First run of documentary about singer Chaliapin held in Kazan.

KAZAN, the Republic of Tatarstan, February 15 (Itar-Tass) - A first
run of documentary about famous Russian bass Fyodor Chaliapin was held
in Kazan on February 13, the day of the singer's birth.

A full-length film titled 'Fyodor Chaliapin as Great Pilgrim' tells
about the singer's life abroad from 1922 to 1938. Igor Romanovsky directs
the film to a script by Nikolai Gorbunov, an expert on Chaliapin's works
and biography. The documentary is based on Gorbunov's article about
Chaliapin's stay in Scandinavian countries.
The documentary is set in places visited by Chaliapin. The singer was
a frequent guest in Scandinavia, especially in Sweden. He sang at the
Royal Swedish Opera three times and gave solo concerts in Sweden. The
Scandinavians lovingly called Chaliapin 'The Great Fyodor' while
Scandinavian newspapers described his singing as masterpiece of performing
art.
Natasha Fairfield, Chaliapin's 80-year-old granddaughter, remembers
one episode from her life. A grey-haired man approached her in a church.
He recognized her as Chaliapin's granddaughter. He asked Natasha for
permission to touch her. "I touched you because the blood of great
Chaliapin is running in your veins," the old man said. Natasha Fairfield
lives in Olsten near Stockholm.
The film also features an interview with Swedish ballet dancer Ellen
Rush. She played together with Chaliapin in the opera 'Boris Godunov' when
she was young. The prima took the film's author to a house where a
theatrical studio was located in 1931 and where Chaliapin gave his
performances. A married couple bought the house in the 1970s. Now it's
called Chaliapin's house and it's stormed by visitors.
Chaliapin's immortal voice sounds in the documentary, which shows
fragments from Chaliapin's opera parts, romances, folk songs. A Russian
balalaika plays behind the screen. The film also features little known
photographs of Chaliapin and historical sequences from news films.
A funeral service in memory of Chaliapin was held in the Epiphany
Cathedral in Kazan on the day of Chaliapin's birth on February 13.
"The future bass was baptized in that church 137 years ago. The record
has been preserved in the church book," Father Oleg, the church's
archpriest, told Itar-Tass.
The people of Kazan laid down wreaths to Fyodor Chaliapin's monument
in the city centre.
The Tatar Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre is currently staging
Chaliapin's favourite opera 'Boris Godunov' as part of the 28th
International Chaliapin Opera Festival.
Mikhail Kazakov from the Bolshoi Theatre sings the main part.
In the meantime, Chaliapin's birth anniversary was also marked on the
banks of the Neva River in St. Petersburg.
The event took place at the Sheremetiev palace where a memorial
exhibition devoted to Chalyapin was put on view.
St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matvienko welcomed the guests. She
said that St. Petersburg and Kazan were expanding their ties from year to
year and that Fyodor Chalyapin who was born in Kazan but was recognized as
a singer in St. Petersburg connected the two cities even stronger.
Chalyapin's performances on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre left a
noticeable mark in the history of St. Petersburg.
The State Chamber Orchestra of the Republic of Tatarstan gave a
concert on the occasion of the anniversary. It was the first out of two
concerts, which the choir is planning to give in St. Petersburg. The
participants in the concert also included bass Alexey Tikhomirov, a
soloist of the Bolshoi Theatre and the Moscow Gelikon Opera. He was also
born in Kazan. In memory of his great townsman Tikhomirov included arias
from Chaliapin's repertoire, including from opera Boris Godunov, in his
St. Petersburg program.
On Sunday, the choir and soloists from Tatarstan gave a concert in the
hall of the Academic Chapel. The program included music by Russian and
Tatar composers.

. PM Timoshenko should recognize her rival's victory - Litvin.

KIEV, February 15 (Itar-Tass) - Vladimir Litvin, the Ukrainian
parliament speaker, believes that Prime Minister Yulia Timoshenko hasn't
lost the second round of presidential elections on February 7 but should
recognize the victory of Viktor Yanukovich.
"Timoshenko didn't lose, she has substantially increased her presence
in politics via the support she gained in many regions, in most regions of
the country to be more precise," Litvin said in a televised interview with
Ukraine's 'Inter' television channel on Sunday.
At the same time, Litvin called on Timoshenko to recognize the victory
of Viktor Yanukovich whom the Central Electoral Commission officially
announced the president of Ukraine on Sunday.
'We should give up positions that are splitting the country. An
incautious word or action may increase tensions and we cannot allow that
to happen," Litvin added.

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