Radio România Internațional

Tag: theatre festival in Sibiu

August 29, 2021

COVID-19 – Romania remains
in the green zone, although the number of COVID-19 patients requiring medical
treatment is on the rise. There are 1,115 people now being treated for
coronavirus in hospitals across Romania, the highest number reported in the
last three months, while 269 people are in intensive care. 868 new cases of
infection and 19 related fatalities were reported on Sunday by the Group for
Strategic Communication, most new cases being signaled in Bucharest and in
Cluj, Timiş and Iaşi counties. Since
the start of the vaccination campaign, 5.1 million people have completed the
full vaccination scheme. Health Minister Ioana Mihăilă said that if the
epidemiological context worsens, travel restrictions may target only people who
haven’t taken the vaccine, and that schools will stay open for as long as
possible. The Romanian official also said the authorities shouldn’t cover the
costs entailed by testing as long as the vaccine is free of charge and widely
available.

PANDEMIC – The list of
countries with a high epidemiological risk will come into force on Sunday at
midnight. Greece, Turkey, North Macedonia, Spain and Switzerland are in the red
zone, which means all arrivals from these countries will be exempted from
quarantine only if people provide proof of vaccination. The yellow zone now
includes Bulgaria, Serbia, Albania, Slovenia, Japan, Palestine and the
Philippines. Romanians returning from the yellow zone will not enter quarantine
if they have the vaccine, had the disease of provide a PCR negative test. The
United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and the British Virgin Islands are now in the
green zone.

EXHIBITION – A Romanian Air
Force aircraft on Sunday transported to Spain artifacts to be presented in the
exhibition Archeological Treasures of Romania – Dacian and Roman Roots.
Bringing together 835 exceptional exhibits from the collections of 39 museums in
Romania, the exhibition will be opened to the general public at the National
Museum of Archaeology in Madrid, and is being coordinated by Romania’s History
Museum. The exhibition will open on September 30 and will close at the end of
January, 2022. It is organized under the aegis of the Romanian Ministries of
Culture and Foreign Affairs, with support from the Defense Ministry, and is
part of the Agenda of Public and Cultural Diplomacy devoted in 2021 to marking
140 years of diplomatic relations between Romania and Spain. The exhibition
also enjoys the high patronage of His Majesty, King Felipe 6th of
Spain and of Romania’s president, Klaus Iohannis.

SIBIU – The
International Theatre Festival in Sibiu came to a close on Sunday. For nine
days, over 2,000 artists from 38 countries turned the city into one huge stage.
Nearly 600 performances, conferences, exhibitions, workshops and other special
events were held, most of which with physical crowd attendance, but also in
hybrid format and online.

GEORGE
ENESCU
– Great world orchestras, reputed Romanian and foreign artists are taking part
in the 25th edition of the George Enescu International Music
Festival that kicked off at the Bucharest Concert Hall on Saturday. Over the
next month, 32 orchestras from 14 countries will climb on stage, and viewers
will have to abide by COVID-related health regulations. Sunday’s agenda
includes a concert at the Auditorium concert hall of the National Fine Arts
Museum in Bucharest, while the Moldovan Chamber Orchestra, conducted by
Cristian Florea, will open the section Enescu and his Contemporaries. The
Romanian Athenaeum in Bucharest hosts a concert given by the Philharmonic
Orchestra of Zagreb conducted by Dawid Runtz, with violinist Valentin Şerban
and cellist Jae Min Han, last year’s winners of the George Enescu International
Music Contest, as soloists. Also on
Sunday, the London Symphonic Orchestra conducted by Simon Rattle and the Radio
Academic Choir conducted by Ciprian Ţuţu will perform works by Enescu and
Strawinski at the Bucharest Concert Hall, marking 50 years since the death of
Igor Strawinski and 140 years since the birth of George Enescu. The 2021
edition of the George Enescu festival is also held in Satu Mare, Cluj, Sibiu, Braşov, Iaşi, Piteşti and Constanţa.

TENNIS – 4 of the 5
Romanian tennis players who qualified to the main draw at the US Open will play
in the opening round on Monday. Simona Halep (13 WTA) will play Camila Giorgi
of Italy (36 WTA). Irina Begu (74 WTA) will go up against Andrea Petkovic of Germany
(66 WTA). Ana Bogdan (106 WTA) will play Rebeka Masarova of Spain (231 WTA).
Gabriela Ruse (108 WTA) will take on Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic
(40 WTA). Finally, Sorana Cîrstea (38 WTA) will
play Veronika Kudermetova of Russia (31 WTA) on Tuesday. (VP)

29 August 2021
August 26, 2021 UPDATE

CORONAVIRUS Romanian authorities are preparing for a new wave of the coronavirus
pandemic, which children are believed to be most vulnerable to. The head of the
National Department for Emergencies, Raed Arafat, has said that the number of
infections is expected to rise in the upcoming period but that, unlike previous
pandemic waves, there are now several million people vaccinated. 953 new infections were reported in Romania on Thursday,
as well as14 new fatalities. 228 people are in intensive care. Romanian
president Klaus Iohannis on Thursday made an appeal to parents and teachers
urging them to get immunized. In a press statement after the meeting he had
with the Ministers of Education and Health, the Romanian president said it was
important that the education process be held in person, adding that online education
can be only a temporary solution. He confirmed that Romania is currently seeing
the fourth wave of the pandemic whose effects largely depend on the number of
vaccinated people.

VISIT Romania’s
president Klaus Iohannis on Friday will be participating in the events occasioned
by the anniversary of 30 years of independence by the neighboring Republic of
Moldova, an ex-soviet Romanian speaking country. The events will also be
attended by the presidents of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky and of Poland Andrzej
Duda. The four presidents of Moldova, Romania, Ukraine and Poland are also
expected to have talks on this occasion. Created on a part of Romania’s eastern territories, annexed
by the Soviet Union through an ultimatum in 1940, the Republic of Moldova won
its independence after the abortive coup in Moscow against the then Soviet
leader, Mikhail Gorbachev. Adopted on August 27th 1991 by
Parliament in Chisinau, the declaration of independence was recognized by
Romania on the same day. The Republic of Moldova got international recognition
on March 2nd 1992 upon its entry into the United Nations
Organisation.

AFGHANISTAN At least two explosions were reported close to the international
airport in Kabul on Thursday. Earlier, the United States, Britain and Australia
had urged their citizens to avoid Kabul airport due to the high risk of terror
attacks, after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. On Wednesday, the British
Foreign Office warned people not to travel to Kabul’s Hamid Karzai
International Airport, where thousands of people are waiting for planes to take
them out of the country before the August 31st deadline, when the US
and its allies will have withdrawn their last troops from Afghanistan. On
Wednesday, in Bucharest, the Higher Defense Council decided that 200 Romanian
military will take part in the NATO mission of evacuation and relocation of the
Afghan citizens who worked for the Alliance’s mission in Afghanistan. The
Romanian military will take part in this mission for 6 months at the most.

REPORT – The interest in electric vehicles is on the increase
in Europe, with 55% of consumers and 100% of fleet managers stating their
intention to buy such vehicles in the next two years, according to a
e-Readiness Report survey conducted this year by the PcW’s global strategy
department. In Romania, authorities want to support the purchase of
non-pollutant cars through the Rabla Plus car scrapping programme, offering an
eco-voucher of 45,000 lei for the purchase of a new electric vehicle and of
20,000 lei for the purchase of a hybrid vehicle. The
main factors mentioned by the respondents for choosing an electric car are the
fuel economy, the impact on the environment and the ability to charge the car
at home. The arguments against such purchases include charging times and the
lack of a public charging infrastructure.

PARALYMPIC GAMES – Romanian
cyclist Eduard Novak came out 11th in the 1,000-m race at the Paralympic Games
in Tokyo. Novak is the first minister in office to attend the Olympic or
Paralympic Games. He won Romania’s three out of the four medals in previous
editions. Romania competes with 7 athletes at the current edition of the
Paralympic Games, in tennis table, judo, athletics, cycling and archery.

THEATRE – The Sibiu International theatre festival
continues in Romania. The show Shakespeare-Bach/ Le Main du temps, featuring
Charlotte Rampling and Sonia Wieder-Atherton has its world premiere today,
being one of the most expected events of the festival. On this occasion, the
two stars will meet with the public in the big hall of the Radu Stanca National
Theatre in Sibiu. A French-British production, the play brings to the stage
sonnets by William Shakespeare and suites by JS Bach. (DB)

26 August 2021
June 9, 2017

US VISIT – Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, will meet with US President Donald Trump in Washington, later today. President Iohannis has said the meeting will have a major positive impact both on the people in Romania and on the Romanian community living in the US. According to the Presidential Administration, deepening the bilateral Strategic Partnership will be high on the agenda of the meeting, the more so as in 2017 the two countries celebrate 20 years since it was launched. The Romanian head of state will also reiterate Bucharests firm commitment to further be a predictable and trustworthy ally of Washington. Also today, the Romanian President is due to meet Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson. Earlier, Klaus Iohannis awarded several members of Congress for the efforts they have made to strengthen the bilateral Strategic Partnership.

VISIT – Deputy Secretary General of the European Commission, Jean-Eric Paquet, is today paying a visit to Romania. The European official will hold talks with the Romanian authorities on community law and the correct transposition in due time of the EU legislation. Jean-Eric Paquet will also take part in a dialogue with students and representatives of civil society, academia and mass media, on the future of Europe.

UK ELECTIONS – The British Conservative Party of Prime Minister Theresa May has lost the overall majority in the British Parliament, following Thursdays early legislative elections, partial returns show. Although they won the largest number of seats, 318, in the House of Commons, the Tories cant form the government by themselves. Ranking second is the Labour Party led by Jeremy Corbyn, with 262 seats, whereas the centre-leftist pro-European National Scottish Party of Scottish Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, is said to have secured 34 seats. Also, the Liberal-Democratic Party (centre) has reportedly secured 13 seats. Theresa May fails to secure a stronger mandate in the run up to Brexit negotiations, pushing the British political scene into uncertainty, with a likely impact on the future talks with the EU, FP reports.

ROLAND GARROS – The best ranking Romanian woman tennis player, Simona Halep, no. 4 WTA, on Saturday will face the Latvian Jelena Ostapenko (no. 47 WTA) in the final of the Roland Garros tennis tournament. On Thursday evening, in the semi-finals, Halep defeated the Check Karolina Pliskova (no.3 WTA), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Its the second time that Halep plays the final of the Roland Garros in Paris, after she lost to Maria Sharapova, in 2014. If she wins, Halep will step up to the first position in the world rankings.

THEATRE – Some 500 performances and events will be hosted by the International Theatre Festival in Sibiu, the largest such festival in Romania and one of the most important in Europe. Attending the festival will be 3,300 artists from 72 countries. The theme of the festival this year is love.

TIFF – The 16th edition of the Transylvania International Film Festival – TIFF 2017, continues today in the western Romanian city of Cluj-Napoca, with the special screening of the film “Pour la peau dun flic, a thriller shot in 1981, with the French actor Alain Delon in the leading role. On this occasion, Alain Delon has come for the first time to Romania, as honorary guest, and will receive a life-time achievement award. Alain Delon, 81, is this year celebrating 60 years since he made his debut in cinematography. Also during the TIFF, the beloved Romanian actress Tora Vasilescu will also receive an excellency prize. An overall number of 255 films from 53 countries will be screened until June 11 in various venues and cinema halls in Cluj Napoca and other towns in the county. Over 1,200 Romanian and foreign guests attend various cultural events organised on the occasion, such as screenings, concerts, workshops, as well as the launch of the largest Romanian festival of its kind, where Radio Romania is a media partner.

9 June 2017
Theatre Returns to Sibiu

Starting on Friday, for ten days, Sibiu will be the country’s largest international theatre stage. Nearly 70,000 Romanians and foreigners are expected to make up the audience of the over 500 shows and other cultural events included in this year’s edition of one of the most important events of its kind in the world, the Sibiu International Theatre Festival. The entire city, as well as a good part of Sibiu County, will turn into performing spaces hosting 3,300 artists and guests from more than 70 countries.

The theme of this 24th edition of the Festival is love, as the director of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, Constantin Chiriac, tells us: “We pay tribute to the most complex and strongest feeling on earth. The International Theatre Festival is a way to showcase love and also a measure of love as we can see in few other communities. I don’t think there are many communities in the world where all forces of those communities can join hands and make beauty triumph.”

The organisers have decided to turn the start of this year’s Festival into a statement in itself: as many as 35 events were included in the first day’s agenda, including theatre workshops and exhibitions, a performance of the well-known Romanian-born French playwright Eugene Ionesco’s “The Bold Soprano” by a French company, a “lecture on nothing” by the American stage director Robert Wilson and a tango performance. Adding to these are a parade of water creatures brought to Sibiu by a French street art company, a high wire show by a German circus troupe, a fado concert and fireworks.

Almost 80 performances in the current edition of the Festival have already been sold out. On the other hand, however, more than 60% of the events in the Festival are free for the public, which makes the miracle of performing arts accessible for the entire local community. Apart from indoor events, the Sibiu Festival is well-known for its emphasis on street arts events, which have grown into one of the strengths of the Festival not only in terms of their quality, but also of the emotion that they spark.

Another novelty this year is a series of organ concerts in several Saxon fortified churches, and a special programme of 5 shows in English, to be performed at the Sibiu Academy of Land Forces for the Romanian and foreign troops taking part in a joint NATO exercise. Also on Friday, a four-day book fair begins, as part of the Sibiu International Theatre Festival, called “Sibiu Book Festival — the Book Street.”

9 June 2017
June 18, 2016 UPDATE

VISIT — German President Joachim Gauck on Monday is paying an official visit to Romania. He will hold talks with his Romanian counterpart, Klaus Iohannis, about economic cooperation possibilities between the two countries. On Tuesday, Gauck will visit Sibiu, a city founded by Saxon colonists in the 14th century and the birthplace of current president Klaus Iohannis, the mayor of this city for 14 years. In the local elections on June 5, the Democratic Forum of Germans in Romania has won the mayorship of Sibiu, although German nationals account for only 1% of the city’s population.

STRATEGY — The National Anti-Corruption Strategy for the next four years is under public debate on the website of the Romanian Justice Ministry. According to its initiators, the strategy is primarily aimed at fostering integrity, based on transparent decision-making and open governance. By 2020, the focus will be on ex-ante checks of sectors exposed to corruption. The new strategy is launched amidst an anti-corruption campaign that in the last year alone has resulted in the investigation and subsequent prosecution of an acting Prime Minister, Social-Democrat Victor Ponta, who subsequently stepped down, as well as in the arrest of a Constitutional Court judge, Toni Grebla, and the independent mayor of Bucharest Sorin Oprescu. Additionally, the National Anti-Corruption Directorate demanded the greenlight for the detention and pre-trial arrest of an acting Finance Minister, Darius Valcov, arrested four of the capital city’s six district mayors, indicted 20 current or former MPs, 14 mayors, nine presidents of county councils and a prefect.

FESTIVAL — The first edition of the Romanian Folk Festival in Ukraine will open on Sunday in the city of Ismail. Folk ensembles from all of Ukraine’s regions with Romanian-speaking population will perform on stage, as well as folk vocalists from the Republic of Moldova. Nearly half a million Romanian nationals live in Ukraine.

DIASPORA — Minister Delegate for Romanians Worldwide Dan Stoenescu met with members of the Romanian community in Brussels. Talks focused on topics of mutual interest for the Romanian community in Belgium, as well as for Romanian-language education, promoting cultural values, consolidating the business sector and fostering intercultural dialogue. Stoenescu reasserted Romania’s interest for continuing the development of education programs for young Romanians in the Diaspora for organizing Romanian language, culture and civilization classes at the level of Romanian associations and parishes in Belgium. He urged Romanians to take an active role in Belgian society and continue to build with Brussels authorities a partnership based on European values and promoting multiculturalism. Some 60,000 Romanians currently live in Belgium.

PENTECOST — Orthodox and Greek-Catholic Christians in Romania and across the world on Sunday are celebrating the Pentecost, marking 50 days from Easter and the foundation of the Christian Church. The feast day refers to the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, who could thus spread the gospels in languages they could not speak before. On the same day, with St. Peter’s fervent proclamation, some 3,000 people converted to Christianity, making up the first Christian community in Jerusalem, the core of the later Church. Orthodox Christians are attending mass on this day, receiving blessed walnut tree branches, symbolizing the flames resting on the crowns of the apostles’ heads.

EURO 2016 — Romania’s national football team is as of Saturday in Lyon, where on Sunday evening it will play Albania, in the last fixture in Group A at the European Football Championship in France. The host country will play Switzerland in the other group fixture. The games will decide which two teams will advance to the competition’s round of 16. With six points in two matches, France is the leader of the group, and has already mathematically qualified. Switzerland has four points, Romania one and Albania no points. Romania lost 1-2 to France in the opening match and drew 1-all against Switzerland. Both goals for Romania were scored by Bogdan Stancu from penalty kick. This is the first edition of the European Championship in the 24-team format. Apart from the best-placed 2 teams in each group, the best placed 4 teams in third position will also qualify to the next phase.

AEROBIC GYMNASTICS — Romanian athlete Oana Corina Constantin on Saturday won the individual event at the World Aerobic Gymnastics Championships hosted by Incheon, South Korea. Romania also won silver in the team event. Lucian Savulescu, Lavinia Panaete and Dacian Barna were 4th ranked in the trio event.

THEATRE FESTIVAL — The Sibiu International Theatre Festival is drawing to a close. Street performances, parades and concerts will be held until Sunday evening on the pedestrian boulevard and in medieval squares in the old city centre. Seven well-established stage directors and actors, including Tim Robbins, the winner of an Oscar award, were given a start on the Walk of Fame in Sibiu. Having reached its 23rd edition, the festival brought together 2,500 artists from 70 countries.

18 June 2016