Ballet & Opera
The new season starts in September 2010. The Belarusian National Ballet is considered by many to be amongst the best in the world and a visit to a performance is a must if you get the chance. You may think that ballet is just for girls, like I did before I first attended a performance. But don’t judge it until you have experienced the beauty and the athleticism of the performers and the stunning art that forms the back drops. The orchestra isn’t bad either and the ticket prices are low.
The edge of the old town, the theatre is a distinctive round building can be seen from many points in the city. It’s within easy walking distance of the centre. Alternatively, the nearest metro station in Nemiga, from where it’s only one stop away on any bus or trolleybus heading across the river.
The official address is Ploshad Pazrizhskoy Kommuni 1 (пл. Парижской коммуны 1), which translates as Paris Commune Square. If the concert you want to attend is sold out it’s always worth turning up anyway. People with spare tickets hang around near the ticket office looking for takers. They are people whose friends or family cannot make the concert rather than touts, so any ticket you pick up here should be available at face value.
Buying tickets
It’s best to buy tickets in advance, especially for the ballet, and the booking offices at all the venues are open daily. Alternatively there are ticket offices across the city centre. Here are a few…
• The subways of the Oktyabrskaya, Yakub Kolas and Institut Kulturi metro stations.
• The second floor of the GUM department store.
• The Theatrical booking offices on Prospekt Nazvisimosti at numbers 13, 19 and 44.
If the concert you want to attend is sold out it’s always worth turning up anyway. People with spare tickets hang around near the ticket office looking for takers. They are generally people whose friends or family cannot make it, so any ticket you pick up here should be available at face value.
Forthcoming Ballet events
9 September, Thursday, 19:00 – 21:15, 3 acts
The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Boris Asafjev)
10 September, Friday, 19:00 – 21:15, 3 acts
The Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Boris Asafjev)
13 September, Monday, 19:00 – 21:10, 2 acts
Giselle (Adophe Adam)
15 September, Wednesday, 19:00 – 21:05, 2 acts
The Nutcracker Suite (Pyotr Tchaikovsky)
17 September, Friday, 19:00 - 20:45, 2 acts
The Creation of the World (Andrey Petrov)
19 September, Sunday, 19:00 – 21:45, 3 acts
Swan Lake (Pyotr Tchaikovsky)
26 September, Sunday, 19:00 – 21:30, 3 acts
Spartacus (Aram Hachaturyan)
29 September, Wednesday, 19:00 – 21:35, 3 acts
Cinderella (Sergey Prokofiev)
3 October, Sunday, 19:00 – 21:10, 2 acts
Giselle (Adophe Adam)
8 October, Friday, 19:00 – 21:00, 2 acts
Anna Karenina (Pyotr Tchaikovsky, performed by the Boris Eifman Ballet from St Petersburg)
10 October, Sunday, 19:00 – 21:00, 2 acts
The Seagull (Sergey Rachmaninov, performed by the Boris Eifman Ballet from St Petersburg)
13 October, Wednesday, 19:00 – 21:10, 2 acts
Giselle (Adophe Adam)
15 October, Friday, 19:00 – 21:10, 2 acts
Giselle (Adophe Adam)
17 October, Sunday, 11:30 – 12:40, 2 acts
The Three Little Pigs (Svetlana Kibirova)
22 October, Friday, 19:00 – 21:00, 1 act
The Russian Seasons: Sheherazada + The Fire Bird
2 November, Tuesday, 19:00 – 20:55, 2 acts
La Fille mal Gardee (Ferdinand Herold)
3 November, Wednesday, 19:00 – 20:55, 2 acts
La Fille mal Gardee (Ferdinand Herold)
Forthcoming Opera Events
7 September, Tuesday, 19:00 – 22:10, 4 acts
Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi)
8 September, Wednesday, 19:00 – 22:10, 4 acts
Nabucco (Giuseppe Verdi)
14 September, Tuesday, 19:00 – 22:30, 3 acts
Khovanshchina (Modest Moussorgsky)
16 September, Thursday, 19:00 – 21:50, 3 acts
Madame Butterfly (Giacomo Puccini)
18 September, Saturday, 19:00 – 22:10, 3 acts
Yevgeni Onegin (Pyotr Tchaikovsky, based on the verse novel by Pushkin)
19 September, Sunday, 11:30 – 13:15, 2 acts
Enchanting music (Mark Minkov, a fairy tale for children)
22 September, Wednesday, 19:00 – 21:15, 2 acts
The Savage Hunt of King Stakh (Vladimir Soltan, based on the novel by Vladimir Korotkevich)
23 September, Thursday, 19:00 – 21:15, 2 acts
The Barber of Seville (Gioacchino Rossini)
24 September, Friday, 19:00 – 20:50, 2 acts
Iolanta (Pyotr Tchaikovsky)
25 September, Saturday, 19:00 – 22:20, 3 acts
Carmen (George Bizet)
28 September, Tuesday, 19:00 – 21:45, 3 acts
La Traviata (Giuseppe Verdi)
1 October, Friday, 19:00 – 22:30, 4 acts
The Marriage of Figaro (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
3 October, Sunday, 11:30 – 13:15, 2 acts
Enchanting music (Mark Minkov, a fairy tale for children)
5 October, Tuesday, 19:00 – 21:30, 2 acts
Il Trovatore (Giuseppe Verdi)
6 October, Wednesday, 19:00 – 20:50, 2 acts
Iolanta (Pyotr Tchaikovsky)
7 October, Thursday, 19:00 – 22:20, 3 acts
Carmen (George Bizet)
12 October, Tuesday, 19:00 – 22:00, 3 acts
Un Ballo in Maschero (Guiseppe Verdi)
14 October, Thursday, 19:00 – 21:45
Rigoletto (Giuseppe Verdi)
16 October, Saturday, 19:00 – 21:45, 2 acts
The Magic Flute (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart)
17 October, Sunday, 19:00 – 21:50, 3 acts
La Boheme (Giacomo Puccini)
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