Moscow Theatrical and Musical
| Moscow is a cultural mecca of Europe. The most world-renowned and talented opera singers, ballet dancers and classical actors have given Moscow theatrical prestige. Moscow is a city of Tchaikovsky, Shalyapin, Stanislavsky and Chekhov. Moscow’s spirit and beauties inspired the greatest artists; enjoy and share their feelings visiting Theatrical and Musical Moscow. |
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| Visiting the Bolshoi Theater, Museum and Ballet School |
| The Bolshoi is Moscow’s oldest opera and ballet house and his enjoyed more than 220 seasons. The theater’s interior consists of five tiers of gilded boxes and about 2,200 seats. “Bolshoi,” which translates into “Grand,” employs several hundred singers, dancers and musicians, as well as another 1,900 behind-the-stage workers responsible for everything from costumes to special effects and cleaning. It nurtures new ballet dancers through its own ballet school. You can have a unique opportunity to see the training of the future Bolshoi Stars. The opera’s repertoire over the years includes Tchaikovsky, Glinka, Rachmaninov, Puccini and Verdi. The Bolshoi also gained a reputation for its famous ballet performances: “Giselle,” “Swan Lake,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “The Nutcracker” are still played in the theater. We are glad to offer you a chance to get acquainted with Bolshoi’s behind-the-scenes life and visit its museum, which was founded in 1920 and contains more than 11,000 sketches of decorations and costumes created for Bolshoi performances. There are also many items including theatrical costumes by such a legend as Shalyapin. |
| The Bakhrushin Theatrical Museum |
| Located in Zamoskvorechye, the museum is named after the theater lover Alexey Bakhrushin. This museum is one of the best of its kind in Russia and will acquaint you with the history of Russian and Soviet drama, opera and ballet from the 18th century to the present. On exhibit are sets and costume designs, photographs and other documents. |
| The Shalyapin Museum |
| The museum is located west of the Kremlin, next to the American Embassy building on Garden Ring Street. The great Russian bass singer Fyodor Shalyapin moved into this house in 1910 and lived there until 1920 with his Italian wife and five children. His Boris in Mussorgsky’s “Boris Godunov,” Mephistopheles in Gounod’s “Faust” and Don Basilio in Rossini’s “The Barber of Seville” had unforgettable success. Shalyapin enjoyed the company of intimate guests, among them Tolstoy, Chekhov, Rachmaninov and Boris Pasternak’s father. Their portraits decorate the museum along with Shalyapin’s Bechstein piano and other personal things. In 1922 Shalyapin left Russia and settled in Paris. He died in 1938 from leukemia and was buried in Paris until the former Soviet government allowed his ashes to be buried at Novodevichy Cemetry in 1984. |
| The Glinka Museum of Musical Culture |
| This museum will acquaint you with the life and work of Russian classical composers Mikhail Glinka, Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov and Modest Mussorgsky. Also on display is a unique collection of 1,500 musical instruments from all over the world. |
