Tonight, there's a big opening in the Megasport Sports Palace. The famous Russian figure skater, Tatyana Navka has presented an ice skating musical show Ruslan and Lyudmila which then will be touring all across the country.
Maria Savushkina reporting.
Kiev, a feast of feasts. Vladimir the Great is giving away his daughter to the brave Ruslan. Villains and jealous people are trying to break them up. This ice has witnessed much, but it has never seen such a triumphant show based on a Russian fairy tale by Pushkin. The best voices of Russia are talking and singing for the characters of the story.
Kirkorov plays Chernomor.
Philipp Kirkorov, singer: "My Chernomor turned out to be an ironic character. And he's a good guy! We'll be doing our best to promote the Russian classics, the books I was raised on".
Figure skating stars from all over the world came to Moscow to show the Russian audience their very best. Peter Tchernyshev, the five-time US national champion acts the part of Ruslan. The part of Farlaf, another competitor for Lyudmila's heart, is acted by the artistic French skater, Philippe Candeloro. The Russian group comprises the biggest number of performers.
Alexander Smirnov, skater: "Acrobats are sitting in this chest. They can move it, there's no bottom here. Then, they just jump out, as if they came out of the woodwork. It's a bit scary for a moment, but it's pure fun right after".
The stage set is unique. Hundreds of lights are placed in the ice and shine out of it. However, the plot is more important. Pushkin introduced the most significant characters of Russian legends in his poem. This time, the main goal of the event is to attract young viewers to sports and to encourage their curiosity.
Tatyana Navka, Olympic gold medalist: "The poem itself has a symbolic meaning. This is our history. I'm happy I managed to attract the attention of whole Russia, and I hope of the world at large, to this show, to Pushkin, to Ruslan and Lyudmila. And, of course, I am proud of all the treasures of our history and classical culture. We should talk about it, we should boast it off, we should tell these stories to our kids as well as to the kids all over the world".
The audience was craving for the Russian classics on ice. All the tickets were sold out several months before the opening of Navka's show. The venue was nearly full even at the rehearsals.
Finally, the happy ending of this Russian fairy tale got a standing ovation when the couple got married in Kiev. It's a very big show. The biggest in Russia.
Maria Savushkina, Alexander Yeshkov, Polina Muzalkova, Vesti on Saturday.
