Donetsk, November 11, 2010
On November 10, 2010, the ‘St. Matthew Passion’ composed by Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) was performed at the Donetsk National Solovyanenko Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Attending the concert were the author, Metropolitan Hilarion, currently on a visit to Ukraine with the blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia; Metropolitan Ilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol; Bishop Mitrofan of Gorlovka and Slavyansk; Bishop Varnava of Makeyevka; many clergymen, monks, intellectuals, and workers of culture.
Ms. Lyudmila Yanukovich, wife of the Ukrainian President, attended the concert as a guest of honour. Before the concert, she met and talked with the DECR Chairman who gave his books Orthodoxy and Patriarch Kirill. His Life and World Outlook as a gift to the Yanukovich family.
While opening the concert, Metropolitan Ilarion of Donetsk and Mariupol underscored a social importance of the event in the4 cultural life of Donbass.
The “St. Matthew Passion” Oratorio was performed by the orchestra of the Lyatoshinsky Ensemble of Classical Music and the “Dumka” National Honoured Academic Capella of Ukraine led by the People’s Artist and Hero of Ukraine Yevgeny Savchuk.