At the St.Petersburg International Cultural Forum, the Hvorostovsky Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre signed a cooperation agreement with the Birgitta International Music Festival (Estonia). The Artistic Director of the Krasnoyarsk Theatre Sergei Bobrov and the director of Birgitta Margit Tohver-Aints signed the document.

The Festival will be held in August 2020. Its programme includes two performances of the Krasnoyarsk Opera and Ballet Theatre; both of them were staged by creative teams from the Baltic states. The Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin was directed by Neeme Kuningas in 2018 (Estonian Kuningas was the principal director of the Theatre in 2016-2018), costumes and set designers are Ervin Iuunapuu and Anna Kontek.

In 2014, the Giuseppe Verdi's opera Aida was directed by Andrejs Žagars; costume and set designers were Ivars Noviks and Kristine Pasternaka. Andrejs Žagars was born in Chernogorsk (those times, the town was situated in the Krasnoyarsk Region). He has been the director of the Latvian National Opera for many years. A talented actor and director passed away early - when he only was 60 years old (in 2019). The performance of Aida at the Birgitta Festival is dedicated to his memory.

“For Russian-speaking residents of Estonia, it is significant that they see the classic Russian theatre. This is also important for native Estonians because Russia has the image of a country of a very high theatre culture’s level,” commented Margit Tohver-Aints.

The Krasnoyarsk Opera has already staged operas in the loft (the project Art at the Quadrat); now, there’s a new experiment: opera performance among the ruins of the St. Brigit's Convent in Tallinn. For the theatre, this is another step in the exploration of new theatrical areas.

“We’re interested in using new sites because the theatre has embarked on experimenting with productions and stages. We have already staged several innovative operas to the music of contemporary composers at the Quadrat loft. Now we’ll go to Tallinn, where we’ll give classical performances on the territory of the old monastery,” Sergei Bobrov emphasized the importance of cooperation.