Voices from Russia

Morihiro Ivata, Japanese-born dancer of the Bolshoi Ballet in Moscow

The Japanese-born ballet star, Morihiro Ivata, is the first full-time foreign dancer in the history of the Bolshoi ballet company. After 18 years in Russia, he sees the country as his home, and, this summer, Moscow audiences saw his début as a choreographer. By the time he joined the Bolshoi company 12 years ago, Morihiro Ivata graduated from the Moscow School of Choreography and the choreography department of the Russian Theatrical Academy, and he danced lead parts with the Russian Ballet Theatre. Born in Yokohama, Morihiro Ivata is now well-rooted in Moscow, where he made his career and has a family, his wife Olga, also a ballet dancer, and two daughters. His compatriots see him as very-Russified, something all his friends in Moscow fully agree with, saying that he has soaked up the Russian mentality.

Indeed, in an exclusive interview with Voice of Russia, Morihiro Ivata reflected, in the first place, on Russia, Russian culture, and Russian ballet. “Classical ballet is one of the most valuable treasures of Russian culture. Russian classical ballet differs from other national ballets by its strong tradition, which was inspired by the masters and is passed from generation to generation. This masterful art makes people happy. Ballet in Russia receives substantial support from the state, and this is a great advantage because classical ballet needs a lot of investment for further development and is doomed to die without financial backing from the government. The Russian authorities are fully aware of that, that’s why Russian ballet art is flourishing and is popular all over the world”. 

Morihiro Ivata has good reason to regard himself as Japanese with Russian cultural roots. His parents learned from Moscow teachers at the Pyotr Chaikovsky Ballet School in Tokyo. His father, mother, and sister went on to set up their own school of ballet, a family business, and young Morihiro learned dancing using Russian methods at an early age. He is now using this method to teach a ballet school at the Japanese Embassy in Moscow. One of his students entered the Moscow Academy of Choreography and the most gifted graduated from the Academy and is dancing with the Moskva Ballet. Who knows, they might choose to follow in their teacher’s footsteps and settle in Russia. 

Morihiro Ivata enjoys huge popularity on Russian Internet blogs, where he is often the hit of the discussions. Morihiro has fans far and wide, from Moscow to Perm in the Urals, where he won the Grand-Prix of the all-Russian (!) Competition of Ballet Dancers 16 years ago and choreographed the ballet Virtual Lady last spring. At a Moscow gala that closed this season, he débuted as a choreographer of ballets in the Japanese tradition. There can be no doubt then that high art does obliterate borders. 

23 July 2008

Olga Bugrova

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29991&cid=62&p=22.07.2008 (in English)

Maya Plisetskaya (1925- ), perhaps, the greatest ballerina of the 20^th century

Russian opera and ballet stars will support Russian sportsmen at the Olympic Games in Beijing next month. A unique show will be organised in the official residence of the Russian Olympic Committee. The world-famous ballet-dancer Maya Plisetskaya, the prima-ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre Mariya Alexandrova, and the famous opera soprano Lyubov Kazarnovskaya have prepared programmes. The demonstration also includes matches featuring such boxers as Kostyu Tszyu and the Klichko brothers are also on the programme.

18 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=rus&q=77409&cid=13&p=18.07.2008 (in Russian)

Editor’s Note:

Vladimir (1971- ) and Vitaly Klichko (1976- ), Russian boxing champions

Now, there is something that you do NOT see in America. “Jocks” and “nerds” co-existing in peace. Perhaps, one reason is that, in Russia, they go to separate schools, so, there are no bitter disputes in the high-school years. We could learn from that, could we not? America is a young and immature society, in comparison with other world cultures. We shall be mature when art and athletics are honoured equally… such is not yet the case. 

Irkutsk State Musical Theatre begins tour in Minsk

The Old Town of Irkutsk

The Irkutsk State Musical Theatre began its tour in Minsk, Belarus. On the first day, the troupe will perform a gala-concert “We are from the Baikal shores”. A performance “We part to meet again” will close the programme. Government sources in Irkutsk confirmed information about reciprocal performances by the Belarusian State Musical Theatre in Irkutsk next year. 

16 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29746&cid=87&p=16.07.2008 (in English)

Big Book Prize short-list announced

The Organisation Committee of the Russian National “Big Book” Prize has published the texts by all authors of the 2008 short list on its website so that readers could familiarise themselves with all the runners-up. The laureates will be announced in November. 

16 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29746&cid=87&p=16.07.2008 (in English)

New translation of Solzhenitsyn’s The First Circle to appear in 2009

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn (1918- ), honoured author, Nobel Prize laureate, and Russian patriot

The New-York based Harper Perennial publishing house will release in 2009 a full version of Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s The First Circle in English. The translation was made by Harry Willetts, who already translated Solzhenitsyn’s The Gulag Archipelago. 

16 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29746&cid=87&p=16.07.2008 (in English)

Bolshoi Ballet opens Dutch tour

The Amsterdam tour by the Bolshoi ballet opened with Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake on Wednesday. Dutch audiences had been looking forward to welcoming the famous Bolshoi Ballet, whose last visit was 22 years ago. Besides Swan Lake, the Bolshoi ballet is performing Spartak by Aram Khachaturian and The Limpid Stream by Dmitri Shostakovich. All in all, there shall be 13 shows and the tour will end on 27 July.

17 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29794&cid=51&p=17.07.2008 (in English)

World Children’s Theatre Festival in Moscow

The 10th World Festival of Children’s Theatres kicks off in Moscow today. The programme will include bright firework performances and clownery. The “Mister Pageot’s Travelling Puppies” street performance is expected to draw much attention. In all, 54 theatres from 20 countries will perform in Moscow. The audience will also have a chance to enjoy stage productions with teenage actors.

17 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29805&cid=51&p=17.07.2008 (in English)

Yevgeny Yevtushenko turns 75

Yevgeny Yevtushenko (1933- ), Honoured Artist of Russia

One of the best known Russian poets, Yevgeny Yevtushenko, turned 75. A leading member of the post-Stalin generation, he remains a leading author in Russia. Yevtushenko will long be known as a critically-minded political poet. The best members of Russian society have always heeded his voice. He has written 19 epic poems, two novels, and thousands of short poems. He still loves reciting his poetry before all kinds of audiences because, he said, that enables him to feel a part of the life surrounding him. President Dmitri Medvedev said, in his letter of birthday greetings, that Yevtushenko challenges indifference and the humdrum of routine life.

18 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29868&cid=51&p=18.07.2008 (in English)

Russian musicians to play at the BBC Proms

Valery Gergiev (1953- ), Russian conductor and musician

Russian musicians and conductors are to play at the world’s biggest festival of classical music, the London-based BBC Proms, which kicks off today to continue until 13 September. The BBC festival highlights two contributions from the London Symphony Orchestra. Valery Gergiev will lead it in Tchaikovsky’s Sleeping Beauty on the 20 August, and listeners will be treated to a concert suite from Rimsky-Korsakov’s rarely-staged Kashchey The Immortal on 3 September. 

18 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29860&cid=87&p=18.07.2008 (in English)

Voice of Russia World Service

Archaeologists find 600-year-old chess-piece in northwest Russia

Archaeologists in northwest Russia discovered a chess-piece dating back to the late-14th century, a spokesman for local archaeologists said on Friday. “The king, around several centimetres tall, is made of solid wood, possibly of juniper”, the spokesman said. The excavations are being carried out at the site of the Palace of Facets, in the Novgorod Kremlin in Veliky Novgorod. The palace is believed to be the oldest in Russia.

According to the city chronicles, chess as a competitive game emerged in Veliky Novgorod, the foremost historic city in northwest Russia, in the 13th century, but, was banned in 1286 by the church. However, besides the king, archaeologists in the region have found a total of 82 chess-pieces dating back to at least the 14th century, showing that the game remained popular among the local population despite the church ban. In late May, archaeologists in the ancient city uncovered a number of medieval baby bottles. Medieval Slavs made feeding bottles by attaching leather bags to the wider part of a cow’s horn. The babies drank milk from holes made in the tip of the horns.

The first historical mention of Veliky Novgorod was in 859 AD. City chronicles say that by 862 AD it was already a stop on the trading route between the Baltics and Byzantium. The city will celebrate its 1150th anniversary in 2009.

18 July 2008

http://en.rian.ru/culture/20080718/114352042.html (in English)

RIA-Novosti

Konstantin Kinchev (1958- ), front-man of the hard rock band Alisa

Today is Russia Day at World Exhibition Expo-2008 in Saragossa, Spain. The exposition, called Water and Sustainable Development, brought together more than one hundred countries. Even though it has no direct relation to art, a cultural programme is a permanent feature of the expo with concerts by international performers. The Russian cultural programme started last night with a performance by the rock band Alisa, led by its front-man Konstantin Kinchev, which recently marked its 25th birthday and is seen as one of the icons of Russian rock. 

Russian artistic groups at Expo-2008 total more than 130 performers, including the lead dancers of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres who will perform fragments from popular ballets. The Pyatnitsky Choir will perform Soviet and Russian songs. Russia Day will come to a close with Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Staged by the British director Declan Donnellan with a Russian cast, the comedy earned resounding success in more than 20 countries. In the tradition of the time of Shakespeare, all parts, including the female roles, are played by male actors. 

Expo-2008 opened on 14 June and will last until 14 September. More than six million people are expected to visit the show before then, and many are certain to carry home unforgettable impressions of the Russian cultural programme.

7 July 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29352&cid=57&p=07.07.2008 (in English)

Buryat festival in Irkutsk

Buryat traditional archer

The Altargana 2008 Buryat Festival is opening in the Siberian city of Irkutsk, bringing together about 9,000 participants from Russia, Mongolia, China, France, and Kazakhstan. For the three days of the festival, Buryat performers, journalists, athletes, and artists will take part in song and dance contests and folk craft and athletic competitions. 

3 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29193&cid=87&p=03.07.2008 (in English)

Jury of the Russian Booker Literary Prize announced its long list of nominees for this year’s award

The jury of the “Russian Booker” Literary Prize announced on 2 July its long list of 23 candidates for the award. This year is the 17^th anniversary of the awarding of the prize. The short list of finalists will be made public on 2 October and the name of the winner will be announced on 3 December. 

3 July 2008 

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29193&cid=87&p=03.07.2008 (in English)

Timur Bekmambetov makes it to the top five directors

Timur Bekmambetov (1961- ), distinguished Russian film director

The Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov was amongst the five most famous directors of the world according to an announcement made by the Internet Movie Database. Mr Bekmambetov is famous for his films Night Watch, Day Watch, and Irony of Fate, The Continuation. His new film, the Hollywood blockbuster Wanted, starring Angelina Jolie, was recognised as the top film last week in world distribution of motion pictures. The film was screened in 22 countries, with a premiere on 26 June, and collected over 84 million US dollars (1.969 billion roubles. 53.222 million euros. 42.126 million UK pounds) across the world in box-office receipts. Its box-office take surpassed 300 Spartans, The Bourne Ultimatum, and Hard Nut. 

3 July 2008                                                                                 

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29183&cid=51&p=03.07.2008 (in English)

The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow ended its 232nd season

Aleksei Ratmansky (centre) with dancers of the New York City Ballet in 2005

The Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow ended its 232nd season by staging a première, the ballet The Flames of Paris based on the music of Boris Asafiev. The theme of the ballet’s plot revolves events of the French Revolution. Aleksei Ratmansky, the art director of the ballet dancers’ group, reconstructed the choreography of the ballet using fragments of an old film of the play, which was produced by the great Soviet ballet master, Vasili Vainonen, in the 1930s. New dances have been created and the libretto was changed too. A love story runs against a background of historical events. Over 140 artists danced in the ballet.

3 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29199&cid=51&p=03.07.2008 (in English)

Thursday closes a one-man show by prolific Russian painter Sergei Andriyaka

Summer (Mikhail Kozlov, 2003). Mr Kozlov is a student at the Sergei Andriyaka Watercolours Shool in Moscow. This work was painted when the artist was only 16, a great talent for the future. Slava k Rossii!

Thursday closes a one-man show by prolific Russian painter Sergei Andriyaka, an exhibition that marks his 50th anniversary as an artist and his big splash in Moscow. As many as 1,500 watercolours are on display, most of them depicting a variety of magnificent Russian landscapes. Mr Andriyaka, who is currently at the helm of a Moscow watercolour art studio, gave a master class during the exhibition. Remarkably, some Moscow Metro underground trains are emblazoned with his and his students’ eye-catching works.

3 July 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=29228&cid=51&p=03.07.2008 (in English)

Voice of Russia World Service

Orthodox sacred music festival in Moscow

Church of the Ascension in Kolomenskoye

A festival of Orthodox sacred music shall take place in Moscow’s Kolomenskoye historical museum and preserve and the Nikolo-Ugreshsky monastery today to commemorate the 1020th anniversary of the Baptism of Russia. The festival’s artistic director, Aleksei Puzakov, a renowned musician and Honoured Artist of Russia, said the programme boasted a wide range of spiritual music and chants composed by Orthodox bishops of Russia and the Ukraine.

22 June 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=28696&cid=51&p=22.06.2008 (in English)

Russian day at Sotheby’s Auction House in New York

A Portrait of Anna Grillkhes (Boris Grigoriev, 1917)

Three canvases by the Russian avant-garde painter Boris Grigoriev, Peasants Playing Flutes, A Shepherd (a portrait of Nikolai Klyuyev), and A Man with a Pipe shall be put up for sale at Sotheby’s Auction House in New York. The paintings are owned by the Berkshire Museum in Massachusetts in the USA.

22 June 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=28698&cid=51&p=22.06.2008 (in English)

Music festival in the Elysée Palace

French President Nicolas Sarkozy (1955- ) with his wife, Carla Bruni (1967- )

French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his wife Carla Bruni welcomed numerous guests to a music festival in the Elysée Palace on Saturday. The idea originated with Ms Bruni, a fashion model-turned-pop singer, whose third album, Comme si de rien n’était (As If Nothing Had Happened), shall come out this summer.

23 June 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=28699&cid=51&p=22.06.2008 (in English)

Moscow Culture Days festival opens in Dushanbe

Ismail Samani Monument in Dushanbe, Tajikistan

The Moscow Culture Days festival is getting under way in Dushanbe today. The chief Russian delegate to the event, Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov, is due to address an audience at Russian-Tajik (Slavonic) University. He shall receive a briefing on the construction of a residential complex built with the assistance of Russian businesses and shall also visit Russian military base 201. The guests shall pay a visit to the Museum of Tajik Antiquities, the location of a 14-metre-high (@46 foot-high) 7th century clay sculpture of the Buddha in Nirvana restored with the assistance of experts from St Petersburg. An exhibition of photos entitled A Tour Around Moscow kicked off in Tajikistan’s capital. Russian pop stars are due to perform in a square that’s been named after the 800th anniversary of Moscow. 

23 June 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=28720&cid=51&p=23.06.2008 (in English)

Waterloo re-enactors battle yet again

The French Army again suffered a crushing defeat at Waterloo. A performance by military re-enactors took place this past weekend on the site of the famous battle, in which the Anglo-Prussian coalition defeated the Napoleonic troops 193 years ago. The battle reconstruction involved over 1,200 men, clad in the uniforms of the 19th century armies. They had come from 12 European countries to take part in the staging of the historical event. 

23 June 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=28731&cid=87&p=23.06.2008 (in English)

Voice of Russia World Service

Russian theatre art collection to be shown in St Petersburg

Costume design for Cléopâtre by Lev Bakst, 1909

A 16 million dollar (378.13 million roubles. 10.302 million euros. 8.136 million UK pounds) collection of Russian theatre art from the late-19^th to the early-20^th century shall go on display at the St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music, said Vladimir Kozhin, the head of a private foundation. The collection entitled Russian Theatre and Decorative Art of the 1880s to the 1930s, belonged to Nikita and Nina Lobanov-Rostovsky, and was bought by the St Petersburg-based International Konstantinovsky Charitable Fund. The deal was reached on 19 February, but Mr Kozhin requested that the deal remain secret until early June.

Prince Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky, a distinguished art collector, said he wanted the collection to be returned to Russia. The collection is currently being stored in Germany. “We did not bring it to Russia until we decided where to display it”, said Mr Kozhin, who is also the Kremlin property chief, adding that the decision to exhibit the collection in St Petersburg was made two weeks ago.

The collection features over 800 watercolours, drawings, theatre posters, engravings, and gouaches by nearly 140 artists. The most important works include Lev Bakst’s costume designs for the ballets Cléopâtre, Thaïs, and Bayadère with Peacock, as well as Aleksandr Benois’s costume designs for Le Pavillon d’Armide, and Giselle. The collection also includes Natalia Goncharova’s designs for Liturgie and Aleksandra Ekster’s designs for Aelita.

The Lobanov-Rostovsky family fled Russia after the 1917 October Revolution when the Bolsheviks seized power. Prince Nikita Lobanov-Rostovsky was born in 1935 in Bulgaria and started his art collection in 1959. In 1987-1994 he donated 80 Russian drawings and a porcelain collection to Russian museums. In February, Prince Lobanov-Rostovsky donated two 20^th century works of art to the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow worth 255,000 euros (9.359 million roubles. 396,024 USD. 201,378 UK pounds).

20 June 2008

http://en.rian.ru/culture/20080620/111497901.html (in English)

RIA-Novosti

Denis Matsuev (1975- ), renowned Russian pianist, winner of the 1998 Chaikovsky competition

120 foreign delegations shall take part in the 12th St Petersburg Economic Forum opening today. Apart from the vast business agenda, the forum offers a varied cultural programme to suit all tastes. It includes a Rogers Waters show, music by the legendary British rock group Pink Floyd, a display of paintings from the Christie’s auction house ranging from the art of the Rococo to Post-Impressionism, a gala performance of world fashion stars, and many other events. Russia as the host side is represented on the widest scale. 

The best-known ensembles and soloists have gathered in St Petersburg to demonstrate modern Russian culture and arts in all their rich diversity. For many in the world, Russian culture is associated with ballet. Therefore, it is not surprising that ballet and benefit performances by renowned dancers form the bulk of the forum’s music repertoire, boasting renewed productions of Khachaturyan’s famous ballet Spartakus graced with spectacular scenes of gladiatorial combat, Chaikovsky’s immortal Swan Lake, and ballet galas of Mariinsky and Bolshoi theatre stars Ulyana Lopatkina and Denis Matviyenko. 

Choral and symphony concerts conducted by Maestro Vladimir Spivakov will be a treat to connoisseurs of classical music. Those who have the honour of attending a grand reception thrown by the governor of St Petersburg shall be entertained by pianist Denis Matsuev, violinist Sergei Stadler, and jazz saxophonist Igor Butman, each of them embodying the world-renowned brand known as the “Russian performing arts school”. 

6 June 2008

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=28104&cid=62&p=06.06.2008 (in English)

In the world’s 80 biggest cities, including Athens, Melbourne, Paris, Prague, Seoul, Sofia and Tokyo, a unique Russian product is on sale, ballet pointe, or toe, shoes. The prestigious journal French Dance said that the only drawback of these Russian ballet shoes is that a ballerina cannot do without them if she tries them on but once. True, Svetlana Zakharova and Diana Vishneva, prima ballerinas of Moscow and St Petersburg, use only these pointe shoes. According to French Dance, at present, the dancewear from the Grishko Company in Russia is amongst the world’s best.

Almost 20 years ago, when private business in Russia was just emerging, Nikolai Grishko, an economist by education, got a piece of advice from his wife, a dancer, to start a company producing ballet pointe shoes. The would-be businessman took a serious approach to the matter. He studied the structure and composition of ballet shoes used by stars of the past. By the way, he came to the conclusion that those shoes were very problematic. He compared them with sharp-nosed birds, adding that a woman cannot stand on her toes having such pointe shoes on. He consulted scientists of six research institutes, including an acoustics institute and a laboratory of starch products. As a result, a new model of pointe shoes was designed.

Nikolai Grishko gave us his viewpoint. “Our pointe shoes are durable. The secret lies in the glue used in making the toe box, the most solid part of pointe shoes. Seven layers of different fabrics are fastened together with special glue that we invented and make ourselves. Other characteristics of the model are flexibility, elasticity, and stability. We can put those pointe shoes on a table and they will stand balancing. No other model of ballet shoes produced in the world possess this characteristic. In addition, our craftsmen perform the most complicated operations manually”.

With pleasure, Nikolai Grishko remembered that during a foreign tour of the Moscow ballet, the Queen of Spain was asked what the toe boxes of ballet shoes are made of, what allows a ballet dancer to stand on her toes. The queen came up with numerous ideas, but, failed to guess that it is only fabric and glue. Here is another question. What do you think, how many pairs of shoes a ballerina needs for one performance? The answer is impressive… five pairs! This is because a ballerina covers up to 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) during one performance. So, pointe shoes should be hard-wearing and very comfortable. This is the aim of the Grishko Company. 

Nikolai Grishko said that the work to perfect pointe shoes continues. At present, four leading theatres of Russia are testing the latest model of pointe shoes, the tests are expected to end in September. The new model will be 30 percent lighter than the previous ones. It will be even more elegant and durable. In addition, the shoes will be practically noiseless. That is, they have incorporated all best characteristics of different models of pointe shoes. No one managed to do such a thing before.

27 May 2008

Tatiana Kaperkina 

Voice of Russia World Service

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27556&cid=62&p=27.05.2008 (in English)

News without Politics

The Moscow Kremlin plays host to an exhibition featuring treasures of Japan’s military aristocracy, the Samurai. The exhibition was organised, amongst others, by the Tokyo National Museum, and will be on from 21 May to 16 July. One of the exhibits is an almost millennium-old sword from Japan, the oldest in the Country of the Rising Sun, made back in the 11^th century. The exhibition is one of many in a long-term programme of cooperation with the world’s largest collections. Earlier, the Moscow Kremlin hosted exhibitions displaying exhibits from the Louvre, the Beijing Imperial Palace Museum, and the Vienna Museum of Art History. 

21 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27299&cid=87&p=21.05.2008 (in English)

The French Encyclopaedic Dictionary “Larousse” is now available for free on the Internet. The renowned publication had to make this move because of tough competition with Internet editions, first of all Wikipedia. 

22 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27368&cid=87&p=22.05.2008 (in English)

Anna Pavlova (1881-1931) in 1920, one of the stars who danced in Diaghilev’s troupe

The Museum of Dance in Stockholm presents a unique exhibition of costumes to mark the 100th anniversary of Sergei Diaghilev’s (1872-1929) legendary Ballet Russe. The most outstanding artists of those times, Aleksandr Benois, Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Henri Matisse, and Pablo Picasso, were proud to work on the performances. The 100^th anniversary of this Russian ballet troupe will be marked in 2009 world-wide, in honour of a company that for more than two decades was treated as the legislator of fashion in the art of ballet. 

23 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27426&cid=87&p=23.05.2008 (in English)

Russian pop singer is the favourite of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest

Dima Bilan (1981- ), pop music star

Russian pop singer Dima Bilan is widely seen as one of the favourites of this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, which is wrapping up tonight at Belgrade’s giant Arena sports complex. In the finals, Bilan, assisted by the Hungarian violinist and composer Edvin Marton and Russian Olympic figure skating champion Yevgeny Plushchenko, will sing Believe Me, the song he performed in the semifinals. Bilan is facing tough competition from Ani Lorak from the Ukraine, Yelena Tomasevic from Serbia, and Greek singer Kalomira. 25 singers will compete in the Eurovision final, where Russia drew 24^th place. Residents of the 43 participating countries will vote by telephone or SMS. The Eurovision Song Contest, one of the best-loved music shows around, has been held since 1956.

24 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27466&cid=51&p=24.05.2008 (in English)

Voice of Russia World Service

Mexican cellist and film director receive medals of Alexander Pushkin

Statue of Aleksandr Pushkin

The Mexican cellist Carlos Prieto and the film director Sergio Olhovich received medals of Alexander Pushkin. The ceremony was at Mexico City’s biggest cultural centre on the 63rd anniversary of the Allied Victory over Nazism on 9 May. The award marks their achievement in promoting the Russian language and culture. Olhovich is of Russian extraction, and he holds a degree from the Moscow Movies Academy.

10 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26851&cid=51&p=10.05.2008 (in English)

Renowned Russian bass Yevgeny Nesterenko to celebrate his jubilee on stage

The renowned Russian bass Yevgeny Nesterenko, who has turned 70, shall celebrate his jubilee on stage. Tonight, he will sing the part of archpriest Zakharia in Verdi’s Nabucco at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. Nesterenko has been a Bolshoi soloist since 1971, starring in both the Russian and foreign classical repertoire. His best known parts are Boris Godunov, Konchak, Kocubei, Ruslan, Mephistopheles, Kutuzov, and Ivan Susanin.

11 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26863&cid=51&p=11.05.2008 (in English)

Festival of Russian films to kick off in St Petersburg

The biggest festival of Russian films in Russia is due to kick off in St Petersburg later today. Audiences shall enjoy over 90 films of various genres, ranging from traditional stylistics to avant-garde. The festival is timed for the centenary of the Russian film-making industry.

12 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26888&cid=51&p=12.05.2008 (in English)

One-picture exhibition opens in Moscow

A painting by Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, 1503-40) 

An exhibition of just one canvas, Antea, by the 16th century Italian painter Parmigianino (Girolamo Francesco Maria Mazzola, 1503-40) kicked off at the Pushkin Fine Arts Museum in Moscow. The Capodimonte Museum in Naples offered for display the world-famous portrait of a woman of dazzling beauty. The private view took place in the framework of a popular art festival that has the poetic name Bosco di Ciliegi, or Sweet Cherry Forest. During the festival, visitors to the Pushkin Museum are traditionally treated to sweet cherries. A classical music concert shall be given in one of the Museum’s halls. 

12 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26896&cid=51&p=12.05.2008 (in English)

Declan Donnellan brought the play Boris Godunov to theatre fans in London

Declan Donellan (1953- ), leading British theatre producer

Top British director Declan Donnellan brought the well-known and popular play Boris Godunov to theatre fans in London, giving the 16th century Russian tsar a contemporary relevance. Since its première at the Chekhov International Theatre Festival in 2000, Mr Donnellan’s Boris Godunov has been a regular feature of Moscow cultural life. Speaking ahead of the London premiere, Mr Donellan said the play’s success in Russia was one of the best things that ever happened to him. The play, which is part of the repertoire of the Declan Donellan Cheek by Jowl Company, features leading Russian actors and shall run at London’s Barbican centre until Saturday.

13 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26946&cid=51&p=13.05.2008 (in English) 

Slavic art festival opens in southern Russia

Monument to Ss Cyril and Methodius in Moscow on Slavyanskaya Square

A scientific conference, a song and dance festival, exhibitions, and roundtables shall be held in the southern Volgograd oblast today as part of a festival of the Slavic written language and culture dedicated to the founders of the Slavonic (Cyrillic) alphabet, Ss Cyril and Methodius. The day of Slavic language and culture shall be held on 24 May. 

13 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26947&cid=51&p=13.05.2008 (in English)

Rudolf Nureyev International Classical Ballet Festival opens in Russia

The renowned Russian ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev (1938-93)

The 21st Rudolf Nureyev International Classical Ballet Festival shall open in Kazan in Russia. This year, it is dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the birth of this renowned Russian ballet dancer. Famous ballets will be shown at the festival in Kazan, and ballet stars from Russia, Britain, Austria, France, Germany, the Ukraine, and many other countries shall take part. Nureyev was called the “lord of dance”, creating his own unique sand distinctive style. In 1961 he refused to return to the USSR after a guest performance in Paris, where he died in 1993. 

13 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26964&cid=51&p=13.05.2008 (in English)

Festival of Russian children’s books in Stockholm

Sergei Mikhalkov (1913- ), famous children’s writer and lyricist

A festival of Russian children’s books involving famous children’s writer Sergei Mikhalkov and artist, producer, and scriptwriter of animated cartoons Sergei Alimov shall be held in the Stockholm on 14-15 May. Anatoly Kargapolov, the press-attaché of the Russian embassy in Stockholm released this to the media. A meeting with Sergei Mikhalkov shall be held in the Stockholm international library on 15 May. As a part of the festival’s programme, the Russian Council on Children’s Books shall give some 100 children’s books by Russian authors as a gift to the library. Mr Mikhalkov composed the lyrics to the Russian national anthem, both in Stalin’s time and for President Putin. He is most famous for his poetry cycle portraying “Uncle Styopa”, a giant, and is the father of the famous director Nikkita Mikhalkov.

14 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26979&cid=51&p=14.05.2008 (in English)

Cannes Film Festival kicks off in France

The 61st Cannes Film Festival kicks off in France later today, and first on the programme is the screening of the mythical thriller Blindness by the Brazilian film-maker Fernando Meirelles. This year, 22 films will contend for the festival’s main prize, the Palme d’Or, including Palermo Shooting by Wim Wenders, Changeling by Clint Eastwood, and Che, Steven Soderbergh’s four-hour film about Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Russia is not on the contest programme, but, two Russian films are due to be screened, outside of the competition, namely, Tulip by Sergey Dvortsevoy, and the psychological drama All Will Die But I’ll Survive by Valeria Gai Germanika. It is a first this year that a Russian pavilion opened at the Festival’s International Village for the film-makers Aleksei German Sr. and Sergei Bodrov to give master classes. 

14 May 2008

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=26993&cid=51&p=14.05.2008 (in English)

Russian cinema industry to hold its second annual film show in cities across Brazil

This coming September, the Russian cinema industry shall hold its second annual film show in cities across Brazil. The retro section includes The Cranes Are Flying by Mikhail Kalatozov, War and Peace by Sergei Bondarchuk and Andrei Rublyov by Andrei Tarkovsky. Packed audiences are expected for the screenings. 

http://www.ruvr.ru/main.php?lng=eng&q=27016&cid=51&p=14.05.2008 (in English)

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