The Tchaikovsky Year at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus

In 2025, the music world celebrates the 185th anniversary of the genius of Russian music Pyotr Tchaikovsky. To mark this significant date, the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus has launched the project "The Tchaikovsky Year at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus", which will continue into the new season.

Tchaikovsky is a part of the galaxy of great names of musical culture, whose importance is undeniable. Tchaikovsky's music is incredibly popular, its magnetic influence does not weaken with the change of epochs.

His melodies seem to permeate the musical veins that nourish a vast portion of artistic existence, integrating Tchaikovsky into the very essence of cultural roots. That is why for more than a century and a half Tchaikovsky has been an integral part not only of Russian art. He occupies a significant place in the contemporary Belarusian musical reality.

The composer's life and career unfolded during a period when the Belarusian lands were part of the Russian Empire, which greatly enhanced the mutual influence and cultural exchange between the neighbouring cultures. For example, Nikolai Zaremba, a native of Vitebsk Region, a reformer of the Russian system of higher musical education, was Tchaikovsky's teacher. Konstantin Gorsky, hailing from Lida, collaborated closely with the composer, being himself a renowned composer and virtuoso violinist whose talents were highly esteemed by Tchaikovsky.

Tchaikovsky's music was certainly known to the Belarusian enlightened society of his time, especially since in the second half of the 19th century the Russian repertoire occupied a decisive position in concert halls, salons and houses. Orchestral concerts often featured his symphonic works, excerpts from his operas, but the composer's lyrical compositions gained particular popularity.

Tchaikovsky's operas were performed in the cities and towns of Belarus by amateur societies and private companies. Even before the establishment of the Belarusian Opera and Ballet Theatre, the composer's works had become firmly entrenched in musical culture. Even during the period of relative neglect of Tchaikovsky’s music in the post-Revolutionary 1920s, when much of his oeuvre was deemed inconsistent with the prevailing spirit of the time, Tchaikovsky could still be heard in Belarus. Teachers and students at the Minsk Music College staged scenes from Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades. Thus, by the time the State Opera and Ballet Theatre was opened in Belarus, some (and even considerable) experience had already been accumulated in staging Tchaikovsky's operas. Despite the fact that Eugene Onegin and The Queen of Spades were the most popular titles, the Belarusian audience had the opportunity to discover such masterpieces as Mazeppa, The Enchantress, The Tsarina’s Slippers (Cherevichki) and The Oprichnik.

In 1930, the State Opera and Ballet Studio, which was founded on the basis of the college, staged the full-length production of Eugene Onegin. This production subsequently became part of the repertoire of the State Opera and Ballet Theatre, being one of the earliest works of the ensemble. In 1934, the theatre’s repertoire was supplemented with another Tchaikovsky’s piece, The Queen of Spades, staged by the principal director of the Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater Boris Mordvinov as his debut collaboration with Minsk.

Over the course of more than nine decades of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus' existence, Tchaikovsky's compositions have served as a cornerstone of the opera and ballet repertoire. Alongside the ballet triptych (Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, and The Nutcracker) and the unchanging operatic backbone, including the aforementioned Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, and Iolanta, which joined the repertoire later, the theatre also presented Mazeppa and The Enchantress.

The Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus currently presents a repertoire that includes the following Tchaikovsky’s pieces: the operas Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, Iolanta, and the 2025 premiere The Maid of Orleans, as well as the ballets Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, and the ballet adaptation of Anna Karenina, based on symphonic compositions by the composer.

"The Tchaikovsky Year at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus" is a remarkable creative initiative launched by the theatre, which encompasses performances of Tchaikovsky’s operas and ballets, along with accompanying photo exhibitions and various other thematic events.

Before performances of Tchaikovsky's pieces during the Tchaikovsky Year, we play Tchaikovsky: half an hour prior to the show, in the theatre foyer, musicians perform short concerts comprised of compositions by the renowned Russian composer, creating an ambiance of beauty and harmony, and setting the scene for the evening's performance. Veronika Grabovskaya (harp), Tatiana Panasiuk and Anastasia Dubovskaya (piano) have already participated in our project.

In the ‘Online Exhibitions’ section, one can delve into the captivating narrative of the artistic renditions of Pyotr Tchaikovsky's works on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus:

Eugene Onegin. Production history at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus

Iolanta. Production history at the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus