Damir G. Ismagilov

Graduate of the Theatre Arts Technology College (1978) and the Production Department of the Moscow Art Theatre School (1987), he has joined the Moscow Art Theatre (MXAT) in 1977, and became Principal Lighting Designer in 1987.

He has authored to date over 90 MXAT productions including: Boris Godunov, The Cherry Orchard, Woe of Wit, The Storm, The Marriage, Moscow Chorus, Misha's Birthday Party, The Three Sisters, Cyrano de Bergerac, Antigone, Crime and Punishment, Zeroes, Copenhagen, The Siege, The Philistines, The White Guard, Playing a Victim, King Lear, The Forest, The Golovlyovs. Extensive list of his collaborators includes the most notable and prominent names of both Russian and international directors: Oleg Efremov, Oleg Tabakov, Valery Fokin, Leonid Kheifets, Roman Viktyuk, Mark Rozovsky, Kama Ginkas, Vladimir Andreyev, Roman Kozak, Kirill Serebrennikov, Elena Nevezhina, Tadashi Suzuki, Vladimir Petrov, Timur Chkheidze, Nikolai Sheyko, Mindaugas Karbauskis, Evgeny Pisarev, Yuri Butusov, Lev Erenburg, Konstantin Bogomolov.

Joining forces with him in designing MXAT productions were top Russian set designers: David Borovsky, Valery Leventhal, Sergei Barkhin, Mart Kitaev, Oleg Sheyntsis, Alexander Borovsky, Tatyana Selvinskaya, Vyacheslav Okunev, Boris Messerer, Alla Kozhenkova, Igor Popov, Georgy Aleksi-Meskheshvili, Yuri Kharikov, Yuri Ustinov, Nikolai Simonov.

In 1996 Mr. Ismagilov was invited to join The Bolshoi Theatre and in 2002 was promoted to Principal Lighting Designer there. At The Bolshoi he has collaborated with Vladimir Vasiliev, Boris Pokrovsky, Peter Ustinov, Alexander Titel, Boris Eifman, Peter Konvichny, Mstislav Rostropovich, Alexei Ratmansky, Eimuntas Nekrosius, Irkin Gabitov, Dmitry Bertman. His Bolshoi ballet credits include: Swan Lake, Insomnia, The Russian Hamlet, Ward No. 6, Magritomania, Leah, Jeu de cartes, Le Corsaire, La Sylphide, The Flames of Paris, Grand pas from the ballet Paquita, Coppelia, Esmeralda; and his operatic portfolio includes Aida, Iolanta, The Love for Three Oranges, Khovanshchina,The Snow Maiden, Francesca da Rimini, Nabucco, The Gambler, Macbeth, Mazeppa, Der Fliegende Hollander, The Children of Rosenthal, War and Peace, Boris Godunov, The Queen of Spades, Carmen, Die Fledermaus.

He is also the principal lighting designer for The Helikon Opera and Studio of Theatre Art. His other lighting design credits include productions at the Mariinsky Theatre, Russian Academic Youth Theatre, The Maly Theatre, Ermolova Playhouse, Oleg Tabakov Theatre, Russian Army Theatre,  Pushkin Theatre, Mossoviet Theatre, Moscow Operetta, as well as other leading Russian theatres.

Mr. Ismagilov has designed a total of over 350 productions. Deputy Chairman and co-founder of the Russian Association of Lighting Designers, he has published a book, Lighting Design for the Theatre, in 2005, and is also a Professor of Lighting Design at the Moscow Art Theatre School.