Opening concert of the Russian Opera Festival was held at the RUSSIA EXPO

The opening concert of the Russian Opera Festival was held at the International RUSSIA EXPO as part of the Tourism Day in the regions of the Siberian Federal District.

The Governor's Symphony Orchestra of the Irkutsk Regional Philharmonic presented at the Exposition a concert program with the participation of soloists of opera theaters from different regions of Russia. The program of the concert in honor of the Festival opening included arias and scenes from the operas "Eugene Onegin", "The Maid of Orleans" and "Queen of Spades" by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, "The Golden Cockerel" by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, "Ivan Susanin" by Mikhail Glinka and "Prince Igor" by Alexander Borodin.

"The name of the festival speaks for itself. Great Russian opera unites and demonstrates a huge historical stratum, and we want to show just that. Russian art has given a huge pleiad of singers and composers who revealed their talent precisely in Russian arias.  We try to invite representatives of different regions - the Siberian Federal District, the Zabaykalsky region, Buryatia. Artists from Moscow theaters and the Mariinsky Theater are frequent guests. Serbia is also represented at the Festival," said Irina Kasyanova, Director of the Irkutsk Regional Philharmonic Society.

The Festival of Russian Opera is the brightest summer musical event in the Irkutsk region. It is held annually in the open air in the architectural and ethnographic museum "Taltsy" - a unique place where historical, architectural and ethnographic monuments of the XVII-XX centuries are gathered on the bank of the picturesque Angara River, where the beauty of music, nature and history are merged.

The festival's ideological inspirer is the artistic director and chief conductor of the Governor's Symphony Orchestra, Merited Art Worker of Russia Ilmar Lapins.

"The RUSSIA EXPO unites all regions of our country. Each region tries to show the best, what it is proud of. The Festival of Russian Opera is a landmark event for us. It is a very bright, unique event, there are no such events in other regions. We bring soloists from different theaters of our country to the festival. Uniting on our platform, they create a work of art that cannot be repeated anywhere else. The festival takes place in the architectural and ethnographic museum 'Taltsy', where there is a special authentic atmosphere of the Ilimsk stockade. This festival popularizes Russian opera. It is important for us to present such a bright event on Tourism Day in the regions of the Siberian Federal District," said Olesya Polunina, Minister of Culture of the Irkutsk region.

The International RUSSIA EXPO showcases the most important achievements of the country in one place. Throughout the Exposition, cultural events, a rich business and educational program await the guests. The expositions of 89 Russian regions, leading federal agencies, corporations and public organizations are presented to the visitors. More than 17 million people have already visited the Exposition. The International RUSSIA EXPO takes place on the territory of VDNH in Moscow from November 4 to July 8.