1991 was the bicentenary of Mozart's death, which would in normal times have caused huge activity at the Festival. There was one Mozart opera on show, with Scottish Opera presenting its first production of La clemenza di Tito. However with Eastern Europe in turmoil following the demise of the Berlin Wall and a major thaw between East and West apparently under way, it was not surprising if that took precedence, with the opera programme enjoying visits by both the Bolshoi (with Eugene Onegin and Christmas Eve) and the Kirov (bringing the complete operatic output of Musorgsky).
The concert schedule did include quite a lot of Mozart. The great C minor Mass featured in the opening gala concert, along with a piano concerto, K491,in the same key. Enterprisingly, the Leningrad Phiharmonic, with one concert of Tchaikovsky and a second of Prokofiev, included Mozart's Requiem in the third programme.
The soloists included the hugely familiar and welcome figure of Sergei Leiferkus. The tenor Yuri Marusin was a member of the Kirov company here for its Musorgsky season. The ladies were less familiar.
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