世界芭蕾日，去俄羅斯看世界級的芭蕾舞團！
Today (Oct 19th) is World Ballet Day. I got an email from St Petersburg’s Mariinsky’s Theatre about their live streaming at below YouTube channel. The video triggered the good old memory of mine which I watched “The Midsummer Night’s Dream” in the beautiful and artistic city of St Petersburg.
According to a recent ranking, Russia-based Bolshoi Ballet and Mariinsky Ballet are once again, ranked as the world’s most famous ballet companies. I happened to visit both of their theatres in 2018, so below I’m gonna share some of my experience of watching ballet in Russia.
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Securing a Ticket
Why do I use the word “secure”? It’s because watching a ballet or opera performance in Russia is a big thing. Just like the Royal Opera House in London, to get a good spot, fans usually choose to subscribe to the theatre’s membership so that they can have a headstart before the ticket is on sale.
Prior to my departure to Russia, I remembered checking Bolshoi and Mariinsky’s websites every day for 2 weeks. Let alone booking a seat, they didn’t even release the sale information until 1 month before the performance, which made my itinerary planning quite difficult. I even wrote to them and asked for a confirmed date for the ticket sale.
And as ballet and opera are highly-praised in Russia, the ticket prices are naturally not cheap. For a RUB 4,800-worth seat (about US$68), I could only watch the performance from the highest balcony section, which meant a 5th-floor seat! If you have a deep pocket, you can surely get the best view, just pay a little bit more than 5 times that price.
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Performance Do’s and Dont’s
Do’s #1: Arrive early.
In Mariinsky Theatre, there’s a display room where the audience can take a short tour of the costumes, design drafts, stage gadgets, etc before the performance. You can buy some souvenirs in both Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatre, just note that the little stand in Mariinsky Theatre will be closed when the performance started, so remember to make the purchase first. (I missed a boutique-style cute little telescope because of that)
Do’s #2: Have a small telescope with you.
If you have a limited budget and buy the highest seat like me. Trust me, you wouldn’t be able to see the ballerinas’ faces when you are 5th floor away. That’s when a telescope comes in.
Dont’s #1: Loss your theatre manner.
This is equally important in any show you attend. What I mean by that is, don’t chat or take photos during the performance! I thought it should be common sense, so I was generously surprised to see some people did just that and checked in on their social media when I was in Bolshoi Theatre.
Dont’s #2: Don’t dress down.
Again, watching ballet and opera in Russia is considered a formal event, you shouldn’t dress lightly, or at least leave your jeans at home.
I believe these 4 Do’s & Dont’s should apply to any theatre or music hall in the world.So a friendly reminder, if you are a tourist, be extra careful about them, because you would be representing your country. What you did could be reflected by how others see your people in the future. Other than that, just relax and enjoy the show.
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Eye-catching Ballet
Finally, we come to the highlight. Is it worth watching ballet in the famous theatres in Russia, given it may be hard to get a good seat and the price is not cheap?
My answer: YESSS even for a hundred times you ask that question.
Let me give you a baseline of my answer. I consider myself a big fan of performing arts.Even so, before I set foot in Russia, I didn’t have much chance to watch a live performance in traditional ballet arts.
Yes, I did watch a rebellious all-men version of Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake (which I’d rather not comment because as a girl, I’d rather see beautiful swan princess) and a children-friendly Sleeping Beauty (the categorization was because a fairy-like host appeared in the intermission and asked the little ones if they could count down with her) in London, but they were not quite like the classic ones that I’m always dreaming of.
The first ballet I watched in Russia was at Moscow’s Novaya Opera Theatre. It’s a classical Swan Lake show, costumes were colorful, the dance was elegant, yet, I wasn’t impressed.
Then I watched The Midsummer Night’s Dream performed by Mariinsky Ballet Company, it was definitely a whole new level. Costumes were magnificent; even from such a long distance, I could still tell that they must spend a lot of time working on the details.The ballerinas were elegant, unanimous, and light like a feather; I could barely hear any sound when their feet touched the floor.The choreography was brilliant, I could feel the emotional stretch and theplayful happiness at the same time. So, now you know how a top ballet company is like.
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Final Thoughts on World Ballet Day
Russia is not a country that you can go to whenever you want. I was fortunate to visit Russia for the 2018 FIFA game when the visa is exempted for all the football ticket holders. That being said, I do understand how frustrated it must be for ballet lovers not able to watch a whole-crew performance when you are outside Russia.
As in many countries, those world-class ballet companies usually don’t travel with their orchestra. In my personal opinion, I would say Russian ballet plus Russian band is always the best combination. After all, Russia is the home to the maestro Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, how can the best ballet company perform without an awesome orchestra too?
Before you go, remember to check out World Ballet Day’s official website and treat yourself to a beautiful performance of these incredible ballet companies and footage of their off-stage practices or interviews.
Hope you’re looking forward to the next World Ballet Day. Would you like to add watching a ballet performance to your bucket list? Give me a shout-out below or drop me an email to tell me all about it if you are a fellow ballet lover or travel enthusiast!
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Note: All the photos in this article were taken by me, please cite the source if you want to share them elsewhere. You can also check out my other travel photos on my Instagram.
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在 10 月 19 世界芭蕾日 (World Ballet Day) 這天，我收到來自聖彼得堡馬林斯基劇院的一封 email，分享他們在 YouTube 頻道的最新直播。這段影片勾起了一段幾年前在美麗又充滿藝術氣息的聖彼得堡觀看仲夏夜之夢 (The Midsummer Night’s Dream) 的美好回憶。
根據最新的排名，位在俄羅斯的莫斯科大劇院 (Bolshoi Ballet) 和馬林斯基劇院 (Mariinsky Ballet) 再度蟬聯世界著名芭蕾舞團的排行榜前幾名。我正巧於 2018 年造訪了這兩個劇院，以下分享一些在俄羅斯觀賞芭蕾舞表演的心得。
守住你的門票
為什麼我用了「守住」兩個字呢？因為在俄羅斯觀賞芭蕾跟歌劇可是件大事。就像英國的皇家歌劇院 (Royal Opera House) 一樣，如果想拿到好位子，粉絲通常必須先加入劇院的會員，才能在正式售票前搶頭香。
還記得在出發前往俄羅斯前，有整整兩個星期我每天都上莫斯科大劇院跟馬林斯基的網站。因為別說是買票了，他們在開演前一個月連售票訊息都還沒公佈，讓我的行程安排頗為困難，我甚至還寫信詢問是否能至少給我一個確切的購票時間。
又因為芭蕾跟歌劇在俄羅斯很被推崇，它們的票價自然也不是很親民。一張俄羅斯盧布 4,800 元 (相當於台幣 1,900 元) 的票，只能讓我坐在最高的包廂區，即位於五樓的位子。當然如果你口袋夠深，要很好的視野也沒問題，只要比上面的價錢多付 4 倍多一點點就有了！
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觀賞表演的可與不可
可之 1：提早抵達。
在馬林斯基劇院，開演前觀眾可以到一個展示間欣賞演出用的服裝、設計草稿、舞台裝置等等。在莫斯科大劇院跟馬林斯基劇院都可以買到紀念品，但要注意馬林斯基的紀念品攤位在正式開演後就會收起來了，所以記得想要的東西要先買 (我就這樣錯過一個小巧可愛的古典望遠鏡)。
可之 2：帶個望遠鏡。
這有個前提是你跟我一樣預算有限，只能坐在最高位子的話。相信我，從 5 層樓的高度你根本沒法看清楚芭蕾舞者的臉，所以這時候望遠鏡就派上用場啦。
不可之 1：忽略劇場禮儀。
這對觀賞任何表演都同樣重要。我是指，不要在表演進行中聊天或拍照！我以為這應該是一個常識，所以當我在莫斯科大劇院看到有人這麼做還忙著在社交媒體打卡時很驚訝。
不可之 2：穿著過於休閒。
再次說明，在莫斯科，觀賞芭蕾跟歌劇算是正式場合，所以你不應該穿得太隨便，或最起碼，把你的牛仔褲留在家裡吧！
我認為這 4 個可與不可應該適用於世上所有的戲劇院或音樂廳。在此善意提醒，如果你是一個遊客，對這些規矩應該特別重視，因為你就代表你的國家，你的所做所為都可能日後反映在他人對你同胞的看法。除此之外，放輕鬆欣賞表演吧！
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吸睛的芭蕾演出
最後是今天的重頭戲。既然好位子很難搶、票價又不便宜，在俄羅斯這些知名劇院觀賞芭蕾演出真的值得嗎？
我的答案：即使問我一百次，我還是會說 YES。
先給你一些背景介紹，我自認是個表演藝術的鐵粉；但即便如此，在出發去俄羅斯前，我其實沒什麼現場觀賞傳統芭蕾劇碼的經驗。是的，在倫敦時我看過一場顛覆傳統的全男舞者 Matthew Bourne 版天鵝湖 (在此就不多做評論了，因為身為女性，我還是傾向看到美麗的天鵝公主呀)，也看過一場兒童導向的睡美人 (會這樣分類是因為中場休息時出現一個仙女打扮的主持人問小朋友們要不要陪她一起倒數)，但這些都不太算我夢想中的經典芭蕾表演。
在俄羅斯看的第一場芭蕾是在莫斯科的 Novaya Opera Theatre。那是一場經典的天鵝湖劇碼，服裝繽紛、舞蹈優雅，但是，我沒有覺得印象深刻。
然後，我看了馬林斯基的仲夏夜之夢，那絕對是一個新的高度。戲服華麗，即是是從那麼遠的位子我都可以看出工作人員一定花很多時間處理細節。芭蕾舞者們動作優美、整齊劃一，而且輕如羽毛；他們落地時我幾乎聽不到任何聲響。編舞非常出色，我可以同時感覺到那份情緒的張力跟遊戲般的快樂。現在，你知道頂尖的芭蕾舞團是怎麼樣的了。
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寫在世界芭蕾日的最後
俄羅斯並不是一個可以想去就去的國家，我很幸運在 2018 年世足賽時期用球票換得免簽資格而得以拜訪俄羅斯。不過，我還是能體會對於芭蕾愛好者來說，在俄羅斯以外沒法看到全體團員的表演有多麼令人沮喪。
因為在大多數國家表演時，這些世界級的芭蕾舞團並不總會有樂團同行。我個人的觀點是俄羅斯芭蕾舞團跟俄羅斯交響樂團永遠是最好的組合。畢竟，俄羅斯可是柴可夫斯基跟拉赫曼尼諾夫等著名音樂大師的家鄉呀！最好的芭蕾舞表演怎麼能沒有一流的交響樂團一起演出呢？
下次你看到有俄羅斯芭蕾團體來台，可以查一下他們到底隸屬哪個舞團，有沒有現場樂團伴奏，要知道遠在俄羅斯當地都要這種驚人的票價，如果真的是這些世界級芭蕾舞團的一軍演出，絕對會反映在售價上。但這並不是說非這些舞團就不值得去看，只是當你看過一軍的演出，會有一種回不去的感覺，日後在選擇芭蕾表演時更知道要注意哪些眉角。
在你離開前，記得看看世界芭蕾日的官方網站，欣賞這些傑出芭蕾舞團的美妙演出，或他們的幕後練習跟訪談片段。
希望你現在期待下一次世界芭蕾日的到來。你會把觀賞芭蕾舞表演加入你的人生清單嗎？如果你喜歡芭蕾或也是個旅遊愛好者，歡迎在下方留言或透過 email 告訴我。
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