Esmeralda by Dargomïzhsky, K 29 juuni 2022, Alates (2021/2022), Juhatatud Yuri Alexandrov, Natalya Chernikova, Darya Modzalevskaya,, Dirigent Maxim Valkov, Baron Fon Derviz Mansion (St Petersburg Chamber Opera), Saint Petersburg, Russia

“In our performance, we fully preserve the historicism of the work of Dargomyzhsky. We do not deprive the production of fascinating harsh poetry of the medieval world, however, the problems of the main characters will be familiar and understandable to a person of the twenty-first century, because they are eternal. This is a bright love, uniting two people from different social classes (a young officer Phoebus and a gypsy girl Esmeralda), and a destructive passion burning from the inside that turned Frollo into a demon... Over the centuries, a lot has changed, but both then and now, extraordinary feelings and passions are born in a ruthless society, condemning any sincere manifestations which leads to tragedy. The ending of the play is obvious. A beautiful cathedral perishes, and with it everything burns down in a fire: wonderful people, their hopes, love, passion and pain”,- Yuri Alexandrov says.