The 2007-2008 concert-theatrical season in Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre is marked by its fifth anniversary. Nevertheless, its history began long before its official opening on September 1, 2002: Galina Vishnevskaya had long been dreaming of creating her school in Russia considering it her duty to pass her unique experience and knowledge over to Russian singers.
Besides being the Centre’s Artistic Director and determining the creative conception of the Centre, Galina Vishnevskaya conducts daily classes, gives workshops, manages rehearsals of concerts and new opera stagings, which already amount to 7 in the repertoire of the Centre: “Ruslan and Lyudmila” by M. Glinka, “The Tsar’s Bride” by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, Ch. Gounod’s “Faust”, G. Verdi’s “Rigoletto”, “Vampuka” by V. Erenberg, “Iolanta” by P. Tchaikovsky and G. Bizet’s “Carmen”.
Apart from Galina Vishnevskaya, the world’s art coryph&eactute;es conduct meetings and workshops with students: directors Boris Pokrovsky and Peter Stein, conductor Zubin Metha, world-known singers Paata Burchuladze, Teresa Berganza, Dennis O’Neill, Thomas Hampson and Michael Eliasen – Dean of the Opera department of Curtis Institute of Music (USA). Over a short period the Opera Centre has occupied a deserved placed in the capital’s cultural landscape. Its soloists have became desired guests on prestigious concert and theatrical stages of various countries, of festivals in Germany, Italy, France, South African Republic, Czech Republic, Macedonia, Holland, Azerbaijan and Georgia.
The Centre’s success is the result of a hard creative search of young singers and their teachers, among whom there are renowned soloists of the Bolshoi Theatre: Irina Maslennikova, Badri Maisuradze, and Pyotr Glubokyi; it is also the result of everyday thoughtful, minute work of all the staff. Its fifth birthday Opera Centre will celebrate with a staging of “Eugene Onegin” by P. Tchaikovsky, Director – Andris Liepa. The opera will be premiered on October 25 – the birthday of Galina Vishnevskaya; there will also be jubilee performances and concerts, special exhibitions, issues and other artistic projects.