Pitsunda 2002 festival opened in Sukhumi

A festival named Pitsunda-2002 opened in Sukhumi, capital town of the self-proclaimed republic Abkhazia (on Georgian territory).

Press service of Abkhazian plenipotentiary representative in Moscow said Friday that Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theatre would stage Strauss's Die Fledermaus for the festival; other participants were also named, such as Aleksander Rudin's Muzyka Viva orchestra, Moscow theatre of drama Mir Iskusstva and other well-known figures. Russia's highly celebrated movie star Vasily Lanovoy would be the honoured guest at the event.

Prime Minister of Abkhazia Anri Dzhergenia received all the guests, thanking Russian artists for coming and hoping to expand the boundaries of the festival later.

Pitsunda-2002 will last until August 10. Abkhazia's permanent residents, as well as numerous tourists, will be offered a lot of shows in these days. Programmes feature vocal concerts, organ music and a composition based on Pushkin's books brought by Lanovoy.