HÀ NỘI — An extravagant art show by Vietnamese performers opened the Vietnamese Culture Days festival in Moscow yesterday.

The show comprises performances by the Việt Nam National Opera and Ballet and traditional orchestra from the Việt Nam National Academy of Music.

“Russian spectators will enjoy melodies and dances which depict modern life,” People’s Artist Phạm Anh Phương, director of the show, said. “I hope the spectators will feel the love for life and the desire for peace and happiness of the Vietnamese people.”

“We know Russia is a country with developed art and the Russian spectators are highly educated. The Vietnamese repertoire is selected carefully to showcase the quintessence of the local art,” Phương said.

Vietnamese artists will perform Russian folk songs and dances showing Vietnamese regard for the Russian people.

The event is being held jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Việt Nam and the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation from June 4 to 12.

A wide range of activities will be held during the event, including art performances, a silk paintings exhibition, talks on literature, a photo exhibition and the screening of Vietnamese films.

The highlight of the event will be the introduction of some 35 silk paintings by Vietnamese artists at the first ever exhibition of Vietnamese silk paintings in Russia.

“The collection by the Việt Nam Museum of Fine Arts will show the skill involved in silk paintings,” Nguyễn Trùng Khánh, head of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism’s International Co-operation Department, said.

“Silk painting is a product of eastern countries, including Việt Nam, where people breed the silkworm. The typical characteristics of silk paintings are their softness and purity. I think the silk painting exhibition will give Russians a chance to have a profound understanding of Vietnamese culture.”

The event, which is part of the regular cultural co-operation between Việt Nam and Russia, offers a chance for people of both countries to gain a deeper understanding of each other’s cultural identity and artistic heritage.

Việt Nam and Russia have maintained the organisation of Cultural Days with an aim to help further strengthen the comprehensive relationship between the two countries and their people.

The art show will also be held in Volgograd City on June 9.

A seminar is expected to be held with officers and representatives of the Vietnamese and Russian tourism companies to promote tourism between the two countries. — VNS