Soloists of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre Sevastian Martyniuk and Davit Yesaian won diplomas of the 9th International Opera Singers Competition St. Petersburg. This year, it is dedicated to the outstanding opera singer, People's Artist of the USSR Irina Bogachiova who started this "musical marathon".

The stars of the world opera scene assessed the contestants’ skills: Sergei Leiferkus (Russia), Teimuraz Gugushvili (Georgia), and Zhao Yunhong (China), as well as directors of opera houses from Italy, Spain, and Austria. 160 performers from 15 countries took part in it. The Krasnoyarsk soloists successfully performed - they were among 13 finalists and won diplomas of the prestigious competition.

It was a tough challenge because the young artists had to perform 3 pieces of music each in the 1st and 2nd rounds - arias from operas, vocal miniatures, romances. In the most crucial 3rd round, the participants were to perform one opera aria at their option and another one written by any St.Petersburg composer of the 19-20 centuries. Sevastian Martyniuk presented the aria of Pierrot’s Jury from the Korngold's opera Die Tote Stadt and the aria of Yeletsky from Pyotr Tchaikovsky's Queen of Spades. Davit Yesaian performed the Duke's ballad of Rigoletto by Verdi and Lensky's aria of Eugene Onegin by Tchaikovsky.

“On the whole, we successfully fulfilled ourselves at the competition. We gained considerable experience and hardened our spirits. Within the competition, we visited two master classes of Sergei Leiferkus and Teymuraz Gugushvili. It’s a great pleasure for us to sing in the 3rd round and the final Gala Concert of the competition at the State Academic Chapel of St. Petersburg with a symphony orchestra”, shared his impressions Sevastian Martyniuk.