The Days of Russian Culture to be held in the UAEOn 3 November 2025, events of the project Days of Russian Culture in the UAE supported by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation will be held in the capital of the United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi.
The project is being implemented within the framework of the Memorandum of Cultural Cooperation between the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the Ministry of Culture and Youth of the United Arab Emirates for 2023-2028.
As Minister of Culture of the Russian Federation Olga Lyubimova has repeatedly noted, “in recent years, cultural cooperation between Russia and UAE has reached a new level, and the UAE’s joining the BRICS family, undoubtedly, has opened up more opportunities for us.”
The Days of Culture are a continuation of a series of joint cultural events between Russia and the UAE: in April, the capsule exhibition Mother of the Nation opened at the New Tretyakov Gallery, and in May, the Days of Russian Books for Children were successfully held in Dubai.
A unique concert program of the Russian National Orchestra featuring Russian music of the 19th and 20th centuries was prepared specially for the Days of Russian Culture in the UAE.
The evening at the Abu Dhabi National Theatre will open with two works by Sergei Prokofiev: Symphony No. 1 in D Major (Classical) and Violin Concerto No. 2. In the middle of the evening the scene of Tatyana’s letter and Lensky’s arioso from Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s opera Eugene Onegin, as well as the overture, March, and Waltz of the Flowers from his The Nutcracker suite will be performed. The concert will culminate with the famous overture from Mikhail Glinka’s opera Ruslan and Lyudmila. Renowned Russian conductor Dmitri Jurowski will be at the conductor’s desk this evening.
The concert will also feature soloists: People’s Artist of the Russian Federation Vadim Repin (violin), participant of the Bolshoi Theatre Youth Opera Program Elizaveta Narsia (soprano), and laureate of international competitions Yaroslav Abaimov (tenor).
The Russian National Museum of Music, in collaboration with the St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Musical Arts, has prepared a special exhibition for the guests of the evening: Mikhail Glinka: Musical Journeys. The display will feature the composer’s original manuscripts and programs, as well as lithographed portraits of musicians from Glinka’s immediate circle.
The multimedia section will be hallmark of the exhibition: every visitor will be offered an opportunity to listen to archive recordings of opera scenes, romances, and instrumental works by Mikhail Glinka, as well as episodes of the original Expomusic radio program, which explores highlights and unknown facts from the history of performing arts. The author of Expomusic program is Mikhail Bryzgalov, Director of the Museum of Music.