MILAN, December 8. /TASS/. The premiere of Modest Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov opened the new season at the La Scala theater in the Italian city of Milan, a TASS correspondent reported.

The title role was performed by prominent Russian opera singer Ildar Abdrazakov, who was warmly greeted by the audience and welcomed by Italian President Sergio Mattarella. "He wished me luck," the singer told TASS.

Abdrazakov said that he was very satisfied with how the premiere had gone and he was comfortable at La Scala, where he fully dedicated himself to the music. The cast of the opera, staged by Denmark’s Kasper Holten, also includes singers from St. Petersburg’s Mariinsky Theater. In addition, many secondary parts were given to Russian artists.

Apart from the Italian president, the country’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and European Commission President Urdula von der Leyen also attended the Russian opera, which involved Russian artists singing in Russian.

Shortly before the premiere, Ukrainian Consul General in Milan Andrey Kartysh asked the theater’s management to cancel the Russian opera. The response was that Mussorgsky and Pushkin, on whose tragedy the opera was based, were the greatest creators whose works were included in the treasury of world culture.

The audience at the premiere accepted the theater administration’s decision to say "no" to the cancellation of Russian culture. The Corriere della Sera newspaper wrote on Thursday that members of Italy’s high society, including politicians, businessmen, actors, directors, fashion designers and architects, gathered at the theater and considered the Russian opera to be the right choice as the season opener. "Today, it’s music without politics," Italy’s former Prime Minister and senator for life Mario Monti told TASS.