VDNH's Green Theatre is opening for the new summer season on 28 May. The company's plans for the new season include the now-traditional and solidly popular Inspiration festival of the arts, the Jazz Mosaic show programme, gigs by Russian rock legends, talks by celebrity artists and stand-up comedy shows. The company's repertoire, which includes, inter alia, benefit concerts and festivals, caters to all ages and tastes. The season will open with Harp of the World, a show created and led by harp guru and composer Alexander Boldachev.
An outspoken champion of harp's relevance in today's music world, composer and producer Alexander Boldachev will be playing Harp of the World on 28 and 29 May. The 28 May show, Harp: The String Theory, presents harp arrangements of the music from the films Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings and The Irony of Fate. Film music will be complemented by new renditions of the all-time favourite rock tunes by Nirvana, Depeche Mode and Led Zeppelin. Alexander will be joined on-stage by a team of accomplished instrumentalists: the Russian American cello virtuoso, international prizewinner Borislav Strulev, the GAUDEO band of soloists and the popular Russian group POMPEYA.
At the 29 May show, Harp: The Great heritage, the Green Theatre audience will be introduced to notable pieces of harp music by Russian and Soviet composers, to be performed by the Symphony Orchestra of the Defence Ministry of the Russian Federation conducted by the globally acclaimed Italian music conductor Fabio Mastrangelo. The 29 May show offers the Green Theatre audience the rare opportunity to hear Victory ouverture by Reinhold Glière. Admission is by ticket only.
This year, the Jazz Mosaic free show programme at Green Theatre has much in store for VDNH visitors: ten shows featuring top jazz acts are scheduled to play between 2 June and 18 August. The line-up includes the jazz orchestra fronted by internationally recognised saxophonist Igor Butman, the Oleg Lundstrem State Chamber Orchestra of Jazz Music, Skazki Chizhika project, Good Old Dixieland, URARTU JAZZ and Art Music Brass Band. The programme is carefully designed to elicit positive emotions only in adults and children alike.
The concert series will be inaugurated on 2 June by Good Old Dixieland, the Moscow collective that covers early 20th-century American and European jazz hits. Igor Butman's Jazz Orchestra will play on 9 June. Everyone is welcome to take part in the interactive master classes and jam sessions that await the audience after every concert. Admission by prior online registration.
All events at the VDNH Green Theatre are compliant with the applicable prescriptions of Rospotrebnadzor. For the safety of audience members, seating is arranged with more space between visitors, resulting in theatre occupancy to no more than 50% of capacity. Visitors will be expected to observe social distancing.
Watch out for Green Theatre updates on its website.
Green Theatre is the same age as Russia's No. 1 Exhibition, having marked its 80th jubilee two years ago. Built in 1939, the property was fully renewed in 1954. At different times, Green Theatre hosted performances by Leonid Utyosov, State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR, Alla Pugacheva, Dmitry Khvorostovsky, Yury Bashmet, Pyatnitsky Choir, Igor Moiseyev Folk Dance Ensemble, Konstantin Khabensky, Diana Arbenina, Maksim Dunayevsky, Mikhail Boyarsky, Sinead O'Connor, Steve Vai, Apocalyptica Group and such Russian rock legends as Boris Grebenshchikov, Voskresenie and Moralny Kodeks. Green Theatre has always served as the venue for VDNH's own unique projects, most notably brass band festivals and the Inspiration Festival.