The XX Sobinov Musical Festival will be inaugurated today in the Opera and Ballet Theatre and will last till May, 30. The artistic director of the festival is the laureate of the State premium of the RF, People’s Artist Yuri Kochnev. The tradition to hold opera festival in Saratov each spring was founded in 1986. The festival was named after the great Russian tenor Leonid Sobinov, who performed in Saratov on tours in 1910-1929, being at the pick of his carrier.
During 20 years Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre has been holding Sobinov Musical Festival featuring multiple musical genres and styles.
This year the conoisseurs of art will enjoy the following masterpieces: at the inauguration of the festival – Beethoven’s “Wellington’s Victory at Vittoria” and “Christ on the Mount Olivet”. The visitors will also have the chance to attend to the first night of .V.Kobekin’s opera “Margarita”, the ballets “The Nutcracker” and “Tchaikovsky”, the operas “Secret Marriage”, “Eugene Onegin”, Puccini’s drama “Tosca”. The program of the festival includes Contest of Contests for vocalists, Leonid Smetannikov’s and Viacheslav Butusov’s concerts.
The XX Sobinov Festival is sponsored by the major regional benefactor, OAO “Sarativneftegas” (a subsidiary of Oil and Gas Company “RussNeft”). It is a tradition with the oilmen to support regional institutions engaged in culture activity, e.g. in 2006 they purchased for these institutions sound-and-light equipment, musical instruments, furniture and other equipment for the amount of 5 million rubles.
In total in 2006 “RussNeft” and “Saratovneftegas” are going to spend for charity purposes in the region more than 40 million rubles.
