ST PETERSBURG, August 19 (RIA Novosti) - At the 2nd International Baltic Sea Festival, which starts on Thursday in Stockholm, Sweden, the Mariinsky Theater will perform opera Nos (The Nose) by the prominent 20th century composer Dmitry Shostakovich, the press-service of the Mariinsky Theater said.

Moreover, the Mariinsky Theater orchestra together with Swedish radio symphonic orchestra will perform Igor Stravinsky's opera Zhar-Ptitsa (The Firebird) and Jean Sibelius's Symphony No.1. The orchestras will be conducted by Valery Gergiyev and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The festival's concerts will be held on the stages of the Royal Swedish Opera, Bervardhallen concert hall and in the City Hall.

"Music is a universal language, it has no political leanings, and it effortlessly crosses the language barrier to reach people everywhere. That is why a major festival of this kind can develop unity around the Baltic Sea," Esa-Pekka Salonen said.

The festival that was held for the first time last summer received much international critical acclaim presenting music and musicians from Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Russia, Denmark and Germany. The Financial Times wrote about last year's festival: "The Baltic Sea Festival more than proved its artistic worthiness as a contender in the annual summer marathon of European music festivals."

This year a seminar of the World Wildlife Fund on the problems of the Baltic Sea will be held within the framework of the festival.

News source: en.rian.ru
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