Viktoriia Lukianets: Ascending Opera Olympus

Abstract

The purpose of the research is to highlight the creative achievements of Ukrainian opera singer Viktoriia Lukianets in collaboration with three prominent contemporary tenors: Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras, and Placido Domingo (the latter both as a singer and conductor). Research methodology. In the course of searching and analyzing the relevant literature, historical, textual, and source research methods were used. The work continued with not only printed articles, but also with the singer’s personal archive (posters, programs, booklets, diaries, letters, autographs), and many interviews were conducted, the transcripts of which are stored in the author’s archive. All of this helped to reconstruct historical events (dates of premieres, number and type of rehearsals, time of auditions, etc.) Scientific novelty. The article is the first to describe the collaboration between the Ukrainian opera singer Viktoriia Lukianets and three of the most prominent tenors of our time in detail. The context is also thoroughly described and studied: the theatres where the singers performed, their stage colleagues, conductors, historical parallels, and perspectives. Conclusions. The historical reconstruction of outstanding events in the opera world makes it possible to realize the significance of the Ukrainian vocal school ( Viktoriia Lukianets’ teachers Ivan Palyvoda and Yelyzaveta Chavdar) in the world context, as well as the outstanding role of the Ukrainian singer who was able to conquer the best opera stages and perform with the most prominent singers of our time.