Johnson's Russia List
#6620
30 December 2002
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A CDI Project
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#9
St. Petersburg Times
December 30, 2002
City's Culture Set To Shine for Anniversary
By Galina Stolyarova
STAFF WRITER
St. Petersburg's reputation as Russia's cultural capital seems certain to
be enhanced during the celebrations for the city's 300th birthday in the
new year.
Its two most famous cultural institutions, the Mariinsky Theater and the
State Hermitage Museum, will be at the top of the cultural agenda during
the celebrations.
The Mariinsky's contribution will be a vastly expanded version of its
annual showcase event, the Stars of the White Nights Festival, which will
run from May 6 through Aug. 6 and feature a veritable galaxy of
international stars.
According to the theater, the list of musical celebrities taking part
includes the singers Placido Domingo, Renee Fleming, Dmitry Khvorostovsky
and Olga Borodina, conductors James Levine, Zubin Mehta and Philippe
Herreweghe, and other performers, such as violinist Vadim Repin. Joining
them will be ensembles including the New York City Ballet, the Vienna
Philharmonic Orchestra, the orchestra of New York's Metropolitan Opera
House, the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Opera de Lausanne, to name
but a few.
The Hermitage, meanwhile, has said that it is planning to work 24 hours a
day for several of the official celebration days, most likely starting on
the city's actual birthday, May 27, and will be admitting visitors free of
charge. The museum is preparing a special exhibition to mark the
anniversary. Located in the Nikolayevsky Hall, the display, boasting over
500 works from the museum's collection, will be devoted to the city's
founder, Peter the Great.
During the first days of the celebrations, the Hermitage will also host a
series of concerts in its courtyard. Also at the end of May, the museum
will screen the St. Petersburg premiere of Alexander Sokurov's film "The
Russian Ark," which was shot in one take, with no subsequent editing, at
the Hermitage last winter. The Menshikov Palace will also take part,
organizing an exhibition focusing on the personality of the city's first
governor, Alexander Menshikov.
City Hall has said that, on May 27, St. Petersburg will be declared City of
Open Museums. On that day, leading local museums and galleries, including
the Hermitage, the State Russian Museum, the Manezh and the Museum of the
History of St. Petersburg will not be charging visitors for entry. In
addition, the museums have scheduled special displays dedicated to the
city's birthday.
One of St. Petersburg's main suburban attractions, Peterhof, is planning to
re-gild the famous sculptures of its Grand Cascade. Vadim Znamenov,
director of the Peterhof National Park and Museum, said a number of
pavilions are now under repair and new small museums are getting ready to
open.
"In spring, we will open the Peter and Paul Church in the west wing of the
palace," he said. "We have completed work on the Upper Garden House, which
houses the Collectors' Museum."
Next year, said Znamenov, Peterhof will complete the restoration of the
Olga and Tsaritsyn pavilions, the facade of the Grand Palace, the terrace
of Mon Plaisir, Peter the Great's summer house, and the imperial bath house.
"We couldn't do this without federal funding," he added. "We've already
received 87 million rubles [about $2.75 million], and expect even more next
year."
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