The New York City Opera (NYCO) has announced “Music of Survival: Works by Weinberg, Korngold, and Rovne,” a performance celebrating “survival and perseverance through the universal language of music,” slated for Monday, February 24 at Carnegie Hall.
The performance will feature the NYCO orchestra, conductor Constantine Orbelian, cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper and soprano Elizaveta Ulakhovich.

The NYCO will perform compositions by 20th-century composers Mieczysław Weinberg and Erich Wolfgang Korngold, who are now receiving their well-deserved recognition and praise in modern times after the Holocaust and its devastating aftermath. Weinberg’s New York premier of “Fantasia for Cello and Orchestra op.52,” Korngold’s “Cello Concerto in C op.37” and the American premier for composer Gennady Rovner’s “Symphony Metamorphosis” are scheduled for the performance.
The opera company, coined as “The People’s Opera,” explains the significance of remembering Weinberg and Korngold. “As we reflect on the journeys of Weinberg and Korngold, we are reminded of music’s power to transcend borders and foster understanding. This performance invites us to learn from history, encourage empathy, and celebrate the artistic resilience that continues to inspire and unite us,” said the NYCO.
Cellist Kristina Reiko Cooper’s Jewish heritage speaks in her encapsulating performances of “Symphony No. 6 ‘Vessels of Light,’” a composition commissioned to Lera Auerbach, that commemorates the heroic Japanese consul Chiune Sugihara’s help in aiding Jewish citizens with transit visas to escape Europe during World War II. Since the world premier in Lithuania in November 2022, “Vessels of Light” has seen international audiences. Cooper’s performances throughout her career have raised applause from multiple publications, including The New York Times, who said that “Ms. Cooper’s cello solos sang out in the slow movement with elegance and fine sentiment.”

Soprano Elizaveta Ulakhovich has shared her talents from a young age back in her home country of Russia. During her time at the Young Artist Program of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, she participated in many riveting performances, such as “Idiot” by Weinberg and “Prince Igor” by Borodin. After completing the program, she continued her performances in New York City, where she now resides. Ulakhovich made her debut for the NYCO in the summer of 2022 as a soprano soloist for the U.S. premier of “Concert for Sugihara” at Carnegie Hall.

The performance by the New York City Opera will begin at 8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 24 in the Stern Auditorium at the Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall. To purchase tickets and for more information, click here.
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