The Eurasia Festival is proud to present “Russian Opera Today: Modern Theaters from St Petersburg to the Ural Mountains” – a seminar/discussion conducted by the prominent Russian music critic Dr. Vadim Zhuravlev.

The event will focus on the state of musical theater in post-Soviet Russia after the lifting of the pressures and constraints of communist ideology formerly imposed on the arts. Participants will be encouraged to bring their questions and comments to this open “chat” with perhaps the world’s foremost authority on the subject.

Specific considerations will include: Who decides the fate of the opera house in Russia today and by what processes? Is Russian opera now part of the global music mainstream? Who are the people in charge of opera houses in Russia nowadays and who are the stage directors, conductors, and performing artists populating Russian theaters?

The seminar’s leader, Dr. Zhuravlev, has written reviews and articles for some of the most important newspapers and magazines in Russia: Izvestia, Nezavisimaya Gazeta and Vedomosti. His reviews have also appeared internationally in prestigious publications like Germany’s Opernwelt and La Pensée Russe in Paris.

He has served Moscow’s world famous Bolshoi Theatre as Director of Artistic Programming, contributing much to instigating a new “open” hiring policy there. As a result, many outstanding artists from outside Russia have been engaged, including Robert Wilson, Peter Konwitschny, Graham Vick, John Neumeier, Waltraud Meier and Angela Denoke among others.

Dr. Zhuravlev has also served as judge for numerous prestigious singing competitions, including the International Opera Competition in Marseille; the Ottavio Ziino Opera Competition in Rome; the Concours International de Chant in Marmande, France; and the International “Voci Verdiane” Opera Competition in Busseto, Italy.

Now a well-known online presence, his blog “Sumerki bogov” (“Twilight of the Gods”) has attracted some 10,000 subscribers and more than 1.5 million visitors.

The seminar and discussion will be moderated by Eurasia Festival's Artistic Director, Aza Sydykov.

This event is managed by Olympia Arts.