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Thousands listen to Tchaikovsky’s opera in St. Petersburg under torrential rain

The entrance to all festival concerts was free

ST. PETERSBURG, July 21 (Itar-Tass) - Eugene Onegin, an opera by Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, culminated the final of the Opera for All outdoor festival in St. Petersburg. Torrential rain did not prevent thousands of people from gathering on Yelagin Island to listen to the opera.

A young stage director, Elina Amromina, gave her own interpretation of Tchaikovsky opera. The first part was filled with romanticism typical of the young characters. Tragic motives appeared in the second part. Those impressions were complete with costumes: light-toned and vapory dresses in the beginning of the opera were replaced by austere black-and-white attire I the end. Semi-transparent walls styled as poet Alexander Pushkin’s manuscripts served as decorations. The incessant rain seemed to intensify in most dramatic moments and abate during the most moving scenes.

The main roles were sang by Pytor Migunov, the Bolshoi Theatre’s soloist, Vladimir Tselebrovsky, a soloist of the Academy of Young Singers of the Mariinskly Theatre, Lyudmila Shkritil and Anastasiya Vinogradova-Zabolotskaya, the soloists of the Mikhailvosky Theatre in St. Petersburg as well as Vyacheslav Lesik, Olga Georgiyeva and Anastasiya Meshchanova, the soloists of the St. Petersburg Opera and Ballet Theatre. The orchestra and choir of the Conservatoire’s Theatre conducted by Viktor Sobolev took part in the performance.

The audience greeted the singers with applause.

Several world famous operas had been performed against the background of St. Petersburg’s architectural and historical landmarks during the festival. They include Mikhail Glinka’s Life for the Tsar, Faust by Charles Gounod and Trubadore by Giuseppe Verdi devoted to the Italian composer’s 200th birth anniversary.

The entrance to all festival concerts was free. The project was sponsored by the St. Petersburg City Committee for Culture and the St. Basil the Great Charitable Foundation.

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