The Theatre marathon will continue until the end of 2019, will cover all of the 85 regions of Russia and become a major cultural relay going from theatre to theatre, from city to city. A specially designed symbol of the Year of the Theatre is given by senior-most officials of the country to the director of the theatre that starts the marathon and is then handed over by each visiting theatre to the hosting region. The symbol of the Year of the Theatre will travel around the country accompanying theatre visits to each region.
The All-Russia Theatre Marathon will start at the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre in Vladivostok. The Sleeping Beauty – a spectacular three-act ballet by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, choreography by Marius Petipa (as edited by Konstantin Sergeev, Eldar Aliev), the jewel of the Russian ballet has been chosen as the opening event of this grand project. Soloists: Kimin Kim, the winner of the Bolshoy Ballet TV contest and the lead of the ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre as Prince Desire and Ekaterina Osmolkina, the premier dancer of the Mariinsky Theatre, the Honored Artist of Russia as Princess Aurora. Mariinsky Orchestra of the Primorsky Stage will be conducted by Pavel Smelkov, principal conductor.
The Sleeping Beauty ballet will be preceded by the All-Russia Theatre Marathon grand opening ceremony with the participation of members of the organizing committee of the Year of the Theatre including Olga Golodets, Deputy Chairman of the Government, Aleksandr Kalyagin, chairman of the Russian Union of Theatre Professionals, Vladimir Medinsky, the Russian Minister of Culture, Grigory Zaslavsky, Principal of the Russian University of Theatre Arts (GITIS), Kirill Krok, Director of the Vakhtangov Theatre, etc. The renown cultural workers, theatre directors, artists, the ministers of culture of the regions of the Far East Federal District (FEFD), actors and stage directors that were born in the FEFD have also been invited.
The ceremony is a unique 30-minute show on the timeline of the Russian theatre. Participating in the ceremony: the Olonho Theatre, students of the Vladivostok branch of the Vaganova Ballet Academy, artists from the theatres located in the FEFD. The host of the ceremony - Igor Vernik, director - Aleksey Vysotsky.
The exhibitions The History of the Russian Theatre and The Modern Life of the Theatres of the Far East will be held in the lobby of the Primorsky Stage of the Mariinsky Theatre, 11 virtual doors with displays will be showing movies of the 11 participating theatres from the FEFD, and those who like selfies may enjoy an innovative photomosaic station which in addition to printing out pictures gives an opportunity to fix them on the picture wall making them part of a larger picture called The Year of the Theatre.
After the start in Vladivostok the marathon will continue with the plays of M. Gorky Primorsky Drama Theatre at the Khabarovsk Music Theatre, visit of the Khabarovsk Drama Theatre to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, and of A.P. Chekhov Sakhalin International Theatre Center to Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky. The tour relay will continue by all regional Russian theatres participating in it one by one so as to reach Kaliningrad - the westernmost part of the country at the end of the year.
The forums of the Russian Union of Theatre Professionals “The Russian Theatre in the XXI Century. New Look.” will be held in each of the federal districts. Eight forums have been scheduled in total with the participation of the professionals in the sphere from all of the regions. The most current issues of the theatre business in Russia will be discussed and the ways of their solving will be proposed. Also, the renown professionals in the performing art theory and practice will give seminars, masterclasses, laboratories covering all theatrical professions. The closing forum will take place in Moscow at which all the decisions taken will be summarized and the draft Strategy for Development of Theatre Business in the Russian Federation for the Period until 2030 will be adopted.
