Days of Russian Culture in Greece

The coming autumn, residents and guests of Greece will enjoy a number of diverse cultural events prepared by the Russian side and anticipating the large-scale events of the Russia-Greece Cross Year 2016. The project, organized by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, is aimed at strengthening the cultural ties that have existed between our countries for many decades. At the beginning of the XIX century, the Russian Empire became the first state to establish diplomatic relations with Greece, freed from Ottoman oppression. Today, the Days of Russian Culture in Greece is a serious project that develops the interaction of the two countries and once again emphasizes how strong and deeply the cultural ties between Russia and Greece are.

“Events of the Days of Russian culture will present a rich variety of musical creativity in modern Russia. Among the participants are the choir of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery, the instrumental ensemble Grad-Quartet, and masters of the Russian vocal school. Guests of the concerts will hear Orthodox chants, classical music in original arrangements, the repertoire of Russian and European operas. I’m sure that the performances of Russian artists in front of the Greek public will give new impressions and will serve to strengthen Russian-Greek relations, ”informs the Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Vladimir Medinsky.

The Days program will open on September 5 at the Alexandroupolis City Amphitheater with a performance by the male choir of the Sretensky Monastery. The concert will be timed to coincide with the opening of the Honorary Consulate of the Russian Federation in Alexandroupolis.

The history of this choir has more than four centuries: as early as the 17th century, singing monasteries accompanied the solemn city processions in Moscow. The team quickly became widely known and enjoyed great popularity, but in 1925 Sretensky Monastery was closed, and with it the choir did not become. The monastery was reborn in 1994, the choir began to regain its present features about 10 years ago, when, with the blessing of Archimandrite Tikhon, it was led by the current regent, Nikon Stepanovich Zhila. Graduate of the Russian Academy of Music named after The Gnesins, the son of a priest, who had been singing in the choirs of the Trinity-Sergius Lavra since childhood, he managed to transform the activities of the world-famous collective, while preserving its best traditions. Each of the 30 choristers is a real find, many of them criticism often puts them above the world-famous Russian performers.

In the city amphitheater of Alexandroupolis, ancient spiritual chants, Russian folk and Cossack songs that have long been loved and familiar to everyone by “Evening ringing”, “Oh, it’s not evening”, “Burn, burn, my star”, “Katyusha” and others will be heard.

On October 19, the program of the Days of Russian Culture in Greece will cover the city of Corinth, where a concert of the St. Petersburg ensemble Grad Quartet will be held at the Municipal Theater. Winner of many Russian and international competitions, this team is rightfully considered to be the “new word in contemporary Russian instrumental art”. The musicians created their own style from mixing genres, performing compositions on traditional Russian folk musical instruments. At each concert, they make a “musical revolution”, forcing each listener to not only take a fresh look at long-known works, but also to feel pride in Russian folk instruments and Russian culture. Artistic and fiery performances of the ensemble “Grad-Quartet” cause a sincere response from the general public.

Together with the artists of the ensemble, the stars of the Mariinsky Theater - soprano Karina Chepurnova and tenor Alexander Trofimov, who conquered the stages of the world’s leading theaters, will enter the stage of the Corinthian theater. Laureates of international competitions, true professionals of the performing arts, they will present to connoisseurs of classics the best numbers in the world treasury of folk art.

The Days of Russian Culture will be completed by two vocal evenings. On October 21, Alexander Trofimov and Mariinsky Theater soloist Irina Mataeva will perform at the Municipal Theater of Athens, and on October 23 at the Municipal Theater of Alexandroupolis. Vocalists will perform "hits" of the classical opera repertoire. The last evening will be timed to coincide with the opening of the Russian days in Alexandroupolis, the port of which, according to tradition, during the days of solemn events that strengthen Russian-Greek friendship, the ship of the Black Sea Fleet will enter. Both concerts will be accompanied by accompanist of the Mariinsky Theater Yana Zubova, winner of international competitions.

The bright and high-quality program of the upcoming project will allow viewers not only to enjoy the creativity of talented performers, but also to feel the origins of Russian culture. The upcoming project in Greece is another serious step towards strengthening Russian-Greek relations in the field of cultural cooperation, the origins of which are in common spiritual values.

Alexander Trofimov

Instrumental ensemble "Grad-Quartet"

Irina Mataeva

Karina Chepurnova

Choir of the Moscow Sretensky Monastery

Yana Zubova