Final rehearsals and preparations for the 4th International Music Festival of Ildar Abdrazakov are underway in Ufa. The festival starts tomorrow, May 27, on the Bashkir State Opera and Ballet Theater stage.

Honored Artist of Russia, winner of two Grammy awards, People's Artist of Bashkortostan and Tatarstan, one of the most famous Russian opera singers, Ildar Abdrazakov, timed the  Festival opening to the birthday of his teacher, Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR, Professor Milyausha Murtazina.

The singer invited opera stars and the best graduates of the famous professor's class to congratulate her on her 95th birthday: Elena Stikhina, Vasily Ladyuk, Vladislav Sulimsky, Askar Abdrazakov, Dilyara Idrisova, Alfia Karimova, Idris Gaziev, Vladimir Kopytov, Rail Kuchukov, Vladimir Belov.

Popular arias and duets from operas by Russian and foreign composers will sound accompanied by the National Symphony Orchestra of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Conductor — Dmitry Kryukov.

The Honored Artist of Bashkortostan, the leading soloist of the Astana Opera, laureate of international competitions Alfiya Karimova flew from Nursultan (Kazakhstan) to take part in the concert in Ufa.

The fourth festival has seriously expanded its format and geography. If the first season in 2018 was concentrated in Ufa, the second and third covered four regional centers, then in 2021, the project is presented in seven cities. In addition to Ufa, Novosibirsk (June 28), Tomsk (June 30), Tyumen (July 1), Tobolsk (July 3), and Astrakhan (July 7) first appeared on the map of the show. A large-scale educational program of the festival and a gala concert took place in Moscow in February.