The Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre will open the 15th International Festival Stars Parade at the Opera. Slovtsov with one of its most anticipated and by now traditional events — the Parade of Tenors. Joining the soloists of the Krasnoyarsk Opera on stage will be South Korean tenor Son Ji-Hoon and leading Russian singers Ivan Gyngazov and Kirill Matveev.

Son Ji-Hoon (Korean National Opera, Seoul) is the triumphant winner of the 17th International Tchaikovsky Competition (2023), a singer renowned for his effortless vocal elegance and extraordinary range. It was only after securing a tenor of this calibre that People’s Artist of Russia and conductor Valery Gergiev agreed to the request of Honoured Artist of Russia and celebrated soprano singer Albina Shagimuratova to stage Bellini’s I Puritani at the Mariinsky Theatre — an opera of exceptional vocal virtuosity. On the Krasnoyarsk stage, Son Ji-Hoon will perform excerpts from bel canto masterpieces by Gaetano Donizetti, including the famous romance of Nemorino from L’Elisir d’Amore, as well as Edgar’s aria and the Lucia–Edgar duet from Lucia di Lammermoor, partnering Violetta Grishko.

In recent seasons, Ivan Gyngazov (Moscow Music Theatre Helikon-Opera) has been actively expanding his international presence. His portrayals of Hermann (The Queen of Spades by Tchaikovsky) and Calaf (Turandot by Puccini) have been heard at Deutsche Oper Berlin, the Royal Theatre of Turin, the Israeli Opera, Dresden’s Semperoper, and other major venues. On January 31, audiences in Krasnoyarsk will hear Hermann’s arioso What Is Our Life? A Game! Gyngazov will also perform an excerpt from Richard Wagner’s Lohengrin — the celebrated narration In Fernem Land — as well as the duet of Desdemona and Otello (along with Anna Avakyan) from Verdi’s Otello.

Kirill Matveev, a soloist of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Music Theatre, primarily performs in Russia, focusing on roles that may not be conventional crowd-pleasers but hold significant importance in the historical repertoire of world opera. Among them are the Prince in Dargomyzhsky’s Rusalka, Volodya Gavrilov in Rodion Shchedrin’s first opera Not Love Alone, and Max in Weber’s Der Freischütz. It is Max’s aria that will be featured in the Parade of Tenors. Matveev will also perform two excerpts from operas by Giacomo Puccini: Cavaradossi’s iconic aria E Lucevan le Stelle from Tosca and the duet of Cio-Cio-San and Pinkerton from Madama Butterfly.