Bolshoi Ballet Journal 2006
Date |
Journal (extract) Full journal is in the Members' Lounge |
| Wednesday 26 July | The first ballet truck arrives with the Pharaoh's Daughter costumes. Over the next few days the wardrobe department will unpack and prepare these elaborate costumes - at the same time looking after the huge stock of costumes for Boris Godunov - no mean task! |
| Friday 28 July | The scene dock doors need to be revolving doors today! As well as trucks arriving with the sets for Pharaoh's Daughter, the Fiery Angel sets and costumes are returning to Moscow.
This is also the last chance for the Victor Hochhauser management to check their departure and arrival plans for BIG SUNDAY. |
| BIG SUNDAY | Bolshoi Sunday - A triumph of planning. The opera company and some musicians depart - ferried to the airport, checked in, passported and departed. The ballet arrive - passported, customed, ferried and checked in to the hotel.
VH staff can breath a sigh of relief - all went according to plan - no dancers last seen pirouetting up the M23! The hotel staff have done an amazing turnaround of rooms. Full marks for everyone. Little time for the dancers to rest though - by the early evening some of them are already at the ROH taking class and rehearsing. |
| Monday 31 July | Day One. The staff have been plotting the lighting cues since 8am and by 2pm the full company are on stage for a general rehearsal. At 9am the trucks containing Swan Lake arrive and are unpacked, whilst Boris Godunov is packed for return to Moscow.
Just a few hours break following the afternoon rehearsal and the dancers are back on stage for the opening night. Everyone is extremely happy with the company's rapturous reception from the London audience. |
| Tuesday 1 August | A later start for the dancers but no rest for the backstage crew. Four containers of Cinderella arrive at various times throughout the day. There is time this morning to set and plot the lighting cues for Swan Lake, then it's changeover to the Pharaoh's Daughter for tonight's performance.
At tonight's performance the horse provided much laughter as well as a great opportunity for the jester - I'm sure you can guess how. |
| Wednesday 2 August | Well before 10am, the dancers and wardrobe staff have arrived to prepare for the double show day. An hour earlier the first of two containers of The Bright Stream arrived and the crew are busy preparing Cinderella.
During this afternoon's performance, someone inadvertantly stands on the (human) monkey's tale, resulting in the dancer not only losing his tail but also the attached trousers! Wardrobe make some hasty repairs and prepare to do some major re-tail-oring work during the interval. |
We hope you have enjoyed this short extract from the Bolshoi Ballet Journal for the 2006 season at the Royal Opera House. The complete Journal is available in the Members' Lounge, an exclusive area of the Victor Hochhauser website set aside for members of our FREE Emailing List.
