February, 6, 2014. Issue No. 228

On January 17 2013 Sergei Filin was attacked; his face and eyes was splashed with acid. The Bolshoi Ballet artistic director was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with third degree chemical burns. Mr. Filin has undergone more than 20 surgeries. At the moment his left eye has 80% of the eyesight; he is still undergoing treatment for his right eye, but he already can see big symbols with it.
February, 62014Vakula ("The Tsarina's Slippers")
The great power of the singer's temperament showed in the role of Jose in the opera "Carmen"; this was his best role in the Western European repertory.
Jose ("Carmen")
G. Bolshakov also created a very expressive image of Arnold in the opera "William Tell". In this role he demonstrated his habit of making lyrical images more dramatic; this showed, for example, in the scene where Arnold learns that his father has been executed. The singer conveyed the virile character of this hero perfectly. As many of those who saw G. Bolshakov on the stage and heard him singing have mentioned, his performance was lyrical, but not sentimental. When he performed the part of Alfred in "La Traviata", even the most agitated scenes were not sugary and melodramatic, but were rather filled with the true feeling. He performed the varied repertory at the Bolshoi Theatre over many years; he is a part of the galaxy of the Bolshoi's great opera singers.We have published pictures from the Gala in memory of Ekaterina Maximova on the Bolshoi official pages in the social networks
We have also published an article in our regular column "Invitation to the Museum".

110 years ago, on February 5 a wonderful Soviet opera singer Grigory F. Bolshakov was born. We have published his rare pictures that are housed at the Bolshoi Theatre Museum in our regular column "Invitation to the Museum".
The portrait of G. Bolshakov
At an early age the soon-to-be singer discovered that he was keen on music and especially on singing. He entered electromechanical training college, but soon realized that singing was his true vocation. In 1927 he graduated from the Leningrad Musical College (class of the professor V.P. Grokholsky); he also took some private lessons with R.F. Nuvel-Nordi, the student of the famous baritone Antonio Cotogni. Before he joined the Bolshoi Theatre Company, he had worked at other theatres: in 1928 he was a soloist at the Leningrad Theatre of Comic Opera, in 1930-1936 - a soloist at the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theatre, in 1937-1938 - a soloist at the Saratov Opera and Ballet Theatre. In 1938 Bolshakov made his debut at the Bolshoi in the role of Davydov in the opera "Virgin Soil Upturned" by I. Dzerzhinsky and was invited to join the company.
Both critics and audience thought that the part of Vodemon in the opera "Iolanta" (1940) was one of his biggest successes. Bolshakov portrayed the character of this brave young man in a very convincing way; he also showed the commitment and nobility of his character and his deep, all-conquering affection for Iolanta. The scene where the desperate Vodemon finds out that Iolanta is blind was very dramatic; there was so much tenderness and pity in the singer's voice! The same year Bolshakov portrayed the character from the Georgian epos Abesalom in the opera "Abesalom da Eteri". His Abesalom was a fearless hero who loved his Eteri dearly and sacrificed his own happiness and his life for the woman he loved. Newsletter The Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet
February, 62014Newsletter Digest has been compiled by The Bolshoi Theatre Press Office
Photos: Damir Yusupov and Mikhail Logvinov
Design layout: Vladimir AndrusenkoAll materials used in the digest are the public domain of information agencies, mass media, civil society organizations and government His career at the Bolshoi was fruitful and diverse. Bolshakov created over thirty memorable dramatic characters.
The Pretender ("Boris Godunov")
In 1942 he was awarded the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR; in 1951, when the
Bolshoi Theatre celebrated its 175 anniversary, the singer was given the title of People's Artist of the RSFSR.International press analysisAnalysis of articles published February, 4, 2014
The main themes of the past few days are the Bolshoi Ballet in Tromso Norway and the three dancers from the Bolshoi Theatre School in Brazil who were invited to perform at the Ekaterina Maximova gala in Moscow.
The Nordlys (Norway) writes that the "world's best dancers" visited Tromso. Also that "the Bolshoi Ballet is the world's most recognised ballet institution and it's not inexpensive to operate but it's worth it. Everyone understands that the Bolshoi is a In brief