Soprano Katerina Tchoubar to Sing Maria in Mazepa

By Olena Wawryshyn

When Kyiv-born Katerina Tchoubar, who had studied to be a translator in Ukraine, moved to Toronto, she decided to take a leap of faith and pursue her long-held dream to be a professional singer. 

 “I thought ‘it’s a land of opportunities, why don’t I do what I really want to do,’” says Tchoubar.  I always wanted to sing. In Ukraine, I sang in choirs and ensembles. I even organized my own group, Ukrainochka, and we sang Ukrainian folk songs. But, in Ukraine, it’s very hard (as everywhere) to make a living as an artist, so I was always cautious.”

Tchoubar’s gamble to retrain to be a singer paid off as she has just finished two seasons in the Canadian Opera Company Chorus and is making her debut with Toronto’s Opera in Concert as Maria in a performance of Tchaikovsky’s Mazepa this month.  The soprano will be joining baritone Peter McGillivray, who will sing the title role, and bass Nikolay Cherkosov, as Kochubei.

Composed in 1881-1883, Tchaikovsky’s opera, with a libretto, by Victor Burenin, is based on Alexander Pushkin’s epic poem "Poltava."

The 17th-century kozak Mazepa was celebrated in Lord Byron’s poetry, in a painting by Eugene Delacroix and in Franz Liszt’s symphonic poem.  In Tchaikovksky’s opera, the elderly Mazepa and his teenage goddaughter, Maria, are in love. Maria brushes off the romantic advances of her childhood friend, Andrei, and runs off with Mazepa after her father, the wealthy kozak Kochubei, is enraged by Mazepa’s desire to marry her.

In revenge, Kochubei reveals Mazepa’s plan to form an alliance with the Swedish king against Tsar Peter in the cause of Ukrainian independence. The tsar disbelieves Kochubei and imprisons him. Mazepa returns and has Kochubei executed. In the end, Maria goes mad when she discovers her father’s fate.

“It is very dramatic and intense vocally,” says Tchoubar. “When singing a very passionate role, you have to be careful not to get carried away…it’s challenging to sing it beautifully and not just expressively and passionately,” she adds.

Based on past critical acclaim, Tchoubar is up to the challenge. “Tchoubar exploited rich, rounded notes, pleasing vibrato and a growing sense of longing and pain…she achieved what most others don’t,” said The Toronto Star’s Geoff Chapman of her performance in a University of Toronto Opera School production.

Before university, Tchoubar studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s (RCM) Glenn Gould Professional School, where she trained with Eraine Schwing-Braun [the mother of well-known Canadian baritone Russell Braun]. “She (Schwing-Braun) was encouraging me from day one. She’s still my mentor,” says Tchoubar.

It was at a RCM vocal workshop that Tchoubar first met Opera in Concert’s General Director Guillermo Silva-Marin.  Under his direction, the arts organization founded in 1974 presents operas, such as Mazepa, which are seldom performed in Canada.

Tchoubar says she is thrilled that Silva-Marin gave her an opportunity to sing Maria. “As a singer, you’re always grateful to people who believe in you, and give you chances to perform and be heard,” she says.

Similarly, Tchoubar finds her regular guest appearances with the Ukrainian Canadian women’s choir Vesnivka gratifying. “I am very close to the Ukrainian community, and I love to work with Kvitka Kondracki (Vesnivka’s conductor),” says Tchoubar, who recently premiered a new work by Canadian composer Larysa Kuzmenko at a Vesnivka concert.

Opera in Concert's presentation of Mazepa takes place on March 26 at the Jane Mallett Theatre, in Toronto.