Classics on the Palace Square
24 May 2015 Palace Square, St. Petersburg |
The walls of the Winter Palace witnessed yet one more exquisite decoration – an impromptu ballroom shimmering with crystal chandeliers and sconces. More than 1500 thousand crystals were used when creating these masterpieces and it is thanks to them that the sunlight and the rays of the spotlight were highlighted in a very special way.
The Mikhailovsky Symphony Orchestra and its chief conductor, Mikhail Tatarnikov, presented the city with the two hours of light, elegant and inspiring music. Melodies of Rossini, Verdi and Dvorak were interspersed with arias from operettas by Kalman, Lehar and Strauss. They were set off by the dramatic chords of Saint-Saens and lyrical songs of the natives of Naples.
All opera singers who stepped on the stage that night gained international fame, but, first of all, they represent the Russian Opera School. Baritone Dmitri Hvorostovsky, sopranos Valentina Nafornita, Ekaterina Lekhina and Anna Aglatova, mezzo-soprano Olesya Petrova, a native of St. Petersburg, tenors Alexey Dolgov, Dmitri Korczak, Dmytro Popov and Eugeny Ahmedov, a rising star of the Mikhailovsky Theatre, created an amazing kaleidoscope of all shades of classical singing.
Alena Baeva was a guest of honor of the concert. Her talent and virtuoso art of violin playing is recognized by many famous conductors in the world.
The atmosphere of the feast was created by the Jacobson Ballet, Mikhailovsky Ballet and other prominent dancers. The Bad Boys of Dance from the United States added some savour and dynamics to the programme of the concert. They brilliantly and humorously dealt with the difficult task faced by them – they managed to create the whirling dance fusion with the elements of acrobatics and rock 'n' roll in a dramatic dance cocktail to the music by Saint-Saens and Rossini.
Everyone in St. Petersburg could visit this open-air concert for free and, as a result, more than 20 000 spectators came to see the show. The audience could not stop applauding for the whole duration of the concert – more than two hours.
Simultaneously 100 TV Channel were broadcasting the show that was watched by hundreds of thousands of spectators.
The project was supported by the Government of St. Petersburg and the Committee for Culture of St. Petersburg.