Interview With Lidiya Yankovskaya Part 2

In this interview continued with Lidiya Yankovskaya, she answers more personal questions about her passion projects and what it’s like working in Opera as a parent with two children. She discusses her recent recognition for thriving in adversity as well as who inspired her to get to where she is today. Still looking ahead to the future, she’s not done yet and has big plans in store for her career.
Drew Janine: What can you tell us about the Refugee Orchestra Project and why it is so passionately close to you?
Lidiya Yankovskaya: The Refugee Orchestra Project has been an opportunity to use my experience as a musician – as a world citizen, working in one of the most diverse fields, in a language that spans cultures and places – to bring light to major societal issues, break down assumptions, and raise funds for refugee aid (the kinds of funds without which I would never be where I am today).
DJ: You were recognised as the model of how to survive and thrive in adversity during your daring performances during the pandemic. How did you thrive during such a time when most were struggling in the live entertainment industry?
LY: At Chicago Opera Theater, we committed to fully paying artists who were supposed to work with the organization and to finding new ways to support the art form. During the pandemic, we of course changed what and how we produced, but we produced overall more content than ever before. In particular, I took this as an opportunity to give our audience members, colleagues, and supporters an inside look into our processes with major industry leaders (through a participatory, weekly series called InnerWorkings). COT also produced several fully staged, live-streamed performances, which preserved the ethereal and live aspects of opera, while also employing film specialists who could focus on making the work appropriate for this new medium. We always found a way to pivot rather than cancel, and most importantly did so in a way that ensured the artistic quality was our number one consideration. Instead of abridging longer pieces, we focused on works that lent themselves to pandemic limitations (for example, pivoting a performance of Daniel Catán’sIl Postinointo his smallerRappaccini’s Daughter, appropriately filmed in various locations at a natural history museum).
DJ: As a working mother, how do you balance travelling with your two children for work?
Unfortunately, this is a question rarely asked of my male colleagues with kids, but I imagine their answer would be the same as mine: a very supportive partner, a lot of advanced planning, and the same kind of balancing that any working parents do.
DJ: Who are some of your biggest role models in conducting or orchestra and opera?
I most admire my day-to-day colleagues. What singers do on the stage and the kind of preparation, stamina, and multitasking that it requires is truly incredible. The designers and directors who are aware of so much as they shape the story (Trittico designers Michael Hankin and Verity Hampson, the other two constants across the three works, are remarkable). The opera administrators who oversee the workings of this giant machine and all its complexity. And of course, the orchestra players – the kind of concentration from the pit required to perform something likeTrittico is astounding! Every day, my colleagues inspire and teach me.
In terms of other conductors, I have found myself most admiring those who shape music beautifully from the podium and have also worked to shape the world of music and how the world experiences music, such as Boulez, Bernstein, and Alsop. It’s so important for us as conductors to use the privilege and power we have been granted to ensure a thriving future for this miraculous art form.
DJ: You have already accomplished so much in your career. What are some of your goals that you still want to accomplish?
LY: There is some rarely performed repertoire that I haven’t yet had a chance to conduct. Two of my biggest pandemic losses were productions of Rimsky-Korsakov’s The Invisible City of Kitezhand Janacek’s Jenufa – I hope those return to my life very soon. Also on my bucket list is the Ring Cycle (and more Wagner in general) as well as Salome. On the concert stage, I’d like to eventually lead every Mahler Symphony, the Britten War Requiem, and the Ligeti Requiem. There are also so many composers (and in opera, librettists) from whom I’d like the opportunity to commission major works. For instance, I’d love to see Missy Mazzoli write a series of major large-scale symphonies. It’s so difficult for living composers today to find opportunities to write large-scale works, rather than just shorter openers.
All images are courtesy of: Keith Saunders featuring the show Il Trittico. Thank you Lidiya Yankovskaya.
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