2019 is the Year of the Theater in Russia

Today in Russia there are more than 600 theaters of various specificities: traditional, modern, musical, children’s, dramatic, and so on. The venues of the country are open not only for Russian artists, but also for the artists from leading theaters of the world and international theater festivals.

The largest event of the Year of the Theater will be the All-Russian Theater Marathon, which starts on January 18, 2019 and will last until the end of the year. 85 regions of Russia will take part in the marathon. It will start in Vladivostok, located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean. The theaters of various cities will tour, moving from east to west, and eventually the marathon will reach Kaliningrad, the country’s most western point.

From June to November 2019, the Theater Olympiad will be held in Russia, in which not only Russian theaters will take part, but also 30 theaters from around the world – the New and Old Theaters of Poland, the Romanian Bulandra, the German Kammerspiele and many others.

Also in the Olympic program will be lectures, master classes, creative meetings, scientific conferences. Events will be held not only in the northern capital, but also in the Russian regions – from the Crimea to the Far East.

Annual events related to the theater at the international level were successfully incorporated into the program of the Year of the Theater.

For example, the International Ballet Festival “Dance open” which is held in St. Petersburg annually. Under the emblem of the festival, performances of Russian and foreign ballet troupes are held, as well as gala concerts with the participation of top stars in choreographic art. The festival will be held in April. You can see the program and buy tickets here.

In May, the IV International Competition for Young Opera directors “NANO-OPERA” will be held in the Moscow Musical Theater “Helikon-Opera”. The contest gives to novice directors a unique opportunity to express themselves in work with professional artists, and to the audience to see how scenes of opera performances are created in their eyes and immerse themselves in the subtleties of the opera director’s profession. The official site of the project is here.

In September-November, we expect the International Festival of Contemporary Choreography “Context. Diana Vishneva” which gives viewers access to the best achievements of the world of contemporary dance. Every year, at the Moscow and St. Petersburg venues, the festival presents to the audience world premieres, unique collaborations, productions highly praised by critics and created by famous choreographers and young stage directors, as well as a documentary films about dance and a wide educational program. Official festival website is here.

In October, the International Festival-School of Contemporary Art “Territory” will be held. The main goal of the festival-school is to unite the professionals of the theater, dance, visual and musical art, and to create a show that would acquaint the viewer with the most relevant performing arts of various genres. Over the decade-long existence of the festival-school, the audience saw performances, exhibitions, performances of the best theaters and teams in the world – Rimini Protokoll, Dimitris Papaian, Joseph Naj, Chunky move, Arpad Schilling, Romeo Castellucci, Sidi Larbi Sherkawi, Falk Richter and Akram Khan. For the first time the festival declares itself not only as a show, but also as a school of contemporary art, which had no analogues in Russia. Dozens of students from many cities of Russia come to the “Territory” to take part in master classes by leading teachers, directors, actors, choreographers and artists from different countries. In the entire history of the festival, students had the opportunity to meet with such directors as Declan Donellan, Thomas Ostermeier, Joseph Nadj, Dmitry Krymov, Lev Dodin, Alexey German-Junior. The official site of the event is here.

Also, on the night of May 18-19, 2019, the cities of Russia will host the annual Museum Night event (which, in addition to Russia, is held in 42 European countries). Every year, museums, galleries, libraries, exhibition and concert halls of Russian cities prepare a special program for the Night of Museums. The theme of the “Night of Museums” in 2019 is “Elements”. The announcement of the event is here.

In the last weekend of August, the annual All-Russian action “Movie Night” is held.

And on the night from 2 to 3 November, concerts, lectures, shows and performances will be held throughout the country as part of the “Night of the Arts”.

If you love theater and will be in Russia in 2019, do not miss the opportunity to visit the events of the program. The full program of the Year of the Theater in Russia can be found here (in Russian).