Russian Singer to Headline Seniors Concert

In its mission to bring the musical arts to seniors, Opera NOVA will present a concert on Thursday, Jan. 26, featuring renowned Russian soprano Yulia Petrachuk and others performing opera arias, excerpts from Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha” and Broadway pieces.

The concert, as part of the church’s seniors program, will be held at 1 p.m. at Our Savior Lutheran Church, 825 South Taylor St., in Arlington. Also featured will be Opera NOVA’s Artistic Director Jose Sacin, Jocelyn Hunt and Elisa Jenkins. Tickets will cost $5 or whatever visitors can pay. Donations will also be encouraged.

“Opera NOVA wants to be the first opera company in the nation to create productions for the ever-growing expanding senior population,” says Opera NOVA’s president, Miriam Miller. “Art outlets for seniors are as important to their lives as encouraging physical exercise,” she says. “Ninety percent of them in Arlington are shut off from live arts because of the cost and difficulty traveling to high-cost venues. Participation in arts has been shown in research to improve cognitive functioning.”

The seniors concert is a countdown to Opera NOVA’s abbreviated production of Scott Joplin’s “Treemonisha,” to be shown to school children Feb. 28 through March 3 and to seniors and other adults Saturday, March 4 at Thomas Jefferson Middle School. “Treemonisha” is a story about the effort of forgiveness, the importance of education and the ability of a young woman to take leadership. The African-American author, Scott Joplin, is widely known for his ragtime music, but his opera has been performed rarely in this country.

The Jan. 26 concert features a Russian singer with a rare bel canto voice, strongly resonating throughout her whole range. Born in Russia, Petrachuk studied at Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory and is a graduate of Bern Opera Studio in Bern, Switzerland. Recently she performed Fiordiligi’s role in the Mozart’s opera “Cosi Fan Tutte” with Bethesda Summer Opera Festival (June 2014). In January 2014 Yulia had her debut at the Carnegie Hall in New York.

Petrachuk has performed with Dicapo Opera Theater in New York City, State Theatre Bern (Switzerland), State Theatre Biel (Switzerland) and New Opera Ischia in Forio, Italy, among many venues. She was a winner of the Spring Art Festival in Pyongtang, North Korea in 2006.

In its drive to help seniors, Opera NOVA has developed a partnership with the Fenwick Foundarion, whose mission is to get seniors out of residential facilities. Fenwick arranges transportation with nursing homes to various concerts. The church itself is quite handicapped-accessible. According to the Census Bureau, 9.5 percent of Arlingtonians are over 65, the most rapidly growing age demographic in the region.

Founded in 1962, Opera NOVA has detected a need to minister to the over-55 population. “We began our mission to target seniors to make our offerings balance what we had done for children for 42 years,” Miller says. In 2015 Opera NOVA performed “Cosi Fan Tutte” in Gunston Theater, filling all 300 seats with seniors. “It was the happiest audience we can ever remember,” Miller says.