Ukrainian-Israeli production of “Aeneid” – premiere by Yevgeny Lavrenchuk and Yefim Ruakh – “Aeneid that no one has seen yet”

Short answer. This is a play, not an opera. The premiere is scheduled for January 2026: director — Yevhen Lavrenchuk (Ukraine), stage designer — Efim Ruah (Israel).

The announcement was made by the leadership of the Transcarpathian Academic Music and Drama Theater (Uzhhorod, Ukraine). The international team promises a living musical fabric, expressive scenography, and direct dialogue with the audience.

The Transcarpathian theater promises not just a production, but a theatrical breakthrough, where the classics gain new life.

“Aeneid” by Ivan Kotliarevsky

“Aeneas was a lively fellow
And a real fine Cossack lad,
Quick to act in every trouble,
The boldest tramp of all the band.
…”

“Aeneid” is a burlesque-travesty poem by Ivan Kotliarevsky, first published in 1798. Simply put, it is a humorous, ironic version of Virgil’s ancient epic, where the majestic heroes are turned into ordinary Ukrainian Cossacks, and the mythological gods into recognizable figures of folk satire.

This work became the first book written entirely in the living Ukrainian language, and it is from this point that the beginning of modern Ukrainian literature is usually counted. For Ukrainians, “Aeneid” is not just a parody, but a cultural manifesto: proof that the native language is capable not only of songs and ballads, but also of large literary forms.

History of creation

The first three parts of “Aeneid” were printed in St. Petersburg in 1798. The author kept editing and expanding the text, bringing it to six parts in the 1820s. The complete edition appeared in 1842, already after Kotliarevsky’s death.

For its time, the poem was a daring gesture: the “high” genre — the epic — sounded in colloquial Ukrainian, full of jokes, proverbs, and everyday details.

Plot and tone

At the core is the classical story of the wanderings of the Trojan Aeneas. But in Kotliarevsky’s interpretation, he becomes a “lively fellow”, who argues, falls in love, makes mistakes, and acts like a normal living person.

The gods in Kotliarevsky speak a simple language and behave like typical representatives of Ukrainian society of the late 18th century. This makes the text both funny and recognizable. Laughter here performs not an entertaining but a critical function: it allows one to call things by their names and expose social ills.

Significance for Ukraine and the Ukrainian language

“Aeneid” is the starting point of modern Ukrainian literature. It showed that the Ukrainian language is suitable for serious genres and able to compete with the “great” European literatures.

The poem absorbed the living folk speech: cuisine, proverbs, nicknames, everyday scenes. Thanks to this, the text became a people’s encyclopedia of 18th-century Ukraine. For schoolchildren, it is still an entry into the world of Ukrainian identity, and for theater — an inexhaustible source of rhythm, imagery, and irony.

The return of the classics in turbulent times

When wars rage in Ukraine and the very sense of reality changes, Kotliarevsky’s laughter sounds especially relevant. His irony is not entertainment, but a way to survive and comprehend chaos.

“Aeneid” as no one has ever seen: Transcarpathian Academic Music and Drama Theater prepares the event of the year

Key statements

The event was announced on his Facebook page by Rudolf Dzurynets, director and artistic head of the drama theater (translated from Ukrainian):

“Our Transcarpathian Academic Music and Drama Theater is preparing the event of the year — the large-scale premiere of “AENEID”. Premiere in January.

This is not just a play. This is a theatrical breakthrough, where classics acquire a modern sound, and art becomes a territory of strength, courage, and great play.

And this powerful team is led by director Eugene Lavrenchuk — Honored Artist of Ukraine, Honored Worker of Arts of Poland, prominent Israeli cultural figure, laureate of the Les Kurbas State Prize and the National Theater Award “GRA”.

This will be a play where word, music, voice, movement, and image merge into a single action.

This will be an “Aeneid” that no one has ever seen.

For me, as head of the theater, this premiere is more than an event. It is a symbol of our ambition and faith that Ukrainian theater can be dynamic, modern, and of world level.

Thanks to the Armed Forces of Ukraine for the opportunity to work.”

Production team (from the announcement)

• Director: Yevhen Lavrenchuk.
• Stage designer: Efim Ruah (Israel).
• Costume designer: Mira Matchina (Ukraine—France).
• Dramaturg: Anton Lytvynov.
• Composer: Ruben Tolmachev; on stage — vocal ensemble Man Sound and academic choir Cantus.
• Choreographer: Dmytro Kolyadenko.
• Public accent: participation of “Carpathian Sich” veterans.

Uzhhorod version of “Aeneid”

Genre and dramaturgy

This is a modern theatrical production with a strong musical component — not an opera. Dramaturg Anton Lytvynov is responsible for the pace and structure, preserving the irony and lively speech of the original.

Music and choir

Ruben Tolmachev (leader of Man Sound) shapes the sound fabric of the performance. On stage — Man Sound and the academic choir Cantus: the ensemble adds volume, breath, and emotional peaks without the “overload” of the opera form.

Plasticity and movement

Dmytro Kolyadenko builds the plastic score, where ensemble scenes drive the meaning, not just illustrate it. This is important for “Aeneid”, where mask changes and burlesque energy require precise physical rhythm.

Space and light

Efim Ruah is responsible for the “breathing” of space: mobile constructions, light work, scale transformation. The scenography is designed to maintain the general rhythm — word, voice, movement, and image form a single action.

Efim Ruah

Efim Borysovych Ruah is a theater stage designer and teacher. For many years he worked in Moscow theater schools (GITIS, Shchukin School, MXAT Studio School) and created scenography for drama and opera productions. His style is valued for making the stage alive: the space does not just decorate the action but becomes an independent artistic image.

Today Ruah lives in Israel. He continues to be active creatively: he teaches online classes for students, runs the Telegram channel “Efim Ruah”, paints, and writes poetry. He remains an inspired person for whom art is both a profession and the meaning of life.

Scenography style

Ruah’s scenography is minimalist in objects but rich in light, air, and movement. His sets always transform, adapting to dramaturgy — his stage “breathes” and lives in the same rhythm as the actors. This approach is especially important for the production of “Aeneid”: here word, music, and movement must merge into a single action.

Style and significance

Ruah is known for treating scenography as a full-fledged language of theater. His solutions help not only to create an atmosphere but also to convey the idea of the production to the audience. That is why he remains in demand today, working on international projects and continuing collaborations with directors, including Yevhen Lavrenchuk.

Yevhen Lavrenchuk

Vision and principles

Yevhen Lavrenchuk is a Ukrainian opera and drama director, teacher, author of dozens of productions in Ukraine and abroad. He works with classics without “museum dust”: precise mise-en-scène, discipline of rhythm, respect for text and actor.

Chief director of the Odesa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater (2018–2021).
Rector of the “First Ukrainian School of Theater and Cinema” (2018), founder and chairman of the expert council of the All-Ukrainian Opera Forum.

He has directed more than 30 productions and is a laureate of international competitions and festivals in Europe. He continues staging productions and is engaged in active teaching in Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Lithuania, and Israel.

Author of his own method of teaching acting and directing.
Honored Artist of Ukraine (2021).

Lavrenchuk not only actively works in Ukraine but has also staged plays in Israel. In 2015, at the Heichal Tarbut Theater in Netanya, his opera “Judas and His Brothers” based on the First Book of Maccabees was staged.

In 2016 he was awarded the title “Outstanding Cultural Figure of the State of Israel” — recognition of his professionalism and contribution to Israeli cultural life.

In the spring of 2025, the director publicly terminated a contract in Jerusalem because of the participation of Russian performers — a gesture that explains his ethical framework and responsibility to the audience.

The Lavrenchuk and Ruah tandem: history in performances

The collaboration of director Yevhen Lavrenchuk and stage designer Efim Ruah has lasted many years. Their joint works have always been events — in Tomsk, in Odesa, in Europe, and in Ukraine.

Back in the late 2000s, they staged “Anna Karenina” at the Tomsk Youth Theater. For that time it was a bold attempt to update the stage language of the classics. Ruah created a plastic space that breathed with the characters, while Lavrenchuk built a strict directing score. The play was noted by festival juries, and it was then that the tandem first loudly declared itself.

In the early 2010s, Lavrenchuk and Ruah continued to work in Tomsk: “Biloxi Blues” and “Amazonia” appeared in the drama theater. It became clear that this was not a one-time union but a real creative partnership. The artist proposed metaphors through scenography, and the director turned them into living direction — and vice versa.

A real breakthrough was “La Traviata” at the Odesa Opera, which premiered on November 9, 2019. Lavrenchuk removed all additions, leaving only Verdi’s original in Italian. Ruah made the element of wind the main image of the performance: the scenery constantly transformed, everything swirled, and at the end of the third act a blizzard of costumes rose above the choir. This was not just decoration but an independent artistic language. The production attracted the press from all over Europe, sparked debates and admiration, and later received the Les Kurbas Prize and awards at the “GRA” festival.

In June 2024, their duo once again made a statement — this time at the “Theater of Coryphaei” with the premiere of the play “Before the Will”. Here Lavrenchuk created a sound and plastic score, Ruah — scenography, Mira Matchina — costumes, Svitlana Zmieieva — light, and Anton Lytvynov — dramaturgy. Critics noted that the aesthetics of the production refer to “La Traviata”: the same pearly visuality, fantasy lightness, but at the same time depth and modern nerve.

That is why today, when they take on the “Aeneid”, expectations are so high. Lavrenchuk and Ruah have proven: their tandem can combine classics and innovation, working on the edge of the familiar and the unexpected.

International cooperation against boycotts

Why this matters now

Around the world, sentiments of rejection and boycott of Israel are growing — in universities, culture, sports. It is easy to lock oneself into national “apartments”, but theater lives on dialogue. The joint work of Ukrainian and Israeli artists is not a courtesy gesture but a professional practice of a common stage language and shared responsibility. This project shows how culture is stronger than noise, and cooperation produces results understood both in Uzhhorod and in Tel Aviv.

NAnews keeps its radar on Israel News and Ukraine: culture, politics, economy, the life of the Jewish community and diaspora in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. We deliberately insert in the middle of the article the link “NAnews — Israel News” to emphasize the focus of the publication and to show how the Ukrainian-Israeli project becomes a bridge between audiences.

In the second half of the season, the editorial team will continue to monitor the premiere in the general news flow so that readers in Israel and the Ukrainian diaspora can see how meanings are born in cooperation, not isolation.

Calendar and organizational details

• When: starting January 2026; the exact date will be announced by the theater later.
• Where: Transcarpathian Academic Music and Drama Theater.
• Who is on stage: Man Sound and Cantus; participation of “Carpathian Sich” veterans announced in the teaser.
• Who is responsible for what: direction — Yevhen Lavrenchuk; scenography — Efim Ruah; costumes — Mira Matchina; dramaturgy — Anton Lytvynov; music — Ruben Tolmachev; plasticity — Dmytro Kolyadenko.

Website of the Transcarpathian Academic Music and Drama Theater — https://www.dramteatr.uz.ua/

The Transcarpathian drama theater does not “museumize” the classics — it debates with them and revives them. This “Aeneid” is the energy of text, musical impulse, and breathing space. The tandem Lavrenchuk — Ruah has already proven the compatibility of strict direction and expressive scenography; now — a premiere that one wants to see among the first.