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a US-Premiere Reading and Doctoral Lecture Recital
Conducted by Erica Glenn
in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the
Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting

ASU Organ Hall
Tues, November 23, 2019
7:30 PM
· For casVteam bias and additional program notes, please visit:

www.ericakyreeglenn.com/oksana

Cast and Crew
Oksana: Melanie Holm
Tsar Okh: Stephanie Sadownik
Vlodko: Taryn Cantrell
Roman: Emily Benoit Smith
Mother: Samantha Davalos
Sun: Haley McHardy
Moon: Jill Khaleghi
Wind: Tanya Landau
Female Chorus: Catherine Baldwin, Maggie Berry, Evening
Calabrese, Dhanya Chandrasekharan, Zoe Cummard, Mary DeWitt, Brooke
Durboraw, Jill Khaleghi, Alyssa Marksz, Taryn Landis, Julia Legler, Eliana
O'Brien, Sofya Pangburn, Sarah Shipley,
Kiernan Steiner, Amanda Stone
Dancers: Maggie Berry, Shery Chang, Tarryn Gould, Alexis Jackson, Taryn
Landis, Jazmin Parker, Amy Symonds, Natasha Villegas
Orchestra:
Flute: Katelyn McClain
Violin I / Concertmaster: lzayah Dutcher
Violin II: Jamie Wu
Viola: Courtney Ferry
Cello: Cameryn Baum
Bass: Karl Kessler
Piano: Aida Olarte
Director, Conductor: Erica Glenn
Choreographer: Mikaela Wisniewski
Assistant Choreographer: Maddy Cafaro
Chorus Master: Kiernan Steiner
Assistant Chorus Master: Eliana O'Brien
Dialect Coach: Erica Glenn
Transcription Work: Jarron Carlson
Translation/ Transliteration: Erica Glenn
Translation Assistant: Maria Lukianowicz
Layout Assistant: Lindsey Murphy
Special thanks to Doctoral Thesis Committee members
Dr. David Schildkret (chair), Dr. Kay Norton, and Brian DeMaris.
Additional thanks to Anya Bigun Beus, Anna Bigun, David Brokaw, Patrick
Driscoll, Rick Florence, Devin Glenn, James Glenn, Sharlee Glenn, Hilde
Hoogenboom, Pavlo and Larysa Hunka, the ASU Melikian Center,
and the ASU School of Music.

ACT I: Evening. In a Hutsul cottage, deep in the mountain regions of Western
Ukraine, Mother serenades her baby with a lullaby about Father, who is off in
battle, defending the Ukrainian border. When she exits to gather strawberries
from the garden, her oldest three children, Oksana (age 8), Vlodko (age 9), and
Roman (age 11 ), begin to tease one another. Roman believes he is the wisest.
Vlodko believes he is the most talented. Oksana expresses a desire to learn how
to dance, but the boys cut her short and belittle her, claiming that their talents are
superior. Mother returns and sends the boys into the forest to deliver strawberries
to their grandfather. Oksana asks to accompany them, but Mother makes her stay
-behind. Disappointed and frustrated, Oksana begins fiddling with her brothers' toyE
and reading their books--including a Ukrainian folktale about the terrifying Tsar Okh
who rules a vast forest kingdom and a comic story about a battle between beetles
and mosquitoes. Oksana drifts off to sleep while reading, and as she does, the
creatures in the story come to life around her. She rises and exits the house in
search of her brothers.
ACT II: Nighttime. Roman and Vlodko have lost their way in the forest and are
becoming increasingly frightened by the noises and shadows. They bicker with
each other and cry out, "Oh, oh, oh," inadvertently summoning Tsar Okh, who
decides to teach them a lesson for invoking his name carelessly and not thinking
before they speak. To capture the boys, he gives them boots and a hat that are
enchanted with a spell. His servant lures the boys away to Okh's kingdom in the
clouds despite the efforts of the Wind , who tries to prevent the kidnapping. A few
moments later, Oksana enters the forest, anxious to find her brothers. She offers
the Wind her red shoes (so Wind can move about more easily) in exchange for
assistance, but the Wind doesn't know where the boys were taken. As the Wind
exits and Oksana weeps silently, the Stars appear. She offers the Stars ribbons
from her hair, and they guide her through the forest. As Oksana ascends towards
Okh's kingdom , she begs the Moon to show her the way in exchange for a lock of
hair to keep the Moon warm. The Moon accepts the braid of hair but is bound to
preserve its secrets. The Stars disappear and the Moon sleeps; Oksana is left
completely alone. In desperation, she cries out to the Sun, who appears in a blaze
of glory. Oksana has nothing left to give but her heart, which the Sun accepts.
The Sun leads her away towards King Okh.
ACT Ill: Early Morning. The servants , courtiers, and forest creatures of Tsar
Okh's kingdom perform a stately dance before his throne. Okh gathers his
subjects and explains that the Sun seems to be missing (along with all light and
happiness). To everyon,e's joy, the Sun suddenly appears with Oksana . The Sun
pleads Oksana's case before King -Okh, and he agrees to release Roman and
Vlodko in exchange for Oksana's heart. A servant returns the boys and removes
their gags. The brothers immediately begin singing and dancing recklessly. They
finally notice Oksana, but because she has sacrificed her heart, she can no longer
feel anything, and she rejects them coldly. Tsar Okh agrees to return Oksana's
heart to her distraught brothers if they can answer two riddles (anagrams for
"Ukraine" and "Tsar Okh"). The boys solve both riddles, and Okh hands them
Oksana's heart, which they immediately return to her. She revives, and the siblings
embrace. Tsar Okh is quick to explain, however, that there is a catch: In exchange
for her heart and her brothers' freedom, Oksana must now remain with Tsar Okh
forever. The boys throw themselves at Okh's feet and offer themselves as captives
in place of their sister. The Sun witnesses this noble gesture and appears again to
break Okh's spell and release all three children. She guides them home where
they embrace their mother and each other as the whole forest rejoices.

Note from the Conductor
It is no secret that the Soviet Union silenced the voices of many artists, but pieces of
this history are still emerging-including the story of Ukraine's first female composer to
achieve professional renown: Stefania Turkewich (1898-1977). I first stumbled on
Turkewich's name as I was researching a Russian female composer, Ella Adaevskaya.
Turkewich immediately captured my attention-this woman who studied with
compositional giants like Arnold Schoenberg and Franz Shreker and who was the first
woman in Galicia to receive a PhD, with a boldly nationalistic dissertation entitled
"Ukrainian Folklore in Russian Operas." The quantity and quality of Turkewich's
compositional output-dozens of choral works in the Ukrainian Greek Catholic tradition,
four operas, three symphonies, five ballets, numerous chamber works-should be more
than 'enough to establish her as a major figure in Ukraine. Instead, many professional
Ukrainian musicians have never even heard of her. Her large works remain
unpublished, and English-language sources are scarce.
As political tensions rise across the globe, the eyes of the world seem to be locked on
countries like Ukraine. Lost Soviet-era voices carry particular social and political weight
as present-day Ukraine reclaims an identity that moves beyond reductive "Russian vs.
European" dichotomies, and solidifying that identity feels even. more urgent against the
backdrop of the Donbass War. Eventually, I hope to draft a first-ever English-language
biography of Turkewich's life, publish the scores I have transcribed, and actively
champion Turkewich's music in the US and abroad through lectures and performances.
Tonight marks the beginning of this journey. Thank you for joining us to witness more
than 30 singers, dancers, instrumentalists, and creative team members give new life to
one of Turkewich's recently-rediscovered chamber operas for children, Cepu,e OKcaHu.

Please join us after the opera to mingle with the
cast and enjoy a reception of traditional
Ukrainian treats in the main lobby.

School of Music

' •.[);;51g;;~;j'the Arts
Arizona State University