♪ ♪ population 630,000, is the largest city in the russian far east, vladivostok. ♪ >> three years ago a theater for opera and ballet was established here.

this summer it hosted a spectacular festival of the arts. ♪ ♪ >> the first international mari, ski far east festival hopes to reach out to the asia pacific region via russian arts. renowned russian conductor served as the festival's artistic director. ♪

>>ranslator: i want to emphasize that the mariinsky far east festival is an international festival. we have artists from other asian nations, all of whom collaborate to put the festival together. >> young artists who dedicated themselves to refining their performance at this theater were also a part of the festival. we followed these dedicated artists and the people for whom this festival was something very special. ♪ >> in september of 2015, vladivostok hosted the eastern economic forum for the first

time. russian president vladimir putin opened it by emphasizing the development of the far east region. >> vladivostok is homeport to the russian pacific fleet. and a military stronghold. during the soviet union area, entry into the city was severely restricted. in the past several years the city has undergone remarkable changes under president putin's policies. new buildings and bridges have been created. a restored pedestrian walkway

along the perimeter of the golden horn bay is now a popular spot for citizens to relax. a giant 1.9 kilometer bridge spans across golden horn bay. on the other side is vladivostok's new landmark, the stage of the mariinsky theater. it was completed in october 2013. >> translator: good afternoon. welcome to our theater. this is our great hall.

it seats 1,354 people. the acoustics are sublime. the reverberation board ceiling and wood panel wall produce exquisite sound experience. it was assembled entirely by hand. >> the hall incorporates the cutting edge in acoustic technology. the audience is surrounded by the best possible sound. ♪ >> the first international mariinsky far east festival is the realization of president putin's desire to spread western art to the asia pacific region.

participants from the theater in st. petersburg include principle conductor, world class singers and dancers and the mariinsky orchestra. 24 opera singers and 36 ballet dancers are currently with the stage of the mariinsky theater. they come from not just russia but from all around the world including the united states, japan and brazil. for these performers, the festival is a unique opportunity to perform with world class artists. >> translator: i'm thrilled. top artists are coming to vladivostok, and i'll be performing alongside them. >> translator: this festival is an invaluable opportunity to experience the arts at the highest level.

♪ >> this is a japanese ballerina. she will be dancing the role of the nymph in the ballet giselle. arina was born in 1991. at age three she took her first ballet lesson. she spent two years studying ballet at the vaganova academy in st. petersburg. three years ago she became a member of the ballet company in vladivostok. arina shares an apartment in the city with another dancer in the theater company. he hails from the kales republic. the two got engaged in july.

dancers receive a monthly salary of 70,000 rubles or $1,100 from the theater plus bonuses for each show. >> our little darling, named after the famous ballerina. >> the theater pays for their rent. everything is arranged to allow them to concentrate on ballet. >> translator: what's it been like at the theater? >> translator: oh, it's been awesome. there's so much to learn at the theater. how should i put it? i don't feel tied down. not everything is established here yet. so i can exert my individuality. >> arina will be performing on the big stage for the first time

in vladivostok. she hopes this show will be the opportunity to make a new leap forward in her ballet career. elena is an opera singer, born in vladivostok in 1993. she began studying voice at a local academy. she started as a member of the choir before country clubbing a soloist just last year. >> translator: during the time i was studying at the academy there wasn't a theater for opera and ballet in vladivostok, so after graduation we couldn't make plans. having a theater to sing at right here in the city is like a dream come true.

♪ >> alina will perform in the opera "the queen of spades." she will be doing a solo. . >> translator: a number of soloists from the theater in st. petersburg will also be coming. i will be singing with the winner of the competition. >> it began on july 30th and continued for 12 days. the theater staff worked on

their days off promoting the shows by distributing brochures. >> translator: the response from not just locals but from japanese, chinese and korean tourists has been great. they were happy to take a brochure. >> translator: i couldn't be more honored to be part of this festival. it is hard to believe that vladivostok now has a place for the arts like mariinsky theater. this event is immense, both for our city and for the theater. it is the start of a revolution. >> anticipation builds as the opening day of the festival approaches. >> translator: i'm ecstatic. i never dreamed there would be an opera and ballet theater here in the far east. it is wonderful that we're bringing back culture to the

city. >> translator: i haven't taken a close look at the program yet, but i wanted to go twice at the very least. >> this is one of those anxiously looking forward to the festival. during the soviet era lyubov was a prima ballerina. lyubov was born in vladivostok in 1950. she began studying ballet at age five. at the time, vladivostok was a closed city with limited

recreational facilities and there was nowhere for her to perform ballet. >> translator: there were theaters for plays but none for ballet. but the people loved the ballet. >> at age ten, lubyov left home and enrolled at a ballet academy in central siberia. after graduation she performed for 20 years at prima ballerina in a city in western siberia. in recognition of her achievements, lyubov received a commendation from the soviet government. lyubov retired in 1988 at the age of 38 and returned home to vladivostok. three years later the soviet union collapsed. the amount of her pension was

significantly reduced and she was forced to take janitorial jobs to eke out a living. lyubov's checkered life even made the newspapers. >> translator: when i heard an opera and ballet theater had opened in vladivostok, i was happy, but at the same time i was sad. happy because the theater i dreamed about since i was five years old had become a reality, and sad because it came too late. the spoon has to be set on the table at supper time. you know what i mean. >> this year lyubov turned 66 years old. she still keeps her pointe shoes as a cherished memento.

it's july 30th, the grand opening day of the festival. valerie, the festival's artistic direor, holds a press conference. >> translator: tickets have just about sold out. we've never seen ticket sales like this in vladivostok. everything about this festival from the ticket sales to audience interest and to the number of performances is on an unprecedented scale. of course, our costs were commensurate with the scale of the event as well. >> the festival opens with the opera, "betrothal in a monastery." it was the personal choice in celebration of the 105th anniversary of the composer's

birth. there wasn't an empty seat in the hall. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >> translator: i loved everything about the

performance. today was a day i had been waiting for for a long time. the theater is fabulous. it is a memorable day for us residing in the far east. >> day two of the festival. in commemoration of russian navy day, a special concert is broadcast live from the deck of a cruiser of the russian pacific fleet. ♪ ♪ >> at a park in the city, a giant television screen is set up so locals and tourists alike can enjoy the performance. ♪

>> one magnificent performance followed another. on this day, it is the opera "the queen of spades." alina, who worked her way from a singer in the choir to soloist, performs. ♪ >> caller: i'm simply overwhelmed to be able to be a part of this festival. performing on the same stage with world class artists gives me motivation to strive even higher as a singer.

>> lyubov, a prima ballerina during the soviet era. she's decided to attend the festival. her choice is the romantic ballet giselle, one of her favorite roles as a ♪ >> day eight of the festival. the cast of "giselle" goes through rehearsals. ♪ >> the role of giselle will be performed by star ballerina hanna o'neill of the paris opera ballet.

elder eleff is the director of the ballet company. for 13 years he was director of the that was predecessor of mariinsky theater. >> translator: it is my conviction possessing a unique identity is essential to the development of a theater. this theater happens to be the european theater closest to the countries of asia. a copy can never be as good as an original. that's why i have no intention of duplicating what the mariinsky theater of st. petersburg did. i want to create an identity that's unique to this theater. ♪ >> japanese ballerina will perform in act two.

arina does not look pleased. >> arina, comes here. do it again. no, >> she's been wobbling on her landings. two hours later, it's curtain time.

lyubov alives at trrives at the. ever since she was a child she's dreamed of a theater like this. unable to contain her excitement, she arrived an hour before curtain time.

♪ >> arina has been a ballerina with the theater for three years. she will share the stage with her fellow dancers. ♪ >> she hopes this will be her chance to make the next big leap as a ballerina. ♪

>> the first time to see a ballet performance in her hometown, fond memories of her days as a prima ballerina return. ♪ >> act two of "giselle" begins. ♪ >> arina sees her cue. ♪

>> here she dances with her ballet fellows. ♪ ♪ [ applause ] >> the show comes to a close. >> translator: it was my first performance in that role. i was really nervous. i made a lot of mistakes during

rehearsals, but i did okay, so i'm happy. >> translator: it was a moving performance. the theater is wonderful. >> translator: watching the performance made me feel like dancing. my head and hands started moving to the music by themselves. it was quite surreal. >> translator: what would you like this theater to become? >> translator: the building is wonderful and they have a great audience, so i hope they put on as many shows as they can. ♪ >> the first international mariinsky far east festival in vladivostok, 12 days and 27 performances drew more than

20,000 attendees. >> translator: now that we have this theater we can invite the world's top artists here to vladivostok. this was our first far east festival. we'll take a look at what we've accomplished and build on it for the future. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> hello, a very warm welcome to nhk "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. the u.s. president is praising north korea's leader for holding back on a decision to fire ballistic missiles near guam. donald trump took to twitter in response to a north korean state-run media report this week. it quoted kim jong-un as saying he would watch the conduct of the u.s. before making a decision. trump wrote on wednesday kim jong-un of north korea made a very wise and well reasoned decision. the alternative would have been both catastrophic and unacceptable. trump stoked fears last week whene