The opening ceremony of the 2^nd Russian culture festival "Russian Seasons" took place at the Saint Cecilia National Academy in Rome on January 14.
"At least 40 cities in Italy will be covered with the festival events - more than 250 of them are planned, and we expect that they will attract over 3 million viewers”, - the State Secretary and Deputy Minister of Culture Alexander Zhuravsky said. Exhibitions, stage productions, symphonic music concerts, ballets, screenings of Russian films, folklore shows, circus performances, art festivals, and jazz music - all the best and outstanding that we have in our culture, will be represented in Italy”. 
Opening Ceremony and Peculiarities
The "Russian Seasons" opened in Italy with the performance of the Symphony Orchestra of the Mariinsky Theater under the conductorship of Valery Gergiev. Besides, the National Academy of Saint Cecilia started the exhibition "Tchaikovsky: The Symphony of Life", which tells about the history of the composer's creation of symphonies and his last opera "Iolanda".
According to Mr. Zhuravsky, the "Russian Seasons" in Italy will stand out with active participation of drama theaters, including the Bolshoi, Mariinsky, Alexandrinsky, the Theater of Nations, Vakhtangov, Et Cetera and Mossovet Theaters. Special interest of the Italian audience should be stirred by the premiere of Ilya Averbukh's ice show "Romeo and Juliet" based on the famous work by William Shakespeare.
The Festival Program
Within the framework of the festival, which will last till the end of 2018, more than 250 events are planned. These include about 60 symphonic music concerts, more than 50 stage productions, over 40 ballet performances and an extensive exhibition program. Themes and formats of the "Russian Seasons" events are diverse - from classical music concerts and stage productions to the festival of young filmmakers, gastronomic exhibitions and educational projects.
In particular, in January residents and guests of the city of Caserta will be welcomed to visit the exhibition "The Russian Yard" organized by the State Hermitage. February will see the exhibition "The Reality of Utopia: The Art of the 20th Century Russian Poster" held in Venice. In March the St. Petersburg State Academic Ballet Theater will perform “The Sleeping Beauty” in several Italian cities.
At the beginning of May in Rome, the public organization for the promotion of the development of military historical reconstruction "Valor of Ages" will host the World Championship in historical medieval battle "Battle of the Nations". At the same time, a Russian film festival will be held in Sirmione. It will introduce viewers to the national films for family, children and youth, as well as animated films.
Throughout August, the Kizhi Museum-Reserve will be presenting the program "Unlock the Gate" in several Italian cities; it is going to be all about the cultural and gastronomic peculiarities of the Russian North.
October will see the International circus festival "Citta di Latina" in the province of Latina.  The Big Moscow State Circus in Vernadsky Avenue will take part in the event.
In November, the Vakhtangov Theater will perform the play "Eugene Onegin" in Milan. At the same time, in Rome there will be the exhibition "Icons" of the “Russian Seasons” presented by the Bakhrushin State Central Theater Museum.
In December, the festival “Fathers and Children. Comparison of Generations” with the participation of Orthodox Christian music bands will be held in Rome.