The Metropolitan Opera and Teatr Wielki–Polish National Opera’s Co-Production of The Mothers of Kherson Opens in Warsaw October 16

Composed by Maxim Kolomiiets, with a libretto by George Brant, the war opera is inspired by the true story of Ukrainian mothers’ heroic journey to rescue their kidnapped children

Keri-Lynn Wilson conducts the world-premiere production, directed by Barbara Wysocka

Met-premiere performances to take place in April 2028

New York, NY (September 14, 2026)—The Mothers of Kherson, a new opera by Ukrainian composer Maxim Kolomiiets and American librettist George Brant, will receive its fully staged world premiere at the Teatr Wielki–Polish National Opera in Warsaw on October 16. Co-commissioned and co-produced by the Metropolitan Opera and the Polish National Opera, the war opera tells the true story of the brave Ukrainian mothers who travel 3,000 miles to save their kidnapped children. The new production is conducted by Keri-Lynn Wilson, co-founder of the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, and directed by Barbara Wysocka. The Met-premiere performances will take place in April 2028.

The opera accurately represents events that occurred in the early days of the occupation of Kherson in 2022, including the kidnapping of children who were sent under false pretenses to summer camps in Crimea from which they didn’t return. It follows the heroic journey of two mothers and a grandmother who attempt to save their children from the camps.

Wysocka’s production will include documentary footage shot in 2022. The opera includes the dramatic event in the Kremlin when Maria Lvova-Belova, Putin’s aide responsible for the kidnappings, holds a press conference following the issuing of warrants for her and Putin’s arrests from the International Court of Justice in the Hague. In the press conference, Lvova-Belova disingenuously invites Ukrainian parents to come for their children if they think they are in the wrong hands. This is what inspires the mothers to embark on their perilous journey.

The opera’s commission grew out of the Met’s commitment to supporting Ukraine following Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. Peter Gelb, the Met’s Maria Manetti Shrem General Manager, asked Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture to invite leading Ukrainian composers to apply for the commission, and the Met selected Kolomiiets in 2023. Brant, who adapted his play Grounded into the libretto for Jeanine Tesori’s opera of the same name, was selected as librettist and proposed the mothers’ rescue mission as the subject.

“This is art bearing witness to war crimes and the heroic actions in the face of those crimes. The Mothers of Kherson will provide permanent artistic testimony to the story of the indomitable women who risked their own lives to save the lives of their children. Its music and words will be heard around the world,” said Gelb.

The Polish cast features Izabela Matuła as Kateryna, Hanna Sosnowska-Bill as Lilia, Kamila Dutkowska as Dasha, Weronika Wojtkowska as Olena, Elissa Pfaender as Tetyana, and Małgorzata Walewska as Olha. The production also features the orchestra and chorus of the Polish National Opera and the Artos Children’s Choir. Performances take place October 16, 18, 23, 25, and 27, 2026. Joining Wysocka on the creative team are set designer Barbara Hanicka, costume designer Julia Kornacka, lighting designer Marc Heinz, and co–video designer Artur Sienicki (with Wysocka).

Aleksandra Kurzak, Erin Morley, and Alice Coote will be singing the leading roles at the Met.

SYNOPSIS

Act I:

After the city of Kherson is invaded by Russia, the townspeople are offered an opportunity by the schoolteacher, Tetyana, to send their children to a summer camp in Crimea for two weeks to escape the bombing. Kateryna and Dasha, whose teenage daughters Lilia and Olena are friends, talk it over, and when they agree to let them go, Lilia opens a livestream on Telegram to announce the news. Kateryna is confused by the new technology, which Lilia explains can broadcast around the world.

Weeks later, Dasha visits Olha, an elderly woman raising her granddaughter, Inna, who is at the camp with the other children—whose stay has now been extended another month. Kateryna, searching for news of the children, finds Tetyana suspiciously boarding a train bound for Moscow. Kateryna rushes to the textile mill where they work to tell Dasha she suspects their children aren’t coming back, just as the Ukrainian army retakes the city. As the workers celebrate the Russian retreat, Kateryna heads home, where she is surprised to find her estranged husband, Vitaly. He’s been off fighting the Russians and wants to see their daughter. Kateryna reluctantly admits she’s allowed Lilia to go to the camp. Vitaly tells her their daughter is never coming back.

Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova addresses the press and denies all charges regarding the children and the summer camps. She promises that any parents can collect their child—if they show up in person. Kateryna, Dasha, and Olha seek the assistance of a foundation that helps parents rescue their kidnapped children and with their aid, they vow to bring their children home.

Act II:

At the camp in Crimea, Lilia and Olena try to comfort the younger Inna as the girls face the growing threat of being sent to Russia for adoption, while resisting the camp’s forced indoctrination and the sexual advances of the counselors.

Meanwhile, the mothers begin their 3,000-mile journey around the war zone to Crimea, led by a jocular if elderly Bus Driver. They journey through Poland, then into Belarus, then fly to Moscow, then drive south to Crimea, interrogated at every stop along the way.

Finally, the bus arrives at the camp. As the women anxiously wait to be allowed in, Olha collapses and dies of a heart attack. The Bus Driver stays with her while the women head off to be interrogated. Kateryna begs the Camp Principal for her daughter, but when her pleas are rejected, she desperately pulls out her phone and goes live on Telegram, reminding the principal of Maria Lvova-Belova’s promise that parents will be allowed to retrieve their children. Put on the spot on camera, he releases Lilia.

Kateryna and Lilia board the bus, disturbed to discover that many mothers were unable to rescue their children. Dasha arrives alone, in shock—she explains that Inna is already gone and Olena’s ID has been changed by one number, making her rescue impossible. The bus sets off for home, and Dasha quietly sings a lullaby. She is joined by Kateryna and the other mothers, then by the entire company, vowing that they will “always be here.”

Timeline of the Opera’s Development

February 2022 | Russia invades Ukraine.
February 2022 | Conductor Keri-Lynn Wilson founds the Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra, an all-Ukrainian ensemble of musicians coming from embattled cities within Ukraine, as well as from the ranks of recent Ukrainian refugees and the Ukrainian diaspora in Europe, which begins giving concerts across Europe and in the U.S.
March 2022 | The Met presents a benefit concert for Ukraine.
Summer 2022 | Peter Gelb proposes the development of an opera about the Ukraine war, with a Ukrainian composer, for the Met / Lincoln Center Theater New Works Program. The Met begins researching possible ideas.
April 2023 | Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture invites leading composers to apply for a Met commission. The Met extends the commission to Kolomiiets to develop an opera through the Met/LCT New Works Program.
April 2023 | The Met asks George Brant, librettist of Grounded, to write the libretto.
July 2023 | Brant proposes the true story of the Ukrainian mothers who go to rescue their children, who are being held by Russians at a Crimean summer camp.
August 2023 | Brant presents an outline of the opera.
September 2023 | The opera is announced.
December 2023 | The Met reaches an agreement with Kolomiiets and Brant to create the opera for the Met’s new works program.
April 2024 | Brant submits a first draft of the libretto, followed by a libretto reading with Kolomiiets.
July 2024 | The Met moves the project from the Met/LCT New Works workshop program to a full commission, and the Polish National Opera joins as co-commissioner/co-producer, with Barbara Wysocka as director.
November 2024 | The Met concludes the full commission agreement with Kolomiiets and Brant.
June 2025 | Kolomiiets finishes a draft of the score, and the Met releases a video excerpt of Dasha’s aria “Faith is hard work,” featuring Erin Morley.
July 2025 | Kolomiiets creates a suite of themes from the opera to be performed and recorded by the Ukrainian Freedom orchestra.
October 2025 | The Mothers of Kherson workshop at the Met
June 2026 | The Ukrainian Freedom Orchestra presents a concert version of the opera in Kyiv.
October 2026 | World premiere of the fully staged, complete opera in Warsaw

For More Information

For information about the performances in Warsaw, please visit the Polish National Opera’s website.

For further details on The Mothers of Kherson, please contact Jen Luzzo ([email protected]).