Bolshoi Opera

Bolshoi Theatre has always been and remains one of the major symbols of our great nation and its culture. The only way for the Bolshoi to stand for its name is to facilitate steady and fast artistic growth based on all of the development factors: internal and external, traditional and modern, national and international.

The history of music theatre development worldwide has proved that steady and rapid development of the theatre company has to be warranted by the high quality productions that are comparable to the highest international standards. This requires new ideas and new approaches to creative work as well as new technological level on the production side.
Bolshoi has proved in the last three years that it is capable of challenging itself artistically, and meeting such challenges. Among the major productions of the recent seasons are operas Khovanschina by Modest Musorgsky, The Snow Maiden by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Ruslan and Lyudmila by Mikhail Glinka, Mazepa by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, The Rake’s Progress by Igor Stravinsky, The Gambler and The Angel of Fire by Sergei Prokofiev, Adriana Lecouvreur by F. Cilea, The Force of Destiny and Macbeth by G. Verdi. The Flying Dutchman by R. Wagner, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by D. Shostakovich.

Since the beginning of the 21st century, after a long break, the theatre repertoire started including the masterpieces of Russian composers of the 20th century seen nowadays as the national classical heritage. In the recent years the Bolshoi has introduced the audiences to the operas The Gambler and The Fire Angel by Sergei Prokofiev, Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk by Dmitry Shostakovich.

As part of its day-to-day activities Bolshoi is continuously developing numerous educational projects. The Gurre Songs by Schцnberg has been premiered in Moscow for the first time; The Damnation of Faust, a dramatic legend by Hector Berlioz, was presented in concert setting; 15 concerts of the prominent ensembles and soloists took place as part of the Chamber Series at the Bolshoi. The recent revival of the Bolshoi Symphony concert series at the New Stage as well as the Grand Hall of Moscow Philharmonics has gained tremendous popularity among the audience.

The success of our touring performances is hard to overestimate. Bolshoi Ballet has performed in London and Paris; the orchestra and chorus have traveled to Spain and Portugal; the opera company has been seen in Warsaw and Riga.

We have managed to reestablish productive partnership with the National Opera in Paris, with Covent Garden and La Scala, with Polish and Latvian National Opera Theatres, and with the Florentine May Music Festival among others. For the first time in Russian history we have co-produced The Flying Dutchman with Bayerische Staatsoper, one of the major European opera companies.

Bolshoi has received the State Award for Arts for its prodiction of The Queen of Spades and was honored with five Golden Mask National Theatre Awards for the productions of The Queen of Spades, The Rake’s Progress and The Bright Stream. Dmitry Chernyakov, the director of The Rake’s Progress, was the first music theatre director to receive the prestigious Stanislavsky Award.