could provide it, or the key signature, given that I’d seen arrangements in varied keys online.
The Met replied promptly with the screenshot you see above: The chorus sang the anthem composed by Mykhailo Verbytsky, a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest and composer, in in B-flat major. After more searching, I also found Verbytsky’s version in A major.
If you missed the Met’s performance, which has gone viral, here it is — and a caution. Have a few tissues ready when you hear it.
