Guests from 18 Countries, Concerts, and Stage Performances: What Made the “Belarus Bolshoi Theatre Evenings at the Radziwill Castle” Unforgettable
The festival “Belarus Bolshoi Theatre Evenings at the Radziwill Castle” gathered guests from 18 countries.
For three days, Nesvizh Castle welcomed opera and symphonic music lovers, treated to performances by the artists of the Bolshoi Theatre of Belarus. The festival programme included 13 unique creative events. Romance of bygone eras, timeless classics, and the incredible voices of soloists once again turned it into living magic.
A Burst of Theatrical Colours
Spectators came to Nesvizh from all corners of the country, with many booking seats for concerts and performances months in advance. And rightly so: tickets for some events sold out within days.
According to the organisers, around 4,000 people attended the festival! As usual, foreign art lovers also made the journey this year. Tickets were purchased by viewers from 18 countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, the United Kingdom, Germany, Poland, France, the UAE, Singapore, and the Netherlands.
The fact that the creative forum is gaining ever greater international scope is nothing new for the Bolshoi Theatre troupe: this was its 16th edition, and thanks to its popularity among classical music enthusiasts, the number of its fans grows each year. For the creative team itself, the event is also eagerly awaited, admits the theatre’s artistic director, People’s Artist of Bashkortostan Artem Makarov:
— We started preparing for the project several months in advance, involving all creative forces. We tried to make the programme as diverse as possible. And indeed, everyone found something to their taste. We presented impressive operas as well as chamber concerts, which formed the bulk of the programme.
An Impressive Scale
The festival opened with a concert by the theatre’s chief director, Anna Motornaya, dedicated to Belarusian opera. Later, the audience was presented with a programme celebrating the 100th anniversary of legendary composer Alexander Zatsepin. Motornaya prepared both concerts as part of the creative project “At the Crossroads of Musical Events: Opera – It’s Fashionable, Opera – It’s Powerful!”, implemented with the support of a grant from the President of Belarus in the field of culture for 2026. She spoke about the main message embedded in these musical events:
— The first concert was as classical as possible, introducing the audience to traditional Belarusian opera and modern trends. The second was dedicated to the maestro Zatsepin, who created an entire era in film music, and was complemented with works by titans of world classics.
On the evening of the first day, the large stage in the central courtyard of the castle presented the opera-ballet “Willis. Fatum”, dedicated to the tragic fate of the heroes Roberto and Anna (starring laureates of international vocal competitions Taras Prysiazhniuk and Maria Galkina), whose lives were destroyed by betrayal. White veils of ghostly willis (phantom maidens), Giacomo Puccini’s mesmerising music, hypnotic lighting, and dance – all were reflected in this atmospheric mystical performance.
The intensity of theatrical passion grew each day. Guests were treated to Handel’s opera “Acis and Galatea”, a flute concert, and a programme for Mozart’s 270th anniversary. For young viewers, the theatre’s wind quintet prepared a delightful concert-fairy-tale “The Story of Babar, the Little Elephant” to the music of Francis Poulenc. The festival concluded with a gala concert of Bolshoi Theatre stars, featuring leading soloists of opera and ballet, choir, orchestra, and mime artists.
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