They fled the war in Ukraine about a year ago, were welcomed in Groningen and how ironic; Elina and Dmitryi play a prominent role as soloists on Friday evening during the Orange Liberation Concert in Oude Pekela.
War and peace. The professional singing duo Elina and Dmitriy Mykheieva know better than anyone what that means. Living in the port city of Odessa, on the Black Sea, they were part of the world-renowned Odessa Opera House. Until Russia invaded their country at the beginning of last year.
They have been staying in Groningen for a year now, where their accommodation is a meager room on a cruise ship on the Eems Canal. Concerts are still taboo for the couple. No more operas for now, like Aida . They exchanged that for work as employees in a fast food restaurant on the Sontweg in Groningen. “A great team, good management and employer,” says Elina via the app.
Long bus ride
She has been in Groningen for just over a year now. After a long bus trip through Europe with relatives, her son and a small suitcase, she settled in Groningen. Her husband stayed behind in their house. “We fled because it became too dangerous and we wanted our son to be safe. A child should grow up in peace. My husband stayed to look after the house and our cat Fluffy. In the end he went after us, because it became too dangerous. Friends of ours are looking after our house now. So far our house has been spared. But we keep an eye on the news on the internet every day.”
She says that, given the circumstances, things are going well with the family. Her son goes to school, enjoys it there and regularly plays tennis and badminton. She herself does not dare to think about the future at the moment. She lives by the day, but is grateful for the warm welcome in Groningen. She now knows a few Dutch words: My name is Eline, thank you, please and have a nice day. But communication is mainly via the translation app.
Exchange information via translation app
Eline and Dmitriy each sing two solo songs during the Liberation Concert. They have chosen love songs. Elin sings: Habanera Carmen and ElVito and her husband Dmitriy sings Katari and Parlami d’Amore . “Songs with a message. We want to teach people to love life no matter what.”
Rehearsing with the North Netherlands Concert Choir
Elina keeps her voice in good condition by occasionally rehearsing with the North Netherlands Concert Choir. That’s where Fenny Hoekstra met her. She was impressed with Elina’s voice quality. “We are both alto singers and therefore stand next to each other. That’s how the contact came about. Communication is difficult, but we can exchange information via a translation app.”
Gerard Brunink, co-organizer of the Orange Liberation Concert on behalf of OBCP and choir member of the Groningen Christian Men’s Choir Albatros, is looking forward to the concert with the Ukrainian couple. The choir met the two on a number of occasions. Sympathetic, approachable and singing quality of a very high level, that’s how Brunink describes them. ,,Where you can rank Albatros as a choir from the Mushroom League, Elina and Dmitriy are exceptional. He is a tenor, she is alto. They sing magnificently. As a choir, we are very impressed.”
The fact that both Elina and Dmitriy perform as soloists twice gives the concert an extra dimension, Brunink believes. “The OBCP gives them a nice platform to show their singing skills.” How much their singing qualities are appreciated is shown by the fact that Albatros captured the couple for the Christmas concert in Musselkanaal. “Traditionally we did that with the Neva Ensemble from Saint Petersburg, but because of the war we don’t do that anymore.” Earlier, the choir announced that it would no longer wear Russian clothing and that it would also remove Russian songs, with which the choir made a name for itself, from its repertoire.
Orange Liberation Concert in De Binding
On Friday 5 May, the Groningen Christian Men’s Choir Albatros will give the Orange Liberation Concert in the multifunctional center De Binding in Oude Pekela. There is room for more than two hundred visitors and the concert is completely sold out. The performance gets a special touch because of the contribution of the two Ukrainian singers. The concert starts at 8 p.m. An admission ticket must be presented. Albatros, led by conductor Bouko Tiggelaar, is assured of the contribution of its own soloists and the cooperation of Gert Immerzeel (piano) and Gertie Bruin (accordion). Chorus singer Jan de Wit will give the presentation. The hall opens at 7:30 pm.