MOSCOW, August 14, Zhanna Staritsyna. The Bolshoi Theater tour was a great success in Beijing, in Shanghai they gave an ovation to Valery Gergiev with the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra, in Pyongyang they solemnly performed the patriotic hit of the singer Shaman — in Asia more and more are interested in Russian artists. Read about how they captivate audiences.
Russian classics: a masterpiece of world art
The Asian public greets classical performers with great love — masterpieces of Russian music are recognizable and in demand at any time.
For example, at the end of July, dancers from the Bolshoi Theater performed triumphantly in Beijing, completely refuting the stereotype of the unemotional and “calm” Chinese spectator. According to the head of the ballet troupe, Mahar Vaziev, the artists were greeted with “elements of riot.”
“
"Considering that we were here for the last time five years ago, the audience, it seems to me, was wonderful and greeted us very warmly , sometimes even with some emotional elements of violence, so everything is fine and I’m very pleased,” he said.
And at the end of March, Valery Gergiev’s concerts with the Mariinsky Theater Symphony Orchestra were sold out in Shanghai: more than eight thousand tickets were sold in the first 20 minutes alone.
“
"Gergiev is a true master. When he conducts, even familiar works sound completely new,” said Wang Jiyan, musicologist at the Chinese Academy of Arts.
The program included works by Sergei Prokofiev, Pyotr Tchaikovsky, and Dmitry Shostakovich. However, the Chinese have a special feeling for Sergei Rachmaninov — this year the composer’s 150th anniversary is celebrated all over the world.
“
“It seems to me that it (the music of Sergei Rachmaninov. — Ed.) is most revered and performed in China. Why? Because the roots of Chinese pianism come from Russia, the entire Chinese school in general originated from the Russian one. And all the Chinese pianists who received, for example, prizes at the Tchaikovsky Competition, studied with our Russian teachers, they have a primordially Russian school,” said pianist and director of the Nanjing Opera House Maxim Mogilevsky.
Confirmation of his words is the tour of the Academic Symphony Orchestra of the St. Petersburg Philharmonic in the largest cities of China. The musicians performed in Beijing, Tanjin, Wuhan, Nanjing, Guangzhou, Changsha and Shanghai, tickets were sold out a month before the concerts.
Russian pop: European exotica
Asians' love is not limited to the classics: they have long been eyeing Russian pop music with interest. Some of our artists use this opportunity to promote and earn money. After all, the population in Asia is many times larger, which means it is much easier to assemble a large site. 
Pioneers — group «Tattoo»: girls have become mega-popular in Japan and China.
Recently, Polina Gagarina participated in the Singer show in China. She sang in Chinese — a tutor helped her master the difficult language. But the performance in Russian went viral on the Internet: “Cuckoo” has 38 million views. There are even separate videos on the Internet with the violent reaction of foreigners to this hit.
South Korea also became interested in the work of the song's author, Viktor Tsoi. Cover versions of «Cuckoo» and «Eighth-Grader» received more than 1.5 million views on singer Song Won-seob's channel. In the comments, the Korean was praised for his persistence in mastering the Russian language and his sincerity.
«
"You are a great fellow — to sing like that in a foreign language", "What a beautiful and soulful performance", "Thank you for the song in Russian, I can imagine how difficult it is for you,” “This is a very careful cover with great respect for the original,” noted fans.
Vitas has long been popular in China. In Shanghai, they even erected a kind of monument to him: a half-naked singer with gills plays the button accordion. In 2006, the performer starred for local television and then went on tour. The artist regularly gathers audiences, sings several songs in Chinese, appears on Chinese TV channels, and films “talking” videos like “Made in China.” Some consider its success in Asia the result of skillful advertising, but Vitas producer Sergei Pudovkin is sure that the reason is different.
“
“There is probably no exact answer why Vitas is so popular in China. It’s just that, as always, the combination of his voice and striking appearance worked. <…> There is also a rush of concerts in Japan and in Korea, it’s just that the Chinese market is the largest, most massive and active,” Pudovkin said.
While Vitas sings in China to audiences of millions, other Russian stars are focusing on South Korea. Among them is Anna Asti: at the end of March, the artist gathered several thousand people at a performance in Seoul.
The public in North Korea liked Shaman more: the song “Let’s Rise” was performed by Korean women at a concert in Pyongyang in honor of the 70th anniversary of the end of the Korean War. The medley also included compositions by Oleg Gazmanov and Bulat Okudzhava.
“
"This is some kind of miracle, what voices, what a performance! Indeed, space! And all this is the merit of our Shaman,” “Bravo to the Koreans!” Amazing performance!”, “Both Yaroslav’s song and the Koreans’ performance are amazingly talented,” they wrote in the comments.
Thanks to the warm welcome, interest in the exotic and financial opportunities, the Asian market is becoming an increasingly promising platform. It is quite possible that soon it will be the main direction for Russian stars, replacing the reference point for Western show business.