The festival opened with a gala concert of ballet stars "Dyagilev Gala." In the rich opera part, classical masterpieces were presented to the audience by leading Russian stars, and the highlight was the premiere of the opera "Carmen" (dir. Ilya Ustyantsev), which was performed over two evenings on an open-air stage in the "Lyzzo" park at the "Rose Hutor" resort.
The artistic director of the festival and the Sochi Symphony Orchestra, Alexei Aslanov, stood at the conductor's podium.
The organizer of the I Sochi Festival of Classical Music is the F.E.S. classical music support foundation.
With the support of the Presidential Cultural Initiatives Fund, the All-Russian People's Front, the Russian-Chinese Cultural Exchange Fund, the Administration of the city of Sochi, the Sochi Symphony Orchestra Fund, and the "Rose Hutor" resort.
Sochi is home to successful music festivals of various genres. The 2014 Olympics brought unique, state-of-the-art facilities to the city, increasing the opportunities for diverse events, including concert-theater performances. Academic music is represented by the Yuri Bashmet and Denis Matsuev festivals, which have won over audiences. Matsuev's Crescendo festival takes place in the summer, while Bashmet's takes place in the winter. However, there is no festival that features full-length operas. Nevertheless, there are excellent opportunities in Sochi to host such events, similar to the "Arene di Verona" opera festival in Italy or the Berlin Waldbühne or the Vienna Schönbrunn Park, as well as modern concert venues in the city and in Krasnaya Polyana. A classical music festival in Sochi with a focus on opera would be extremely attractive for opera lovers from around the world, as well as for visitors and residents of southern Russia.
The F.E.S. Foundation for Supporting Classical Music Arts held a casting for young opera singers in advance of the festival. The competition took place from June 1 to July 15, 2022 and was open to Russian opera performers aged 8 to 30.
The winners were awarded participation in the 1st Sochi Classical Music Festival. They performed on the stage in the premiere of the opera "Carmen" as Morales, Mercedes, Frasquita, Dancairo and Remendado, and also performed at a concert in the Alice Debolskaya Hall of Organ and Chamber Music in Sochi. The winners also took part in master classes with opera stars such as Agunda Kulaeva, Vladislav Sulimsky, Alexey Tatarintsev, and Oxana Shilova.