On 16 November, 2015 a presentation of the project “Moisey Weinberg. The Passenger. Russian stage premiere” was held in Moscow within the framework of the conference Russia – Poland: a Musical Dialogue.
The project was presented by its curators, Andrei Shishkin and Andrei Ustinov, and Aleksander Laskowski (project consultant).
Andrei Shishkin presented the production directors. Video addresses of Oliver von Dohnányi and Thaddeus Strassberger were shown.
Aleksander Laskowski talked about Zofia Posmysz, the author of the novel which had been adapted into a libretto of the opera The Passenger, and about the scenic fate of the opera in Europe and the USA.
Andrei Ustinov acquainted the audience with Weinberg’s creative activities, presented major events scheduled for the pre-premiere period and a parallel program.
A fragment of Zofia Posmysz’s interview with Andrei Shishkin and Andrei Ustinov recorded at her house in Warsaw in summer 2015 was shown.
Mikhail Shvydkoy, Special Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for International Cultural Cooperation, and Katarzyna Pełczyńska-Nałęcz, Poland Ambassador to Russia, appeared and spoke at the presentation. Among those present were Polish and Russian musicologists, Irina Gerasimova, CEO and Artistic director of the Russian State TV and Radio Music Centre, journalists, critics and representatives of Moscow musical theatres. Sergei Medvedev, Professor of the Higher School of Economics and the son of librettist Alexander Medvedev, was invited as a special guest of the presentation.