In 1989 the Children’s Musical Theatre Studio was set up at the National Academic Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of Belarus to prepare young artists for participating in performances. In March 1990 young artists made their debut with a grand concert accompanied by the symphony orchestra of the theatre, and at the end of the year the premiere of the musical Peter Pan by Alexander Budko was presented to the audience. This work proved the Children’s Musical Theatre Studio’s right to be a full member of opera performances.
The young artists of the Theatre Studio participate in such opera performances as The Queen of Spades by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Carmen by Georges Bizet, Tosca and La bohème by Giacomo Puccini, Prince Igor by Alexander Borodin, The Tsar’s Bride by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, King Stakh’s Wild Hunt by Vladimir Soltan, etc., ballets The Creation of the World, La Esmeralda, Carmina Burana, The Nutcracker, and other productions which according to the author’s concept demand the participation of a children’s choir or extras. In productions for children, such as the operas Pinocchio and The Cat’s House, the studio students are engaged as main artists and singers. Such outstanding artists as chorus master Nina Lomanovich, conductor Alexander Anissimov, stage directors Vyacheslav Tsiupa and Susanna Tsiriuk were at the dawn of the studio. In different years, the studio’s artistic staff included chorus masters Anastasia Anisimova-Tsiupa, Alla Mazurova, Pavel Pilipovets, Nadezhda Novichenkova, Tatyana Pyshnaya, Irina Karmanova, ballet masters Olga Karnach, Elena Dmitrieva-Lavrinovich, stage directors Galina Galkovskaya, Natalia Kuzmenkova (the studio alumnus), pianists Tatyana Gavrilova (the studio alumnus), Irina Avdeeva. Its present artistic staff include Elena Sokolovskaya, Alla Vasilevskaya, Tatiana Panasiuk (accompanist). Elena Neronskaya has been in charge of the studio for about three decades.
The awards and titles of the studio choir include grand prize at the 3rd Open Music Competition “Creativity Levels” (Minsk, 2021), grand prize at the International Art Competition “New Year’s Miracle” in the category of vocal (Chernigov, 2021), the title of laureate of the second degree at the 7th Russian Festival Competition of Choral Art “Vivat, Choir!” (2022)
The main admission campaign is held at the beginning of the season. The requirements to the candidates are: basic musical education, artistry, suppleness, age of 7-8.
Classes are held three or four times a week. The children learn a difficult profession of a musical theatre actor attending training courses in acting, choreography and singing. The studio students familiarize themselves with the best classical opera samples and works by contemporary composers much earlier that their peers do.
Many of the studio alumni have connected their lives with professional arts: they continue their education at the Belarusian State Academy of Music, Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatoire, Vienna Academy of Music and Theatre, etc., and work in theatres of Belarus, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Germany.
Manager: Elena Neronskaya
