What was a Zaporozhian Cossack doing beyond the Danube? Discover the story of a legendary Ukrainian opera and its remarkable creator.

The history of Ukrainian musical culture is marked by numerous masterpieces of global significance. One of the greatest works by domestic composers is the iconic opera "Zaporozhets za Dunayem" (1863) by Semen Hulak-Artemovsky, which remains a classic to this day.

By the time of its creation, Western Europe was already familiar with examples of the highly popular Italian school of opera, particularly its branch known as opera buffa (comic opera). Among the most well-known opera buffa composers are the Italians Giovanni Pergolesi, Domenico Cimarosa, Gaetano Donizetti, Gioachino Rossini, and the genius Austrian Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

However, the work of Ukrainian composer, opera singer, and playwright Semen Hulak-Artemovsky (1813—1873) continues to stand out as a brilliant example of lyrical-comic theatrical art, infused with vivid elements of buffoonery, yet entirely national in spirit.

Not Just "Zaporozhets za Dunayem"

Semen Hulak-Artemovsky was born on February 4 (16), 1813 in the village of Hulakivshchyna near the city of Horodysche in the Cherkasy region, into the family of the priest of the Pokrovskyi Church, Stepan Hulak-Artemovsky, and his wife Varvara. His father was a direct descendant of Ivan Hulak – the appointed colonel and chief quartermaster of the Zaporozhian Army during the hetmanate of Petro Doroshenko and Ivan Samoilovych – Ivan Hulak. Semen's uncle was the well-known Ukrainian cultural and educational figure and fable poet, rector of Kharkiv University, Pyotr Hulak-Artemovsky.

After studying at the Kyiv district spiritual school and seminary, the talented young man, who possessed a uniquely beautiful voice, began singing in the metropolitan choir at St. Sophia Cathedral and at the choir of the Mykhailivskyi Golden-Domed Monastery.

Later, Semen moved to St. Petersburg, where, through the patronage of Russian composer Mikhail Glinka, he began singing in the court chapel. He quickly rose to prominent roles among the soloists and performed solo concerts.

The next stage in the talented young man's life was a trip to Italy and France, where he studied with the best teachers. Upon returning to the capital, he began performing on the stages of imperial theaters, playing leading roles in Russian and Italian operas.

From a young age, Semen Hulak-Artemovsky was familiar with the works of prominent Ukrainian composers Artemiy Vedel and Dmytro Bortniansky. By the late 1840s, feeling a deep connection to his homeland, he began composing. His legacy includes the vocal-choreographic divertissement "Ukrainian Wedding" (1851) and the vaudeville "Night Before Ivan's Day" (1852), as well as arrangements of Ukrainian folk melodies, particularly the songs "I Don't Want to Sleep" and "Oh, the Reapers are Reaping on the Hill." As a singer, Semen Hulak-Artemovsky continued to perform opera arias and appeared in dramatic theater productions, primarily of Ukrainian repertoire.

In St. Petersburg, he met many fellow countrymen. His patriotic views are evidenced by his close friendship with Taras Shevchenko. The well-known Ukrainian musicologist Maria Zahaykevych wrote: "One of the most interesting solos by Hulak-Artemovsky, dedicated to T. Shevchenko, is the original composer’s interpretation of the folk song text 'A Yavir Tree Stands by the Water' – which was first performed in the play 'The Soldier-Wizard' ("Moskal-Charyvnyk". — Ed.). (1858). It is worth noting that not only the genre inclination but also the Ukrainian character of Hulak-Artemovsky's works corresponded to the repertoire direction of the Mariinsky Theater, where Ukrainian motifs frequently echoed in numerous performances (as they did in the urban life of Petersburg). ("History of Ukrainian Culture". Vol. 4, Book 2).

This play by the "father of modern Ukrainian literature," Ivan Kotliarevskyi, achieved immense success on the leading stages of St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The next milestone in the composer and singer's career was the creation of the national opera "Zaporozhets za Dunayem," written to his own libretto in 1862 and first staged the following year at the capital's Mariinsky Theater.

Thirteen performances were met with great success; however, during this time, the Polish Uprising of 1863—1864 was raging, and the tsarist authorities, fearing a rise in national consciousness among Ukrainians (whom they referred to as Little Russians), effectively banned new productions of the opera; as an unexpected exception, a performance took place at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow on October 6, 1864. The final verdict on the opera was signed after the adoption of the essentially Ukrainophobic Valuev Circular on July 18 (30), 1863, and the Ems Ukaz of the "reforming" Tsar Alexander II on May 18 (30), 1876. The imperial authorities perceived a threat of "separating the Little Russian nationality."

It was not until 1884 that the opera experienced what could be called a rebirth: the famous troupe of Mykhailo Starytsky staged it, featuring true luminaries of Ukrainian theater – Maria Zankovetska, Marko Kropyvnytsky, and Maria Sadovska-Barilotti.

The Danube Cossacks – Who Are They?

The opera "Zaporozhets za Dunayem" turned out to be deeply national in spirit, depicting the life and customs of the former Zaporozhian Cossacks who, after the oppression from Russian authorities and the destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich in June 1775, began to settle at the mouths of the Danube and Dniester rivers within the territory of the Ottoman Empire. The Cossacks mostly traveled in small groups with their families via sea routes and land to these lands. The sultanate's government did not impede migration, as it sought to utilize them for its own purposes. Ukrainian Cossacks received payment and provisions in exchange for military service. They primarily engaged in fishing and, less frequently, agriculture.

By the end of 1778, the Danube Sich numbered 12,000 people. Both the Ottoman Empire and the Russian Empire sought to subjugate the Danube Cossacks, often resorting to forceful means. The Ottoman Turks employed Lipovans of the Nekrasov lineage, and Russian runaway schismatics were in constant conflict with Ukrainians. At the very beginning of the Russo-Turkish War of 1828—1829, a small group of Danube Cossacks (796 individuals, along with their families) led by the last Koshovyi Otaman Osyp Hladky crossed into Russian territory. This was a covert operation involving Russian intelligence agents (by the way, in Hulak-Artemovsky's opera, this episode is presented as a conscious choice by the majority of Ukrainians in favor of returning to their homeland under the rule of the Moscow tsar). In reality, the majority of Danube Cossacks remained in the Ottoman Empire, and their descendants still live in the southeastern part of modern Romania today...

The Most Popular Ukrainian Opera

Overall, this opera, comprising 22 musical-vocal numbers and several prose episodes, stands out as a deeply patriotic piece, emphasizing the freedom-loving nature of the Cossacks, who sought to be subject to no one and fought for the independence of their homeland. There are two plot lines: a comedic one with elements of buffa (characters of the elderly Cossack Ivan Karas and his wife Odarka), and a lyrical-romantic one (Cossack Andriy and his beloved Oksana).

In the brilliant film-performance "Zaporozhets za Dunayem" (1957), the role of Ivan Karas was played by Ivan Patorzhynsky, Odarka by Maria Litvinenko-Volgemuth, Andriy by Mykola Shelyushko, and Oksana by Yelizaveta Chavdar. These luminaries of the opera stage were the decoration of the production...

Regarding the criticism that often came from prominent cultural figures (among them was Ivan Franko, who considered the opera "Zaporozhets za Dunayem" more of a comic operetta with overly sentimental notes in the spirit of Western European composers), a very reasonable thought was expressed by the outstanding Ukrainian poet and translator, academician Maksym Rylskyi: "I am surprised that those who spoke of the 'naivety' and 'unpretentiousness' of the opera did not notice the main idea of the work. This idea is love for the native