The I International Caucasus festival The Mariinsky – Vladikavkaz

From 23 to 29 September, Vladikavkaz will host the I International Caucasus festival The Mariinsky – Vladikavkaz. The venue for this new forum will be the Mariinsky Theatre's branch in Vladikavkaz, the State Academic Philharmonic of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania and the National State Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. Festival participants will feature leading Mariinsky Theatre soloists and guest stars including the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble, Denis Matsuev, Lucas Debargue, Yuri Bashmet, Maria Guleghina, Tatiana Serjan and Diana Vishneva.

On 23 September the festival opens with a concert by the Mariinsky Theatre under Valery Gergiev featuring the acclaimed pianist Denis Matsuev. Also appearing will be the talented young musicians Ivan Nazarenko (Karachay-Cherkess Republic, piano), Georgy Zoloev (the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, piano), Marat Ramazanov (the Republic of Dagestan, piano), Sergei Davydchenko (Stavropol Region, piano), Albert Shadyzhev (the Republic of Ingushetia, violin), Aminat Arsakaev (the Republic of Chechnya, violin), Askhad Shogentsukov (the Kabardino-Balkaria Republic, piano) and Anastasia Tskhovrebova (the Republic of South Ossetia, piano). The programme includes Sergei Rachmaninoff's Fourth Piano Concerto and Maurice Ravel's Boléro, the performance of which will feature a video recording of Maya Plisetskaya's appearance in Maurice Béjart's 1975 production.

The same day will see a concert by the Mariinsky Stradivarius Ensemble under Concert Master of the Münchner Philharmoniker, violinist and conductor Lorenz Nasturica-Herschcowici (15.00). They will be performing The Seasons by Antonio Vivaldi and Astor Piazzolla.

At 21.00 at the National State Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, a concert performance of Giacomo Pussini's opera Tosca will feature Maria Guleghina, one of the most acclaimed sopranos of world opera. Also appearing in the lead roles will be Akhmed Agadi and Alexei Markov. Conducting the Mariinsky Orchestra will be Timur Zangiev, a 2017 graduate of the Moscow State Tchaikovsky Conservatoire (class of Professor Gennady Rozhdestvensky) and conductor at the Moscow Academic Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre.

The programme of the second day of the festival begins with a unique master-class with Vlery Geregiev and Yuri Bashmet at the Vladikavkaz Gergiev College of Arts. Yuri Bashmet's concert with the Mariinsky Orchestra under Valery Gergiev will take place at 16.00 at the State Academic Philharmonic of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. Earlier that day (13.00) appearing with the Mariinsky Orchestra will be pianist Lucas Debargue (France), prize-winner at the XV International Tchaikovsky Competition. Valery Gergiev will be conducting.

On 25 September the chorus, soloists of the opera company and the Mariinsky Academy of Young Opera Singers under Larisa Gergieva will present a concert performance of Kirill Molchanov's opera The Dawns Here Are Quiet at the National State Opera and Ballet Theatre of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania. The lead roles are to be performed by: Pavel Shmulevich (Vaskov), Nadezhda Serdyuk (Rita Osyanina), Yulia Matochkina (Zhenka Komelkova), Maria Bayankina (Liza Brichkina) and Margarita Ivanova (Sonia Gurvich). Conductor: Zaurbek Gugkaev.

On 27 September the Mariinsky under Valery Gergiev will present a premiere of the 2016-17 season – Francesco Cilea's opera Adrienne Lecouvreur (concert performance). The lead roles will be performed by Tatiana Sejan (Adrienne Lecouvreur), Akhmed Agadi (Maurice de Saxe), Alexei Markov (Michonnet), Yulia Matochkina (the Princess de Bouillon), Dmitry Grigoriev (the Prince de Bouillon) and Yevgeny Akhmedov (the Abbé de Chazeuil).

The festival will conclude with two dazzling ballet evenings featuring Diana Vishneva, prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theatre and People'sArtist of Russia, and David Zaleyev, Mariinsky Theatre soloist and Honoured Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania (28 and 29 September). The programme includes the ballets The Young Lady and the Hooligan by Konstantin Boyarsky to music by Dmitry Shostakovich and Georges Bizet and Rodion Shchedrin's Carmen-Suite with choreography by Alberto Alonso, the performances of which are dedicated to Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin's anniversary.