COVID-19, of course, has forced cancellations of virtually all performing arts and also cast a gloom, at least one would think, over those making their livelihood from things like opera or symphonic music. But Yankovskaya sees new possibilities arising from the economic instability brought about by the pandemic, especially when combined with society’s increasing demand for racial equality in all aspects of American life…
Read MoreThink back 20 or 30 years. Trying to spot a female conductor in one of the world’s leading concert halls would have had almost zero chance of success. How the world has changed, with a new generation of young women conductors now rising to positions of influence…
Read MoreOver the next ten years, Yankovskaya believes that new work will take precedence over the warhorses. It’s not about rejecting the standard repertory, she explains, but about embracing the new…
Read MoreIt’s hard to keep track of the force of nature that is Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya…
Read MoreYankovskaya delivers performances that hold a striking blend of strength and sensitivity…
Read MoreWith conducting, however, Yankovskaya found a perfect fit for her talents and temperament. The often-solitary career of a solo violinist or pianist didn’t appeal to her, and she craved the collaboration of conducting an orchestra or, especially, directing an opera company.
Read MoreOpera experimentalism has flourished in the past decade among a gaggle of startup companies around the city. Yankovskaya is taking that energy and injecting it into a major company. Naysayers accuse opera of resuscitating a permanent past. Here is where you can see the present.
Read MoreLidiya Yankovskaya has a passion for the new and for the neglected. She’s here for a Refugee Orchestra concert, she’s the Music Director of Chicago Opera Theater, and a whole host of other things that make me feel deeply inadequate.
Read More“All of us who are on that stage come to the experience with our own feelings and our emotions about what fleeing and seeking for home means to us.” The Refugee Orchestra Project brings together musicians from all over the world and provides a space for refugees and immigrants to share their experiences through music.
Read MoreHer musical presence has revitalized a company that had become a shadow of itself. The Chicago premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby-Dick in April was a major event, in no small part because of Yankovskaya’s elucidation of the score… The Chicago premiere of Tchaikovsky’s Iolanta was no less revelatory.
Read MoreFounded in 2015 by conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya, the ROP has taken its message of inclusion to hundreds of thousands of listeners around the world via live and streamed performances in New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and at the United Nations. The UK debut concert will raise money for London-based charity Refugee Action.
Read MoreNow that she’s running a multimillion-dollar operation, Yankovskaya directs casting, chooses the repertoire, and oversees management of the orchestra; and, of course, she conducts most of the company’s productions.
Read MoreWhat makes an American opera? Companies across the country seem to be perpetually asking this question.
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