Летний Амфитеатр

"Slavianski Bazaar" in Vitebsk managed to gather the representatives of all Slavic nations and this, in fact, is festival record.

5300 participants and visitors from 23 countries of the world took part in the festival. They came from Armenia, Belarus, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Germany, Georgia. Israel, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia and Yugoslavia.

120 cultural mass activities, held on 16 concert venues and visited by more than 180 thousand people, took place during the International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk".

16 concerts, including solo concerts of Alla Pugacheva, Oleg Gazmanov, Igor Nikolaev and Diana Gurtskaya, Nikolay Baskov, Nikolay Skorikov, "Boney M" and soloist Bobbi Farrela, gala concerts of "Russian ballet stars", "Кrynitsy Belarusi"(Springs of Belarus), "Golden voices of Ukraine" took place on the main venue of the festival - the Summer Amphitheatre.

There were 9 presentations of the festival exhibitions, which demonstrated the creativity of modern artists and national skilled craftsmen from Belarus, Latvia, Russia, and Ukraine.

7 festival film shows introduces the audience to the best creative work of directors and actors of Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.

The theatrical project was carried out during "Slavianski Bazaar" for the first time. Vitebsk is a city with old theatrical traditions, theatre luminaries performed here in the previous century, and the best troupes of the state toured here during Soviet time.

The program of the first theatrical mini-festival represented theatre and cinema stars: Marina Neelova, Nikolay Karachentsov, Liya Ahedzhakova, Bogdan Stupka, Boris Scherbakov, Lyubov Polischuk, Elena Jakovleva, Sergey Bezrukov.

The 5th International children's Repin Plenaire took place for the first time within the framework of the festival, attended by young artists from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Latvia and Germany.

The final exhibition of participants of the 5th International children's Repin Plenaire opened on July, 4th in the Art museum. Representatives Chuguev (I.E.Repin's native town) came to Vitebsk for the first time. Symbolically, the Grand prix was bestowed upon the thirteen-year old Sasha Sopelkin, a pupil of Chuguevskaya children's art school named after Repin. Besides young artists from Ryazan and Orsha, Minsk and Pavlov Posad, Vitebsk and cities of Germany took part in this year's Plenaire.

6 concerts of "Musical Meetings" introduced the audience to the classical music, performed by "Classic-avant guarde" ensemble (Belarus), double duet "МА.GR.IG.AL", Borodin quartet, Naum Shtarkman, a pianist (Russia), soloists of the National opera of Ukraine Olga Nagornaya (soprano) and Valentine Pivovarova (bass), percussion ensemble "Vilnyaus Мushamei ".

Верка Сердючка (Андрей Данилко)

"Jazz - club" became very popular with the festival's visitors and participants. "Digest" band, traditional jazz orchestra "Renaissance", jazz - quintet "Phonograph", "DOO-BOP SOUND" acid funk band, and "GREEN STREAM" ensemble - all took part in "Jazz - club" programs.

The contest of masters of national crafts and trades took place within the framework of the festival for the second time. It gathered 58 potters, blacksmiths, woodcarvers, weavers from various edges and regions of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.

The International holiday of folklore and "City of Masters" Fair became the most attended event. Over 500 specialists in folklore, accordion players, humor rhymers (chastooshechnic), more than 300 national skilled craftsmen from Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Germany, Bulgaria and other countries mixed in a single festival family.

The International Pop Song Performers Contest "Vitebsk - 2000" became the central event of the festival. 20 young contesters challenged the right to be the best. They represented 17 countries: Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Bulgaria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Israel, Kazakhstan, Kirghizia, Latvia, Macedonia, Moldova, Poland, Slovenia, Uzbekistan, and Yugoslavia.

On the first day of the Pop Song Performers Contest the participants could choose a song in their native language, accompanied by a pre-recorded soundtrack. On the second day popular songs of the Slavic states composers, written before 1999 inclusively, in any Slavic language, accompanied by an orchestra, were performed.

During the festival functioned the International press centre, which hosted press conferences with art and culture workers of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine, as well as "Star Hour" meetings with popular actors Igor Nikolaev, Nina Ruslanova, Gedyminas Taranda, Anatoly Jarmolenko, Nikolay Baskov, Nikolay Karachentsov and others.

The national broadcasting company of Belarus carried out 6 live broadcasts of the festival concerts. 7 television "festival journals" were aired during the festival days.

Радион Басс и Армандо Морено

The course of the festival was covered by 487 mass media representatives of more than 80 various newspapers and news agencies from 8 countries: Belarus, Russia, Ukraine, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Israel, Bulgaria, Poland, and Germany.

The festival was broadcasted by the companies of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine.

The Belarusian press was represented by newspapers: "Culture", "Znamya Yunosty"(The Banner of Youth), "Chyrvonaya Zmena"(Red Shift), "Republic", "Zvyazda" (The Star), "7 days", etc., the Russian one by "Izvestiya", "League of nations", "The Moscow Vedomosti", "Trud", etc., the Ukrainian press by "Komsomolskaya Pravda in Ukraine", "The Day", "Kiev Pravda", "Kreschatik", "Mirror of the week ", "Boulevard" and others.

"Golden feather" award "For popularizing the ideas of the International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" in mass media was awarded to Lyudmila Krushinskaya, the editor-in-chief of the Belarusian newspaper "Culture".

Classical academic art manifested itself very clearly during this year's festival "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". It is not only about success of the young Russian tenor Baskov who has opened the music of Schubert and Rossini for many Vitebsk residents. During the concerts "Golden voices of Ukraine", "Russian Ballet Stars" the top masters performed showing world-class masterpieces in Vitebsk. There is no doubt that the Ukrainian opera and the Russian ballet have shifted the festival's prestige to a higher level.

The International festival - contest of children's concert programs gathered more participants than in previous years. Children's "little Bazaar" has turned 5 years old. 777 young singers, dancers, circus actors from 13 countries came to Vitebsk. They include folklore dance ensembles, children's choirs, variety groups and circus groups.

5 contest concerts took place in the Culture Official centre "KIM".

Gala concert of children art groups "Rainbow above Vitebsk" opened "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" program. It took place in the Summer Amphitheatre. 16 children's groups representing different directions of arts took part in it.

Гала-концерт <Звезды балета России>

Participants of the International festival - contest of children's concert programs performed on open venues of the city, and in health camps.

The participants' performances were evaluated by the jury composed of gifted children from different countries, who got significant results in their domain.

Vanya Chebanov became the chairman of children's jury, who is the head soloist of the Theatre of songs from Barnaul and the winner of Grand prix of "The Morning star" contest.

Timing of the concert program at the festival - contest of children's concert programs was limited to 30 minutes.

"Bells as though called to one another, have started talking, and the "crimson chime" floated above the hall :" - began the concert of spiritual music in J.Kolas theatre, the charitable fund raising action for the restoration of St. Uspenskiy cathedral. The Russian National actress Nadezhda Babkina coined a very good phrase after the performance of her ensemble: "It is the great honor to take part in such a spiritual program. We want this spirituality :".

"Musical meetings" were dedicated to our fellow countryman and outstanding musicologist Ivan Sollertinskiy.

The 100th anniversary of great jazz musician Louis Armstrong was celebrated during "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". There was a gala concert "Louis Armstrong - Symbol of the century" at Academic Yakub Kolas Drama theatre, in which the folk jazz band "Renaissance" from Belarus, Moscow trio of Vladimir Danilin, Alexey Kuznetsov, Alexander Rastotsky, group "Digest", Dixieland of Alexey Kanunnikov and others took part.

Andrey Danilko's "Grandiose show - voyage", "Verka Serdjuchka and others" was a sold out performance at "Night of humour" in the Summer Amphitheatre. The audience laughed at Serdjuchka's stories and adventures, learned about "complexities and falsities" of our militias, heard a monologue of the virgin seagull and other things heard and unheard previously. Parodies to pop hits of the previous years, which were performed by the plain and amusing Verka, sparked the auditorium, which was clapping and tapping together with her.

"Hi, happy continuation!" were the words of Alla Pugacheva's greeting to the Summer Amphitheatre Vitebsk audience. Alla Pugacheva's singing was, as always, superb and sincere. The musicians, who had been working with Pugacheva for 20 years, assured that it was one of her best concerts. The audience didn't let her go, despite the new day started to dawn above Vitebsk.

The performance "Lovely Liar", based on a play by Jerome Kilty was to open the theatre program of "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". This choice was not made accidentally. The actors Galina Orlova and Nikolay Eremenko who acted in this performance had started their careers on the stage of Yakub Kolas Drama Theatre.

Just before the festival came the mournful news about the death of Nikolai Eremenko, an actor, director and public figure.

For the first time at the festival the concert of the author's song took place. This genre is popular with the audience and has gained an especially wide following in Vitebsk, which has been famous for authors, and bard festivals. Extremely popular in the post-soviet countries is Oleg Mityaev from Moscow, Ilya Vinnik from Ukraine, Galina and Boris Vajhanskie, Alexander Bal, Vladimir Tsvika from Belarus and others, who took part in the concert.

It is symbolical, that the gala concert of pop song stars and composers of the Slavic countries "In songs we shall stay" became a final chord of the festival. The best compositions of Igor Luchenok, Eduard Hanok, Vladimir Muljavin, Nikita Bogoslovskiy, Aleksandra Pahmutova, Jury Saulskiy and other composers, accompanied by the State concert orchestra of Belarus (director - Mikhail Finberg) could be heard at the concert. Their songs were included into "the golden fund" of pop songs, and their popularity does not fade.

During the performance the audience went through many exciting minutes. For example, when Nikita Bogoslovskiy the patriarch of Soviet pop song, appeared on the stage, playing the grand piano for young singers, who were singing his all-time songs, created during the Great Patriotic War.

Диана Гурцкая и Игорь Николаев

Vocal jazz band "Digest", which is a habitu? of "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk", celebrated its anniversary.

At the opening of "Jazz - club" they showed the program "Ten years on the stage".

The festival was visited by the delegation of governors of the CIS Executive Committee and constant plenipotentiaries of the state-members of CIS of authorized and other bodies of Commonwealth, led by D. Bulahov, the vice-chairman of the Executive Committee.

Siberian masters, who work with beresta (bark of birch) brought the exhibition "The Siberian miracle" from the town of Prokopevsk of the Kemerovo region.

The exhibition "Ivan Semenovich Kozlovskiy is 100", taking place in the Art museum during "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" was opened by the Ukrainian Minister of culture, Bogdan Stupka, the popular theatre and cinema actor, the National artist of Ukraine.

Феерическое представление <Я жизнь провел в предощущенье чуда>

Naive art had not earlier found recognition as a kind of art in Belarus, in comparison with other countries.

Today naive art finds its own niche in cultural life. The presentation of the second national exhibition of naive art (folk art) took place in the Vitebsk Art museum in the framework of "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk". The authors, whose works were represented at the exposition, are not professional artists but folk artists. Interesting works of the most ancient masters of a cutter and a brush, and also young and famous modern masters were exhibited by museums and craft houses of Belarus. Valuable presents and diplomas were awarded to the oldest representatives of na?ve art. It was also noted, that talent-spotting in this kind of art proceeds.

The program "Fashion and music of new generation" showed the large collections of fashion designers from Russia, Ukraine, Belarus. Among them - the prize-winners of fashion contests "Russian silhouettes", "Аlba-fashion", "the Admiralty needle", "Fashion Seasons", "Mammoth" and "the White Amphora ".

At night visitors and spectators of the festival Vitebsk saw a unique enchanting performance "I lived my life in anticipation of a miracle" devoted to Mark Chagall. The performance took place on a square in front of the Town hall. Emotionally grandiose dramatized show that was held for the first time in the framework of "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" attracted thousands of spectators. Violinists, characters of pictures of Chagall, his beloved appeared on the stage of the square and on the roof and then dissolved in the night, accompanied by classical music of great composers and Chagall's verses.

On January, 24th, 2001 in Cannes, France, the delegation from the Board of Directors of the International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" took part in the 35-th FIDOF Assembly, within the framework of the International musical market (MIDEM). The Diploma of the International Federation of Festival Organizationa "The festival of 2000" was handed to Rodion Bass, the festival director.

The International Festival of Arts "Slavianski Bazaar in Vitebsk" received this award for the impeccable quality of the festival organization, professionalism and skills of its performers, for popularization of the high humanistic goals at the international level.

In different years the title "The festival of year" was awarded to:

The international festival of culture and music in Pamuccale (Turkey), the International song contest "The Voice of Asia" (Kazakhstan), the International festival of songs "Makfest" (Macedonia), the International television festival (Malta), the International festival in Cairo (Egypt).