On May 19 and 20, Vincenzo Bellini's I Capuleti e i Montecchi will be performed at the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. People's Artist of the Republic of Bashkortostan Artem Makarov, music director of this production, will take the conductor’s stand.

Artem Makarov was born in Ufa, he graduated from the Ismagilov Ufa Institute of Arts with honours. In 1997, while a student, he began working as an accompanist of an opera company at the Bashkir Opera and Ballet Theatre; in 2002 he joined its team as a conductor.

Artem Makarov is currently Chief Conductor of this theatre. He has taken part in all the performances staged there for 20 years. He was the first in Ufa to stage the operas Così Fan Tutte, Ossia La Scuola Degli Amanti by Mozart, Hercules by Handel, Carmen by Bizet, as well as operettas by Lehar and Offenbach, national Bashkir operas Salavat Yulaev by Zagir Ismagilov and Geometry of Life by Salavat Nizametdinov. In 2017, he won the Russian National Theatre Award Golden Mask in the Best Opera Conductor category for the opera Hercules. For several years, he has combined his activities in the Ufa theatre with his work at the State Opera of Antalya (Turkey) as its music director, where he staged Mozart's opera Don Giovanni. In 2016, he was one of the establishers of the 1st Chaliapin International Vocal Competition in Ufa.

Artem Makarov had previously thought about staging the opera I Capuleti e i Montecchi; so, when director Elizaveta Korneeva invited him to join the production team, he readily agreed.

“This work has long attracted me with its ageless plot and, of course, the magnificent music of Bellini. But I faced the fact that there is no performer for the role of Romeo. In this opera, Romeo is the leading character not only in terms of dramaturgy, but also in terms of the complexity of the vocal part. This part is to be performed by a mezzo-soprano, and it is extremely difficult to find an artist of a suitable type, with a suitable timbre and virtuoso voice. I think this is one of the reasons why the opera is performed very rarely. In the Krasnoyarsk Theatre, there is a wonderful singer Daria Ryabinko who is perfect for this role. The Krasnoyarsk opera company includes excellent artists for other roles. So, the production of I Capuleti e i Montecchi will be a good show. I wouldn’t say I am very surprised by this, though: I am acquainted with your artists and know that the company is professional both in singing and acting,” said Artem Makarov.