"Kateryna" tells the story of a Ukrainian girl whose love is betrayed by a Russian soldier. In her despair, she leaves her child alone in the forest and drowns herself in the lake. It is the opera house's largest production since Ukraine's declaration of independence. The commissioned work is based on a poem by Taras Shevchenko (1814-1861), one of Ukraine's most important lyricists. The performance is partly on instruments specially developed for the opera, which imitate sounds of nature. 800 new costumes were designed and produced in Kharkiv.