31st edition of the January Music Nights classical music festival

For more than three decades, the January Music Nights classical music festival has been the first big event on the cultural calendar of Brest. But this time it has a more responsible mission! This year’s edition of the festival has kicked off the marathon of events to celebrate the Millennium of Brest, one of the oldest cities in Europe. Moreover, in 2019 the city also holds the status of the CIS Capital of Culture.

On the evening of 9 January the Brest Academic Drama Theater hosted hundreds of music lovers, including representatives of the Brest regional and municipal authorities, the diplomatic corps, and the clergy. Brest Mayor Alexander Rogachuk and Belarus Deputy Culture Minister Sergei Sheremetiev addressed the audience with welcoming remarks.

The festival opened with the overture to Rossini's opera The Thieving Magpie performed by the Symphony Orchestra of the Belarusian State TV and Radio Company under the baton of Alexander Sosnovsky. The program continued with the arias from operas by Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Verdi and Saint-Saens performed by Italian La Scala tenors Gianni Mongiardino and Aldo Caputo, and singers of Russia’s Bolshoi Theater Young Artists Opera Program Tamuna Gochashvili, Victoria Karkacheva and Aludo Todua.

The first festival day also featured opera singer Joanna Nawrot (Poland) and guitar virtuoso Tom Sinatra (Italy). The nephew of the legendary American singer, actor and showman came to Brest for the first time. He shared his impressions at an unplanned press conference on the first day of the festival: “This city has a special vibe. It is living and breathing culture. I would like to stay here for longer to visit museums and discover the city”.

The 31st edition of the January Music Nights festival features performers from 10 countries, including Belarus, Russia, Georgia, Italy, and Japan. General manager and founder of the festival, Merited Worker of Art Lilia Batyreva noted that the playbill features both renowned artists and new hopefuls. Jazz, modern, new interpretations of classics will certainly delight music lovers. Apart from the main stage, the artists will perform in catholic churches and in small towns. The festival will wrap up with a gorgeous Christmas ball.