Translation. Region: Russian Federal
Source: Moscow Government – Moscow Government –
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Kultura Moskvy attended a press conference dedicated to the opening of the joint project "Museum in the Opera / Opera in the Museum" Moscow Theatre "New Opera" named after E.V. Kolobov And Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA).
"We wanted to create something that Yevgeny Vladimirovich Kolobov would have enjoyed. And I think that, had life turned out differently, he would probably have happily participated in this as a musician and as the creator of a new opera house," noted Anton Getman, director of the Novaya Opera Theatre.
Kolobov – a reformer of musical theatre
Evgeny Kolobov founded the Novaya Opera when he was 45 years old. By then, he had worked at several of the USSR's largest theaters, served as artistic director of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theater, and had numerous opera productions under his belt, along with an endless desire to make opera more contemporary.
The Novaya Opera we know today is a theater that preserves everything its founder brought to opera. Experimentation is ingrained in the theater's very DNA, which is why it incorporates so many lab-style formats. It also provides young performers with the opportunity to stage productions. Three years ago, the Moscow Ballet Company joined the Novaya Opera, providing it with the necessary conditions for the continuous creative exploration of a new choreographic language.
"Yevgeny Vladimirovich tried to break with the traditional approach and attitude toward opera in general and opera in particular. The evidence we collected consistently pointed to this: both his productions and his bold, courageous approaches to scores that had been considered untouchable for many years. It became clear that Yevgeny Kolobov wanted to make opera contemporary, so that it wouldn't be perceived as conservative, sometimes boring, or tedious. And we began to develop this idea. I believe Yevgeny Vladimirovich truly spent his entire life, starting in Sverdlovsk (now Yekaterinburg), trying to make opera a contemporary art form," reflects Anton Getman.
It's no surprise that in the year of Evgeny Kolobov's 80th birthday, the theater, together with the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, launched the "Museum in the Opera/Opera in the Museum" project, bringing together various art forms, theatrical practices, and perspectives on what constitutes modernity in musical theater.
The project opened with a multimedia interpretation of Pascal Dusapin's opera "Passion" performed by Teodor Currentzis, musicAeterna and musicAeterna Dance.
MMOMA and Evgeny Kolobov
Perhaps for the first time in Russia, a musical theater and a museum have teamed up as equal creators in a single project. What's particularly surprising is the Moscow Museum of Modern Art. The museum is no stranger to collaborating with theater: it has previously collaborated with GITIS students, with various theater festivals, and with entire exhibitions organized according to theatrical logic ("Dress Rehearsal," 2018), as well as creatively combining key episodes from the history of the famous Moscow drama theater with specially created installations by contemporary artists ("Sovremennik. Beginning," 2021).
The museum continues its collaboration with the theater. In March 2026, the Moscow Museum of Modern Art will open an opera exhibition, "Boris Godunov," in its building on Petrovka Street.
"The project unfolds within the creative tension between theater and museum, ritual and object, the ephemeral and the material. It's a dialogue. Drawing on the unique experiences of Evgeny Kolobov, founder of the Novaya Opera, and Zurab Tsereteli, founder of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art, the participants reflect on a new synthesis of the arts, a new language that speaks to our era. Of course, this is an experiment for the entire curatorial team and the artists. Synthesis of the arts has always been born in periods of radical technological change and heightened spiritual quests. And now, when generative AI is beginning to transform our lives, it's important to form a holistic picture of reality—to cultivate a truly symphonic mindset," says Andrey Egorov, Deputy Director for Research at the Moscow Museum of Modern Art.
According to Georgy Nikich, co-curator of the opera exhibition "Boris Godunov" with Viktor Misiano, the project combines many layers: "Anyone who has visited natural science museums has likely seen these wonderful cross-sections of the soil. Many, many different layers. And this multi-layeredness gives us the opportunity to re-evaluate not only the Time of Troubles, not only Boris Godunov, not only our attitude toward all these different layers, but most importantly—toward the present day. And that's why we invite contemporary artists."
The full list of exhibition participants will be announced later, but it is already known that Alexey Tregubov is among them.
To remember and understand, you need to explain
As part of the project, a series of discussions, "In Between," will begin in the winter of 2026. The first meeting—a conversation titled "Unknown Kolobov: A Reformer of Opera, Musical Score, and Everything Around Him"—will take place before the opening of the Epiphany Festival and will be dedicated to the maestro's memory.
"We're opening the Epiphany Festival with a new production of 'The Tsar's Bride.' Before the performance, we'll be holding a discussion. The speakers we've invited will share their experiences working with Evgeny Kolobov. These are creative people who collaborated with him as directors, artists, and musicians," says Anton Getman.
This will be followed by lectures and discussions on the essence of the theatricalization of the museum today, and on contemporary opera reformers.
The project is supported by the Vladimir Potanin Charitable Foundation as part of the Museum Without Borders grant program. It received support as an example of bold cultural expression that bridges various disciplines, institutions, and artistic languages.
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