Dear friends of the Birgitta FestivalIn keeping with the decision made by the Government of Estonia on 8 July, the 2021 Birgitta F...
Dear friends of the Birgitta Festival
In keeping with the decision made by the Government of Estonia on 8 July, the 2021 Birgitta Festival will be cancelled. Unfortunately, the global coronavirus pandemic has yet to recede, and the situation is regrettably deteriorating in Russia, the place of residence for several of this year’s festival’s artists and performers.
The safety and security of our audience is of prime importance to the festival organisers, which is why we understand the government's decision not to grant an exemption to artists from Russia.
We hope for your understanding and to see you in 2022!
Tickets purchased from sales points can be returned at all Piletilevi sales points, except Circle-K service stations and the Viru Keskus sales point.
PDF ticket holders will have their tickets automatically repurchased and repayments will be made to the ticket buyer's current account.
PLEASE NOTE! We are repurchasing tickets until 30 September 2021.
Dmitri Hvorostovski Krasnoyarsk State Theatre of Opera and Ballet
Stage director Neeme Kuningas
Music director Alexander Kossinsky
Conductor Marius Stravinsky
Set designer Ervin Õunapuu
Costume artist Anna Kontek
Cast:
Eugene Onegin – Alexander Mikhalev
Lensky – Davit Yesayan
Tatyana – Anna Avakyan
Olga – Daria Ryabinko
Larina – Olga Basova
Filippyevna – Larisa Plotnikova
Zaretsky – Ilya Krivchikov
Prince Gremin – Evgeny Sevastyanov
Triquet – Boris Sabirov
Pyotr Tchaikovsky's opera Eugene Onegin with its music and plot based on Alexandr Pushkin's novel in verse Eugene Onegin will touch every music afficionado. The opera brings together human emotions, reality and various destinies. With this piece, Tchaikovsky has deeply penetrated the human soul while the protagonists are just like open books for the audience. Composer has brought various emotions to the audience with the most beautiful music – Tatyana’s love and dolor, Eugene’s callousness and imperiousness, Olga’s childishness and joy of life as well as Lensky’s romantic soul and severity. Eugene Onegin can be considered one of the best examples among Tchaikovsky’s stage music pieces and one of the most beautiful Russian operas. The opera is full of famous arias and scenes (Onegin’s aria, Lensky’s aria, scene of Tatyana’s letter etc.) that are being performed at opera galas and that have been arranged for solo instruments.
Neeme Kuningas is one the most well-known stage directors in Estonia. He graduated from the department of stage directing at the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts in 1984. As a music director, Kuningas has created more than a hundred opera, operetta, musical and dance productions in Estonia, Scandinavia, Germany, France, Lithuania, Russia, China and elsewhere. After a long career in the Estonian National Opera, Kuningas was invited to become the principal stage director at Dmitri Hvorostovky Krasnoyarsk State Theatre of Opera and Ballet in December 2016. Kuningas has been related to the opera theatre through being a member of the jury of the international competitio of young opera directors. In Krasnoyarsk, Kuningas has staged two operas: Prisoner of the Caucasus by César Cui and Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Tchaikovsky. The production of Eugene Onegin, premiered on February 3, 2018, is also remarkable for the fact that it has been connected to two Estonian professionals in Krasnoyarsk – namely, the set designer of the opera is Ervin Õunapuu. According to his interview given to the Estonian Public Broadcasting, Neeme Kuningas states that this version of Eugene Onegin represents the Baltic dimension of Scandinavia – the classical side has been combined with the more contemporary views to opera staging.
The cast of opera soloists comes fully from the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. One of the newest member of the cast, soprano Anna Avakian (in the role of Tatyana) has worked at the Oldenburg State Theatre (The Oldenburgisches Staatstheater), Germany for several years. She has been acknowledged for her role of Anne Frank in Grigor Frid's mono-opera „The Diary of Anne Frank“ at the Oldenburgisches Staatstheater, also performed in Meiningen Court Theatre. Mezzo-soprano Daria Ryabinko will perform both the role of Olga in Tchaikovsky's „Eugene Onegin“ as well as the role of Amneris in Verdi's „Aida“. Her collaboration with Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre began already during her music studies. Ryabinko has performed in international opera festivals as well as taken part in the European tours with the cast of Tatar State Opera and Ballet Theatre.
Tenor Davit Yesayan, who has started his fifth season at Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre, will perform the role of Lensky at Birgitta Festival. The role of Onegin will be performed by baritone Alexander Mikhailov who has been among the soloists of the theatre since 2006. Both opera singers have gained recognition for their theatrical performances as well as in carious vocalists' competitions.
The opera is conducted by Marius Stravinsky, born in Alma-Ata, Russia. Stravinsky is collaborating with renowned orchestras in the UK, Germany, Australia and Japan as well as with the best collectives in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Marius Stravinsky is the founder and the conductor of St. Petersburg Festival Orchestra and he is regularly conducting performances at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg.
