Remembering Heroes: Concert in Memory of Vasyl Slipak

For 19 years, the world-famous opera singer lived in Paris. During the Revolution of Dignity, he returned to Ukraine. At first, he was a volunteer. When the war began, he went to Donbas. On the front line, he received the call sign “Myth” an abbreviation of Mephistopheles, whom he played in the opera. Singers from France, Poland and Ukraine gathered at the memorial concert at the National Academy of Music, accompanied by National Presidential Orchestra.

Friends and admirers of Slipak have arrived from different parts of the world to remember the talented baritone opera singer. Composer Alexander Kozyrenko first heard Slipak perform at the Lviv conservatory. He said that he understood this was the singer he was looking for.

“The best dramatic soprano. I discovered that behind a closed door stood a man who was almost two meters tall. Over time, as I got to know Vasyl closely, I realized that he was a Godsend, this is so rare,” composer Oleksandr Kozyrenko said.

His talent was appreciated not only in Ukraine. When he was 19 years old, Vasyl lived abroad. He became the soloist at the Paris National Opera. He performed the Mephistopheles Aria. When he returned to Ukraine and went to serve on the frontline, the soldiers in his unit gave him the nickname “Myth”.

On December 20th, Vasyl Slipak would have turned 44 years old.

On the second floor of the conservatory, a presentation was held for the future public square named after Vasyl Slipak, along with sketches of his monument. The plan is to open the square on Andriyevsky descent in Kyiv. But so far, everything is still being planned.

“I want it to be a very modern space. So that all of its architecture and design are modern. So that it looks more like the future, rather than the past. I see this as a good platform in the center of Kyiv to support young talent. Maybe people will even come here from other countries,” Orest Slipak, brother of Vasyl Slipak said.

“He loved the world, he loved people and gave his love to the very end. And that’s how he remained, and I see it even in people who didn’t know him well. To his brothers in arms and his friends, this is a common trait in Vasyl. It was because of this feature, he always triumphed. Unfortunately, in his final hour, he was not victorious, but Ukraine will be for sure,” cousin of Vasyl Slipak Volodymyr Omelian said.

Vasyl Slipak was an active participant in the pro-Ukrainian movement in Paris. He participated in campaigns to support his country, and collected money to send to the front line. Vasyl Slipak wanted to help Ukrainians when the Euromaidan protests started in 2014 and later when Russia began its undeclared war in eastern Ukraine.

“We only saw from his Facebook posts he forgot to turn off geolocation. We saw that he was in Avdiivka. Vasyl, where are you? I am already in Kamenets, – I think that’s what he replied. Yes, I wonder, since then, is Avdiivka near Kaminets? And then he said that he went to the front line combat zone. It was impossible to stop him,” acquaintance of Vasyl Slipak Yulia Efremova said.

At the end of June 2016, Slipak was killed near the city of Luhansk. It was the last battle of the Paris National Opera soloist. He died defending his country.