The Space-Changing Festival
"Secrets of Mount Krestovaya" Soars to New Heights.
The XIV theatrical landscape festival “Secrets of Mount Krestovaya” was held in Gubakha, the Perm Territory. At its opening, the Mossovet State Academic Theatre performed the musical performance "The Bremen Town Musicians." It’s based on the libretto "Troubadour and His Friends" by Vasily Livanov and Yuri Entin, lyrics by Yuri Entin and music by Gennady Gladkov.
Konstantin Anufriev, Director for Organizational and HR policy at Metafrax Chemicals:
“The festival gives the residents of Gubakha an opportunity to see performances of advanced theatre groups from different regions in the picturesque scenery of nature. It’s a powerful magnet for tourists. The festival promotes the recognition of the territory far beyond the Perm Territory and the development of the Gubakha brand as a town attractive for work and life. Support for such cultural projects is an important component of the social policy by Ruschem and Metafrax Chemicals."
Over the past 14 years, the festival has been developing, offering the audience new formats and genres, expanding its geography, participants, and collaboration with businesses.
Armen Garslyan, deputy of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Territory, member of the organizing committee of the Secrets of Mount Krestovaya Festival:
“The most important thing for us remains the undying interest of the audience. I‘m genuinely happy when I see one bus after another coming to the Mount Krestovaya. A new road and pedestrian sidewalk have been built from the town center, rising to the mountain. The development of tourism and cultural projects, large and small businesses has a noticeable effect: the town has been transformed."
For the first time, the Mossovet Theatre presented the Bremen Town Musicians in a natural location. According to director Evgeny Marcelli, this is an exciting experience for the entire theatre team:
"This is an amazing place of incredible beauty, and the idea of a landscape festival captures the imagination."
Maria Konovalova, Chairman of the organizing committee of the festival, Director of Strategic Communications at Metafrax Chemicals, thanked the staff and artists of the Mossovet Theatre for their courage to perform at an unusual venue and emotions presented to the audience. She highlighted that the opening of the festival is its most massive and large–scale event, but by no means the only one:
“It’s important for us that spectators come not only to The Sunset on Mount Krestovaya project, but also spend more time here. Gubakha is ready to welcome tourists, both in terms of hotels, cafes, parking lots and other infrastructure, as well as a variety of interesting places to visit.”
For the first time, the Perm State Ballet School took part in the festival. Its graduates performed the one-act ballet “Prom”.
Lyubov Zaitseva, the thought leader of the festival, the artistic director of the Dominata Theatre:
"At the very beginning of our journey, we carried the idea of the festival as a kind of pilgrimage: climbing to the top for high art, and we’ll continue to preserve it in the future."
The festival lasted 4 days and brought together 8 groups from Gubakha, Yekaterinburg, Moscow, Perm, Chelyabinsk and Verkhny Ufaley (Chelyabinsk region). Among the festival venues are locations of the abandoned mining ghost town of Verkhnyaya Gubakha, the all–season resort Gubakha, and the scenery of the film “Land of Legends”.
Alla Platonova, Minister of Culture of the Perm Territory:
“Over the years of this project's existence, Gubakha has been incredibly transformed. This is due to the Governor of the Perm Territory Dmitry Makhonin, the regional government, and, of course, the residents of the town. Gubakha is developing thanks to the synergy of investments in industry, investments in regional and municipal projects, but I’m sure that the bright and attractive festival has greatly helped this large-scale work."
This year, the opening of the festival was attended by a record number of spectators: more than 12 thousand people. The total number of visitors to the entire festival program is more than 13 thousand residents and guests of Gubakha.
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The organizer of the Secrets of Mount Krestovaya Festival is the Dominanta Chamber Drama Theatre. The official partners of the festival are JSC Ruschem and JSC Metafrax Chemicals. The gala sponsor of the project “The Sunset on Mount Krestovaya” is the Ural Plant of Deicing Materials, sponsors: INGROUP Company, FORA-BANK branch in Perm, JSC Permglavsnab. The festival is supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Perm Territory, the administration of the Gubakha Municipal District, deputies of the Legislative Assembly of the Perm Territory Armen Garslyan, Maria Konovalova, Alexei Mazlov.