November, 7 2014 does not have decent opera productions of a high level. But if we analyze the theatre's creative activities in general, using a systematic and coherent approach, if we ask ourselves, how the theatre implements its opera policy, given all of its complex constituents, we have to give a negative answer to this question. Nowadays premieres at the largest theatres star the cream of the opera world; unfortunately, this does not happen at the Bolshoi. This is a rather serious criterion, and even a symptom: professionals do not have much interest in the theatre's activities and its premieres. At the same time I do not want everybody to think that when I declare such a state of af fairs I claim: "Now I have come to the theatre and the situation will start to improve at once!" It will not. This is the problem. It is very important to understand the reasons. I have spent almost a year to find the weak points that do not allow us to change the situation… So what are they? First of all, it is the system of stagione, which is so popular all over the world nowadays. It will not work here as effectively as it should, because it is hard to apply it in our environment. It is hard to do not only because our audience is used to the repertoire theatre where different productions are performed every day and there is a chance to choose. It is also hard to do in terms of organization and geography - we live in a huge country and the distance to the European centers is big. Any artist in Europe needs just a couple of hours to get from one capital to another by car; in Russia the same amount of time is not always enough to get from one city to another even by plane. Given the big number of opera projects that star famous singers, migration mobility is extremely important. We do not have it! So we need to understand very clearly that even if we do have such projects, they cannot become the main focus of the theatre's activities. There is a second important component that I worry about a lot. This is not only the new productions and forming the repertoire with due regard to organizational possibilities, but also the issue of the quality of the productions that the current repertoire consists of. Photo: ITAR-T ASS/Y uri Mashkov W e do know very well that theatre directors and production teams are able to gather the best forces for a premiere, I mean, we can have the best cast and invite leading conductors. But try coming to the fifth or the tenth performance, after the production team - the director, the conductor and the star-studded soloists - have already left and are already involved in other projects all over the world. The Bolshoi Theatre presents more than 200 opera productions on two stages every year. Making sure that each of those performances has good quality is the most difficult task. There is one more thing: today, in the 21st century, when all borders are open, every artist, especially a talented one, can perform all over the world and does not have to have a binding contract with a particular theatre. Given this particular situation, how do we make sure that the best of the best Russian singers perform at the Bolshoi Theatre?
Finally, there is one more circumstance that is extremely important. It all starts from the most elementary things. Let us ask ourselves a question: who gives this or that part to a particular singer? When I came to the theatre I was shocked. Lots of different people can do this! As a result, when I come to a performance and ask why something like this is happening at the Bolshoi Theatre and why people sing so badly, it turns out there is not a single person who would be personally responsible for that! I ask a conductor and he tells me that the opera office sent the artists; the opera office says they have coordinated it with such and such… In the end it looks like everyone made decisions, but… no one was responsible for the quality! Changing this malpractice became one of my primary goals. I had to create a system that would ensure we had a chain of people responsible for the result. Figuratively speaking, I wanted to make sure my horse was in front of my carriage: from now on the conductor of a production is responsible for his singers! Of course, in such an enormous company we need to have other people who help during the process, but none of them can have the decisive vote. My next goal was not less important; perhaps, it was even more important. I needed a person who would not only be a good conductor; I rather needed a music director of the theatre, whose professional skills, taste and organizational skills would determine the future of our theatre! Naturally, I do not want to cast a stone at Vassily S. Sinaisky, who had certain achievements and carried out interesting music projects at the theatre, but he probably was not a particularly talented and effective manager able to make critical decisions that not everyone might have liked; this was not his vocation. The quality of certain productions and performances is very important, but this is mainly the question of the conductor's personal responsibility to the audience. The ability to develop a strategy of managing a big collective, which influences the fate of the theatre on the historic scale, if you will, is associated with a totally different level of goals and responsibilities. It seems to me that we have found such a person; it is T ugan Sokhiev. I consider him to be a talented, gifted and a very promising conductor; moreover, he feels about the theatre the same way I do, and he has become my partner in managing the theatre. He spends a certain amount of time on his professional responsibilities of a conductor, and he devotes the rest of his efforts towards solving global issues, I mean, the further development and promotion of the Bolshoi Opera! This is the most serious system that is based on many factors: first of all, there are concert masters who practice together with the singers, there are conductors who are responsible for the musical quality of productions, and there are many other factors as well. I will say once again that the system did not really work. A singer was singing, a conductor was conducting, but no real music was born. There is also one more important psychological nuance: it is necessary to change the artist's way of thinking and to make sure that the rehearsals and the creative search become the priority at the theatre, while the result has secondary importance. This is the most difficult task! The artist is interested in tons of different things: prestigious parts, contracts abroad, his status, salary, conveniences, but not the rehearsals. As a rule, rehearsals were a boring routine and had nothing to do with creativity. I will specify: we are not talking about several premieres per season, when everyone is enthusiastic, but about everyday routine work. This is what determines the level of a theatre and strengthens its base. I can give the example of the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko Moscow Academic Music Theatre. If you come to watch "La Boheme" that was staged twenty years ago, you will still see a production that is "alive"; it can be a bit better or a bit worse today, but you will not see a dull and boring "dead thing"… I am sorry to interrupt you, but I have to say that there is a main director there, who controls the quality of the production all the time. I would use more general terms: there is a person who is very much interested in the quality! It can be a director or a conductor. This really is about an artistic person who is in charge of this or that theatre and the system this person creates. As for the Stanislavski Theatre, it is the director, Alexander B. Titel, who has created such a system. There is another aspect that we cannot overlook as we are talking about challenges at the opera company. The singers! I have mentioned it many times, to journalists as well, that my task of a director is to make sure that performances star soloists who work at this theatre in the first place. I am interested in this from any point of view, the creative one, the organizational one and the financial one, but… only if they can provide high professional music level! Everyone has heard the first part of my statement, but somehow people do not want to hear the second one… I have heard you! I understand that we are talking about a balance between full-time artists who can provide good quality of performance and guest soloists without whom it is sometimes impossible to have good quality performances. We will come back to that, but now I would like to bring to your attention another important component of the Bolshoi Theatre's image, the repertoire! This is the most important topic, especially when it comes to the repertoire plans for the coming season. So I will allow myself to talk about it a bit. Repertoire is something that plays an important role in attracting the audience to the theatre; for Russia's main Newsletter

stage it is also the symbol of the cultural policy. Many opera lovers consider that the Bolshoi's repertoire policy has some drawbacks and unimproved opportunities. This is true about both the quality (what kind of opera productions the Bolshoi presents) and the quantity - I mean, how many operas a season the playbill has, how many opera performances are presented every month and so on. Let us start from the quantity. As I prepared for this meeting, I analyzed quantitative indicators of the repertoire of two world's leading opera theatres, where the mixed functional model is close to the one that exists at the Bolshoi. I am talking about the V ienna State Opera and the Metropolitan Opera. We cannot compare the Bolshoi to La Scala or the Royal Opera House, because those theatres use the system of stagione only. So the Vienna State Opera has 50 operas in the current repertoire. For example, there are 7 productions that are performed 23 times during the month of November, when the opera season is in full swing. Metropolitan Opera has 27 operas in its repertoire; 7 operas are performed 27 times in November. The Bolshoi Theatre has 20 operas in its active repertoire, and 5 of those operas are performed 13 times in November. The indicators, obviously, are lower, and this is about the number of opera productions on the playbill in the first place. Of course, the ballet plays the most important role at the Bolshoi, but there is also a ballet company at the Vienna Theatre, and besides, the Bolshoi has two stages and therefore greater capability. How can you comment on these figures? Are you satisfied with this situation? First of all, I would like to say that we cannot analyze repertoire issues without looking at the situation at the theatre in general and taking into account all those challenges I have just mentioned. Frankly speaking, the quality of some productions of the current repertoire is such that it has been decided to remove them from the repertoire. The list includes "Die Zauberflöte" and "Carmen", "The Queen of Spades" and "Nabucco". This is why there are fewer productions today. Second of all, should there be a lot of production at the theatre? In general there should be, but during one season there should not! Basing myself on my experience and on the results of my analysis, I consider it unpractical to have more than 20 productions on the playbill for one season! There is the technical component and the creative one. Unlike many other large foreign theatres, the Bolshoi Theatre stores all its sets outside the theatre and in the suburbs of Moscow; it is necessary to bring them to the theatre and to put them up on the stage, which takes the precious time and the stage cannot be used all the time. Most importantly, in order to optimize this process, it is usually necessary to perform a production several times in a row; of course, not 8 or 10, which is stupid, but at least 3 or 4. Then we need another day to put everything down and to put up another set… W as it dif ferent in the Soviet times? Y es, it was; back then the technical capabilities allowed theatres to have different productions every day. Do not forget that the set design has become much more complicated. There did not use to be such constructions, devices and special effects that are used nowadays. The time of the sets that were painted on canvas, when 2-3 hours were enough to put everything up, set the lights and start a performance, has gone…
The technical component is very important, but I would like to focus on the creative component. Look: the Bolshoi Theatre can present about 200 opera performances per season on both stages. Each production should be performed at least 8-10 times per season. In this case it will remain in artists' active repertoire. Otherwise, a production will cease to exist. Imagine that a singer sings some opera 2-3 times a year, and sometimes he/she does not even sing it each season. In a couple of years it will be necessary to go through a new rehearsal process in order to revive this production. It figures. Bearing in mind everything that has been said, I guess we should not draw direct parallels with some other theatres; each theatre has its own way of development and its own specific features. Of course, we can go far and start comparing with the Mariinsky Theatre that has the continuous flow system… W e should not do it. As I have already said, each theatre has its own way of development. OK, as for the repertoire quantity indicators, your position is somewhat clear. Let us talk about quality. It seems appropriate to discuss new productions that the Bolshoi Theatre has scheduled for this season and to talk about this issue in general as well. The thing is that many opera lovers are waiting for the Bolshoi Theatre to renew the classical repertoire and to enlarge it; they expect the theatre to stage productions that will suit every taste, from ancient operas to modern ones. In other words, opera lovers expect the Bolshoi to do something that other theatres with more modest budgets and smaller audience halls cannot afford to do. Bearing in mind Bolshoi's status and the fact that it has two stages - the big Historic one and the New one - as well as the capability of its large company, choir and supernumeraries ensemble, can we say that these expectations are legitimate? My dear friends, listen! To begin with, there is no large opera company at our theatre! How did this myth appear? At the moment it has only 50 people. Compare it with collectives of other Moscow theatres, for example, the Stanislavski Theatre or even the "Helikon Opera", which have more soloists. None of the singers we have possesses endless possibilities. This is the situation that I was faced with when I came to work here. This is something we should continue to work on. This might be a slightly different topic but it is directly connected with the issue of the repertoire. I would like to make a key statement: the art of being a manager, and especially a theatre manager, is the art of achieving the possible. Of course, it is necessary to move forward and to accept the challenges of your time, but one should not build castles in the air and set goals that cannot be achieved. This is why the repertoire policy should be correlated with our capabilities. Tugan Sokhiev and I discuss our plans and talk about how much we would like to stage this or that opera. And then the intimate question comes up: who will sing it? Of course, if we are talking about some project that has been planned a long time ago, like Handel's "Rodelinda", which is intended for a narrow circle of audience, it is possible to bring together a team of baroque repertoire specialists, and this is precisely what we are going to do. Then we will have a premiere series of performances in the format of stagione and then, pardon me, we will remove this production from the repertoire. If there is a huge success, we can repeat this project a year later. But this will not solve the issue you are talking about. What shall we do with those two hundred productions that are performed every day? There should be a completely different everyday repertoire and we should make sure there is a high- quality performance every day. Besides, we cannot hide from the fact that the repertoire policy depends on the audience as well. Let us call a spade a spade but it is not a secret that a significant part of the audience go to the Bolshoi Theatre to look at the chandelier. Of course, there are such members of the audience everywhere, especially at posh theatres, and each of those theatres has "La Traviata" and "Carmen" to satisfy their tastes.
Therefore, the question of balanced repertoire and finding "the golden mean" while planning this repertoire is put bluntly. The goal is to satisfy the demand of both the general public and sophisticated opera lovers… Here comes the pressing issue I was about to bring up. For some reason we often talk about extremes: it is either the most popular set of operas like the proverbial "La T raviata" and "Carmen", or some rare titles and operas for the elite. But, as you have just said, there is some "golden mean". There is no need to search for it; there are quite many classical and melodious operas that would suit the taste of the general public and that have been performed at the Bolshoi Theatre or even in Moscow long time ago, or have not been performed here at all! Those are usually operas of grand genre that suit the Historic Stage very well. I can give you several titles… W ait, wait! Let us talk about it a bit later. At first I would like to clarify something, using the example of the repertoire that was announced for this season. You have touched this question, and there are many people who ask about the same thing. Let us clarify this. I am ready to explain, why we came up with any of those operas. Sure. This is very interesting. It is not a secret that many were disappointed with those titles. W ell, this is bias. So let us look at the list of the new productions that we will present this season. The first one is "The Maid of Orleans"! Y ou know, I have no questions about it. I think this was a happy choice and this is one of those "golden mean" operas. Still, I will elaborate on that a bit: everything was calculated very carefully. It is a Russian opera of the grand style and it is performed rarely, which is good. The decision to perform a concert version also is understandable because maestro Sokhiev is an experienced symphonic conductor and there was not enough time to stage the full version of the opera; besides, he needs more time to familiarize himself with the situation at the theatre. Then we have the opera for children by Banevich. I would say, this is a happy choice as well, because this niche is free. Absolutely. The opera "The Story of Kai and Gerda" is a classic of its genre and it made a good showing. And what about the rest? Then there is "Rigoletto" staged by Robert Carsen. This is a co-production of the famous Festival d'Aix-en-Provence and several other European theatres. The contract had been signed before I came to the Bolshoi. This is a "non-traditional" interpretation, as we usually put it, and I think it will cause some controversy. November, 7 2014 Newsletter

But as far as I know you managed to refuse to implement another controversial project that was the legacy of the previous administration; I mean the one-act operas "Iolanta" and "Mavra". That was a dif ferent situation. I would rather not talk about the details but it was possible to change the situation and it involved minor economic losses, but as for "Rigoletto", this was not the case, take my word on it. Moving on to "The Queen of Spades". Let me ask you a controversial question! I personally do understand why you do not like "Die Zauberflöte" and "Carmen" that you removed from the repertoire. But what was wrong with "The Queen of Spades" created by Fokin and Pletnev? This was quite a moderate production, not a scandalous one, the cultural associations were rather easy to follow, and, if I may say so, they did not contradict Tchaikovsky's idea. W e do not have to call this production a masterpiece but why did you make the decision to remove it? It is even more interesting to hear your opinion about it because you have decided to substitute this production not with a new version of the same opera, but with an old production, created by Lev Dodin fifteen years ago. It is easy to understand, why it has been such a great success with the foreign audience; it has too much of "Dostoevsky's mental imbalance", I mean, there is literally a mental ward there! Bearing in mind the charismatic nature of this masterpiece by Tchaikovsky and Russian traditional perception of this opera, as well as the fact that the opera genre is quite conventional rather than dramatic, do you think that the Russian general public will be as excited with this production of "The Queen of Spades"? Sophisticated snobs have already watched it because it was performed in Europe many times! So here comes the logical question - who is the target audience? Who will watch this production? W ell, I will try to answer all your questions one by one. Whether this production is old or not is a controversial question. If a piece is good such concerns fade into insignificance. I watched this opera when it was performed at the Paris Opera for the last time. It impressed me greatly; I considered this production to be interesting and very conceptual in regard to this particular opera. I would not like to start a long discussion now and to talk about what it has from Tchaikovsky and what it has from Pushkin or Dostoevsky. But I consider it to be a production staged by an outstanding director. His each creation, be it more or less successful and even controversial, always is a great artistic message. Y ou mentioned the name of Dostoevsky! We can argue about it and discuss how much of that "mental imbalance" it has, but nevertheless, Dostoevsky is a great name. It means that one way or another Dodin is trying to understand something in that piece that has fundamental importance for the Russian culture. When people discuss some production and say it is not Tchaikovsky because there is too much Dodin or say, Chernyakov, or somebody else from the modern interpreters, this is another pair of shoes… As for the old production of "The Queen of Spades", I can tell you that I saw a production which came apart in terms of the musical and dramatic component. There was a total incongruity between what was happening on the stage and what was happening in the orchestra pit; besides, the singing left a lot to be desired… W ell, you will have the same problem with singers in the new production! W e will see. How are you going to tackle the main challenge? Who will perform the part of German? Vladimir Galuzin! The contract has already been signed. I see. Now I would like to ask you about "Le Nozze di Figaro". Why? There are many productions of this opera in Moscow… What is the question? There are many productions; let it be. But our production appeared from the completed piece that was created by the Young Artists Opera Program. There was a successful concert version. Why not make it into a full version?
W e tackle both the repertoire issue and the educational one at the same time. I have already said in the beginning of our talk, that we had to approach whatever happens at the theatre as a process and not only as the result that the audience demands. In this particular case we see an important educational moment; it is a great example of teamwork, when the rehearsal process naturally becomes a result. Besides, we have already had similar experience with the production "Cosi fan Tutte". Before we close the discussion of the repertoire plan for the new season, let us talk about "Carmen". It is clear that the production staged by Pountney, had to be removed from the repertoire, and I doubt that any of opera lovers will argue with this. But why did you decide to stage the new version of "Carmen" at once? Is it like the theatre absolutely cannot do without this opera? Why did you not decide to take a break and to stage some other popular opera that has not been performed at the Bolshoi for a long time? The situation is very simple: this was the desire of the new music director, who is interested in this music. I have to admit that as I watch the teamwork of the conductor Sokhiev, the director Borodin and the set designer Benediktov, I have hopes for a good result! Mr. Urin! We have talked a lot about the repertoire plan for the current season. I would now like to come back to "the golden mean" and talk about it a bit. You promised we would come back to this topic. Sure, sure. I will give the titles of several operas that have both not very complicated musical material and novelty; those operas could become the trademark of the Bolshoi's renewed repertoire policy. I will not talk about numerous Russian masterpieces, for example, "Rusalka" by Dargomyzhsky, which have not been staged for a long time, but probably should be included in the repertoire. This is something that is clear. I would like to ask you about productions that could attract people to the theatre, because they would be new for the Moscow audience. For example, there is "Samson and Delilah" by C. Saint-SaГ«ns, "La Gioconda" by A. Ponchielli and "Andrea Chénier" by U. Giordano. The latter one has not been performed in Russia for more than 100 years and has never been staged in either of the Russian capitals. Why don't you stage any of those? Forming of the repertoire can never be theoretical; you can never say "let us stage this or that opera"! Tugan Sokhiev plans to stage Rossini. Apart from "The Barber of Seville", there are very few production of Rossini in Russia; there is none at the Bolshoi at the moment. Is this situation normal? No, it is not. What Rossini's operas in particular does he have in mind? W ell, this is not the point at the moment. As soon as we start talking about Rossini, there comes the question - do we have Rossini's tenors? W ell, a brilliant solution was found in the case of "L'italiana in Algeri" at the Stanislavski Theatre! They managed to involve Maxim Mironov and Sergei Romanovsky. Y es, the solution was found. In that particular case. Is this production performed often? This is what I mean: there should be a kind of solution so that a production would be performed regularly and would bring profit to the theatre. When it comes to "Boris Godunov" or "The Tsar's Bride", I know for sure who will sing it tomorrow and how he/she will sing it; I also know who will maintain the level of this production. Or take the old production of "La Boheme". In that case we found a dif ferent solution: there is no time to re-stage this production today, but we have to keep it, so Tugan Sokhiev will breathe new life into it. This is the way to tackle particular repertoire issues. If we decided to work with some new productions, or rarities like the ones you have mentioned, we need to have a clear understanding of who will be able to constantly maintain the level of those productions… So this looks like the right time to come back to the issue of guest soloists that will be able to maintain the desired level! Of course I can invite soloists; I can invite a tenor or even two tenors, pay them good money, and they will sing at premiere performances - the theatre is capable of doing this. And what happens next? I can say it once again: it is all about the same principle. Being in charge of a theatre is the art of achieving the possible, and we need to have a clear vision of how we will make sure the production survives after the premiere. By the way, here is an answer to your question. You have asked why we cannot stage this or that masterpiece. But I can tell you that we are seriously considering the possibility to stage "Andrea Chénier" by U. Giordano. This is really good news! Perhaps, my dream to watch this opera at the Bolshoi Theatre will come true! But let us talk about real life challenges again. During our conversation you have asked "who will sing it?" several times. I cannot fail to ask you about the singers! Just because I have said it several times, you should not have an impression that the level of the opera company is low. Of course, there are certain personal problems regarding the quality of singing but there is also the organizational and the creative aspect. I mean, how much of the existing potential and the abilities of those singers who can and want to sing are used? Are they always involved in the productions the way they should be? Are they trying to reach the goals they can reach? There is a place to grow here and the main question is how to use these assets effectively and how to develop them. Naturally, there should be a music director who would be in November, 7 2014 Newsletter

charge of this. We have the Young Artists Opera Program headed by Dmitri Y. Vdovin. He organized the activities of this program successfully and is in charge of everything that happens there. But it is the Bolshoi's music director who decides whom to accept into this program. But cannot do everything by himself. There are many issues and many people… I guess there are challenges, connected not only with being in charge of the full-time soloists. Who decide, which foreign artists to invite for this or that project and which parts to give them, if it is necessary? Of course, the music director has assistants, including Makvala F. Kasrashvili, our wonderful singer, who has tremendous experience. The Perspective Planning Department also should give its recommendations when it comes to inviting foreign artists. They are monitoring the situation on the world's opera market. Do you have any kind of plan to invite certain Russian singers to join the Bolshoi Company? Which new names will we see? First of all, we have accepted to the Bolshoi Opera Company the most promising graduates of the Young Artists Opera Program, for example Yulia Lezhneva and Andrei Zhilikhovsky. Besides, quite recently Agunda Kulaeva and Igor Golovatenko from the Novaya Opera have joined the company as well. W e do have some other plans as well. Are you going to invite some singers from the Stanislavski Theatre? Y ou know, this is an ethical issue. I spent many years at this theatre. Some of my good friends still work there. I will never destroy something that was being created for such a long time. But inviting a singer to participate in some project, so that he can do it in a way that does not negatively impact his career at the theatre he is employed with, is a dif ferent pair of shoes. We will coordinate this with Alexander B. Titel and will do it. Mr. Urin, of course, there are many questions I would love to discuss with you. But our conversation has already been quite long. So I will ask you one last question that I consider to be important. W e all know what part a director plays in creating a production today. How do you choose this or that director for new productions when you are not bound by any commitments? Can you share any new ideas? There are no fixed rules. Everything depends on a particular production. For instance, I will definitely invite Dmitry Chernyakov if… if there is a production that will suit his talent, as it happened with the wonderful production "The Rake's Progress". But let us be sincere - there are very few good directors who devote themselves to the music theatre. You can count them easily. Of course, we can invite experienced directors who work at drama theatres. This is what we do; for example, there is Lev Dodin we have already talked about. Evgeny Pisarev will stage "Le Nozze di Figaro". His production of "L'italiana in Algeri" at the Stanislavski Theatre was a success and I hope that this new production will be a success as well, moreover that it will be the genre of opera-buf fa that he has already worked with. There is also Alexei Borodin. He has already worked at the opera theatre and staged "Othello". This time he will stage "Carmen". All of them are experienced masters. As for new ideas, we should look for young talents. This is something I am focusing on. Are there any results? Y es, there are; for instance, I consider the director Dmitri Belyanushkin to be very promising. He won the Grand Prix of the 1st International Competition of Opera Conductors in Moscow. Belyanushkin is working on the opera "The Story of Kai and Gerda". If everything works out, we will collaborate with him in the future as well. There is another name - T imofei Kulyabin, who has recently won "The Golden Mask" and is already working at a music theatre. I consider him to be very talented. I plan to give him a chance to stage another students' project, the opera "Don Pasquale" by Donizetti. This will happen next season. I will tell you a secret: I am also negotiating with Riccardo Muti and I would like to invite him to conduct this opera. This is great. Are you thinking back to 2007 when Muti came to Moscow and presented his "Don Paquale" from the Ravenna Festival at the Stanislavski Theatre? Y es, of course. I will finish talking about the young. We need to educate them and to make sure they have the same values and the same understanding of what the Bolshoi Theatre needs! The Second Russian Charity Ball took place at the Old Billingsgate Hall, one of London's oldest buildings, overlooking the Thames. A similar event, which was organized in December 2013, became one of the most significant events of the season. This time the organizers did everything they could in order to comply with such a high status. T imofei Musatov, the organizer of the Russian Charity Ball: - The thing is that such a format is not very popular in London and in the UK. Anything can be a ball; a dozen of people meet, have some wine and this is called a ball. Our event is the only one that requires strict dress-code; we are also very strict about our audience. According to the tradition of the 18th and the 19th centuries, debutants opened the ball; there were 50 pairs of dancers from Russia, the UK, the USA, Georgia, Malta and Estonia. As they started dancing the waltz, the audience gave them an ovation; several minutes later other guests could join the dancers. /…/ More than a thousand people attended the Russian Ball; the cheapest tickets cost 390 pounds. The guests did not only dance; they also enjoyed a performance of Bolshoi Theatre's artists, listened to opera arias and took part in a charity auction. /…/ Christina Eshba made her debut as Bolshoi Theatre's guest soloist on October 26th and 30th 2014. The young but prominent opera star from Abkhazia sang in the closing performances of the First International Music Festival "Baroque. A Journey. Italia". The concert took place at the Bolshoi Theatre Beethoven Hall; the house was packed. The sophisticated Moscow audience was elated. Christina Eshba has a phenomenal coloratura soprano; she performed the aria "Son qual nave" from "Artaserse" by Riccardo Broschi in a virtuoso manner. Christina Eshba has performed at the Grand Kremlin Palace and at the best concert halls and cathedrals in Moscow, Rome and Oxford. The singer graduated from the Gnessin Russain Academy of Music and is a soloist at the Abkhazian State Philharmonic.

http:// November, 7 2014 Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet Newsletter

, 7 " " Kristina Mkhitaryan, an artist of the Bolshoi Theatre Y oung Artists Opera Program, received another prestigious award; the singer won the 1st prize at the Gian Battista V iotti International Music Competition. This competition has been organized in the city of Vercelli (Italy) since 1950. The first prize is named after Joseph Robbone, a teacher of the music lyceum in Vercelli and the founder of the competition which marks the memory of the famous composer and violinist Gian Battista Viotti, who was born in the Vercelli province.

The competition has three rounds. In the first two rounds the competitors perform with a concert master, in the third one - with an orchestra (Carlo Coccia Symphony Orchestra of Novara, conductor - A. Ferrari). All performances take place in the most beautiful ancient building of Teatro Civico di Vercelli. In the first round the contestant is required to sing two arias of their choice from among the six presented for the competition. In the semifinal round the contestant is required to sing one aria by W olfgang Amadeus Mozart and one aria of their choice from among the six presented for the competition, other than the ones performed in the first round. Contestants admitted to the final round are required to sing two arias selected by the jury from among the six presented for the competition. The jury is headed by Pietro Borgonovo (Italy), artistic director of the Viotti Music Competition. In the final round with the orchestra Kristina Mkhitaryan performed the aria of Pamina "Ach, ich fühl's, es ist verschwunden" from the second act of the opera "Die Zauberflöte" by W.A. Mozart and the aria of Lucia di Lammermoor from the same name opera by Donizetti. Apart from the money prize, the winner is granted an opportunity to perform in a concert with the Orchestra Camerata Ducale at the Teatro Civico of Verceli on January 31st 2015. The orchestra was founded in 1992 in order to promote V iotti's creative works; nowadays the orchestra is famous all over the world.

Kristina Mkhitaryan achieved international success for the second year in a row; in 2013 the singer won another major international vocalists' contest - the Queen Sonja International Music Competition in Oslo.

Broadwayworld.com publishes a review to Yuri Grigorovich's Legends of Love which will open the Bolshoi cinema season broadcasted in all major cities around the globe: "The choreography was not entirely clear as to the details of the tale. What we saw were good looking dancers, costumes, and sets, mesmerizing the audience with or without a clear storyline. (Dennis) Rodkin and (Anna) Nikulina were beautiful and emotional dancers, just lovely to see." U-T San Diego announces the broadcast of Bolshoi's The Nutcracker under the title "Broadway and Bolshoi for the price of a movie". http://.adorocinema.com announces that La Bayadère will be broadcast in 18 UCI complexes from 10 Brazilian cities on 9 November 2014. Allgemeine Zeitung announces that the Russian Classical Ballet, whose artistic director is Konstantin Uralsky, former dancer of Bolshoi Theatre Moscow, will perform the ballet Swan Lake in Bad Kreuznach on 9 December. La Nouvelle Republique (France) announces the broadcast of Bolshoi's ballets in the Loft cinemas together with opera performances from the Metropolitan New York as an alternative programme to film screenings. November, 7 2014