The opening night at Malyi Teatr theatre saw the presence of Politburo member, President of Vietnam Fatherland Front Central Committee Nguyen Thien Nhan; Vietnamese Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien; and Deputy Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Sergey G. Obryvalin.
The gala featured 15 items performed by artists from the Vietnam National Opera and Ballet and the Vietnam National Academy of Music. The songs and dances highlighted Vietnamese culture, land and its people.
Popular Russian songs were also brought to the stage through performances of Vietnamese traditional instruments.
An art show will also take place in Volgograd City on June 9.
The programme, which is scheduled to run until June 11, also includes art performances, a silk paintings exhibition, talks on literature, a photo exhibition and screenings of Vietnamese films.
According to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Ngoc Thien, the programme aims to bring the diverse culture of Vietnam close to Russia, thus contributing to strengthening traditional friendship and co-operation between the two countries and peoples.
He was glad to note that the number of Russian visitors to Vietnam in the first five months of this year saw an increase by nearly 30% over the same period last year.
Earlier the same day, Minister Thien cut the ribbon to kick off an exhibition of Vietnamese silk paintings at the State Museum of Oriental Art in Moscow. The exhibition is displaying 35 works by ten artists currently working at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts.
