By MARK PRATT
BOSTON (AP) — Ilya Silchukou was a cultural icon in his native Belarus, the lead soloist on the State Opera Bolshoi who represented his nation at official authorities capabilities at dwelling and overseas and carried out at opera homes throughout Europe.
He lived a privileged and comfy life in his homeland.
And he gave all of it up.
Silchukou dared to talk out in opposition to Alexander Lukashenko, who has led the previous Soviet republic with an iron fist for almost three a long time.
He’s now residing in suburban Boston together with his spouse and three youngsters and teaches music to center faculty college students whereas he tries to revive his singing profession within the U.S., the place he stays comparatively unknown.
“I am known in Europe, but I’ve never performed in the States, and it was like a blank piece of paper for me, just a new page,” he mentioned throughout a latest interview in Boston. “We had to start from scratch here.”
When Lukashenko received a sixth time period in workplace in 2020 in an election regarded by his opposition and the West as fraudulent, Silchukou joined tens of 1000’s of Belarusians at election protests that had been violently suppressed and resulted within the arrests of 1000’s.
“It was so evident to all of us that we could not keep silent any more,” he mentioned.
He renounced three awards that he had obtained personally from Lukashenko.
His buddies warned him of the dangers.
“They said, ‘What is the problem with you? You have everything you need,’” he mentioned. “I was well paid in Belarus and I had all the benefits from that. I said, ‘Yes they pay me, but they don’t own me.’”
His public opposition to Lukashenko obtained him fired from the opera for an “act of immorality” and he was black-listed, he mentioned. In response, he had another act of defiance — utilizing his baritone voice in a video of the normal Belarusian hymn, “Mahutny Bozha,” which implies “Mighty God,” and has turn out to be a signature anthem of the opposition to Lukashenko.
Still, it wasn’t till March 2021 when the police got here after his spouse, Tanya, and accused her of defrauding the nation’s state-sponsored little one assist system and threatened her with two years in jail that he knew he needed to get out. He took it as a thinly-veiled menace to interrupt up their household.
“Lots of kids in Belarus have both parents in prison,” he mentioned.
When his youngsters completed faculty in May of that yr, the household packed 4 suitcases with some very important paperwork and pictures and flew from Belarus to the nation of Georgia, then on to Seattle, the place his dad and mom stay.
The household got here to the East Coast a couple of yr in the past on the suggestion of Marina Lvova, who runs the nonprofit Belarusians in Boston, drawn by Boston’s cultural scene, proximity to Europe and vibrant Belarusian expatriate neighborhood.
Lvova and her husband first noticed Silchukou at one among his final public performances in Minsk and “fell in love with his voice,” she mentioned.
But she was additionally impressed together with his bravery for standing as much as Lukashenko.
“Ilya is a real patriot of Belarus,” she mentioned. “You cannot be successful in a country that is a prison, and unfortunately our country is a prison right now.”
Silchukou is making ends meet instructing fifth via ninth graders on the personal Star Academy faculty.
“It’s pretty incredible that he’s able to share some of the experiences he’s had at some of the best opera houses in Europe,” mentioned Margarita Druker, Star Academy’s co-director.
The faculty has many college students of Eastern European descent whose households have comparable tales of fleeing oppression.
“It was very courageous for someone of his stature to walk away from all he had into so much uncertainty,” Druker mentioned.
Silchukou has returned to the stage, collaborating with pianist Pavel Nersessian, an affiliate professor at Boston University, for 2 latest live shows in Boston and New Jersey.
For each, he put collectively a retrospective of a few of his private favourite items spanning his profession from his first singing classes to his time on the nationwide opera, together with “Papageno” from “The Magic Flute” and “Cavatina Figaro” from the “The Barber of Seville.” He capped off the exhibits with what he referred to as the “jewel of the concert,” a duet together with his mezzo-soprano spouse.
He just lately had an audition with the Boston Lyric Opera and is making an attempt to safe auditions with different opera homes within the U.S., and he’s in negotiations with U.S. brokers.
“I am looking forward with hope,” he mentioned.
One of these hopes is a return to his homeland.
He stays in contact with buddies and colleagues in Belarus who’re “working in fear,” afraid of talking out in opposition to Lukashenko.
“We hope to see them again, and for sure we will sing our songs on the squares on our true independence day,” he mentioned.
Source: www.bostonherald.com”