Classics at the Town Hall 2016: Baroque-style carriage in streets of Minsk

On 23 July, Minsk residents and visitors could see a magnificent horse-drawn carriage traveling along the streets of the Belarusian capital, from the Bolshoi Theater to Svobody Square, accompanied by Baroque music. The event marked the beginning of the project Classics at the Town Hall 2016 gathering thousands of enthusiasts of vocal and instrumental music in the Upper Town every weekend from 9 July.

As the carriage was passing through the city, jester Rigoletto set on its rear playing a reed pipe and inviting the bypassers to a concert of Baroque music at the Town Hall. The equipage was carrying a couple who won the contest A Kiss For Luck. Apart from the romantic trip, the couple were also invited to have a photoshoot near the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus and to open the Saturday evening in Svobody Square.

The evening of Baroque music opened with pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi and Georg Philipp Telemann performed by small ensembles and members of the ensemble Minsk Chamber Soloists led by Dmitry Zubov. The live concert featured Belarusian opera singers Natalia Akinina, Yuri Gorodetsky, Margarita Levchuk and famous Russian musicians who play unique instruments, Konstantin Yakovlev (Baroque bassoon and oboe), Rust Pozyumsky (viola da gamba) and Yevgeny Sviridov (Baroque violin).

Photo: Oksana Manchuk