Open Opera Ukraine presents Creonte XVIII/XXI: Rediscovering Bortniansky’s Opera

For more than two centuries, the opera was considered lost. Its manuscript was recently rediscovered in the Biblioteca da Ajuda in Lisbon, Portugal, opening the way to the reconstruction and revival of this remarkable work of European musical heritage.

The team has been working directly with the original source within the project. Based on a comprehensive scholarly reconstruction of the score, the project brings together a team of Ukrainian early music specialists in collaboration with Austrian conductor Jörg Zwicker. On 9 August 2026, "Creonte" returned to the stage at the National Philharmonic of Ukraine in Kyiv, performed by the Liatoshynskyi Capella: Choir and Orchestra of the National House of Music, with soloists Denys Sahirov, Solomiia Pavlenko, Olena Pinkovska, Kateryna Levytska and Daria Novitska, under the baton of Jörg Zwicker. On the next stage, the opera was professionally recorded in Kyiv. And now the team is ready to present it for international digital release, bringing "Creonte" to listeners worldwide.

---

During the online presentation on October 5, we will introduce the team behind the project, discuss the discovery and reconstruction of the opera, share the experience of bringing "Creonte" back to the stage, and, most importantly, invite you to listen to the newly recorded performance.

The project is supported by the Ukrainian Cultural Foundation through its Culture in Wartime programme and implemented by Open Opera Ukraine in partnership with the National House of Music and the National Philharmonic of Ukraine, with partner support from UNESCO, the Italian Cultural Institute, the Embassy of Italy in Ukraine, the Austrian Cooperation Office in Lviv, and the Embassy of the Republic of Austria in Kyiv.