The "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" festival once again opens its arms to friends

July 12, Vitebsk / Diana Kurilo - BELTA /. The "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" festival is once again opening its doors to friends and bringing the joy of meeting art. The grand opening ceremony of the XXI International Festival of Arts will take place today on the stage of the Summer Amphitheater, reports a BELTA correspondent. During the ceremony, the Union State Prize in Literature and Art for 2011-2012 will be awarded. The laureates are People's Artist of Belarus Georgy Poplavsky and Russian poet Gleb Gorbovsky. People's Artist of Russia Lev Leshchenko will be presented with the award "Through Art - to Peace and Mutual Understanding," and a star bearing his name will appear on the Alley of Stars near the Summer Amphitheater. The opening concert is distinguished by its stellar and international lineup: Lev Leshchenko, Irina Allegrova, Valeria, the Igor Moiseyev State Academic Folk Dance Ensemble, Gunesh, Alena Lanskaya, the ensemble "Syabry," the Belarusian State Ensemble "Pesniary," VIA "Verasy," the State Dance Ensemble of the Republic of Belarus, Chris Norman, Samantha Fox, the group "The Cavern Beatles," Alessandro Safina, and Andrey Danilko's theater. Among the artists are winners and prize-winners of the Eurovision Song Contest: Loreen, the "Buranovskiye Babushki," Alexander Rybak, as well as winners of the International Children's Music Competitions "Vitebsk 2003-2012." Despite the fact that this year's festival is not an anniversary one, it is in no way inferior to an anniversary festival in terms of scale, the high level of ensembles and performers, and the number of concerts. The state flags of 28 countries: Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Great Britain, Georgia, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Norway, Poland, Russia, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Finland, Croatia, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Sweden, Estonia, whose representatives have come to this year's festival, are flying in the bowl of the Summer Amphitheater concert complex. More than 75 events will be held on 11 festival grounds. The festival's concert programs also include the names of Leonid Serebrennikov, Boris Moiseev, the National Concert Orchestra of the Republic of Belarus under the direction of Mikhail Finberg, Sergey Penkin, Nadezhda Babkina and the ensemble "Russkaya Pesnya," Vladimir Vinokur, Alexander Tikhanovich and Yadviga Poplavskaya, Eduard Hank, Inna Afanasyeva, Irina Dorofeeva. The festival organizers will delight theatergoers with meetings with their favorite artists: Galina Polskikh, Valentin Smirnitsky, Tatyana Kravchenko, Alexey Panin, Rostislav Yankovsky, Valentina Talyzina, Yulia Menshova. In total, the "Theater Meetings-2012" project features nine performances by Russian, Belarusian, and Latvian theaters. Five feature films are included in the festival's film program, and each film will be presented by its creators – directors or actors. For many young artists, the festival has become a launching pad to the big stage, opening up serious prospects for them. This time, the best of the best will be determined by the International Pop Song Performers Competition "Vitebsk-2012" and the International Children's Music Competition "Vitebsk-2012," which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year. Many surprises and gifts have been prepared for its participants, and everything has been done to make the children's celebration an unforgettable experience. The juries of the competitions will be headed by outstanding musicians. The adult jury will be headed by composer, People's Artist of Russia Maxim Dunaevsky; the children's jury will be headed by composer, singer, laureate of the State Prize of Georgia Jemal Sepiashvili. 21 singers from 21 countries will take part in the pop song performers competition. Belarus will be represented by Evgeny Slavich. 21 young talents from 18 countries will also participate in the children's competition. Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, according to the rules, will each send two contestants. Belarus has delegated Evgenia Klepitskaya and Liza Muravyova to the song contest. The "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" International Festival of Arts is one of the largest cultural projects of the Union State. The Union State Day at the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" will be held on July 15. On this day, State Secretary of the Union State Grigory Rapota and representatives of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Union of Belarus and Russia, and public organizations of war veterans will take part in the flower-laying ceremony at the Eternal Flame on Victory Square in Vitebsk. On this day, a creative meeting with the nominees for the Union State Prize in Literature and Art for 2012-2013 will be held. Traditionally, the Days of Culture of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine will be held within the framework of the festival. The Day of Russian Culture will be held on July 13. The world-renowned ensemble, the Igor Moiseyev State Academic Folk Dance Ensemble, will perform on the stage of the Summer Amphitheater. The Day of Belarusian Culture at the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" will take place on July 14. On this day, viewers will see the feature film "Lonely Island," a joint film by filmmakers from Belarus, Latvia, and Estonia. The theatrical project will be presented by masters of the National Academic Drama Theater named after Maxim Gorky, who will bring the play "Pane Kohanku" starring Rostislav Yankovsky to the festival. The Day of Culture will conclude with a gala concert featuring Belarusian artists, which the creators have named "Land of Belarus." The concert of Belarusian artists will feature: People's Artists of the Republic Yadviga Poplavskaya, Alexander Tikhanovich, and Eduard Hanok, Honored Artists of Belarus Irina Dorofeeva and Inna Afanasyeva, the Honored Collective of the Republic of Belarus State Dance Ensemble, and the Honored Collective Ensemble of Folk Music "Beseda." A constellation of young talents will adorn a specially prepared children's number featuring the Honored Ensemble of Pop Song "Buslik" and soloists: Lidiya Zablotskaya - finalist of "Children's Eurovision-2011," Alexandra Drozdova - finalist of the national tour of "Children's Eurovision-2011," Dayana Shershevitskaya - laureate and prize-winner of international competitions, and Nabil Zaruk - finalist of the ONT project "I Sing." A large program will be presented for young people, as July 14 is Youth Day at the festival. A vast area of Victory Square will be dedicated to representatives of the youth active of the Belarusian Republican Youth Union, and the "Talent Trove" festival will showcase talented people from all regions of the republic and the city of Minsk. "Constellation of Ukraine" is the name of the concert program that will take place on July 16 on the main stage of the "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk," dedicated to the Day of Culture of the fraternal state. New, young Ukrainian pop music will be presented on the festival stage by Natalia Krasnyanskaya, winner of the Grand Prix of the International Pop Song Performers Competition "Vitebsk-2007," laureates of the same competition, Honored Artist of Ukraine Vladimir Kvasnitsa, Inna Voronova, Natalia Valevskaya, Vasily Levitsky (Vladislav), participants and laureates of international competitions and festivals Tatyana Shyrko, Ivan Berezovsky, Larisa Gordiera, Tatyana Tsvir (Koritsa), Violetta Dranga, as well as the group "Volya." Honored Artist of Ukraine Miroslava Solovyanenko will invite viewers into the world of classical art, and Honored Artist of the country Irina Skazina will present pop music. And the main stars of "Constellation of Ukraine" will be the truly national artists Irina Bilyk and Vladimir Grishko. More than a thousand artisans and artists will take part in the City of Masters, "Prydzvinskiy Fair," and open-air vernissage. For those who cannot attend the festival, Belteлерадиокомпания will broadcast the XXI International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk." This year, "Belarus 1" will broadcast the grand opening and closing ceremonies of the festival, the international pop song performers competition, and gala concerts of artists. In addition, the channel will feature the anniversary concert program of the National Academic Concert Orchestra under the direction of People's Artist of Belarus, laureate of the State Prize of Belarus, laureate of the Union State Prize in Literature and Art, Professor Mikhail Finberg "We are 25!"; Lev Leshchenko's benefit concert; solo concerts by Sergey Penkin "Take My Love With You" and Alexander Novikov "Drive Me, Coachman"; concerts "Night Hit," "Stars of Shanson-TV," and "Songs of Summer." The satellite TV channel "Belarus-TV" will allow residents of other countries and continents to watch the "Slavianski Bazaar" concerts. About 400 journalists from 15 countries will cover the festival events. The grand closing ceremony of the festival will take place on July 18. -0-