II International Vishnevskaya Opera Festival in Sochi

On October the 27^th  the II International Vishnevskaya Opera Festival in Sochi, dedicated to the 90^th  anniversary of Mstislav Rostropovich, was over. During the Festival five concerts were held, the guests got the opportunity to enjoy the true masterpieces of world opera classics, to get in touch with the musical heritage of the great Russian and foreign composers.
On the opening the audience was presented with a wonderful gift: in the hall of the Winter theatre the Orchestra of the Opera Centre, Krasnodar State Chamber Chorus with the soloists soloists Slavka Zamecnikova and Gustav Belacek from Slovakia and Svetlana Shilova and Marat Gali from the Bolshoi theatre performed the Requiem by Mozart. On the conductors podium stood Peter Feranec, head of the National Opera house in Brno.
On October the 24^th, the second day of the Festival, at the Winter theater exclusively instrumental music was played. The Orchestra of the Opera Centre performed the overtures to operas by Russian and European composers.
On October the 25^th, the birthday of Galina Vishnevskaya, whose voice conquered the hearts of listeners worldwide, the Opera Centre presented Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky. The creative life of Galina Vishnevskaya associated with this piece most closely. With this part started her career at the Bolshoi theatre, with the same part she said goodbye to Opera, at the Paris Grand Opera. The performance of the Centre, which was created by the great singer, is recognized as one of the best modern interpretations of Tchaikovsky’s immortal opera.
On October the 26^th on stage of the Organ and Chamber Music Hall the soloists of the Opera Centre performed songs by Russian composers.
On the final day of the Festival, on October the 27^th, was played the Second piano concert of Rachmaninov. It was brilliantly performed by the young scholar of Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation Davit Khrikuli. In the second part of the concert was presented the opera Aleko by Rachmaninoff in concert, which premiered at the Opera Centre in June of this year.
In the lobby of the Winter theatre was opened a photo exhibition with unique materials about the life and work of Galina Vishnevskaya and Mstislav Rostropovich.
The II International Vishnevskaya Opera Festival has become a bright page in the cultural life of the summer capital of Russia and received enthusiastic and grateful feedback from the public. We hope, the Festival will become an annual tradition and every year will please the inhabitants and guests of Sochi with beautiful music and new singing talents.