On April 14, 2022, Teatr Wielki will present “We Are With You!” a charity gala in support of Ukraine.

The event will feature opera and ballet which celebrates Ukrainian composers and their artistic contributions to the cultural life of Poland and through Europe. The program will be opened by three contemporary pieces from Lubawa Sydorenko, Zoltan Alamashi, and Aleksandr Shymko, as well as pieces written to the words of Czeslaw Milosz and Halina Poswiatowska. This section will be performed by sopranos Olga Pasichnyk and Agata Zubei, accompanied by Lech Napierata, and conducted by Andriy Yurkevych.

The ballet section will feature a collage of choreographies from the Polish National Ballet’s repertory meant to stir reflection on the crisis in Ukraine. Selections include Krzyszof Pastor’s “Kurt Weill,” with music from the composer who was himself forced to flee his country due to the rise of Nazism, such as “Gebet,” and “Wie lange noch?” There will also be Anna Hop’s “Exodus” to music by Wojciech Kilar, and a sequence from Pastor’s “And The Rain Will Pass…” Among the company of the Polish National Ballet will be dancers Chinara Alizade, Yuka Ebihara, Pawel Kocewoj, Diogo de Oliveira, Patryk Walczak, Maksim Woitiul, and Vladimir Yaroshenko.

Proceeds from the event will be donated to relief efforts for children’s homes, refugees, mothers, orphans, and more. The charity gala is held in partnership with Nasza Fundacja (Our Foundation), a non-profit which has for years supported children in children’s homes.