Singer Nikolai Baskov sang the part of Lensky in a recent performance of "Yevgeny Onegin" at the Bolshoi Theater to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of outstanding Russian lyrical tenor Sergei Lemeshev, the daily Zhizn reports. "Sergei Lemeshev's costume has been kept in the Bolshoi Theater's museum with special care, and nobody had put it on since Lemeshev," Baskov told Zhizn.

"I'm aware of the big honor I've been given," he added. Knowing that the costume could not be altered, Baskov stayed on a strict diet for several weeks, and when he tried it on the day before the event, the costume looked as if it were tailored precisely for him. Quite a few famous people were in the audience for "Onegin," including State Duma Speaker Gennady Seleznyov, actress Lyudmila Maksakova, pop singers Iosif Kobzon, Alla Pugacheva,

Philip Kirkorov, Tamara Gverdtsiteli and Alexander Buinov, TV host Maxim Galkin and many others. Baskov's relatives also attended, including his parents, wife and mother-in-law, although his manager and father-in-law Boris Shpigel could not attend due to health reasons.