Bolshoi Theatre

I am involved in a group called “GO MOSCOW”! This group meets once a month and usually gets to do something a bit out of the ordinary. The Bolshoi tour was so popular a few months ago, they decided to add on another visit! Since I didn’t get to go the first time, I was pumped!

Does anyone know what Bolshoi means? Come on, guess for CRY-EYE! Okay, I’ll make it multiple guess for you…

A. Ballet B. Big C. Swan Lake D. Famous

Here are the Russian letters for Bolshoi-

большой. Yes, I have to look at these crazy letters every day!

Now you can cheat and google what the word means!

It's means BIG. The Bolshoi Theatre was the largest building in Moscow when it was built. The Bolshoi Theatre has a rich history; despite being built on a swamp, several fires, and the current ridiculously not even close to being done-very late-renovations.

We started off the day at Le Pain Quotidien for breakfast. YUM! It’s a French bakery type place with with tons of healthy items to choose from. And some not so healthy. I ordered a crossiant (ALMOST as good as Paris) and hot chocolate. This was no ordinary hot chocolate! It came with a cereal size bowl of frothy milk and a teacup size of melted chocolate to add in. BRILLIANT!

The Bolshoi. The neatest (I like the word neat-don’t judge) thing was we got to see a rehearsal. To make it even more special, it was the first performance for the main female character. Her voice? WOWZA. 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".

Once the renovations are complete, the old (original) theater will show the classics "Swan Lake" and the current will show more modern productions. Apparently, Russians prefer classics and have not been too receptive of newer ballets and operas. 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.