Myths of Saint Petersburg Exhibition Opens in Washington

An exhibition entitled Myths of Saint Petersburg, devoted to the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg, opened in the Washington Hillwood museum on Monday, January 27. The exhibition, which will run throughout 2003, consists of pieces of jewelry and applied art by both Russian and western European masters. Employees of the State Hermitage museum gave assistance in organizing the exhibition.

As a Rosbalt correspondent was informed by the Hermitage press office, the exhibition is part of the US programme of events for the celebration of Saint Petersburg's anniversary, which was developed by Coalition-2003. Coalition-2003 is comprised of the leading cultural institutions of the US capital, including the Smithsonian Institute, the national museum of women in the arts, the Washington Ballet, the Washington society of performing arts and others. However, the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg will not only be celebrated in Washington but in other cities as well including New York, Los Angeles and Houston.

The US programme for the 300th anniversary of Saint Petersburg also includes lectures, symposiums, films and concerts. It is expected that leading artistic groups and individuals will participate in the events in Washington including the orchestra of the Mariinsky Theatre along with conductor Valery Gergiev, singer Olga Borodina, the ballet theatre of Boris Eifman, the ballet companies of the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theatres, pianists Alexander Gindin and Yevgeny Kisin, writer Liudmila Ulitskaya and others.

The Hillwood museum is also planning to hold an art festival entitled White Nights with the university of Georgetown. In February or March the John F. Kennedy centre for the performing arts will organise an evening of Prokofiev with the participation of Mstislav Rostropovich. An orchestra conducted by Vladimir Fedoseyev will perform pieces by Prokofiev and Tchaikovsky and their will be tours by the ballet company of the Mariinsky theatre. There will also be a festival of Russian folklore in Washington in April and programmes devoted to Russian culture will be performed at the Washington Ballet and the Smithsonian Institute. In April there will also be a conference devoted to the comparative analysis of the architectural styles in Saint Petersburg and Washington.