On November 4, invited artists - soloists of the Mariinsky Theatre - will take the stage of the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre in Leo Delibes' opera Lakme.

The title role of Lakme will be performed by the soprano singer Antonina Vesenina. She graduated from the Voronezh State Academy of Arts, was a soloist at the Academy of Young Opera Singers of the Mariinsky Theatre. Antonina joined the opera company of the Mariinsky Theatre in 2022. The singer's repertoire includes more than 30 solo and leading roles in classical operas by Russian and European composers. As a guest soloist, she performs at the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia, the Hamburg State Opera, the Semperoper in Dresden, the Komische Oper Berlin, and the Deutsche Oper; she also takes part in various concerts.

Boris Stepanov (the part of Gerald in Lakme) first graduated from the Mikhail Glinka Choir College; in 2010, he graduated from the Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg Conservatory majoring in conducting and singing. In 2015, he completed an internship at La Scala. Boris was a soloist of the Chamber Choir of the Smolny Cathedral, worked at the Mikhailovsky Theatre. He collaborates with the Bolshoi Theatre, St. Petersburg and Riga Philharmonic Societies. His repertoire includes more than 30 tenor parts. In 2022, he took part in the premieres of the Mariinsky productions L'Italiana in Algeri, Don Pasquale, Die Zauberflöte.

Bass baritone singer Magerram Gusseinov (who performed the role of Nilakantha in Lakme) studied at the Osimo Opera Academy in Italy and performed on the stages of Italian theatres. In 2021, he made his debut at the Mariinsky Theatre as Masetto in Don Giovanni. Magerram specializes in Italian operas (Verdi, Rossini, Donizetti, Puccini), also performs Mozart, Tchaikovsky.

The repertoires of the three artists also include parts from the opera Lakme: it is performed at the Mariinsky Theatre in a semi-stage format.

“Lakme of the Krasnoyarsk Opera House is the only full-length production of this wonderful opera in our country. Therefore, the opportunity to sing leading roles in a rare opera by Leo Delibes attracts singers from the Mariinsky Theatre, where the semi-staged version only is performed. Antonina Vesenina, Boris Stepanov, and Magerram Gusseinov will sing in our production; and who knows, maybe the Siberian version of Lakme will migrate to the main stage of St. Petersburg!” commented the production director of the show Sergei Novikov.