But that all changed in 2014, when Russia invaded the Ukraine. Slipak left the opera and joined as a volunteer with the free Ukrainian forces, fighti… - Vasyl Slipak

Amid the thud of artillery and rattle of gunfire, Vasyl Slipak’s deep, resonant voice in the trenches of eastern Ukraine was a warm reminder of humanity’s less barbaric traits. The professional baritone had left his native Ukraine in the 1990s to settle in France, where he regularly sang at the Paris Opera. But after war erupted in 2014, he decided to return home and join a volunteer battalion to fight Russian-backed separatists on the country’s eastern front.

I would like to say that many French people from various walks of life hardly knew anything about Ukraine before the events on Maidan. Thanks to Vasyl Slipak, an opera singer, they became interested in your country, they watched televised reports. There also was an extensive publication about him in France’s most popular daily Le Monde, which awoke a wide response. It was some seven or eight years ago. We were acquainted by my friend, an interesting composer Yevhen Halperin (his father comes from Kyiv), a friend of Vasyl. They lived in the same house in Paris, but on different floors. At a party at Halperin’s place he said, ‘This guy has a unique voice, just listen.’ I was impressed by Vasyl’s talent and offered him to take part in our concerts. We performed Requiems by Verdi and Mozart back then, later we had some 10 to 15 programs together. We had successful opera gala evenings, and we were planning to perform Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9, but it wasn’t to be. (2017)

I told about Vasyl to French composer Pierre Thilloy, my good acquaintance, and offered him to write a small piece. He creates music which is easy to listen to, and he agreed immediately and said he would like to visit the premiere.(2017)