The newly formed troupes have their first performance (Leçons de ténèbres) on January 31, 2005. Music by Couperin, Tchaikovsky, Cavalieri, Ives, Bach and Pärt is accompanied by fragments of Mozart’s “Requiem”, Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” and Brahms’s “German Requiem”. The performance heralds the vast and ambitious plans for the future that the ensembles have; it is performed at the Transfiguration Cathedral and, on the next day, at the Grand Hall of the Novosibirsk Conservatory.
March witnesses the first opera performance by musicAeterna and New Siberian Singers: “Dido and Aeneas” by Purcell. In April, it is performed in Moscow with Emma Kirkby singing the leading part.
Over the course of the “Novosibirsk Opera in Moscow” anniversary programme, music by Brahms, Kurtág, Tchaikovsky, Kancheli and Christou is also performed at the Grand Hall of the Conservatory, conducted by Teodor Currentzis.
MusicAeterna and New Siberian Singers conclude their first season with a performance of Beethoven’s “Symphony No.9” and Andreas Moustoukis’s “Oktana” at the Novosibirsk Catholic Cathedral and at the Opera Theatre Square. Teodor Currentzis starts the tradition of summer open-air concerts which prove to be a significant cultural phenomenon in Novosibirsk for years to come.
In October, musicAeterna and New Siberian Singers take part in the first performance of Puccini’s “La Bohème” opera conducted by Teodor Currentzis. As soon as the Grand Hall is renovated, the revised stage version of “La Bohème” becomes part of the theatre’s repertoire.
November signifies the foreign debut of the two ensembles: Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” and Shostakovich’s “Symphony No.14” are performed at the ACT2005 & New Russian Arts festival in London.
In December, the “Russian Seasons” ballet (directed by Alla Sigalova and Teodor Currentzis) premieres on the Novosibirsk Theatre stage. The ballet is staged to music by Leonid Desyatnikov which is performed by musicAeterna.