The 14th international festival Breath of Baikal, dedicated to opera music, will take place at the Irkutsk Regional Philharmonic Hall from May 14 to 18. Among the featured artists is mezzo-soprano Olga Basova, a soloist of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre.

Within the festival programme, Olga Basova will perform the role of Lucia in Pietro Mascagni’s opera Cavalleria Rusticana on May 16. She will also appear in the opening and closing concerts of the festival, held on May 14 and 18. Her solo performances will include Pauline’s Romance from Tchaikovsky’s The Queen of Spades, Lyubava’s Aria from Sadko by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, and Orfeo’s aria Che Farò from Christoph Willibald Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice. Besides, she’ll take part in several duets: Lyubasha and Griaznoi from The Tsar’s Bride, Koshcheevna and the Tsarevich from Kashchey the Deathless, both by Rimsky-Korsakov, and one of the real opera hits – the Barcarolle from Jacques Offenbach’s Les Contes d'Hoffmann.

Since it was founded in 2011, the international festival of opera music Breath of Baikal has become a true celebration of the genre – not only for experts and opera fans but also for a broad general audience. The festival is organized by the Irkutsk Regional Philharmonic Society and the Ministry of Culture of the Irkutsk Region.

Olga Basova will next perform at the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre on May 21, appearing as Kharita Ignatyevna Ogudalova – the enterprising mother of the leading character – in Daniil Frenkel’s opera Without a Dowry.