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| The Military Song and Dance Ensemble - the Choir |
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| One of the Foyers of the Theatre |
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| Lenin Hailing a Taxi at the Entrance of the Theatre |
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| Staircase of the Theatre |
A night at the Theatre in St Petersburg is a must do on any
itinerary. Unfortunately despite there being dozens of classical ballets,
concert, operas and operettas performed every night in one of the many
theatrical venues of St Petersburg, none of them were available on a ‘tour’
basis during the grand total of four days I spent there. Of course, without an
organized tour one is ship bound for the duration; as the local authorities do
not let anyone run lose without a guide and an organized supervised tour. Never
mind, a ‘folkloric’ alternative was available, which is based on the old Soviet
Army choir, which used to be world famous for its sonorous and harmonic male voices.
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| Here they go... |
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| Paintings depicting heroic victories of Russian Army |
Things have loosened up a bit, and the choir still exists.
All singers are male, albeit the orchestra featured one lone female violinist
among all the male players. The choir has added a dance troupe to its
performance. All dancers are classically trained since the age of three or
four, with the most gifted ones progressing to the major Russian Ballet
companies. Members are enlisted in the Russian Forces, but are professional
singers and dancers.
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| This General apparently never lost a war or battle, with apparently three hands - no surprise! |
Our venue was a historic military Cultural Centre, with
traces of Tsarist opulence in its design and Soviet influence in some of the
decorations and paintings.
The performance was lively and fast paced, and timed with
military discipline. I tried to catch the choir members wearing a smile, and
they actually did during rare moments. The dancers, of course, wear permanent
smiles as part of the dance.
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| Solo Bassist |
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| The lone Female Violinist |
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| Fresh faced young Singer |
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| Lets keep it Serious |
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| ...well, maybe not that serious! The lone smile... |
A series of colourful costumes and a variety of
themes gave the different dances brilliance and variety.
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| Choir and Orchestra Conductor in full Uniform |
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| Peasant Costumes |
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| What everyone was waiting for: the Cossack Kicking! |
The program consisted
of well-known Russian songs such as Kalinka, interspersed with traditional
dances and others from the Soviet era, which by now have become part of the
folkloric heritage and are well known by all Russians. Of course the famous Cossack
style leg kicking dances by the male performance were among the highlights of
the evening. They are definitely men with legs of steel.
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| Sailors on Stage... |
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| Faces in the Corps de Ballet |
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| Intermission |
Overall it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience, accented
by an intermission in one of the foyers, where the theatre offered champagne
(not that good but well received). The largely western audience showed its
appreciation with a standing ovation – well deserved – at the close of the
curtains.
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| The typical Russian Folk Song sounds melancholy, no wonder! The story usually involves a boy in love a girl, the girl loving someone else, and everybody is unhappy! Simple! |
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| Final Curtain! |
