“Consider the scenario where all live, organically-produced music, whether professional or amateur, suddenly vanished globally. The absence would profoundly affect people everywhere.”
The above comes from a statement released by Music Will Save The World, a non-profit organisation founded by an opera singer, experimental music artist and director Anna Starushkevych, and dedicated to protecting and promoting organic music, music that is performed live and does not rely on any form of technology.
Anna Starushkevych was born in Lviv, Ukraine and first studied there before coming to the UK to study at the Guildhall School. A relative’s disappearance at the frontline in Ukraine triggered thoughts of those missing in war and she has produced a film, Magura as part of Music Will Save The World’s Opera is Us project. This seeks to illuminate pertinent social issues by extracting an operatic aria from its original context and creating a short film based on the aria’s music.
Magura is dedicated to the missing people of war, both in Ukraine and globally and raising funds for the search group for the missing – Platzdarm
The film blends Ukrainian mythology with modern storylines, highlighting cultural and historical elements. It features Magura, a Ukrainian pagan goddess of war and victory, who appears in the film’s climax. The soundtrack feature’s Handel’s aria Cara Sposa with its repetitive ‘Where are you?’ lyrics, accentuates themes of loss and hope, aligning with the film’s emotional journey.
