Video Premiere: Dramatic Reading from the Opera "Trezzini"

We are pleased to present the first video from the presentation of the "Opera Trezzini" project, held in Saint Petersburg on April 24, 2026. Actors of the Chaliapin Musical Theatre, Ekaterina Lando and Vyacheslav Ryazanov, perform a dramatic reading from the opera’s synopsis in a staging directed by Nikita Sudomoykin.

Through the performers’ artistry and the director’s vision, the literary text becomes a self-contained theatrical work, conveying the rhythm, atmosphere, and emotional tension of the future production.

Video: https://youtu.be/dPp_dPzyPUA

The opera tells a story about the connection between eras, memory, and architecture as a living cultural force. Its protagonist, a contemporary Chinese architect named Li Wei, arrives in Saint Petersburg for an architectural award ceremony at the Hermitage and is mysteriously transported back to the city of Peter the Great. Among the scaffolding of the Peter and Paul Cathedral, he encounters the city’s first architect, Domenico Trezzini, his daughter Catarina, Emperor Peter I, and the builders of the new imperial capital.

This video offers audiences a first opportunity to experience the opera’s synopsis as a standalone dramatic work. More than a simple retelling of the plot, the text emerges as a complete theatrical statement — mystical, emotionally charged, and visually vivid. In this story, Saint Petersburg becomes not merely a setting, but a living character shaped by grand ambition, human will, and sacrifice.

Opera "Trezzini" is being developed as an international cultural project that continues the idea of “Architecture as Art,” the central concept of the International Golden Trezzini Awards for Architecture and Design. The production is conceived as a multilingual work incorporating Russian, Italian, German, and Chinese languages, while the musical score is built on the interplay of historical eras. The opera is composed by Ekaterina Ivanova-Blinova, with a libretto by Pavel Chernyakov.

We would like to thank Egor Glagolev and the company Stroy-Video for producing this video.

Representatives of theatres, festivals, production companies, cultural institutions, and professionals in the field of musical and dramatic theatre who wish to review the complete synopsis of the opera in English are invited to send a request to info@operatrezzini.ru, including their full name, organization, and contact details.

Opera website: https://operatrezzini.ru/