Why This Opera?

On February 24, 2025, it will have been three years since Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine. Many claim this war has begun in  2014, when Crimea was occupied. It is the greatest geopolitical drama on the European continent since World War II. Yet, its profound impact still seems underrated by many, including leading politicians in The Hague and other European capitals.

My opera is intended as an attempt to use music to urge people to reflect on the fact that we are living in a decisive era in European history. We face a choice: either Europe succeeds in becoming a geopolitical player that asserts and maintains its right to exist, or it becomes a plaything in the hands of stronger - and destructive - forces.

The lyrics of the opera were completed on January 12, 2025, so before Trump began his second term in the White House. The unchained and raucous American neo-fascism that has been unleashed upon the world by Trump since, and the weak response from European capitals, show that the metaphor of former NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer -in 1989, we have poured ourselves a glass of white wine and continued to enjoy our life on the beach- remains an apt characterization. In  2022, we not only remained on the beach, we ordered ourselves more wine, albeit with the acknowledgment that it is good to drink in moderation!

We could have used the past three years to develop a stronger European leadership, backed by a clear democratic mandate. We could have worked out a joint defense policy, formed a European defense force, and structurally arranged its financing at the European level. In short, we could have given Europe as a peace project a new inspiration—one that also resonates with generations who have not received firsthand stories about World War II. We have done none of this.

After the bizarre weeks we just witnessed, one thing is clear: with Trump in the White House, America is no longer a reliable ally. Whether it will ever become a reliable (and that means: predictable) ally again is highly uncertain. So Europe faces an existential choice.

 

The Origin of the work

The idea for this opera originated from a chance discovery: the AI app Suno.

I came across it when I wanted to add music to a farewell song for a colleague. The possibilities of the program surprised me so much that I decided to explore it further. During the past Christmas period, I wrote a story intended and used as a Christmas greeting for friends and acquaintances (see download page).

That story became the starting point of this opera. Traces of it can be found in the third act. The core idea is that when earthly powers fail to halt evil, divine intervention could offer a way out. From that concept, the rest of the work grew, closely tied to the history of the Ukraine conflict.

When composing, I faced a limitation: I have no formal musical training. However, I am quite well-versed in the world of opera (from Monteverdi to Britten) and art songs. My starting point was therefore narrative: the story, the 35 song lyrics I wrote, guided the choice of musical styles and generations of compositions. I have attempted to bring coherence to the work in several ways. I mention:

1. Moods and Genres

The opera has three main atmospheres:

• Rock, spiced up wit post-punk and industrial add-ons, as the foundation for the war scenes and the dynamism around Zelensky, whom I portray in the first act as a rocker, but who, in the course of events, proves quite adept at expressing himself in the more jazzy styles of international politics and diplomacy.
• Jazz in various forms for the political scenes and diplomatic interactions.
• Orchestral and hybrid music, particularly in the third act, where the cosmic intervention takes shape.

I have spiced up Putin’s contributions, especially the two songs in the first act, with diminished (seventh) chords. This seemed apt to paint this ‘diabolus in musica’. (In the third act, I have given him more humane traits, but these appear in context of a realm of dreams.)

2. Harmonic Cohesion

I have strived to make transitions between pieces as natural as possible unless dramatic tension required dissonant modulations. Where possible, the key in which a piece ends connects to the key of the next piece. However, I have not been too strict with this: especially in the second act, I simply relied on my ear.

3. Content and Stylistic Consistency

The following elements have been consciously used to create connection:

• References to the UN Charter in various places (the Charter Song, Zelensky’s insistence on intervention with Xi, inclusion of the prohibition on violence in the text, Zelensky’s exposition of his phone call with Trump, Irina’s reflection on Putin’s crimes).
• Eastern Orthodox choral style for three moments of reflection (nrs 9, 13 and 26).
• African flavour for the plea of an African leader (nr. 14)
• Chinese harmonies for Xi’s parts (nrs. 16 and 18)
• Key phrases (“a righteous peace” in the concluding lines of nrs. 17 and 27 and 33), “too little, too late” connecting nr. 24 with 25, and the repeat of the first paragraph “this is how it ends …” in nrs. 34 and 35).
• Putin and Irina have been upgraded to personas in Suno, allowing the same voice and style to be used for different lyrics. (Suno does not offer an option to select specific voice types, making it difficult to maintain a consistent vocal identity across different styles.)

I did not venture into using digital audio workstations (DAWs) like GarageBand because that would mean the opera could no longer be distributed via the Suno platform - something I wanted to avoid.

 

Copyright Aspects

The Text

The lyrics are all written by me, except for the quotes from the UN resolution in No. 9 and from the UN Charter in No. 17, and the first verse in No. 13. This verse is a Ukrainian translation of the beginning of the song Христос воскрес(Khristos voskres), Op. 26 No. 6 by Rachmaninoff. This song refers to the traditional Easter greating in the Eastern Orthodox church. As such, its context is the Cristian passion story, the mother of all tales of Divine intervention. Rachmaninoff’s version contains irony - if the Lord were truly to rise and see the mess you have made, he would break into tears - and should be sung in all Russian churches every Sunday as long as the war lasts.

The images

The painting of Putin (2) is a gift from a friend, Marijke Trossel, a paintress in Haarlem. All the other images have been created with the app Graphite. They are in part reworkings of photographs from right-free sources, mostly official government sites (Ukraine official website of the President, US Library of Congress, etc. For the rest, they are edits of AI (ChatGPT) generated images.

The Music

The legal status of AI-generated music is a relevant but largely unexplored area. According to the current state of U.S. law, purely AI-generated music cannot be copyrighted. A more pertinent question is whether AI compositions can infringe on existing copyrights.The general principle is that AI-generated content is a statistical mix of countless input sources, making it impossible (or at least difficult) to directly trace it to a specific work. This seems reasonable for instrumental music, provided the AI has been sufficiently broadly trained.

Vocal music presents more complications.Would one recognize a particular singing style or phrasing as belonging to an existing work? What if two highly distinctive elements of famous singing voices were combined via AI - say, Louis Armstrong’s rasp with Sinatra’s crooning technique? This presents an interesting challenge for an intellectual property judge. For now, my own assessment is that my opera does not infringe on the rights of others. However, it cannot be ruled out that some AI-generated elements may be traceable to copyrighted sources.

I am aware of the ongoing lawsuits in the U.S., and their outcome will likely be decisive for how AI music is treated legally in the future. For anyone who feels disadvantaged by this work, I emphasize that this opera is not a commercial project. I earn nothing from it and ask for understanding regarding any recognizable elements. The goal is not exploitation but awareness.

 

To conclude

This opera is a musical and dramatic attempt to highlight a crucial issue of our time. Geopolitical reality is changing rapidly, and Europe must find its role. The question is no longer whether we must become more independent - that choice has already been taken from us. The question we face is how we will shape that independence. Ukraine’s tragedy is far from over. The events of the past month alone could fill a fourth act (Betrayal could be a working title).

I have endeavoured to use humor to bring light to an essentially dark subject matter. I hope this opera makes people think and, from time to time, smile. I hope signs of approval and satisfaction will lead to listeners sharing it with others.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: giving 👍 in Suno helps to spread the message since it will keep the opera visible on their home page.