(Source: https://berliner-telegraph.de)

More than 400 events will be held within the frame of the Russian Seasons in France, Belgium and Luxembourg, as Vladimir Medinsky, Temporary Acting Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation, stated during the opening ceremony of the project held in the evening in Paris.

“Russian Seasons is not only a large-scale festival; it will present almost all genres of art. The program includes about 400 events: performances, exhibitions, including such prominent projects as the exhibition of the Morozov collection at the Louis Vuitton Foundation, film festivals, performances of orchestras, artists, musicians and circus artists”, according Medinsky whose words were quoted by the press service of the Russian Ministry of Culture. In turn, the Minister of Culture of France Franck Riester said that he was glad to take part in the project. “Russian Seasons will not only allow us to demonstrate the richness of Russian culture, but also present an evidence of fruitful cooperation between our countries”, as Riester emphasized.

The opening ceremony of the Russian Seasons was held at the Odeon Theatre. After the ceremony, the State Theatre of Nations presented its performance of “Uncle Vanya” based on the play by Anton Chekhov. This is a joint work of Moscow actors with the French director Stephan Braunschweig. The main roles were played by Evgeny Mironov (Voinitsky), Elizaveta Boyarskaya (Elena Andreevna), Victor Verzhbitsky (Serebryakov) and Anatoly Bely (Astrov).

The program of Russian Seasons in Paris includes the Gabrielle CHANEL ballet of the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre Svetlana Zakharova, the Masterpieces of New Art exhibition from the Morozov Collection of the Pushkin Museum, the Tretyakov Gallery and the Hermitage, many concerts of the Mariinsky Theatre, Music Hall and the Grand Symphony Orchestra. As a part of the festival, the Patriarchal Choir of the Cathedral of Christ the Savior will perform in the churches of Paris and Versailles, concerts of the soloists of the Galina Vishnevskaya Opera Centre and scholarship holders of the Mstislav Rostropovich Foundation for Cultural and Humanitarian Programs will be held in Strasbourg.

The Krasnoyarsk Dance Ensemble of Siberia will perform in Bordeaux, the Astrakhan Opera and Ballet Theatre - in Marseille, ballet dancers from Bashkiria will come to Dijon, Boris Eifman's St. Petersburg Ballet Theatre will perform in Nice, and Pyatnitsky Russian Folk Choir - in Toulouse. A series of festival events are associated with the 75th anniversary of the Victory in Great Patriotic War.

In particular, the Russian Spiritual and Cultural Centre on Branly Embankment will host the “Shoulder to Shoulder” exhibition prepared by military historians. Russian Seasons is a large-scale project for presenting Russian culture to a European audience. In 2017, the Russian Seasons project was held at a high level in Japan, combining 250 events in 40 cities.

In 2018, Russian Seasons conquered Italy: 310 events in 74 cities. In 2019, the project was hosted by Germany where 437 events were held in 90 cities with the participation of 90 cultural institutions. In 2020, the countries hosting the Russian Seasons are France, Belgium and Luxembourg.