Very soon our country and all progressive humanity will celebrate the 80th anniversary of the Victory in the Great Patriotic War. The historical significance of this Victory cannot be overestimated - it has a truly planetary significance, uniting millions of people living in different countries, on different continents.

On the eve of Victory Day - May 2, 2025 - a large concert of the Academic Order "For Merit in Culture and Art" was held in the P.I. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall Song and Dance Ensemble of the Troops of the National Guard of the Russian Federation under the direction of the artistic director and chief conductor, People's Artist of Russia, Major General, Hero of Labor of Russia Viktor Eliseev.

Before the start of the concert, the artists and spectators were greeted by the Special Representative of the President of Russia for Cultural Cooperation in the World Arena Mikhail Shvydkoy. He warmly congratulated everyone gathered in the hall on the upcoming holiday - Victory Day, emphasized the enormous significance of this Victory for the entire Russian people, noted the need for continuity of generations in the defense of the Fatherland, which is clearly confirmed today by the unparalleled courage of our soldiers - participants in the Special Military Operation.

 Mikhail Shvydkoy ended his speech with a quote from the play “Three Sisters” A.P. Chekhov:

«The music plays so cheerfully, so lively, and you want to live! … Time will pass, and we will leave forever, we will be forgotten, our faces and voices will be forgotten, but our suffering will turn into joy for those who will live after us, happiness and peace will come to earth, and those who live now will be remembered with a kind word. The music plays so cheerfully, so joyfully, that it seems that just a little more, and we will find out why we live...» - says one of the sisters at the end of the play to the march of the departing regiment.

It is this life-affirming principle that the art that the Song and Dance Ensemble of the Russian Guard serves carries.

The concert opened with the performance of the vocal and choreographic composition «Valor and Honor» (music and lyrics by A. Zaitsev, production by Honored Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania Ivan Zhelnov, soloist - Honored Artist of Russia Alexey Dmitriev).

The theme of the Great Patriotic War, the theme of Victory, the theme of defending the Fatherland, of course, was the leitmotif of the Ensemble's concert program today. The audience - people of different generations - listened with special feeling to the performance of immortal songs from the times of the Great Patriotic War and works of Soviet composers. The strongest emotions were caused by the song "Sacred War" (A. Alexandrov - V. Lebedev-Kumach), performed by the choir and orchestra of the Ensemble, which has become virtually the anthem of defending the Fatherland, and the march "Farewell of Slavyanka" (V. Agapkin - A. Fedotov), ​​rightfully considered the most recognizable musical work of Russia.

No one was left indifferent by the heartfelt performance of the "Ballad of a Soldier" (V. Solovyov-Sedoy - M. Matusovsky, soloist - People's Artist of Russia Vladimir Romanov), "Songs about Russian glory" (S. Babloev - A. Fedotov, soloists - Honored Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania Evgeny Yakhin, Honored Artist of the Republic of Ingushetia Grigory Yakovlev, Dmitry Dolgy, Daniil Marakhin), requiem songs, prayer songs for all who fell on the battlefields, - "Cranes" (Ya. Frenkel – R. Gamzatov, soloist – Anastasia Margieva), medley on the themes of soldiers’ songs (composition by A. Kukharenko, soloists – Honored Artist of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Alexander Kokhov, Honored Artist of the Republic of Ingushetia Igor Safonov, Honored Artists of the Northern Republic Ossetia – Alania Mikhail Zaraev and Evgeny Yakhin, Honored Artist of the Republic of Tatarstan Ruslan Abdrafikov, soloists of the Ensemble: Konstantin Kuzmin, Alexey Bosykh, Mikhail Mamonov, Victor Lezhnin), a medley of war song themes performed by a balalaika quartet under the direction of Ivan Stepanov.

A real story about love, anticipation and the joy of meeting was presented to the audience in the song “He's going on leave” (A. Averkin – V. Bokov). People's Artist of Russia Natalia Eliseeva, who performed it, filled each line with warmth, tenderness, sincere, genuine emotions.

The special guest of the program is the Honored Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania Alexey Tatarintsev performed the romantic "Granada" written in 1932 by the Mexican composer Agustin Lara, as well as works created at the end of the hard times of war - the lyrical song "Nightingales" (V. Solovyov-Sedoy - A. Fatyanov), which became one of the most beloved and famous songs of the war era, and one of the first victory songs of the Great Patriotic War - "I was driving from Berlin" (I. Dunaevsky - L. Oshanin).

The legendary “Smuglyanka” (A. Novikov - Ya. Shvedov) and the song “Let's Bow to Those Great Years” (A. Pakhmutova - M. Lvov), dedicated to the victory of the Soviet people in the Battle of Stalingrad, were performed by the Honored Artist of the Republic of Ingushetia Grigory Yakovlev.

“I Want to Please You, My Darling” is the name of the song by Alexander Averkin, performed by a quartet of balalaika players and the soloist of the Ensemble - People's Artist of Russia Natalia Eliseeva. The lyricism of this song, the soulful manner of performance and the beautiful voice of the artist, as usual, caused a storm of delight among the audience.

Each concert program of the Ensemble includes works from Russian and world classics. Today, two opera arias were performed on the stage of the P.I. Tchaikovsky Concert Hall - Calaf's aria from Giacomo Puccini's opera "Turandot", masterfully performed by Honored Artist of Russia Alexei Volzhanin, and "Habanera" from Georges Bizet's opera "Carmen" performed by People's Artist of Russia Lolitta Semenina. The skill of the performers was duly appreciated by the grateful audience.

Another wonderful tradition of the Ensemble is the performance of old romances, as well as folk songs, works of national folklore and even original comic compositions. The festive program prepared for the 80th anniversary of the Great Victory included the romance "The bell rings monotonously" (A. Gurilev - I. Makarov, soloist - Honored Artist of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Alexander Kokhov), the Russian folk song "Down the Mother, the Volga ... (soloist - Alexander Starodubrovskiy), a medley of Belarusian song themes (composition by G. Kardasevich, soloists - Honored Artist of the Kabardino-Balkarian Republic Alexander Kokhov, Honored Artist of the Republic of Ingushetia Grigory Yakovlev, Maksim Ostal'tsev, Konstantin Kuzmin, Alexey Bosykh), a Russian folk-rock song "I'll Go Out to the Field with a Horse at Night" (I. Matvienko - A. Shaganov) and the song "Argo" from the musical "The Argonauts" (A. Basilia - D. Bagashvili) performed by the vocal octet and soloist - Honored Artist of Russia Sergey Bazylko, the composition "16 tons" ("Sixteen tons") by the American country musician Merle Travis (soloist - People's Artist of Russia Grigory Pinyasov).

The following dance numbers were a great success with the audience: “Attention, to the Parade!” (choreographer - Honored Artist of the RSFSR Yulia Kanaeva, performed by the ballet studio (children's ensemble)), “Home with Victory” (staged by Honored Artist of Russia A. Safronov, arranged by A. Zarkov, soloist - Leonid Galyanov), the sailor dance “Yablochko” (staged by Honored Artist of Russia Yu. Gerasimov, arranged by M. Press), “Dance with Sabres” from the ballet “Gayane” A. Khachaturian (staged by Honored Artist of Russia Pyotr Kovalev, soloist - Evgenia Smolnikova), as well as vocal and choreographic compositions: step “Walk along the Black Sea coast” (arranged by N. Druzhenkov, words by A. Novozhilov, choreography by A. Bogdanov, soloists - Honored Artist of Russia Alexey Dmitriev, Roman Nepomnyashchikh), fiery “Gypsy Fantasy” (composition and arrangement by I. Golubev, I. Kadomtsev, choreography by A. Bogdanov, soloists - People's Artist of Russia Natalia Eliseeva, Honored Artist of Russia Alexey Dmitriev, Evgeny Nasonov), "Guards of Music" (music and lyrics by A. Melnikov, soloist - Honored Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania Artem Melnikov), "Barynya" (the production of the last two numbers was performed by Honored Artist of the Republic of North Ossetia - Alania Ivan Zhelnov).

There is no doubt that the brilliant performance of the choir, orchestra and soloists of the Ensemble - Honored Artist of Russia Alexey Dmitriev and Honored Artist of the Republic of Dagestan Alexey Kholyavko, the kind, bright song “The Boys Went on a Spree” (music and lyrics by A. Kasiev) and Oleg Gazmanov's composition “I Was Born in the Soviet Union” became yet another confirmation that the power of art unites people regardless of their nationality, religion or occupation.

The concert traditionally ended with the performance of the song “Victory Day” (D. Tukhmanov - V. Kharitonov, soloist - Honored Artist of the Republic of Ingushetia Grigory Yakovlev) - the whole hall sang it standing up together with the artists of the Ensemble in a single emotional impulse.

At the end of the concert, the artistic director and chief conductor of the Ensemble, People's Artist of Russia, Hero of Labor of Russia, Major General Viktor Eliseev congratulated everyone gathered in the hall on the Great Victory Day.

"Our people paid a colossal price for this Victory," said Viktor Petrovich. "There is not a single family in Russia that was not scorched by the war. My father and his brother, my uncle, were also front-line soldiers. My father was lucky - he returned from the war, his brother fell on the battlefield…».

Viktor Eliseev wished everyone a peaceful sky above their heads, health, prosperity and long life.

The concert was hosted by Honored Artist of Russia, Honored Worker of Culture of the Russian Federation, Colonel Igor Shustikov.