{"id":113906,"date":"2025-04-28T15:35:19","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T19:35:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=113906"},"modified":"2025-04-29T08:00:02","modified_gmt":"2025-04-29T12:00:02","slug":"interview-bass-baritone-andrii-kymach-talks-eugene-onegin-alfio-cavalleria-rusticana","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2025\/04\/28\/interview-bass-baritone-andrii-kymach-talks-eugene-onegin-alfio-cavalleria-rusticana\/","title":{"rendered":"INTERVIEW | Bass-Baritone Andrii Kymach Talks About Eugene Onegin, Alfio From Cavalleria Rusticana"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_113908\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113908\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-113908\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-66.jpg\" alt=\"Bass-baritone Andrii Kymach (Photo: Diana Guledani)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-66.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-66-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-66-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-66-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113908\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bass-baritone Andrii Kymach (Photo: Diana Guledani)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It\u2019s a busy month for Andrii Kymach in Toronto this May. The Ukrainian bass-baritone makes his Canadian Opera Company debut singing the title role in its upcoming production of Tchaikovsky\u2019s Eugene Onegin. He\u2019ll also perform the role of Alfio from Pietro Mascagni\u2019s Cavalleria rusticana, which the COC will perform in concert on May 23.<\/p>\n<p>The roles could hardly be more disparate when it comes to the nature of the character, from the worldly regrets of Onegin to Alfio\u2019s white hot jealous rage.<\/p>\n<p>We spoke to Kymach about his upcoming roles.<\/p>\n<p>Andrii Kymach sings Bizet\u2019s Votre Toast aka the Toreador song from Carmen, with the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conductor Ariane Matiakh on August 1, 2019 at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition:<\/p>\n<div class=\"jetpack-video-wrapper\"><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/5oN7AogTang?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/div>\n<h2>Bass-Baritone Andrii Kymach<\/h2>\n<p>Kymach graduated from the Young Artist Program of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow in 2018, and went on to take home First Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2019.<\/p>\n<p>Just this season, he\u2019s performed at The Royal Opera House in London, with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Previous roles in the 2024-2025 seasons include Escamillo at Teatr Wielki \/ Opera Narodowa.<\/p>\n<p>Prior seasons have seen him sing the role of Sir Riccardo Forth (Les Puritains) at the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, and Enrico Ashton (Lucia di Lammermoor) at the Auditorio de Tenerife. He has also perforemd at the Op\u00e9ra de Nice, the Th\u00e9\u00e2tre d&#8217;Antibes and the Welsh National Opera, and at London&#8217;s Queen Elizabeth Hall.<\/p>\n<h3>The Interview<\/h3>\n<p>Growing up, his family wasn\u2019t especially interested in music, he says. Music studies came a bit later in life.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt was quite late,\u201d he says. \u201cI started my musical education at 22.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Kymach became interested in opera after seeing a performance, but didn\u2019t see himself in the field at first. \u201cI was just a fan of opera,\u201d he says. Even without plans to become a professional singer, he gained some experience singing in choirs. Opera eventually became his focus, though, and he\u2019s never looked back.<\/p>\n<p>Andrii has a deep understanding of Eugene Onegin as a character. \u201cWe must start with Pushkin,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>Alexander Pushkin wrote his novel Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse in 1825, and it was first published in serialized form.<\/p>\n<p>The title character, a young, wealthy man in Saint Petersburg, came to be a model for what was dubbed the \u201csuperfluous man\u201d. He\u2019s disillusioned and leads a life of superficial social events, shunning serious feelings until it\u2019s too late. He rejects Tatyana at first, and then, years later, when he\u2019s realized the error of his ways, she\u2019s already moved on with her life.<\/p>\n<p>Onegin is someone who has essentially faked his way through life to this point. As Kymach notes, Onegin isn\u2019t well educated, but he likes to give that impression. He\u2019s learned a few phrases that revolve around various topics in order to be able to appear knowledgeable. Even when he tries to learn more deeply, he can\u2019t seem to put in the work.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy first education was philosophy,\u201d Andrii explains of his approach to understanding character. \u201cHe creates a fake life, and a fake image.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>At the bottom of it, Onegin doesn\u2019t fully understand himself.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe creates a caricature,\u201d Kymach explains.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019s always well dressed, and looks the part of a worldly man&#8230; until you begin to pick apart the facade.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat\u2019s why he\u2019s not really a grown person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As someone obsessed with outside image over inner qualities, the character of Onegin certainly resonates in the modern era of internet influencers. \u201cYou can create a perfect image on Instagram,\u201d Kymach notes.<\/p>\n<p>Onegin\u2019s initial rejection of Tatyana comes simply because of gossip, her lower social status, and the fact that he doesn\u2019t understand his own emotions. He clings to status because it\u2019s the one thing he does understand.<\/p>\n<p>Years after their first meeting, and after the tragedy of killing his friend Lensky in an ill-advised duel, Oregon meets Tatyana again \u2014 as the wife of Prince Gremin. \u201cOnly when he saw Gremin, who didn\u2019t care about what people thought,\u201d Andrii says \u2014 that\u2019s when he appreciates Tatyana. Onegin approaches her, but she\u2019s made choices in life. \u201cBut, the moment was past,\u201d he explains.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s a change in his character, but it\u2019s sudden. \u201cMore looking like a human,\u201d he says. It\u2019s sometimes interpreted as a genuine character change, but Kymach is not convinced.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor me, he\u2019s just changed roles,\u201d he says. \u201cHe\u2019s still Onegin.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Real love, as he points out, is what you give to another \u2014 not something you get. \u201cWhat we see in the last scene with Tatyana,\u201d Kymach says, \u201cyou were born to be with me, [Onegin pleads].\u201d But, as he points out, even after Tatyana admits her lingering feelings for him, he still can\u2019t squeak out the words \u2018I love you\u2019 until she\u2019s already gone.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe has no friends,\u201d Kymach points out. Onegin finishes with a life that\u2019s even emptier than before, devoid of love and friendship.<\/p>\n<p>Alfio in Cavalliera rusticana is a kind of complete about face.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe\u2019s completely different,\u201d Andrii says. \u201cHe\u2019s a live person.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s an example of verismo, the realism that became a popular element of Italian operas of the 19th century. In the story, a villager by the name of Turiddu has returned from military service, only to find his fianc\u00e9e Lola has married someone else \u2014 Alfio the Carter. Lola takes up with her former paramouron the side, Alfio becomes enraged, and a duel of revenge ensues.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAlfio, he just wants revenge,\u201d he says of the character\u2019s straightforward emotions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s probably easier to act,\u201d he acknowledges. Still, portraying on stage rage convincingly can be exhausting. \u201cYou must be really angry,\u201d he says. \u201cThe audience must believe.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_113909\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-113909\" style=\"width: 1200px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full wp-image-113909\" src=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-04-28T153258.563.jpg\" alt=\"Bass-baritone Andrii Kymach (L: Photo: Karpati &amp; Zarewicz \/ R: Photo: Diana Guledani)\" width=\"1200\" height=\"628\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-04-28T153258.563.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-04-28T153258.563-300x157.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-04-28T153258.563-1024x536.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-Copy-of-INTERVIEW-2025-04-28T153258.563-768x402.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-113909\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bass-baritone Andrii Kymach (L: Photo: Karpati &amp; Zarewicz \/ R: Photo: Diana Guledani)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h3>Opera: Performances<\/h3>\n<p>Arthur Richard Andrew Scace QC CM was a Toronto lawyer and jurist, the former chairman of the board of directors of the Band of Nova Scotia, a member of the Order of Canada, and former director of the Canadian Opera Company. To see Cavalleria rusticana return to the COC stage was one of his fondest wishes. Sadly, he passed away in 2020 during the pandemic, and the May 23 performance takes place in his honour.<\/p>\n<p>Joining Kymach on stage for Cavalleria rusticana is Russell Thomas, Anna Pirozzi (a company debut), Emily Treigle, and Ensemble Studio artist Queen Hezumuryango.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The May 23 performance of Cavalleria rusticana is sold out, but last minute rush tickets may be available; info [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coc.ca\/tickets\/2425-season\/cavalleria-rusticana\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Also in the cast of Onegin: Lauren Fagan, Tatyana; Evan LeRoy Johnson, Lensky; Megan Marino, Olga; Emily Treigle, Filipyevna; Dimitry Ivashchenko, Gremin; Krisztina Szab\u00f3, Madame Larina; Michael Colvin, Monsieur Triquet; Duncan Stenhouse, Zaretsky; Korin Thomas-Smith, Captain. Speranza Scappucci conducts the COC Orchestra.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Find tickets and more details about Eugene Onegin, on stage from May 2 to 24, 2025, [<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.coc.ca\/tickets\/2425-season\/eugene-onegin\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HERE<\/a><\/strong>].<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Are you looking to promote an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/advertising\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"color: #0e101a\"><u>event<\/u><\/span><\/a>? Have a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/masthead\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>news tip<\/u><\/a>? Need to know the best\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/events\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><u>events<\/u><\/a>\u00a0happening this weekend? Send us a\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><a href=\"mailto:anya@ludwig-van.com?subject=Let's%20chat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em><u>note<\/u>.<\/em><\/strong><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em><b>#LUDWIGVAN<\/b><\/em><\/h3>\n<p class=\"western\"><em>Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.<\/em><\/p>\n<h3 class=\"western\"><em>Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! \u2014 local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid=S3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" data-saferedirecturl=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/url?q=https:\/\/583e6ce0-dfd0-48be-8a33-61256b3c58e3.mlbtlr.com\/p2\/Fbd8jWoWQQ6CdBcLIvut3Q\/02E3cYaETqaj4Xm087cpSg?contactid%3DS3HHYfHY5rZv5f94S15MnA&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1695737525351000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0QTqKRwRJQFGK3KoJYigxX\">HERE<\/a>.<\/h3>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Ukrainian bass-baritone Andrii Kymach makes his Canadian Opera Company debut singing the title role in Tchaikovsky\u2019s Eugene Onegin; he\u2019ll also perform the role of Alfio in Cavalleria rusticana.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":64,"featured_media":113908,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[41660,29,43,4557,63],"tags":[41913,628],"yst_prominent_words":[6885,6871,15851,22293,6886,6981,29997],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/04\/Copy-of-INTERVIEW-66.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-tDc","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113906"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/64"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=113906"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":113919,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/113906\/revisions\/113919"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/113908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=113906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=113906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=113906"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=113906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}