Press releases

BREST, 4 December (BelTA) – Brest will be hosting the 27th international classical music festival January Music Nights from 9 to 12 December, deputy head of the main department for ideology, culture, and youth affairs, head of the culture department at the Brest Oblast Executive Committee Sergei Panasyuk said at the press conference on 3 December, BelTA has learned.

The music forum will gather more than 300 singers from 11 countries: Belarus, Russia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, Moldova, Georgia, China, the UK, and Sweden. The program of the festival features four evening shows and three day concerts. The main venues will be the Brest Academic Drama Theater, the big and small halls of the Shirma Music College, and the catholic church that will house the concert of organ music.

The founder and art director of the festival, winner of the Special Prize of the President of Belarus, Merited Art Worker Lilia Batyreva noted that the high level of professionalism remains the traditional feature of the festival. “The festival has been maintaining the high level of quality for 27 years. It always features world-famous musicians, winners of national and international contests,” she emphasized.

For example, partaking in the opening show will be the legendary baritone, People’s Artist of Russia Sergei Zakharov who will perform some arias from operas and old Russian romances in the second part of the concert.

The program of the January Music Nights includes operas, and specifically, national operas. The Molodechno Youth Music Theater will perform the opera in two acts “Michal Kleofas Oginski. Unknown Portrait” on 10 December, the second day of the festival. The first night of the opera by composer Oleg Zaletnev was held in Molodechno a year ago. The art director of the project is Merited Art Worker, main conductor of the symphonic orchestra of the Oginski Molodechno Music College Grigory Soroka. Sergei Makarei is the director and author of the libretto.

The traditional Christmas Ball will be held on 11 January. One of the festival evenings will be dedicated to the old friend of the festival, famous pianist, People’s Artist of Belarus, Professor Igor Olovnikov. The highlight of the closing ceremony will be the performance by People’s Artist of the USSR, tenor soloist of the Bolshoi Theater of Russia Vladislav Pyavko.

The tickets for the opening and closing ceremonies are the most expensive and cost Br300-400,000. The tickets for operas are cheaper, from Br180,000 to Br250,000. The tickets for day concerts are Br60,000. However, Lilia Batyreva noted that there are already few tickets left.

The international classical music festival January Music Nights has been organized by the Brest Oblast Executive Committee, the Brest City Hall, the Belarusian Culture Ministry, and the Belarusian Union of Music Artists.