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Tatiana and Onegin from Moscow

The 15^th Minsk International Christmas Opera Forum will continue with Eugene Onegin, a production created by the conductor, People’s Artist of Bashkortostan Artem Makarov; director, recipient of the Francysk Skaryna Medal Anna Motornaya; chorus master, People’s Artist of Belarus Nina Lomanovich; choreographer, Honoured Artist of the Russian Federation Igor Kolb; designers Lyubov Sidelnikova (sets and costumes), Tatyana Lisovenko (costumes), Honoured Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation Irina Vtornikova (lighting design), and  Viktoria Zlotnikova (computer graphics).

As Anna Motornaya admitted, she had edged towards this opera for more than a quarter of a century. “This is a work of genius,” the principal stage director of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus is convinced. “The more I delve into this piece, the deeper I immerse myself in its emotional, spiritual, psychological, tonal, and moral depths. On the one hand, it is an encyclopedia of Russian life; on the other, it is a story of a timeless man... Tchaikovsky created a remarkable work that resonates with every part of a modern soul...”

On 19 December, the lead roles of Tatiana Larina and Eugene Onegin in Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera will be performed by Dmitry Zuev and Natalia Petrozhitskaya, soloists of the Moscow State Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre.

The repertoire of Dmitry Zuev, a guest soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre since 2013, includes Don Giovanni (Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), Marcello (La bohème by Giacomo Puccini), Eugene Onegin (Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky), Enrico Ashton (Lucia di Lammermoor by Gaetano Donizetti), Figaro (Il barbiere di Siviglia by Gioachino Rossini), Demetrius (A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten), Alfonso (Così fan tutte, ossia La scuola degli amanti by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), Ferdinand (Betrothal in a Monastery by Sergei Prokofiev), Andrei Bolkonsky (War and Peace by Sergei Prokofiev), Gryaznoy (The Tsar’s Bride by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) and many others. The singer has toured extensively in Italy, England, China, the Netherlands, Estonia, Latvia, Azerbaijan, and Oman; he regularly takes part in chamber music festivals. Dmitry is the author, director, and performer of the following programmes: “Tchaikovsky. Romances,” “Rachmaninoff. Romances,” “The 20^th Century. Romances,” “The Baroque Era. Romances,” “Songs of the Victors,” “Songs of the Great War and the Great Victory,” “Cantate per la vita,” and “Selected Scenes from Eugene Onegin” for a Reciter and Soloists.”

Natalia Petrozhitskaya, a laureate of the Moscow City Prize, has been a soloist with the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre since 2006. Her repertoire includes: Tatiana (Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky), Natasha Rostova (War and Peace by Sergey Prokofiev), Mimì (La bohème by Giacomo Puccini), Leonora (La forza del destino by Giuseppe Verdi), Donna Elvira (Don Giovanni by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), Micaëla (Carmen by Georges Bizet), Antonia, Giulietta, Stella (Les сontes d’Hoffmann by Jacques Offenbach), Sophie (Werther by Jules Massenet), Alcibiades (Socrate by Erik Satie), Hanna Glawari (Die lusitge Witwe by Franz Lehár), Desdemona (Otello by Giuseppe Verdi), Nastasia Filippovna (N.F.B. by Vladimir Kobekin), Suzanne (Robinson Crusoé by Jacques Offenbach), Anna Bolena (Anna Bolena by Gaetano Donizetti), etc. Natalia has performed numerous concert programmes, including concert projects with Dmitry Zuev, and appeared in many festivals, including the Sergei Prokofiev Memorial Festival (Moscow, 2004), Andrei Sakharov International Art Festival (Nizhny Novgorod, 2007), 17^th Maksim Mikhailov International Opera Festival (Cheboksary, 2007), Pushkin Opera and Ballet Festival “Boldino Autumn” (Nizhny Novgorod, 2008, 2010), 21^st Sobinov Music Festival (Saratov, 2008), 6^th Baikal Christmas Festival (Ulan-Ude, 2015), International Classical Music Festival (Salacgrīva, Latvia, 2015 and 2016), 10^th International Chamber Music Festival “Irina Kandinskaya and Persona Invite...” (Tolyatti, 2015), 8^th Levitan Music Festival (Ples, 2015), 6^th Dmitry Shostakovich Festival (Kurgan, 2016), Festival "Three Centuries - Three Spaces - Three Composers" (Anton Chekhov Museum-Reserve Melikhovo, 2016), “Red Square” Book Festival (Moscow, 2017, 2023), Regional Festival “Theatrical Spring” (Krasnoyarsk, 2024), 2^nd Sofia Parnok Moscow Art Festival “Under the Heavenly Mirror” (Moscow, 2024), International Art Festival “Diaghilev P.S.” (St Petersburg, 2024), “Towards Christmas” Festival (Moscow, 2024), International Open Festival "Theatre Boulevard" (Moscow, 2025), etc.

Dmitry Zuev will be making his debut with the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus, whilst Natalia Petrozhitskaya has already graced this venue: during the 2012 Youth Opera Forum of the Commonwealth of Independent States, the Baltic States, and Georgia in Minsk, she sang the role of Mimì in Giacomo Puccini’s La bohème (production by Georgiy Isaakyan) conducted by the noted maestro Felix Korobov, now bearing an honourable title of the People’s Artist of Russia.

The 19 December performance will also feature prominent soloists of the Belarusian opera, namely Daria Gorozhanko as Olga Larina; Tatiana Tretiak as Praskovya Larina; Alexander Mikhniuk as Vladimir Lensky; Andrei Valentii as Prince Gremin; Ekaterina Mihnovets as Filippyevna; Andrey Selutin as the Company Commander; Uladzislau Zazulka as Zaretsky; and Andrei Matyushonok as Triquet. Yuri Karavaev will conduct the performance.