On March 7, the opera “The Tsar's Bride” by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov will be performed on the stage of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre named after D.A.Hvorostovsky. The performance is a part of the programme of the IX International Festival “Stars Parade in the Opera”.

The opera is based upon the play by Lev Mei. Rimsky-Korsakov took an interest in this play as far back as 1868, but he started working on an opera based on its plot only thirty years later. The process of creating the opera enthralled the maestro much and "The Tsar's Bride" was written in 10 months. The première took place on October 22 (November 3) in 1899 in the Moscow Theatre of Private Opera of S.I.Mamontov.

The opera is about love - hot, passionate love, burning everything around. About the love that arose in one of the most cruel and terrible eras in the history of our country - the time of the reigning of Ivan the Terrible. The time of Oprichnina, boyars, mass executions and deadly feasts. The opera reveals one of the episodes of a short life and the mysterious death of the Russian Tsar’s third wife Martha Sobakina. The merchant's daughter was personally chosen by the monarch from thousands of the most beautiful girls in Russia. However, the fatal marriage did not bring happiness to Marfa...

Guests of the festival will take part in performing "The Tsar's Bride".

Lyubasha's arias will be sung by the soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, People's Artist of Russia Irina Dolzhenko. The singer is already known to the Krasnoyarsk audience - many a time she took part in the repertoire performances of our theatre as an invited soloist. She’s also a regular guest of the festival "Stars Parade". The role of Gryaznoy performs the soloist of the Serbian National Opera and Ballet Theatre Zeljko Andric. Artists of the Krasnoyarsk Opera will take the stage along with them - People's Artist of Russia Anatoly Berezin, Honoured Artist of Russia Vera Baranova, Eugene Baldanov, Ilya Krivchikov and others. Maestro Ilmar Lapinsh (Latvia) will conduct the orchestra.