The Premier Art Agency together with the Elena Obraztsova Foundation, a charitable foundation for the support of musical art, in honor of the 85th anniversary of the birth of the great opera singer Elena Obraztsova in 2024, implemented the project "A Musical Offering Dedicated to Elena Obraztsova" with the support of a grant from the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives.

The program of the jubilee year dedicated to the 85th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian singer Elena Obraztsova was opened on May 2 by a solemn performance in the Great Hall "Zaryadye" "Requiem" by Giuseppe Verdi with the participation of the State Kremlin Orchestra under the baton of artistic director and chief conductor Konstantin Chudovsky, the State Academic Choral Chapel of Russia named after A. A. Yurlov, the State Academic Russian Choir named after A. V. Sveshnikov(artistic director and chief conductor People's Artist of Russia Gennady Dmitriak). A. Yurlov, the State Academic Russian Choir named after A.V. Sveshnikov (Artistic Director and Principal Conductor People's Artist of Russia Gennady Dmitriak).
The soloists are laureates of Elena Obraztsova's vocal competitions: soloist of the Bolshoi Theater Ekaterina Morozova (soprano), soloist of the New Opera Theater named after E. V. Kolobov, guest soloist of the New Opera Theater named after E. V. Kolobov. Yulia Mennibaeva (mezzo-soprano), guest soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre, soloist of the Moscow Musical Theatre Helikon-Opera conducted by Dmitry Bertman, guest soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre Igor Morozov (tenor) and guest soloist of the Mariinsky Theatre's Primorsky Stage Sergei Sevastyanov (bass).

Before the beginning of the concert the audience was greeted by Natalia Mikhailovna Ignatenko, General Director of the Elena Obraztsova Foundation, conductor Konstantin Chudovsky and special guest of the project Massimiliano Bullo, vocal coach of the La Scala Theater, who worked with the soloists on Italian vocal phonetics especially for the performance of Requiem in Zaryadye.

"I would like to thank the Zaryadye Concert Hall for the opportunity to perform Verdi's Requiem, which occupied a special place in the life and artistic destiny of Elena Obraztsova, during Holy Week. In 1978, La Scala, the world's most famous opera house, celebrated its 200th anniversary and the central event of the celebrations was the performance of Verdi's Requiem on January 6 in the Church of San Marco with the participation of the La Scala Choir and Orchestra conducted by Claudio Abbado and soloists Mirella Freni, Elena Obraztsova, Luciano Pavarotti and Nikolai Gyaurov. This year the entire musical world is celebrating the 150th anniversary of the first performance of the Requiem, which took place on May 22, 1874, with the composer himself in attendance. Today's concert is dedicated to the 85th anniversary of Elena Obraztsova". Natalia Mikhailovna Ignatenko

"This is extremely important for us! I myself have had to perform Verdi's Requiem more than once, but this will be the first time with our orchestra, the State Kremlin Orchestra, and I am very happy about this event." Konstantin Chudovsky
"I remember with great pleasure how with Elena Vasilievna we sang on the same stage when I was only 13 years old. It was the opera "Werther", where Elena Vasilyevna performed the part of Charlotte, and I was a little boy next to her. The impressions were unforgettable... Already after that, when I began my training as a maestro who prepares soloists to perform operas, we had the opportunity to work very closely with Elena Vasilievna on various operas, the most striking of which was Pietro Mascagni's "Rural Honor" in preparation for the famous film directed by Franco Zeffirelli...". Massimiliano Bullo

"Requiem" in Zaryadye is one of the landmark events within the framework of the project "Musical offering "Dedicated to Elena Obraztsova" realized with the support of the Presidential Fund for Cultural Initiatives. The final stage of the anniversary celebrations will be the Gala Concert "Elena Obraztsova's Opera Ball", which will take place on October 14, 2024 on the Historic Stage of the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia with the participation of outstanding vocalists - laureates of Elena Obraztsova's vocal competitions of different years.