Ukrainian Master’s student Olena Liubavina and Russian teacher Olga Kobékina perform the Ukrainian song “Чорнобривці” (Marigolds) as a manifestation of the desire for peace and harmony that unites all those who are part of the Liceu Conservatory educational and artistic community.
The Conservatori Liceu Foundation wants to give its support to all the victims and those affected by the war, with the conviction that music is a force that can unite people in peace, overcoming any border and revealing the feelings and emotions that men and women from all over the world share.
To bear witness, Ukrainian singer Olena Liubavina, a student of the Master of Opera, and Russian pianist Olga Kobékina, Professor of Piano, Improvisation and accompanying pianist, perform a Ukrainian song “Чорнобривці” (Marigolds). This piece is the work of Ukrainian composer Volodymir Vermenych (1925-1986) and was recorded at the Liceu Conservatory Auditorium, on March 8. In its lyrics, speaks a Ukrainian person far from his country, to whom some flowers bring back memories of his mother and his land: “When I look at these marigolds / I see my old mother / I see your hands, mother / I feel your kind words, beloved / I have known farewells and encounters / In foreign lands I saw / The marigolds of my land / That you planted in the spring”. The beauty of the song and its lyrics are especially striking in the tragic times that are unfortunately being experienced in Ukraine. The Conservatori Liceu Foundation wants to express a special support to students and graduates from that part of the world, with this song by a Russian and a Ukrainian performer, with which it wants to convey a strong desire for understanding and friendship between people around the world.
Soprano Olena Liubavina was born in Odessa (Ukraine) and is currently studying for a Master’s Degree in Opera Performance (which this year is dedicated to Mozart’s opera “Le nozze di Figaro”). Pianist Olga Kobékina was born in Kamensk-Uralsky, a small town near Ekaterinburg (Russia) and teaches at the Professional and Higher academic centers of the Conservatori Liceu Foundation.