Moscow sees unprecedented rush for Nutcracker tickets
NewsApparently you have to stand in line in order to get eventually into the official queue outside the Bolshoi. No-one quite knows why.
Yuri Grigorovich’s production of Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker, dating back to 1966, is being revived for the holidays and every babushka in town wants a ticket. The Bolshoi has limited purchases to one ticket per person, non-transferrable. Purchasers are required to have their passport details taken before the ticket is handed over. There have been reports of a stampede.
People in the second line are issued with plastic bracelets.
The official media are perplexed.
Why is this surprising? Do you think Russians are interested now in hearing Taylor Swift or Beyonce? Now there’s a Russian politician talking about BRICS having its own Internet with “traditional values and goodness.” The West is losing much more than the war.
First, yes, a lot of Russians are still probably interested in hearing Taylor Swift and Beyonce.
Second, when I lived in Moscow about 20 years ago, Nutcracker ran in repertory just like everything else; it wasn’t like U.S. ballet companies where there were 40 shows just around Christmas/New Years. They sold well, but the question here is why suddenly a surge in interest?
“Traditional values and goodness” includes laying waste to one’s democratic neighbors? Who’s giving this a thumbs up?
Hmmm, let’s see – tickets for a French art form set to Western orchestral music by a gay Tsarist era composer, performed by men in tights, some of them in furry animal species-defying drag costumes… how exactly does this fit into Putin’s anti-western homophobic dream world I wonder?
Thank you for your spot on comment!
Putin and his lackeys don’t even believe that Tchaikovsky was gay, so that is a non-starter for them
Wonderful scenes. I hope they know how lucky they are now that their influence of Western/American garbage culture is so limited.
It’s complex. Russia has the advantages social democracy, but without the democracy. There’s a great deal of public funding for the arts that enrich their lives, but in the context of Dostoevskyian authoritarianism (if not an outright terror state.) It’s a reminder that even though the arts are essential to our quality of life and the intelligence of our society, they do not necessarily protect us from political catastrophes. Just ask Germany, Austria, and Italy…
they cannot fly to Europe for example? so they rush for what their country is offering them. people are looking for entertainment.
that s how it was when communism ruled there untill 1990.
This has been the case for years. As someone who lived in Moscow for several years, I witnessed this every Christmas season.
What are the particulars of this revived production that make it so desired?
https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Nina-Kaptsova/dp/B005USB2AE/ref=sr_1_9?crid=1A8HEBEH8Z3GG&keywords=nutcracker+ballet&qid=1699871139&s=dvd&sprefix=nutcracker+ballet%2Cdvd%2C169&sr=1-9
See for yourself. The same pro(cedure; duction) since 67 years. 🙂
That’s an ad for a DVD but I don’t want to have to buy a DVD just to get an answer to this passing question.
Just because Nutcracker in New Year Eve is a tradition for Moscow citizens. All this stuff with bracelets and passport – to prevent unauthorized reselling. Some people bought tickets for 5000 Rub and reselled for 20000 Rub, the scandal was huge.
“No-one quite know why” – hmm that’s an easy one. Because the number of tickets and capacity of the ticket office are several times inferior to the number of people who want to attend. Is it really much weirder than when people queue to be the first to buy an iphone?
A word of caution to the holiday “Nutcracker”-addicted Russians and/or foreign tourists: the risk of overdosing on your favorite ballet is real! Please – don’t consume more than 2 shows of it in a week!!:-) Nevertheless, there are TONS of tickets for it available (at their face value!) at another pretty good theater – in St. Petersburg! As of today (November 13th) Mariinsky lists 35 (yes, THIRTY FIVE!) performances of the staple between December 18th and January 14th at its two venues (Mariinsky proper and Mariinsky II)– with many dozens of tickets freely available on their Website for each show. On December 24th alone there are THREE (!) presentations of it – all on the main stage (at 11AM, 15PM and 20PM). It’s basically nothing but cracking the nuts over there for that period – with one lonely “Don Carlo” on December 29th (no disrespect for Verdi but of course there are two performances of the “Nutcracker” as well on the same day – for a good measure!).:-)
Very interesting….especially since Tchaikovsky is Ukrainian.
Why do prospective buyers need to show their passports? No Westerners allowed?
Westerners are allowed. I bought a ticket some years ago when I lived in Moscow and showed my non-Russian passport.