The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet theatre has closed the 72nd season

Administration and artistic direction reflect on milestones of the season.

„The theatre has performed a major shoot forward during this season: the repertoire was updated with six new performances, Isidor Zak Concert Hall has been renovated, the theatre museum has returned from oblivion. The opera festival of Veronika Dzhioeva has become a significant closing event alongside founding a theatre avenue — stated Vladimir Kekhman the Director General of NOVAT — but I believe the main accomplishment of the season is the persistent interest of the audience for the theatre events — our performances are usually sold out„.

“The season was unexpectedly eventful for the Novosibirsk opera — states Dmitry Yurovsky, the Musical Director and the Principal Conductor of the theatre — we have presented three opera premieres. „The Queen of Spades. The Game „ is heavily discussed in media, the audience warmly received both Verdi’s “Un Ballo In Maschera“ and Leovcavallo’s „Pagliacci“. What is also important, is that the company after twelve years of absence rediscover the Chief Stage Director, who happened to be Vyacheslav Starodubtsev. In my opinion, a Stage Director is a crucial figure at a stock company„.

Denis Matvienko, Chief of the ballet company, emphasized that the repertoire has been updated with three new performances of different types: „We started the season with a ballet premiere “Romeo and Juliet„ by Oleg Vinogradov, a performance meant to be shown at this stage, since it’s the very place where the unique choreographer decided to work with Prokofiev’s score. The next valuable acquisition is Nacho Duato’s modern rendition of a „Sleeping Beauty“ and now we know that the ballet classics rendered by contemporary choreographers are quite comprehensible with the audience. The third premiere is “Peer Gynt„ and I’d call it a breakthrough. Edward Klug’s ballet is incomparable for its emotional impact on the audience. The brand new moves of this ballet were necessary for both the audience and the artists“.

“We have accomplished a lot during this season and we are grateful to our audience for the love, devotion and a keen interest with the theatre life — mentioned Vyacheslav Starodubtsev, the Chief Stage director of the theatre. We will look forward to meeting the theatre-goers in the new 73rd season, which starts with Donizetti’s „L’elisir d’amore“.

The theatre community looks closely at the changes the Novosibirsk theatre has been experiencing for the past two seasons. „The theatre is trying to speak to the young audience in its language and it succeeds — the behemoth auditorium of the Siberian Coliseum is full to the brim“ — pointed out the musical critic Alexander Matusevich.