Russia – the Guest of Honour at the Famous International Arts Festival in Costa Rica
April 3-13 2014 Costa Rica |
This year Russia was the highlighter at one of the most important cultural events of Latin America – the International Arts Festival in Costa Rica (FIA, el Festival de las Artes). The Russian programme on the festival included 7 concerts held on the most respected venues of Costa Rica. The festival was open with the two concerts of the leading opera singers of Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres. Igor Golovateko, Sergey Semishkur, Olesya Popova and Gelena Gaskarova together with the National Orchestra conducted by the outstanding Alim Shakhmametyev performed on stages of the legendary National Theatre and the Basilica of Cartago. After the breathtaking concert in the National Theatre the audience nearly stormed the Basilica and there was hardly left any space for the singers and orchestra.
The Russian programme then continued with the series of grand open-airs of Bis-Quit with Karina Chepurnova and Alexander Trofimov (Mariinsky Theatre) at the Sabana Park. The final open-air gathered more than 8000 visitors and turned out to be one of the most memorable events of the whole festival. Thousands of spectators were dancing to "Kalinka", "Valenki" and "Ochi Cherniye", admiring the tremendous energy of the band and singing together national songs that the musicians learnt specifically for this event.
In the final weekend of the festival the legendary Pyatnicky Choir pleased the local audience with the folklore feast on the stage of the Melico Salazar Theatre. The acrobatic stunts, colourful costumes and the evident talent of the artists of the choir generated an enormous interest to Russian national songs and dances.
With over 14 000 spectators and numerous articles and references on local television channels it is evident that all Russian concerts turned out to be a great success. Costa-Rican music and opera lovers are now looking forward to get another chance to see our artists in San Jose. The project was held with the support of the Ministry of Culture of Russia and Ministry of Culture of Costa Rica. The organizers also express a special gratitude to the Russian Embassy in Costa Rica.