Video Premiere: Li Wei’s Aria from the Opera “Trezzini”

We are pleased to share the second video release from the private preview of the Opera “Trezzini” project, which took place in St. Petersburg on April 24, 2026. This features the "Aria of the Chinese Guest"—the audience's first musical introduction to the protagonist, Li Wei, a young Chinese architect who has just arrived on the banks of the Neva. The role was performed at the presentation by Mariinsky Theatre soloist Boris Stepanov (tenor). Notably, while the aria was sung in Russian for this preview, it is written to be performed in Chinese in the final stage production.

Stepanov delivers an exceptional vocal performance, imbuing Li Wei’s aria with profound psychological depth and compelling dramatic intensity. He masterfully navigates the stylistic complexities of the score; his tenor, marked by noble baroque elegance and seamless cantabile phrasing, integrates effortlessly into the piece's expressive, contemporary rhythmic architecture. Stepanov brilliantly charts his character’s emotional trajectory, capturing everything from ambitious professional pride to the poignant, intimate longing of a man caught between two worlds. The aria reaches an abrupt and unexpected end, its powerful resonance suddenly cut short by the piercing sound of a clay whistle blown by a souvenir vendor outside the State Hermitage Museum.

Video link: https://youtu.be/2YqMLJ3HtS8

About the Project: An International Fantasy of Genius, the City, and Love

At the heart of the upcoming opera is a magical-realist tale exploring the timeless bond between creators and the transcendent power of love. The story follows a contemporary young Chinese architect, Li Wei, who travels to St. Petersburg to receive the prestigious Golden Trezzini Award. Through a series of mystical events, he is transported exactly three centuries back in time, finding himself in November 1724.

In place of the grand metropolis he knows, Li Wei confronts a landscape of marshes, scaffolding, and the rising framework of the Peter and Paul Cathedral. Here, among the city's first builders, his path crosses with St. Petersburg’s inaugural architect, Domenico Trezzini, his daughter Katarina, and Emperor Peter the Great alongside his imperial retinue. It is a narrative that speaks to how enduring architecture is, yet how surely it withers without love.

The opera is conceived as a multilingual tapestry, incorporating Russian, Italian, German, and Chinese into its vocal fabric. The musical landscape is built on a striking counterpoint of eras. Composer Ekaterina Ivanova-Blinova has crafted a multifaceted score where exquisite baroque polyphony clashes with the uncompromising, driving rhythms of modernity, exposing the raw dual nature of a city built on both grand dreams and immense sacrifice. Serving as the vital leitmotif and a fragile thread connecting the centuries is the piercing, evocative sound of a simple clay whistle.

Featuring a libretto by Pavel Chernyakov, Trezzini is being developed as an independent international cultural project. Its core philosophy aligns with the foundational mission of the International Golden Trezzini Awards—celebrating architecture as a true form of art.

Our sincere thanks to Egor Glagolev and the Stroy-Video company for producing this video.

Note for Industry Professionals: > Theater representatives, festival programmers, production companies, cultural institutions, and performing arts professionals wishing to review the complete written synopsis of the opera Trezzini are invited to submit a request to info@operatrezzini.ru. Please include your full name, your organization, and your professional contact details.

About the Performer

Boris Stepanov (Tenor) has been a soloist with the Mariinsky Theatre since February 2023. Born in Leningrad, he graduated from the Glinka Choral College and the N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov St. Petersburg State Conservatory, later completing his training at the prestigious Accademia Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Stepanov is a laureate of major operatic honors, including the Onegin National Opera Award (2016), and took top prizes at both the Georg Ots International Music Competition and the Hans Gabor Belvedere Singing Competition (2018). His career includes tenure as a soloist with the Mikhailovsky Theatre and regular appearances as a guest soloist with the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. On the international stage, he has performed at prominent venues such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam, the Grand Théâtre de Genève, and the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. His extensive repertoire spans leading roles in masterpieces by Mozart, Rossini, Donizetti, Tchaikovsky, and Stravinsky, alongside a vast body of sacred and baroque music.

Find out more: https://www.mariinsky.ru/company/opera_men/stepanov_boris/

Dramatic reading of the opera synopsis (in Russian): https://vkvideo.ru/video-237589164_456239021

Official Opera Website: https://operatrezzini.ru/