The Sochi 2014 Cultural Olympiad celebrated its year of theatre last year and 2012 is the Year of Music.

Chamber and choir concerts will be among the plethora of events held by Sochi 2014 at the Kamchatka Spring Festival.

Kamchatka (pictured) is the region furthest to the east of Russia, not far from the United States, and the spring festival will feature soloists from Milan's La Scala and Moscow's Bolshoi Theatre.

It will also include the winner of the International Tchaikovsky Competition, the cellist Umberto Clerici from Italy, as well as violinist Karen Shakhgaldyan, pianist Ksenia Bashmet and guitarist Dmitri Illarionov.

The festival begins with the premiére of the comedy Living Portrait of Don Lope de Lujan, which includes artists from the Theatre of Drama and Comedy.

The dance show, Dance Vernissage, will also be on display as well as the Moscow-based Fidgets group, giving a special children's show.

The festival – which will be followed by the III Easter Festival – concludes with a performance from Georgian male voice choir Mdzlevari.

The Cultural Olympiad is a key part of the Sochi 2014 Organising Committee's mission to spread the legacy of the Winter Olympics across Russia.

Visitors to Sochi in 2014 will have the opportunity to experience Russia's rich cultural heritage, and by the start of the Games thousands of events are set to have been held as part of the Cultural Olympiad.

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