At the turn of the 20 century the Bolshoi Theatre flourished. In 1912 Chaliapin staged here the opera "Khovanshchina". S. Rachmaninoff, who became known not only as a composer, but also as an outstanding opera conductor, cooperated with the Bolshoi as well. After the Revolution of 1917 pieces by M. Glinka, A. Dargomyzhsky, P. Tchaikovsky, A. Borodin, N. Rimsky-Korsakov and M. Mussorgsky dominated the repertoire.
The Bolshoi also stages operas by Soviet composers, for example, "Trilby" by A. Yurasovsky (1924) and "The Love for Three Organges" by S. Prokofiev (1927). During the 1920s the Bolshoi presented the best operas of foreign composers the Soviet audience.
In 1930s the order of J. Stalin to create "Soviet opera classics" appeared in print. Pieces by I. Dzerzhinsky, R. Gliere and B. Asafyev were staged at the theatre. However, works of modern foreign composers were banned.
In 1935 the premiere of the opera "Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District" by D. Shostakovich was a great success. At the same time this opera caused a very negative reaction in the government. The well-known article "Muddle Instead of Music", which is said to have been written by Stalin, was the reason for this opera to disappear from the Bolshoi Theatre repertoire.
In 1964 Marlene Dietrich presented her show "Marlene Expirience" at the Bolshoi. At the curtain calls she came onstage 200 times.
The ballet "Spartacus" to the music by A. Khachaturian (1968), starring virtuoso artists Vladimir Vasiliev, Maris Liepa and Mikhail Lavrovsky, was a tremendous success with the audience. In 1970 the performance was awarded the Lenin Prize.
In 1967 "Carmen-Suite" was staged at the Bolshoi. The ballet was choreographed by the Cuban ballet-master A. Alonso for M. Plisetskaya to the music by G. Bizet and R. Shchedrin.
Nowadays the Bolshoi Theatre repertoire includes many classical opera and ballet productions. At the same time the theatre is interested in new experiments. The Bolshoi Theatre building is a wonderful example of the classical Russian architecture with the famous Apollo's quadriga cast in bronze, created by Peter Clodt, on top. The building gable is decorated with the Russian coat of arms, the double-headed eagle.
The stylized image of the theatre is printed on chocolate bars and boxes of chocolates "Vdohnovenie", produced by "Krasny Oktyabr" factory.
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On March 28238 years ago the Bolshoi Theatre was founded. In 1776 Empress Catherine II signed and granted the Prince Pyotr Urusov the 'privilege' of organizing theatre performances, masquerades, balls and other forms of entertainment. The building, which is one of Moscow's main sights, was built 80 years later. The Bolshoi Theatre marked its birthday with the production of the ballet "Marco Spada", choreographed by Pierre Lacotte.Photo: ITAR-TASS/Vyacheslav Prokofiev
Besides spiritual solitude, the ballet demonstrates physical solitude as well: Vishneva's solo on the stage is about 40 minutes long. The ballerina admitted that at first she was scared with this timing, but then she realized that being onstage for so long is some kind of "revelation".
Diana Vishneva mentioned:
- When you do Carolyn Carlson's dramaturgy, you have to reveal something very personal and intimate.
The project "On the Edge" is a co-production of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Diana Vishneva Foundation and Ardani Artists (producer - Sergei Danilian). This is the third personal project of the People's Artist of Russia Diana Vishneva. Her previous projects, "Beauty in Motion" and "Dialogues", were awarded five "Golden Mask" awards in different categories. After performances in Moscow the production will be taken to Saint Petersburg.
"On the Edge" the premiere of Diana Vishneva's dance project at the Bolshoi Theatre Jean-Christophe Maillot and Carolyn Carlson choreographed one-act ballets for the Russian prima ballerina
Diana Vishneva, the Mariinsky Theatre's and the American Ballet Theatre's soloist, presented her new dance project "On the Edge" at the Bolshoi Theatre. Diana long ago decided to explore all spheres of the modern dance; she continued doing this together with two experienced European choreographers: Jean-
Christophe Maillot from Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, and Carolyn Carlson, an American choreographer of Finnish origin, who is a head Centre Choreographique National Roubaix Nord Pas de Calais (France). Each of the two ballet-
masters created a one-act ballet for the Russian prima ballerina. Jean-Christophe Maillot, whom Vishneva has never worked with before, but whom she met at the international ballet competition "Prix de Lausanne", created for her the production "Switch". In this ballet Diana, wearing a Chanel sparkling dress, dances together with two soloists of Les Ballet de Monte Carlo, Bernice Coppieters and Gaetan Morlotti. Vishneva says:
- Jean-Christophe Maillot has been one of the key people in my life. In 1994 he was the head of the jury of the most prestigious ballet competition "Prix de Lausanne", which I participated in, being a student of the Vaganova Ballet Academy. He was the one who insisted that I should get the Grand Prix. 18 years later we met again, and I asked him to work together.
The second ballet, "Woman in a Room", was inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky's films. Newsletter Diana Vishneva presented "On the Edge" of solitude
Jean-Christophe Maillot and Carolyn Carlson choreographed two ballets for the People's Artist of Russia

On March 27, 29 and 30 the Mariinsky Theatre prima ballerina Diana Vishneva presented her new project "On the Edge" on the Bolshoi Theatre New Stage. The creators of the production participated in the presentation of the project before the premiere. The presentation was organized by the People's Artist of Russia Diana Vishneva. Jean-Christophe Maillot, the artistic director of Les Ballet de Monte Carlo, and Carolyn Carlson, a head of Centre Choreographies National Roubaix Nord Pas de Calais (France), choreographed two ballets for the ballerina.
Jean-Christophe Maillot was the first to talk about the ballet entitled "Switch". Before the choreographer gave his speech, a fragment of a film-interview was shown; in this interview Maillot admitted that this ballet was the result of his 30 year creative career.
- I wanted to bring three people that were not meant to meet to the same stage. These people are Diana and two dancers of my company, Bernice Coppieters and Gaetan Morlotti. Everything worked out only due to our mutual trust. My experience of working with Diana was like no other. So far, we are happy, - Maillot said.
Earlier the project "On the Edge" was presented at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in California and Opera Garnier in Monte Carlo. However, Jean-Christophe admitted that the stage in California was too big, and the one in Monde Carlo - too small.
Then the choreographer announced:
- Here everything is ideal. The stage is big enough and it has an angle, which gives perspective; the main thing is that there is a nice chamber atmosphere in the audience, which allows people to feel what is happening on the stage. So, long live the Bolshoi!"
Vishenva admitted that Jean-Christophe Maillot was one of the key people in her life. In 1994 he was the head of the jury of the most prestigious ballet competition "Prix de Lausanne", which Vishneva participated in. It was then that Maillot noticed to the ballerina, who was "too thin"; however, it was not until almost 20 years later that they managed to work together. The choreographer and Gaetan Morlotti helped the ballerina to show a small fragment from the ballet "Switch": "Usually there is one man, but today there will be two". In this fragment, however, the men only watched the dancing woman.
The choreographer explained to "Izvestia": for him "this ballet is about solitude". Les Ballet de Monte Carlo artistic director is convinced:
- This is a metaphor. If we want to achieve something, we have to sacrifice something. What will be the price? Anyone, who has achieved great success in any sphere, has to pay in the end; he vows to solitude. I view life as a constant fight and a struggle for survival. Sometimes there is a bit of blue sky and some minutes of happiness. Happiness is wonderful, because it comes so rarely.
According to Maillot, the main thing about his productions is realism. The choreographer said:
- I do not like it, when choreography looks like a demonstration of what someone knows about ballet. The dancers should look like real people; only in this case the audience will be able to relate to whatever is happening.
The music for the ballet was written by the famous American composer Danny Elfman. He wrote soundtracks for all Tim Burton's films, the famous "Mission Impossible", the TV series "Desperate Housewives", "The X-Files" and others. The composer came to Moscow in order to attend the Russian premiere of the project.
The second ballet, "Woman in a Room", was choreographed by Carolyn Carlson and demonstrates how the woman sees Vishneva the ballerina. According to Carolyn, when Diana asked her to participate in the project, she agreed with pleasure; one part of it was the fact that Vishneva is Russian, just like Carlson's favorite filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. When one sees the set for the ballet, one can feel her admiration of Tarkovsky: there is a room with a huge table and a window with a tree behind it.
In this ballet Vishneva mainly uses the table in different ways. Carlson considers that a table is a multi-functional object: you can seat, eat, write and think at a table. The choreographer admitted:
- Diana liked this table, because it is so incredibly long. It was made for my Paris flat, but it never made it there from the studio: everyone liked it so much.
It turned out that "Woman in a Room" was about solitude as well, but it was about solitude that is necessary. Carolyn Carlson said:
- People get further and further away from their memories and thoughts; they are March, 312014The French dancer Sylvie Guillem and the star of New York City Ballet Wendy Whelan have done the same; the legendary Anna Pavlova also used to do it. The newspaper also mentioned, that the two world premieres, which Vishneva coped with, "make one look at art, love, life and the notion of a "diva" from a new perspective".
The ballerina Diana Vishneva presented her project "On the Edge" at the Bolshoi Theatre
The prima ballerina Diana Vishneva presented her new project "On the Edge" at the Bolshoi Theatre. The project premiered in California last November. The Bolshoi audience was presented with two one-act ballets. They were staged for Vishneva by famous choreographers.
The ballerina said: "This is the theatre of plastique. It is very much about philosophy, and you can feel it. It is wonderful, when a man and a woman choreograph ballets. They perceive things from totally different perspectives. These two works are absolutely different".
The first ballet is entitled "Switch". It was created by a French choreographer Jean-
Christophe Maillot. There are three people dancing on the stage to the music of Danny Elfman, who is an Oscar winner. This ballet usually stars Diana Vishneva, Gaetan Morlotti and Bernice Coppieters.Vishneva told the journalists that it was the dynamics that made "Switch" special. It is also special because of the way the ballet-
master uses pointe shoes: it seems to the audience, that the dancers are wearing high-heeled shoes.The second ballet, "Woman in a Room", was staged by Carolyn Carlson. Diana Vishneva dances solo for 40 minutes. This work was inspired by Andrei Tarkovsky's films "The Mirror" and "Nostalghia". According to the ballerina, when the ballet was created, she re-watched these two films together with the choreographer. Vishneva also said that she read poems by the filmmaker's father, Arseny Tarkovsky, and tried to find for herself something new in them.
A private reception for Diana Vishenva at the "Hotel Metropol"
After the premiere of the dance project at the Bolshoi Theatre

On March 27 after the Russian premiere of the international project "On the Edge", which took place at the Bolshoi Theatre, a private reception for the prima-ballerina Diana Vishneva, the Mariinsky Theatre's and the American Ballet Theatre's soloist, was organized.Newsletter This can be seen in the set. Carolyn Carlson, who is a great fan of the Russian filmmaker, was inspired by his films and by the poems of Arseny Tarkovsky. Vishneva dances this ballet, which is 35-minutes long, alone. This is a ballet-parable about a woman who is flipping through the pages of her life all alone in an empty room.
The project "On the Edge" premiered in New York last November. The audience gave massive ovations at every performance at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in California. The Los Angeles Times mentioned that Vishneva was not the first ballerina, who could afford commissioning two leading choreographers to create a production for her. March, 312014Newsletter Those were the days under the name of Diana Vishneva. The prima ballerina presented her new dance project "On the Edge" at the Bolshoi Theatre, on March 28th the fashion house Louis Vuitton organized a special reception for her, and two more performances took place on the Bolshoi New Stage at the weekend.
/…/Set Designer: Sergei Barkhin
Costumes, based on sketches by Vasily Diyachkov (1903),
revived by Tatiana Artamonova, Elena Merkurova
Music Director: Alexander Kopylov

April 11, 2014
Premiere at the Bolshoi Theatre
"Mass" by Leonard Bernstein, a Theatre Piece for Singers, Players, and Dancers on the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage. This production of the Novosibirsk State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre will be presented as a part of "The Golden Mask" Festival.
March, 312014Newsletter 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 The Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet
On March 30the ballet "Marco Spada" was transmitted live from the Bolshoi Theatre Historic Stage at 750 cinemas all over the world
Galaida, the ballet critic, about the production of "Marco Spada", with choreography by Pierre Lacotte and the leading soloists of the Bolshoi Ballet: "The Analysis of articles published March 27 2014

President Vladimir V. Putin's annexation of Crimea. The artists supporting Vladimir Putin include Vladimir Urin, the director general of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
.broadwayworld.comsingle tickets will go on sale on March 31 for all Lincoln Center Festival performances in New York from July 7 through August 16, 2014.
L'Express (France) publishes a story about the fact that in France the cinemas are no longer screening just movies, and writes about the decision of Pathé Live to film Bolshoi Ballet productions for transmission in cinemas which are now screened in 48 countries.
La vie éco (Morocco) publishes an interview with Hassan Belkady, the owner of cinemas ABC, Ritz and Rif who also talks about the deal he signed with Pathé Live in 2013 for broadcasting the Bolshoi performances. He says that the audience from Morocco enjoys these performances if he is informed in advance about the schedule and the prices.
In a review of Kings of Dance performance at Coliseum, The Spectator (UK) writes that the Bolshoi's Svetlana Lunkina - the sole female presence of the evening - was equally fantastic as an irresistible and frightening 'feral' lover.
The Moscow Festival Ballet, founded in 1989 by the legendary Bolshoi Ballet's former dancer Sergei Radchenko and bringing together the highest classical elements of the great Bolshoi and Kirov Ballet companies, returns to Long Island (USA).
Various media continue to announce the live broadcasting of Marco Spada from the Bolshoi Theatre on 30 March, such as Galway Advertiser (Ireland), Lancaster Today, Myrtle Beach Online, artvoice.com.