At a time when it seems that the very sense of the future is disappearing, music becomes the space where resistance and meaning are born. For Anna Hadetska, musicologist and co-founder of Open Opera Ukraine, it was the Baroque heritage that became her support in the first days of the invasion. Ancient chants — simple and polyphonic — reminded her: even in centuries of war and exile, people found a way to create. 

Back in 2017, Open Opera Ukraine set itself the goal of bringing Baroque operas back to the stage — a genre that almost did not exist in Ukraine. In ancient plots, the team searched for answers to contemporary questions. 

From the productions, an educational program branched off: master classes with foreign musicians about the meaning revealed by Baroque poetics. This formed a new circle of listeners. Thus, in 2018, the amateur collective “Bach Choir” was born, which grew into a powerful community of its own. Here, people with different levels of training felt that Baroque music could be not foreign, but their own voice.

Later, in 2020, a second choir appeared — “Holosni.” It united a more diverse audience in age and interests, not limiting itself to Baroque alone. These collectives proved: ancient music is capable of going beyond academic boundaries and becoming an instrument of self-identification.

In 2019, the laboratory “Musica Sacra Ukraina” was founded, which uncovers and performs early sacred music — part-singing, cantos, psalms. Here, they restore the names of Ukrainian composers appropriated by russia: Mykola Dyletskyi, Maksym Berezovskyi, Andrii Rachynskyi. 

The war paradoxically opened doors for the international representation of Ukraine. For the first time, Ukrainian Baroque music was performed at the most prestigious early music festivals — from Utrecht to Bruges. A disc with Dyletskyi’s Resurrection Canon, recorded already during the invasion, brought Open Opera Ukraine the REMA Awards. This became an act of cultural diplomacy: the world began to perceive Ukraine not only as a battlefield but as a source of unique music, worthy of the level of Bach or Monteverdi.

In 2023, during the war, a new festival appeared in Kyiv — Kyiv Baroque Fest. It gathered world-class star musicians who came to the capital despite the danger. Their presence became an act of solidarity: after performances they told the world about what they saw in Ukraine and became ambassadors of our culture.

For Anna Hadetska, music today is a weapon and resistance. She emphasizes: art cannot exist in a “bubble.” It must directly respond to catastrophes and give language for experiencing trauma. Therefore, the task of Ukrainian musicians is to boldly declare themselves, to reclaim their place on the European cultural map, and to shape a new history, where the voice of Ukraine will be heard.