National Music Heart of Theatre Award 2025: Festival, Betting and New Talents

On November 24, 2025, a solemn ceremony of awarding the winners of the National Prize “Musical Heart of the Theatre” was held at the St. Petersburg Opera Theatre. This year, the festival received 111 submissions from theaters across the country, and the shortlist included 14 performances.

The ceremony, which turned into an original performance with exclusive rooms, was attended by more than a hundred guests, including stars of the music scene, the media and government officials. Special words of congratulations were delivered by the Vice-Governor of St. Petersburg Boris Piotrovsky and the President of the festival Maxim Dunaevsky, who noted the growing popularity of musical performances and emphasized the importance of supporting young talents.

The awarding of prizes became the occasion for personal revelations of participants. Director Nina Chusova promised that her characters will not die for another two years, and actor Dmitry Yermak expressed gratitude for the recognition and confirmed his dedication to the genre. Singer Jasmine, who acted as the curator of the project “Buratino”, shared her dream of creating a theater where children with disabilities can reveal their talent.

The winners were: Konstantin Rubinsky (Irkutsk Regional Musical Theatre). N.M.Zagursky – for the best play, Susanna Tsiriuk (St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy) – for the best song lyrics, Andrey Petrov and Olga Petrova (St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy) – for the best music, Alexander Pantykin (Irkutsk Regional Musical Theater). N.M.Zagursky) - for the best orchestration, Alexey Nefyodov (St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy) - for the best musical director, Alla Sigalova (Mossovet Theater) - for the best plastic solution, Olga Shaishmelashvili (St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy) - for the best scenography, Alena Peskov (Musical Theater named after F.I. Chaliapina) – for the best costumes, Tatiana Yatsyuk (Musical Theatre named after F.I. Chaliapina) - for the best lighting, Igor Ladeishchikov (Sverdlovsk State Academic Theater of Musical Comedy) - for the best performer of the second plan, Tatiana Mokrousova (Sverdlovsk State Academic Theater of Musical Comedy) - for the best performer of the second plan, Dmitry Yermak (St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy) - for the best performer of the main role, Anastasia Solokha (Irkutsk Regional Musical Theater. N.M.Zagursky – for the best performer of the leading role, as well as Nina Chusova (Sverdlovsk State Academic Theater of Musical Comedy) – for the best director, Yuri Schwarzkopf (St. Petersburg State Theater of Musical Comedy) – for the best producer, and “Fictions”. Pushkin's Tales" (Musical Theatre named after F.I. Chaliapin) – for the best performance for children and adolescents.

The main prize was a special diploma "Special Theater" for the singer Jasmine, curator of the project "Buratino and the Golden Key", and "June 22...", the Omsk Regional Theater of Young Audiences named after the XXth anniversary of the Lenin Komsomol, received the award of audience sympathies, and the TASS News Agency - a prize for partnership.

Next year, the festival will be held in Omsk, declared the cultural capital of Russia in 2026. The program “Big debut” for students of theater educational institutions will be held jointly with the Russian State Institute of Performing Arts with the support of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Kaliningrad region.