Krasnoyarsk State opera and ballet theatre has been named after Dmitri Hvorostovsky. This was announced by the acting Minister of Culture of the Krasnoyarsk Region Elena Mironenko today at the press conference that took place on the occasion of the opening of the IX international festival “Stars Parade. Russian Opera. In memory of Dmitri Hvorostovsky”. The festival lasts from February 3 up to March 28, it takes place in Krasnoyarsk.

“This year the “Stars Parade” is pretty special and it starts with big news - we officially name Krasnoyarsk opera and ballet theatre after our renowned townsman Dmitri Aleksandrovich Hvorostovsky. The amendments have already been added to the Theatre Statute and the documents are filed for registration”, - Elena Mironenko said. “Besides, open contests will be launched next week to create two compositions - one of them will be a memorial object next to the Institute of Arts. Also, commemorative plaques will be set in the teachers training school where Dmitri Aleksandrovich studied, as well as in the house where he lived when he was a kid”.

The following representatives of Krasnoyarsk state opera and ballet theatre also attended the press-conference: the theatre manager Svetlana Guziy, artistic director of the theatre, Honoured artist of Russia Sergei Bobrov, the head director of the theatre Neeme Kuningas as well as the guests of the festival “Stars Parade” - Schönbrunn Palace Theatre and Oper Klosterneuburg soloist Eugenia Dushina (Austria) and Lithuanian national opera and ballet theatre soloist Tomas Pavilionis (Lithuania).

For the first time Dmitri Hvorostovsky went on stage of the Krasnoyarsk Opera when he was a second-year student of the Institute of Arts. He started with small roles and children’s matinee performances. He had been working in our theatre for five years - since 1985 till 1990. But for that short period of time he had played quite a large number of roles. He sang roles of Zemnukhov in “The Young guard”, Valentin in “Faust”, Yeletsky in “The Queen of Spades”, Eugene Onegin and many others. In 1989 after he had won the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World competition in Wales, United Kingdom, Hvorostovsky came to international prominence - he became a real citizen of the world and took the best opera stages in the world.

Photos by Ruslan Maximov