Kazan 2013 Opening Ceremony Rehearsals kick off

KAZAN – The rehearsals of the 27th Summer Universiade Opening Ceremony, which is due to be held at the 45,000-seat stadium under construction on 6 July 2013, began in Kazan. Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin, who had been appointed head of the interdepartmental working group in charge of the preparations for the Kazan 2013 Ceremonies, attended the rehearsal at the Moskva Sports Complex and met with performers.

“You have a brilliant opportunity to introduce the world to our country, our republic, Kazan and be part of the event which can be called truly historical. I believe you all are fully aware of the responsibility you are entrusted with. I’m happy that performers of Kazan are involved in staging the ceremony,” the Mayor said. The Opening Ceremony rehearsals are currently held at the following venues: Moskva Sports Complex, Sport Palace and Ekiyat Tatar State Puppet Theatre. The performers rehearse one of the scenes of the show, conceived and directed by Aleksey Sechenov, a member of the Russian Television Academy and TEFI award winner. 

Mayor of Kazan Ilsur Metshin

Zhanna Shmakova of Moscow will choreograph a sequence for the show. She has already acted as chief choreographer for the MUZ TV Music Awards, NIKA Awards, Silver Galosh Awards and Musical Heart of the Theatre Awards, Eurovision preliminaries, and opening ceremonies of the European Rhythmic Gymnastics Championship in Baku and Asian Winter Games in Astana. Igor Sivov, Deputy Director General of the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate, is the Executive Director of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies. The Kazan 2013 SU creative team is headed by Russia’s famous composer and music producer, Igor Krutoy. 

The rehearsals will feature mainly performers from Kazan. All of them were selected at open casting calls and auditions held by the Kazan 2013 Executive Directorate last autumn. 70 ensembles and a cast of 1,500 performers will give up their time to take part in rehearsals for the 27th Summer Universiade. The rehearsal schedule is more than tight: from February onwards they will be held almost on a daily basis. 

Despite the fact that the preparations for the Kazan 2013 Opening and Closing Ceremonies – the celebrations showcasing the best of the host city – started as early as in 2011, the organisers have done their best to keep details of the future shows a closely guarded secret. Everything, including the script, main cast and even the musical score, is confidential. All these measures are taken to ensure that 45,000 spectators and millions of TV viewers attending or watching the Kazan 2013 Opening and Closing Ceremony will be wowed by the shows. Meanwhile, Kazan citizens’ attention is currently locked on the 45,000-seat football stadium the construction of which began in 2010. Construction works are carried out 24/7. The best in the construction industry and thousands of workers from all over Tatarstan concentrate all their efforts on the construction of the flagship venue for the 27th Summer Universiade. Another important construction operation – assembly of the foundation for the set to be used during the Kazan 2013 Ceremonies – was launched simultaneously with the final stage of the stadium’s construction. The total weight of the structure is 467 tons; its height is over 50 metres. The set will be installed by May. Joint rehearsals of the Kazan 2013 Opening Ceremony will start in June, a month before the start of the Games. 

(Source: Kazan 2013 Media Dept.)