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On 3 April 2010, the eve of the Radiant Resurrection of Christ, the opening night of “St. Matthew Passion” Oratorio composed by Metropolitan Hilarion took place in Yekaterinburg and has become a major event of the Russian Symphony Forum in the city. The Ural Philharmonic Orchestra and the Symphony Choir of the Sverdlovsk Philharmonic Society performed. The renowned Dmitry Kitaenko arrived in Yekaterinburg from Switzerland to conduct.

Dmitry Kitaenko began his career as conductor in 1969. He was chief conductor of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Musical Theatre in 1970-76, and chief conductor and artistic director of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the Moscow Philharmonic Society in 1976-90. After his departure from Russia in 1990, he worked as chief conductor in Germany, Norway, Switzerland, and South Korea.

Dmitry Kitaenko lives in Switzerland, and Yekaterinburg has become a “momentous place” as he conducted the Ural Philharmonic Orchestra there in 2007. The mass media called this event unique.

Metropolitan Hilarion’s “St. Matthew Passion” Oratorio for soloists, choir and orchestra was first performed by the Tchaikovsky Large Symphony Orchestra and the Choir of the Tretyakov Gallery conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev at the Moscow Conservatoire on 27 March 2007. Since then, the Oratorio has been performed in many cities of Russia and abroad. As it is dedicated to the Passions of Christ, it is usually performed during Lent or in Holy Week.

The Oratorio was performed thirteen times in spring 2010 in Moscow, Lipetsk, and Yekaterinburg (Russia), in Friburg, Neuchatel, and Einsideln (Switzerland), Odessa, Lvov, Khmelnitsky, Vinnitsa, and Dnepropetrovsk (Ukraine, Kishinev (Moldova), and Istanbul (Turkey.)