In the heart of London's Covent Garden, little St. Paul's Church is bustling midweek.
Inside, a hundred Ukrainians settle in the hubbub but when silence finally falls, the atmosphere becomes tense and the group begins to sing.
Listening to them sing an opera aria by Verdi, guided by the choirmaster of the Royal Opera House in London, it is hard to imagine that this is only the sixth time that these 130 Ukrainians have sung together, and even less that all of them have are not professional.
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The group, accompanied by the 45 members of the choir of the prestigious London institution, will sing on March 16 in the context of a sold-out concert dedicated to their country, which many of them fled after the Russian invasion there are a year.
"We were known as a nation that loves to sing and music is an important part of our culture
," Iryna Stepanova, a 32-year-old Ukrainian who lived in Kharkiv, eastern Ukraine, told AFP. to settle in the United Kingdom in May 2022.
"I think that today, more than ever, we must defend Ukraine on a cultural level"
, estimates the young woman who answered the call from the Royal Opera House to join the choir.
“
We hoped to bring together 45 singers and we had 360 applications
,” enthuses Jillian Barker, director of education within the institution.
Some 130 Ukrainians of all ages, mostly women "
the men are in the fight
", were finally chosen to participate.
Some are professional, others had never sung before.
"Real Exchange"
“
The crazy thing is that they didn't know each other
,” says Barker.
"
It's just people who have found each other and who have formed a communion together by singing
".
During "
the first rehearsal, they sang among themselves and we were there, standing there, crying because the sound was so powerful
", she adds.
"
It's an incredibly moving experience
" to hear "
the special connection between a native country, a language and a music
," notes William Spaulding, Chorus Master at the Royal Opera House, who guides the choir before the performance.
For the project to work, the organizers worked on the repertoire, made up of opera arias “that
can be sung by non-professionals
” and Ukrainian patriotic and folk music.
“
They sing their Ukrainian repertoire and we bring the opera repertoire
,” explains Jillian Barker.
“
And we are doing a concert that is a real exchange.
»
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For Iryna Stepanova, who had already been part of a choir in Ukraine, “
it's incredible to sing with the Royal Opera
” but “
it's not easy, they are really very professional
”.
One week before the concert, which will take place at the Royal Opera, she is a little stressed.
"
But above all I'm looking forward to it because I think it's going to be a unique experience for all Ukrainians
."
As a professional singer, Dmytro Hovorov admits that he dreaded singing with amateurs.
“
But I was really surprised, the level is very high.
»
Originally from Cherkassy, the 22-year-old was already living in the UK before the Russian invasion.
"
A Ukrainian choir with Ukrainian songs, it's really powerful and it sends this message that we are still fighting, that we are still strong, that we will win and that we will be fine," he
said.
After the Royal Opera, Ukraine will be at the center of Eurovision in May in Liverpool.
The country had won the 2022 edition but cannot host the event on its soil due to the war.