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Parterre Magazine: February

Rigoletto. Guest stars
On 11 February, on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus one of the title parts in the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi will be performed by the finalist of the "Grand Opera", the winner of the Minsk International Singing Competition Tigran Ohanyan. The conductor is a graduate of Cambridge University and the Royal College of Music in London, Maestro Kriss Russman.

The Night of Love and Miracles
On 14 February, Valentine's Day, the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus gives a real fete to all its devotees. Starting from 18:15 the sounds of bagpipes, drums, flutes, violins and even the bouzouki will resound in the foyer of the theatre: a folk group “HardWood” is the guest of the Bolshoi.

‘Laugh, clown, so the crowd will cheer!’
On 18 February, the role of Canio in an Italian verismo masterpiece, one of the best creations of Ruggero Leoncavallo, opera Pagliacci will be sung by the People’s Artist of Azerbaijan  Azer Zeynalov.

Afag Abbasova, ‘When representing my country abroad, I feel not only responsible, but also proud’
The Honoured Artist of Azerbaijan, the soloist of the Azerbaijan State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre Afag Abbasova will be featured on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus once again. On 25 February, she will sing Aida in the eponymous opera by Giuseppe Verdi.

Zhannat Baktay of "Astana Opera" in the opera Madamа Butterfly
On 24 February, the part of Cio-Cio-san in Giacomo Puccini’s   Madamа Butterfly will be performed by the Honoured Artist of the Republic of Kazakhstan Zhannat Baktay. The singer is already familiar to the audience of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus: she was featured as Liu in the opera Turandot by Giacomo Puccini and performed in the Gala concert of world opera stars at the 6th Minsk International Christmas Opera Forum.

Magic Singspiel by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
On 30 March and on April 11 and 12,  one of the most famous operas of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's The Magic Flute will premiere on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus in the framework of the Austrian Cultural Season in the Republic of Belarus. The production-to-be is a joint work of the Brucknerhaus Concert Hall in Linz and the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus.

Well, the Christmas tree is just a miracle!
More than 90 original toys decorated the Christmas tree of the Bolshoi. All of them were handmade by children for the "Christmas Tree Decoration” contest. The theater has held it for the third time.

It’s m-u-s-i-c! And it’s magical!
Exactly 20 years ago a beautiful tale for children and adults, the opera Magic Music appeared in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. It is a good and sapiential tale about music’s wonderful ability to mold all around and, in the first place, a man’s soul. The artists of Children's Musical Theater Studio, who once performed in the Studio when they were children, having become parents now bring their kids to theatre performances to teach them to appreciate music  and learn what kindness is.

I’m Tzar! Nice to meet you!
Favorite songs and soundtracks from popular Soviet films will be performed on February 15 at the Chamber Hall of the theatre.

It was a splendid ball!
The Big New Year’s ball at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus was held for the 8th time. According to a tradition, it took place on the Old New Year’s Eve. More than 650 guests came to celebrate the year of the Red Fire Rooster.

The theatre of his childhood
His grandmother sang in the choir of the Bolshoi Theatre, and the grandfather worked as a decorator. Grandma always said the grandson had musical fingers, but he chose to follow in his mom’s steps and became a lawyer. Our loyal viewer Andrey Zingilevsky talks about his favourite theatre.

Oh, those boys!
On the eve of Defender of the Fatherland Day, the artists of the Bolshoi theatre of Belarus share with the Parterre what they think about this holiday. Well, we could not help but had a peek into the photo albums of our stars. We found amusing pictured of kids and are happy to share them with our readers, as well as our Belarusian artists are delighted to share their memories of the beautiful times when the trees were tall.

Anniversaries
Congratulations on the 70th anniversary of the Honoured Artist of the Republic of Belarus Nadezhda Gubskaya and the People's Artist of Belarus Viktor Sarkisyan! The Bolshoi Theatre wishes them success in artistic and teaching life, good health and inspiration!

Anniversary dates
The 125th birthday anniversary of Vladimir Piradov (1892-1954), the people's artist of Kazakhstan, and the People's Artist of Ukraine.

115 years since the birth of the Honoured Artist of Belarus Vasily Lapin (1902-1991).

90 years since the birth of the People's Artist of Belarus Nikolay Shekhov (1927-1999)

Dance... as if sung to note!
For the first time in its history, the Theatro di San Carlo in Naples reputed to be one of Europe’s working theatres, offered its stage to a Belarusian artist. The soloist dancer of the Belarusian Bolshoi, the recipient of the of Francysk Skaryna Medal, the winner of numerous international contests, Ekaterina Oleynik performed Masha in the ballet to the music by Pyotr Tchaikovsky The Nutcracker before the Italian audience. The Belarusian ballerina engaged in three out of six premiere performances by the world famous choreographer Charles Jude.

Finally home!
For more than a month, the ballet troupe of the Bolshoi Theatre has toured Germany and Austria. Bonn and Bremen, Hamburg and Cologne, Berlin and Hanover, Munich and Dortmund, Salzburg and Vienna applauded to the Belarusian artists who danced in the legendary ballets by Pyotr Tchaikovsky Swan Lake and The Nutcracker, or Another Christmas Story.

Ulkar Alieva: the final chords of the year
The major events of the academic music theatre life of the Belarusian capital became the 3rd  International Ballet Summer Festival at the Bolshoi, the 3rd Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition and the 7th Minsk International Opera Forum. Organization of new international festivals is a complex and interesting mission. It is not only a form of communication, intercultural dialogue or exchange of ideas, but also an opportunity for Belarusian artists to express themselves, to take over the mastery of their foreign stage colleagues, and for the Belarusian audience it is a chance to get acquainted with a complete palette of academic music and theatre arts.

Opera in Minsk
Our review of the performances and events of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus would be incomplete without the article published in the February issue of the London magazine Opera.