Bolshoi

I have been meaning for a few days now to write about my little tour of the Bolshoi Theater. I went with an AWO group - found out about it late, but squeezed in when someone else cancelled. We met up here - Le Pain Quotidien. Ok, yum! Very cute place, they are all over - check the map - this one is on a fancy shmancy pedestrian street off Tverskaya. I arrived a bit late to order breakfast from the menu as the other ladies had, so I just had coffee and munched a croissant. Their food is beautiful. Their menu says things like "healthy breakfast" with "natural ingredients." Yogurt parfaits with fresh baked granola, eggs, breads, everything looked yummy. I took note. We are going to try and go sat or sun morning. I wonder if they will be super crowded. hmmm, maybe will have to go early (yeah fat chance of getting the family out early on a sat morning) or later in the afternoon (more likely). M will love their hot chocolate. It comes with a huge bowl (like a cereal bowl) of steamed frothy milk and a teacup size cup of melted chocolate to mix in. I can see her closing her eyes and mmmmmm-ing.

Oh yeah, Bolshoi. So after we all gathered, in front of the theater we were met by our tour guide. Expatresse went on a similar tour and we saw many of the same things. Read hers. Although I missed Vladimir.

Before we entered, the tour guide whispers to us "I have 2 pairs of child size ballet slippers for sale! Very rare!" - the theater makes their own ballet slippers, they are stamped on the bottom. Why is she whispering? One woman says "oh I will buy them!" she hands over the cash, tour guide hands over a carefully wrapped package - "put this in the bottom of your bag!" she says urgently "they may xray it!" "um, ok" says the purchaser. We all joke that we will write her if she is hauled off. At the end of the tour, another woman asks to buy the second pair - "ok! give me the money now - I will give you the slippers outside!" she is told, again in a whisper. Not sure why it was so discreet. Some kind of blackmarket ballet slipper exchange.

Coolest part we actually got to see part of a rehearsal. It was the very famous opera Eugene Onegin (poem by Pushkin, music by Tchaikovsky - 2 most famous and beloved Russians!). We in fact saw the famous "letter scene" in which a young Tatyana confesses her love for Onegin in a letter. In a nutshell, she loves him, writes him a letter, he rejects her, years later he sees her - she of course is married and beautiful, who is she, he thinks? oh! he is in love!, he writes her a letter, she rejects him. the end. I told Leo that I saw part of an opera that was a Pushkin poem. He guessed immediately what it was, and knew the scene I described. I am always impressed that all Russians know their literature, ballet, opera, poetry, classical music, etc. Even the poor kids growing up in siberia know it. They are a very cultured people, and very proud. Honestly, I have never been to a ballet, or opera, I think I went to the symphony on a school field trip once.

So we see this tiny wisp of a girl on stage, she starts singing and her voice fills the theater. Amazing. We go out and are told that that night will be her first performance ever. they are very excited to have her as usually, in opera, not much attention is paid to the performers physical attributes, and often this part is played by, more, um, rotund women. They are excited to have a great singer, who "looks the part".

Cool.

There was a lot of winking and laughing about when the original (well not original - that burned down twice) but the old bolshoi, which has been under renovation for 6 years now, will open. "we hope to continue to hope that in a year it will open" I love it. They dont hope it will open in a year, they hope they can hold onto the hope. Once it opens, the old theater will show the classics "Swan Lake" and the new will show more avant-garde. Apparently, Russians prefer classics and have not been too receptive of newer ballets and operas ("they are not on the stage long" we were told). The two will be connected with underground passages so sets, costumes, rehearsal space, etc can be shared. Right now, as there is Opera on the stage, the ballet group "has free time" and are able to travel around Russia to perform and around the globe (I believe they were in Washington DC recently?) which is also new for them.

It was a nice tour, some interesting history.

Go if you get a chance, if not, then at least go to le pain quotidien!