Press releases

Belarus Events Calendar: December 2014

Premiere of Tchaikovsky's The Queen of Spades at the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus

Parade of Dynasties in the Belarusian State Circus

The new program of the Belarusian main circus will feature the world-renowned stars – representatives of four circus dynasties of Alihanov, Maykhrovsky, Levitsky and Yermakov. The show will include acts by world-famous rope-walkers, jugglers, gymnasts and acrobats and, of course, tamers with their smart animals. Members of the Professor Yermakov Dog Academy will present complicated and never-shown-before circus tricks, artists of the Goat Show will dance in sync, while trained parrots will stun the audience with their mother wit. Galina Maykhrovskaya’s Theater of Sea Animals will make the draw of the Parade of Dynasties show featuring penguins, seals, sea-cows and sea lions. People’s Artist of Russia clown Yevgeny Maykhrovsky will also make part of the show with his famous goose-hypnosis act.

When: 20 September – 7 December
Where: Minsk, Belarusian State Circus

Exhibition of Japanese woodblock prints from Hermitage holdings

"Edo. Capital and era. Ukiyo-e woodblock prints of the 18th-19th centuries" is a unique project of the National Art Museum of Belarus and the State Hermitage Museum of Russia. For the first time in many years – the last exhibition of this kind was held in 1986 – Belarusian art lovers will see a big collection of Japanese woodblock prints provided by one of Europe’s best museums. The exhibition features 64 items created by outstanding craftsmen of the Edo period. These exhibits make part of the “golden collection” of the global art. Ukiyo-e woodblock prints were impressed on rice paper and depicted shoguns, sumo wrestlers and, of course, the famous dwellers of "jolly neighborhoods" geishas…

When: 28 September – 15 December
Where: National Art Museum of Belarus, Minsk

Slutsk belts to go on display in Minsk

Slutsk belts are a unique relic of the Belarusian people and part of the world cultural heritage. These masterpieces of weaving art were made in the 18th - 19th centuries. The most famous manufactory making these belts was in Slutsk and was owned by the Radziwill dukes. Since ancient times, elaborate kontush belts made of silk, gold and silver threads were a mandatory accessory of ceremonial costume of the nobility of Rzeczpospolita. The belts were usually worn on top of a kontush, a long robe with long and loose sleeves. The exhibition in Minsk will feature six Slutsk belts loaned from the National Museum in Warsaw which is known for its rich collections of belts. Five belts which will be on display in Minsk were made by Slutsk Manufactory in the period when it was led by Yan and Leon Madjarski (1767-1807). One belt was made after 1807.

When: 6 November 2014 – 4 April 2015
Where: National Art Museum of Belarus, Minsk
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Suma Sumarum project

One of Belarus’ first and most popular experimental art platforms – the Sixth Line gallery – presents a unique project dedicated to the Belarusian art of the 1990s. This will be the first project launched the gallery after a 16-year break. The gallery will arrange an international forum and a grandiose exhibition featuring over 20 artists from Belarus, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium who cooperated with the Sixth Line gallery in the 1990s. The audience will be able to see the paintings of contemporary Belarusian artists from around the world and attend lectures, movie screenings, presentations, performances, discussions and soirees with the famous artists, including Igor Kashkurevich, Sergei Zhdanovich, Maxim Tyminko, Viktor Petrov, Timofei Izotov, Igor Tishin, Andrei Vorobyov, and Artur Klinov…

When: 13 November – 13 December
Where: Museum of Contemporary Fine Arts, Contemporary Art Center, Minsk

Slavonic Theater Meetings

This year the international theater forum that is traditionally held in Gomel will be timed to the 75th anniversary of the Gomel Oblast Drama Theater. The forum will bring together theater companies from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Kazakhstan. The audience will be able to watch all kinds of performances, from classics to contemporary art. For the first time in many years the festival will be held not in the format of a theater contest, but in the form of friendly presentations. Soirees, roundtable sessions and master classes by famous theater figures will also be held as part of the program.

When: 28 November – 4 December
Where: Gomel Oblast Drama Theater, Gomel
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Sollertinsky International Music Festival in Vitebsk

Belarus’ only chamber music festival, dedicated to the outstanding music and theater critic of the 1920s-1930s, will bring together musicians from all over the world. The program includes a music part, scientific readings, art exhibitions and theater performances. The overture to the festival will be a concert by famous American organist Ronald Ebrecht. The opening ceremony will include masterpieces of world classics to be performed by the International Symphony Orchestra Tavrichesky (Russia). Viewers will be offered evening concerts of vocal, jazz, piano and chamber music from the best musicians, virtuosos and vocalists of our time. Among them is the soloist of the Metropolitan Opera, laureate of the international competition BBC Singer of the World in Cardiff, invited soloist of the Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky theaters Olesya Petrova (Russia), pianist Alexander Isakov (Lithuania), Inga Berzina quintet (Latvia) and the ensemble of soloists Partita (Belarus).

When: 2-14 December
Where: Vitebsk Music College, Vitebsk Regional Philharmonic

International Piano Competition Minsk 2014

The international competition will bring together in Minsk 70 young pianists from 11 countries. During the two solo rounds and the grand final, the participants will show their skills performing the works of the world renowned composers: Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Chopin, Rachmaninoff, and Belarusian composers Stanislaw Moniuszko, Napoleon Orda and Evgeny Glebov. They will be accompanied by a symphony orchestra. At the opening ceremony the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Belarus conducted by Alexander Anisimov, the choir of the Belarusian State Academy of Music and pianist Vladimir Dulov will perform the Choral Fantasy by Ludwig van Beethoven, one of the most original, in terms of form, compositions of the great composer.

When: 2-13 December
Where: Belarusian State Philharmonic, Minsk
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Minsk International Christmas Opera Forum

The largest Belarusian opera forum is going to become the most memorable event of the theatrical season. The leading parts in the productions that will be presented on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater of Belarus will be performed by the soloists of the leading theaters of Russia, Ukraine, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan, Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, and Bulgaria. The audience will see fabulous first-night performances and unforgettable music evenings. The Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition will debut this year as part of the forum. It will gather young singers from 21 countries. During the final gala the winners of the competition will share the stage with famous opera singers.

12-13 December - first-night performance of the Pagliacci opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo with People's Artist of Georgia Teimuraz Gugushvili in Canio's part.
14 December – premiere of the opera The Queen of Spades with the participation of People’s Artist of the USSR Irina Bogacheva.
15 December – The evening of one-act operas. First night of the opera The Servant Turned Mistress by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi, and opera Il Maestro di Cappella by Domenico Cimarosa.
16 December – premiere of the opera Rigoletto by Giuseppe Verdi. The part of Duke of Mantua will be performed by the soloist of the Odessa National Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, Honored Artist of Ukraine Vladislav Gorai.
17 December – Final of the First Minsk International Christmas Singing Competition.
18 December – Gala-concert of world opera stars.

When: 12-18 December
Where: Bolshoi Theater of Belarus, Minsk
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Denis Matsuyev in Minsk

World-famous pianist, People’s Artist of Russia Denis Matsuyev made his rapid ascension to the music Olympia after winning the 11th International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1998. Following this success the musician performed on one stage with the world’s best orchestras in the United States, Germany, France and the UK. Today Denis Matsuyev is a regular participant of prestigious international festivals, a partner of the leading symphony orchestras of Russia, Europe, North America and Asia and the founder of a music festival in Tyumen. The program of his solo concert in Minsk will feature the best compositions of Piotr Tchaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky and Sergei Rachmaninoff.

When: 6 December
Where: Palace of the Republic, Minsk

Vienna Strauss Orchestra in Minsk

One of Europe’s leading orchestras, the official orchestra of the Austrian capital Vienna Strauss Orchestra has been the guardian of the world’s best music traditions for more than 30 years. Vienna Strauss Orchestra has won international recognition due to fine performance of the classics and the original interpretation of the works of the Strauss Dynasty and other masters of the Vienna Operetta. The orchestra opens the annual Viennese Ball. In Minsk the legendary orchestra led by violinist and conductor Peter Guth, who has followed the tradition of Johann Strauss in directing a symphony orchestra with a violin in his hand, will present its Just Like in a Fairy Tale program. The program will feature the best Christmas masterpieces, including music jokes and operetta selections.

When: 8 December
Where: Palace of the Republic, Minsk

Vanessa-Mae in Minsk

The Asian princess of four strings, participant of the Winter Olympic Games in Sochi, versatile violinist Vanessa-Mae who was born on the same day as violin virtuoso Niccolo Paganini is famous for her brilliant fusion covers of world classics. At the age of 13 she became the youngest musician in the world to perform all concerts by Tchaikovsky and Beethoven. Vanessa-Mae’s 1995 recording The Violin Player topped the charts, with eight million copies sold within four months. At the concert in Minsk Vanessa-Mae will perform her best hits “Storm", "Picante", "I Feel Love", "Yantra", "Summer Haze", "Retro" as well as new pieces. The concert will feature all instruments of Vanessa-Mae, including a unique classical violin, Gizmo, made by the Guadagnini masters in 1761.

When: 10 December
Where: Palace of the Republic, Minsk

Natalia Oreiro in Minsk

Famous singer and actress, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in Argentina and Uruguay, patron of the Uruguay national football team Natalia Oreiro became popular due to the success of telenovelas Ricos y Famosos and Muneca Brava. Her first album Natalia Oreiro (1999) with popular singles “Cambio Dolor” and “Me Muero de Amor" earned a golden status. Natalia Oreiro has recorded three albums and one single, many film soundtracks, starred in about 30 films and telenovelas. As part of the big world tour the singer will return to Belarus after a 12-year hiatus to present the superb show OUR NATASHA in Minsk. The concert will feature the best hits and new songs.

When: 14 December
Where: Palace of Sport, Minsk

Demis Roussos in Minsk

The Greek singer Demis Roussos is famed for singing love songs. Over the course of his career he has sold about 60 million album copies and has entered into the Guinness World Records Book. The singer became internationally recognized in the 1970s after the release of the first album Forever and Ever. The repertoire of the magnificent tenor strikes fans with its diversity. It comprises melodious jazz, French chanson, classic opera, ethno and rock music. In the Belarusian capital city, accompanied by the Belarus President Orchestra conducted by Viktor Babarikin, Demis Roussos will perform his inimitable hit songs: “From Souvenirs to Souvenirs”, “Goodbye My Love, Goodbye”, “Forever and Ever”, and “My Only Fascination”…

When: 17 April 2015
Where: Palace of the Republic, Minsk

Ice show by Ilya Averbukh in Minsk

The famous figure skater, coach, producer, choreographer and founder of the popular TV project Ice Age, Ilya Averbukh will present the New Year fairy-tale The Secret of the Treasure Island in Minsk. The captivating show tells the story of a princess captured by pirates and the brave heroes who cross the wild seas in search of the princess. Starring in the children’s musical are Ice Symphony theater actors – famous ice skaters Margarita Drobyazko and Povilas Vanagas, Yelena Leonova and Andrei Khvalko, and ice acrobats Vladimir Besedin and Alexei Polishchuk. The spectators will be treated to a world-class show with colorful sets and special effects that will convert the ice arena into a fairy-tale town and later on into a ship and a medieval tavern.

When: 27-28 December
Where: Chizhovka Arena, Minsk