The Magical Third Hand in ‘Rigoletto’ Production

No easy task for a novice, but for Galena Barskaya, integrating an operatic score into her DNA is both the challenge and joy of her art. Barskaya has been the musical director and ‘composite’ orchestra for the Los Angeles Metropolitan Opera since its inception in 2008. Highly skilled as both pianist and conductor, she brings the composer’s music to life, while simultaneously providing guidance for the vocalists. Barskaya will once again tackle the conductor-accompanist role for the L.A. Met’s ‘Rigoletto,’ set for Saturday, June 25 and Sunday, June 26 at the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club.   ’To direct from the piano is challenging,’ Barskaya admits. ‘I keep hoping for a third hand! First and foremost, you have the whole score in your head. You have to feel how it all fits together, the voices, the instruments, into the beautiful whole.’ ”Rigoletto’ is challenging. It is an intricate opera with many fine details that need to be fine-tuned. It is the first of Verdi’s mature operas, which also include ‘Il Trovatore’ and ‘La Traviata.’ All the action is written, so all I have to do is to follow the score,’ Barskaya says. ‘I study the original score and if I need to adapt it for time considerations I know where to do so. I have studied composition, so I have certain sounds in my ear.’ Barskaya brings to her creative work the discipline of the Kiev State Conservancy, where she studied piano, organ, conducting, music history and composition. Over the 18 years she has lived in the United States, she has been on staff at Santa Monica College and Cal State Long Beach, and is currently at Occidental College. She has also been involved with several music programs as music director/conductor, as well as pianist/organist for Christian liturgies at two churches and Hebrew texts for Kehillat Israel’s High Holy Days at the Wadsworth Theatre. Barskaya was born in Kiev, Ukraine, which at the time was part of the USSR. Her father was a geologist, her mother an engineer, but two great-uncles were musicians. She started playing piano at age 4 unintentionally, she explains. ‘My mother always wanted to be a musician, but she couldn’t because she grew up during the war. One day, we saw a flyer announcing piano instruction for children ages 7 and up.’ Undeterred, her mother followed up, despite Galena’s young age. ‘I suppose I was tall for my age, but they didn’t question me. They showed us the keyboard, not to play but to identify high and low tones.’ It turned out that Galena was able to identify or re-create a given musical note without the benefit of an external reference; she possessed perfect pitch. ‘All 10 teachers ran out of the room to talk to my grandmother, insisting that I must study.’ Her instruction continued apace. Barskaya received her bachelor’s degree in music and conducting from Kiev State College and proceeded to study at the Kiev State Conservancy (now the national academy) for five years. Those were complicated times in Russia, a period pre-Gorbachev and pre-glasnost, particularly for Jews. Barskaya felt the sting of discrimination when denied entry to a prestigious music program, despite a successful audition. ‘During the Gorbachev period in the 1980s, things were easier,’ Barskaya says with a philosophical equilibrium. ‘It was always my dream to be a musician and my dream was fulfilled, but there were many other opportunities that I wouldn’t see.’ It was the birth of her daughter, Liza, in 1991 that changed Galena’s plans for the future. In December of that year, the Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 separate countries. The change was made all the more real while the family was on vacation at a favorite Baltic seaside resort. For all the years they had been vacationing there, this time, they noticed street signs changed’the area was once again Lithuania. Her husband Misha had extended family in North Hollywood, so the family made the decision to emigrate in 1993. ‘Upon arrival to the U.S., I knew I had to be open-minded about what I was going to do,’ Barskaya says. ‘My English wasn’t that good.’ But within two weeks, she found a job with the Universalist Church in the West Valley, where she remained for 17 years. ‘I became the full-time music director and developed a concert series.’ Misha is a computer programmer and game developer. Liza, now 19, is in her second year with the Ballet Austin training program. Galena’s friendship and professional collaboration with Pacific Palisades resident and L.A. Met co-founder Linda Jackson came about in 2000 at Santa Monica College, where Jackson ‘was a gifted student and I was playing for the SMC opera.’ Their trust in one another and fathomless energy and optimism materialized with the formation of the L.A. Met. Since it inception, Barskaya has directed and provided the musical accompaniment for three seasons at what will now be three different venues. Originally staged at the Palisades Methodist Church, the company moved to the Miles Theatre in Santa Monica last season, continuing its search for a permanent house. Barskaya notes that the Santa Monica Bay Woman’s Club building on Fourth Street has several advantages, though she refrains from being too ebullient’for fear of jinxing the deal: ‘Location, size and the fact that it’s a historic building, built in 1914, that at one time staged operas.’ She is looking forward to ‘Rigoletto,’ which she has been preparing for the last couple of months. ‘I feel it’s a huge collaborative effort; the sum is always bigger than the parts.’ Performances are June 25 at 7 p.m. and June 26 at 3 p.m. For tickets ($20-$25), call (310) 570-6448 or visit losangeles met.com.