The opera soloist Kira Tikhonova (Misheneva) will take part in an opera concert in Vienna. An invitation to sing in the Austrian capital in the autumn is an award for participating in the qualifying round of the Hans Gabor International Competition of Young Opera Singers “BELVEDERE”, which was held in Irkutsk as a part of the VIII International Festival of Opera Music “Breath of Baikal”.

“Such achievements are very important for me. They give strength and confidence about your moving in the right direction”, says the singer, “But it’s more important that my work is duly appreciated. And fortunately, there is still a lot of work to be done!”

Hans Gabor International Competition of Young Opera Singers “BELVEDERE” is one of the most famous and prestigious contests in the world. Its qualifying rounds take place in the most famous theatres of the world in almost 50 cities. Among them are La Scala in Milan, the Royal Opera House of Covent Garden in London, Semperoper in Dresden, Cape Town Opera House, Grand Opera House of Houston. And auditions have also been held in Irkutsk for several years already.

Well-known vocal teachers, directors of theatres and worldwide known conductors judge contestants. Panel of judges varies from year to year, but the chairman still is Honorary Art Worker of Russia, Chief Conductor and Artistic Director of the Governor's Symphony Orchestra Ilmars Lapins. It is he who came up with the idea of holding a contest in Irkutsk to let young vocalists show their worth without going far from home.

This year, the jury included the soloist of the Vienna Opera House Stella Grigoryan (Vienna, Austria), the Honoured Worker of Culture of Russia Anastasia Durbazheva (Irkutsk) and the head of the Slovenian Cultural Centre in Austria Anton Levstek (Vienna, Austria).