The Metropolitan Opera Commissions Ukranian Composer Maxim Kolomiiets to Write New Opera Based on True Story

As part of its ongoing support of Ukraine, the Metropolitan Opera / Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program has commissioned a new work by Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets and librettist George Brant. The story for the opera will be based on the true events of Ukrainian mothers who embarked on an arduous 3,000-mile journey behind enemy lines into Russia to rescue their children forcibly detained there by Russian authorities. Although the characters in the opera will be largely fictional, the story is based on true events on the ground in Ukraine and in the Hague, where Vladimir Putin and Maria Alekseyevna Lvova-Belova were accused of war crimes for the abduction of the children. Faced with these accusations, Lvova-Belova announced that the mothers would have six months to find their children and reclaim them or lose them forever as wards of the Russian state.

Composer Maxim Kolomiiets has built a career both as a composer and as an oboist, having written solo instrumental, chamber, and orchestral pieces. He has written two operas—Espenbaum, which has been performed in a concert version, and Night, excerpts of which were premiered in August 2020 in the Recording House of Ukrainian Radio, performed by the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra—and his music has been performed at international festivals, including the MATA Festival (New York), Darmstädter Ferienkurse  (Darmstadt), New Talents (Cologne), Donaueschinge Musiktage, (Donaueschingen), Warsaw Autumn (Warsaw), and Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (New York), among others.

This will mark the second Metropolitan Opera / Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program commission for American playwright and librettist George Brant. He has written numerous plays, including Grounded, which was developed as an opera through the program with composer Jeanine Tesori before being given a full commission by the Met. Grounded is scheduled to premiere at Washington National Opera on October 28, 2023, ahead of its Met premiere in fall 2024.

“We're proud to continue to support Ukraine on the cultural front. The heroism of these Ukrainian mothers in the face of Russian atrocities is a story that should be amplified theatrically and is in the good creative hands of Maxim and George,” said Peter Gelb, the Metropolitan Opera's Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager.

“Lincoln Center Theater is honored to be part of this commission, and we look forward to a beautiful opera,” said André Bishop, Artistic Director of Lincoln Center Theater.

The idea to commission a Ukrainian composer was born in a meeting last fall between Ukraine's First Lady, Olena Zelenska, and Gelb during her visit to the Metropolitan Opera. Following that meeting, the Ukrainian Ministry of Culture invited composers to apply and received applications from 72 Ukrainian composers. The applications were vetted by the Met's team, led by Paul Cremo, Director of Opera Commissioning Programs.  

The addition of this new Kolomiiets/Brant commission is part of the Met's ongoing commitment to enriching the repertory through programming new commissions and contemporary masterpieces. The 2023­–24 season, opening September 26 with Jake Heggie's Dead Man Walking, features more contemporary work than any other season in modern Met history.

For more information about the Met season and the Met/LCT New Works Program, visit metopera.org.

The Met/LCT New Works Program

The Met/LCT New Works Program, founded in 2006, has provided developmental resources for many composers and librettists. The program has overseen the creation of several new operas, including Two Boys, composed by Nico Muhly with a libretto by Craig Lucas; Eurydice, composed by Matthew Aucoin with a libretto by Sarah Ruhl, based on her play; and Grounded, composed by Jeanine Tesori with a libretto by George Brant, based on his play—all three produced by the Met. Intimate Apparel, composed by Ricky Ian Gordon with a libretto by Lynn Nottage, based on her play, was produced by Lincoln Center Theater. Other projects in development include new works by Joshua Schmidt and Dick Scanlan; David. T. Little and Royce Vavrek; Carlos Simon and Lynn Nottage / Ruby Aiyo Gerber; and Valerie Coleman, Jessie Montgomery, and Joel Thompson.

The Met/LCT New Works Program is funded by a generous gift to the Met from the Francis Goelet Charitable Trusts, with additional support from Linda Hirshman.

Maxim Kolomiiets

Composer Maxim Kolomiiets was born in 1981 in Kyiv, Ukraine. He graduated from the National Music Academy of Ukraine as an oboist and then as a composer, and from the Hochschule für Musik und Tanz Köln as a composer. He has built a career both as a composer and as an oboist, having written solo instrumental, chamber, and orchestral pieces. He has written two operas—Espenbaum, which has been performed in a concert version, and Night, excerpts of which were premiered in August 2020 in the Recording House of Ukrainian Radio, performed by the Kyiv Symphony Orchestra—and his music has been performed at international festivals, including the MATA Festival (New York), Darmstädter Ferienkurse  (Darmstadt), New Talents (Cologne), Donaueschinge Musiktage, (Donaueschingen), Warsaw Autumn (Warsaw), and Ukrainian Contemporary Music Festival (New York), among others. He is also the co-founder of the contemporary music ensemble Ensemble Nostri Temporis, the founder of the Baroque ensemble Luna Ensemble, and music curator at the Gogolfest (Kyiv). He currently lives in Germany.

George Brant

American playwright and librettist George Brant has written numerous plays, including Grounded, which was developed into an opera through the Met/LCT New Works Program with composer Jeanine Tesori before being given a full commission by the Met. Grounded is scheduled to premiere at Washington National Opera on October 28, 2023, ahead of its Met premiere in fall 2024. Other works include Marie and Rosetta, Into the Breeches!, The Prince of Providence, Elephant's Graveyard, The Land of Oz, Tender Age, and The Mourners' Bench. His work has been produced internationally by such companies as The Public Theater, Atlantic Theater Company, Trinity Repertory Company, Cleveland Play House, Studio Theatre, Page 73, London's Gate Theatre, and Traverse Theatre. His scripts have been awarded a Lucille Lortel Award, Edgerton Foundation New Play Award, Scotsman Fringe First Award, Off West End Theatre Award for Best Production, NNPN Rolling World Premiere, the Smith Prize, and the Keene Prize for Literature.