The following is from a 'mass e-mailing' sent by the Metropolitan Opera House's Marketing office to folks who've been inquiring about the upcoming Bolshoi-Met season. It will be followed by a formal press release shortly but, due to the official nature of this communication -- directly from the Met to their regular subscribers & other inquirers -- we are allowed to post it here.

I have deleted the upper part of the e-mail & have kept only the closing words from the Marketing staffer, plus the full schedule. As has been pointed out elsewhere on BalletTalk, tickets go on sale May 1.

This way, everyone who is interested in seeing the Bolshoi at the Met can begin to make 'travel plans' & such!

*****

...Thank you for your support of The Metropolitan Opera.

Sincerely,

Jennifer McGoldrick
E-Marketing Associate


* Monday July 18 8 PM Don Quixote
* Tuesday July 19 8 PM Don Quixote
* Wednesday July 20 8 PM Don Quixote
* Thursday July 21 8 PM Don Quixote
* Friday July 22 8 PM Spartacus
* Saturday July 23 2 PM Spartacus
* Saturday July 23 8 PM Spartacus
* Monday July 25 8 PM The Bright Stream
* Tuesday July 26 8 PM The Bright Stream
* Wednesday July 27 8 PM The Bright Stream
* Thursday July 28 8 PM The Pharaoh's Daughter
* Friday July 29 8 PM The Pharaoh'sDaughter
* Saturday July 30 2 PM The Pharaoh's Daughter
* Saturday July 30 8 PM The Pharaoh's Daughter

Thanks Natalia,

I've been waiting for this announcement. I should be getting the mailing, I'm on every possible mailing list from Lincoln Center. I'm curious to see the prices though. But still how broke can you go in just two weeks?

Richard

I believe the top prices are $95 & $90 for orchestra & grand tier respectively.

Not bad.

Don't you think it's pretty strange that tickets are due to go on sale in less than a week and there still hasn't been any official announcement? I couldn't even find anything on the Lincoln Center website. What's up with that?

I'm guessing that it took the Russians (Bolshoi management) a longer-than-normal time to give the final schedule of ballets to the Met. Hence, the brochure & all else will not be ready when it should be ready.

Also -- again just guessing -- there may be some sort of agreement between the Met & ABT, that ABT be given an 'exclusive ballet booking period' of some sort. I'm no marketing expert but, perhaps, there's a science to spacing-out the information..."ABT Sales Blitz Period" shouldn't be undercut by a "Bolshoi Sales Blitz Period."

Who knows?

The Grand Tier is now the same price as the orchestra: $95. But the upper tiers are priced higher than would be proportionate.

The ad will run in the Sunday NYTimes, the same day the box office opens for the Bolshoi ticket sales.

The lateness of all the arrangements was due to the lateness of firming the contracts between the Bolshoi/MG (Jane Hermann) & the Met.

Well, thanks to all of you for the info. Now I will be first on line at the box office on Sunday to buy my favorite seats before most of the general public gets there!

The Bolshoi Met engagement has finally made the Met's website. Phone & online orders begin on May 3.

The brochure may .. or may not .. go out next week.

Thanks, Zerbinetta!

Here's the link to the press release -- the only announcement I could find on the Met's site.

I picked up a flyer at the Met Box office yesterday - a printed flyer, mind you! Pricing is pretty steep:
Orch prime - $95
Orch balance - $80
Center Parterre Boxes -$150
Side Parterre-Boxes- $80
Center Grand Tier - $95
Grand Tier Boxes - $80
Dress Circle - $80
Dress Circle Boxes- $60
Balcony - $60
Balcony Boxes- $45
Family Circle - $45
Family Circle Boxes - $30

Standing Room (Day of performance)
Orch, Grand Tier & Dress Circle -$20
Family Circle - $15

, nysusan. Well, at least they're promising the availability of Standing Room. Last year, when the Royal Ballet visited, they withdrew Standing Room.

I find the prices appalling I shall sit this one out and content myself with the new DVD of Phareoh's Daughter.

Like the Royal Ballet, the Bolshoi might end up with a ton of empty seats. I think the presenters are really banking on the Russian community here. Maybe they'll come through, but those prices have pretty much cashed me out. Lucky SAB students will probably reap the benefits by grabbing up those comp seats that will come there way if the tickets don't sell.

The prices are comparable to ABT in the prime orchestra : Bolshoi $95; ABT $92 & Grand Tier: Bolshoi $95; ABT $98.

And they are bringing their own orchestra, which is costly.

But the balcony prices are almost double than for ABT.

The casting has been posted on the Met's website, just click " tickets & info" for the ballet you're intersted in

http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/season/bolshoi.aspx

It looks like they're bringing a really strong group and I'm torn about which casts to see. I was planning to concentrate on Zakharova and catch one performance by Alexandrova but Lunkina has 2 matinees (7/23 Spartacus and 7/30 Pharoah's Daughter) and Tsiskaridze has 2 performances (7/26 Bright Stream and 7/29 PD with Alexandrova). Stepanenko gets a DQ and a Bright Stream & Antinocheva has the first Spartacus.

Damn those high ticket prices!

Thanks for this nysusan. I'm torn too. The ticket prices are really going to make me chose carefully and I'll have to miss some casts I probably would have liked to see.

And damn those preliminary castings that never turn out correct - place your bets!

TWO Zakharova Don Qs and not ONE by Antonicheva!!!!????

We decided to spend our bucks on the Bolsoi rather than ABT this year. However, I am not very familiar with the dancers. For you Bolshoi aficionados, which "Bright Spring" would you recommend?.

I would see Bright Stream with two of the original dancers: Alexandrova, and Filin on Monday, July 25 8pm. Alexandrova gives a star-making performance in her role as the Dancer.

Dale,

If I remember last Summer, the Balcony and Familicy Circle for ABT were very cheap, much less than the opera, then the Royal Ballet came in for the Ashton programs and the prices were much higher, and there were many more empty seats, at least at the mixed programs.

Well I want to see Pharaoh's Daughter, it's hard to imagine seeing a production that lavish every day of the week. So I'll pay the freight. I'm really wondering if it will really look so spectacular as it does on video

However I will also probably be "dragged" to a Spartacus, which isn't really my thing.

Richard

I'll second Dale's recommendation on 'Bright Stream.' I've seen the original cast -- Alexandrova & Filin -- live & in at a later Russian-TV telecast. I've also seen the other casts live. No doubt - go with Alexandrova/Filin.

I was also debating about which cast to see for Bright Stream. I had a really hard time making my mind up but I decided to go for the Shipulina/Tsiskaridze cast since I've heard such great things about Tsiskaridze and I expect to see Alexandrova & Filin in DonQ. And I really liked Shipulina when I saw them in Boston. Of course, she was dancing soloist roles in Boston, we'll see if I made the right choice for Bright Stream.

The way it stands now the one dancer I'm not going to see at all is Lunkina. Such tough choices, I wish I could afford to see them all!

The Bolshoi is doing DonQ at Wolf Trap here in DC August 5 & 6--tickets start at $18 for lawn and front orchestra is $65. You could always road-trip it down here for the weekend. :-)

Since everyone was so helpful with dufay choosing which performance of The Bright Stream that would be best to see I was hoping that all of you would do the same for me about the which performance I should see of DonQ and Spartacus. I was going to get tickets for DonQ with Zakharova - afterall she's the only dancer I know, but after reading some reviews of Maria Alexandrova performance as Kiti I'm confuse. Usually I just buy tickets for both. But as everyone rightly mention, the ticket prices are outrageous. As for Spartacus I have no idea which performance I should see and it these prices I definitely want to get my money's worth!! You help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Based on what I saw in London last year, I'd want to see Alexandrova in Don Q. She is the jewel in the crown as far as the Bolshoi is concerned.

The company doesn't have an outstanding Spartacus at present, but I liked Klevtsov in the role as he has very much his own interpretation. Vorobiev is a new name for me though, so can't comment on his abilities.

If I were able to choose from the casts on offer, I'd take Alexandrova in Don Q, and Klevtsov, Lunkina, Volchkov, Allash (a fair quartet) in Spartacus.

Well, as these things often go, I think Filin is out of the whole Bolshoi run in NYC. His name isn't in any of the casts at the Met website anymore.

So far I only have a ticket for Pharaoh's Daughter, but I was looking forward to seeing him in it.

I'd like to see more, but not at those prices

Richard

Thanks Mashinka and Marc!! I'm going with Alexandrova for DonQ. Still not sure about Spartacus but I just hope which ever performance I pick they don't disappoint because this might be my one and only change at seeing Spartacus perform live with the Bolshoi Ballet and I would like to be ability to keep a happy remember in my mind for sometime to come!!

Not all casting changes are necessarily bad (except those the Russians always surprise us with when we open our programs). For those who enjoyed Lunkina in this winter's Stars gala, she's now with Alexandrova in the first Bright Stream (25th). And Tsiskaridze fans - and those who have been puzzled by the nearly violent web disagreements about him - will get to see him in Pharoah (28th, 30th at 8 PM) as well as in the Bright Stream of the 26th. Latest casting and seating info may be found by clicking the website cited above on April 30th, or the one below (Sat Mats have heavy sales, even in those severly overpriced "low-priced" seats, which doesn't bode well for the future).
http://www.metoperafamily.org/metopera/sea...onthyear=7-2005

Somehow with the performances I've picked I've managed to miss Lunkina entirely. I'm sure I'll want to see her at least once - though I think I'll wait till they're actually here to buy that ticket! She's scheduled for Bright Stream, Spartacus & Pharoah's daughter. Any thoughts on which one suits her best?

I am going on the 22nd to see Spartacus, with this cast:

Spartacus: Dmitri Belogolovtsev
Phrygia: Anna Antonicheva
Crassus: Alexander Volchkov
Aegina: Maria Allash


Has anyone seen Antonicheva? Thoughts welcome

To NYSusan and Giselle05,
Having seen Spartacus (Vasiliev days) and Lunkina at the Gala, it is hard to imagine that she won't be a melting Phrygia. This can be a great role with the right dancer. Clearly the Aspicia choreography in P. D. would suit her too (and with the exciting young Yatsenko as the other female lead,...). I'll opt for B. S., just because she's with Alexandrova, the choice of choices in the "ballerina" role. And also because one Spartacus is enough ($, and the Bolshoi has no Vasilievs now), and that has got to be Antonicheva's, the only chance to see that great ballerina.
Hopefully someone who's seen them in these roles will help us all.

I saw Antonicheva last June at the Bolshoi and my notes at that time were:
"The first-act pas de deux between Antonicheva and Belogolovtsev was wonderfully modulated by the dancers so that even the acrobatic lifts looked somehow serene and musically right. Altogether, their dancing was of impressive quality, accurate and passionate, achieving a mood of calm and inevitability in a world of storm."

Choices are getting harder here . Lunkina won't disappoint in any of the roles and Phrygia is a splendid role for Antonicheva.

Thank you!

There has been a lot of comment on the high prices for the Bolshoi engagement at the Met this month.

I bought just one ticket, thinking there's no way I'm going to buy a batch of Family Circle tickets at $45 per.

Then I was wondering about standing room. But I wasn't too hopeful, right now for ABT the Met is charging $25 for standing room (I bought one today), which is the same price as the Family Circle.

I was thinking could they price STANDING ROOM at $45????????


Not at all. Prices are now posted at the Met box office.

Standing room for all preformances are priced the same $20 for orchestra, grand tier , and dress circle. $15 for family circle.

Go figure

Richard

No, Richard, ABT's SR is $25 only on Saturdays. Accustomed as I'd become to the $22 price, when I bought my first Saturday stand this year, I suffered a real case of sticker shock!

But yeah, it is perplexing (to say the least) when you compare the more reasonable Bolshoi prices against 1) ABT's; and 2) last year's Ashton Centennial, where no standing room was sold AT ANY PRICE.

Once more, I never really finished my train of thought. What I meant was that ABT's standing room matched their sliding scale of seat prices Mo-Fr and then a few bucks more for Saturday, but I never finished fleshing it out.

One thing that puzzled me a bit is that Friday prices were the same as Mo-Thu rather than getting tossed in with "weekend" (i.e. Saturday) prices.

Oh well, we can be grateful for small favors. The Met Opera is happy to charge higher prices for both Friday and Saturdays

Hopefully this post doesn't have any dangling thoughts

Richard

Antonicheva dances like a dream, more classical than many of the current Kirov principals.

For anyone still undecided about which Don Q, a preview with 12 pix of Zakharova's Kitri (July 18, 21) may be seen at
http://www.bolshoi.net/index.htm
Go to the top picture on the right [Don Q photo], click on it, an a slide show of 12 quality photos will appear. She is very beautiful...

Thanks very much, drb.

For those of us who read English but not Russian, try this: http://www.bolshoi.org/index.htm. You can navigate the site and find photo albums of other dancers.

OK - I decided to get myself a birthday present, so on my birthday - Monday, July 18th, I am off to see Don Quixote. I just watched the Paris Opera Ballet version on DVD with Aurelie Dupont and Manuel Legris, so I am so, so psyched!

I am also planning on seeing The Pharaoh's Daughter, but I am not sure which night that I am going. I promise details about Monday night's DQ.

Word up for those who were looking to save money and see more performances by buying standing room tickets. Standing room had been announced as being $20.00 for all sections. A little bird called me this morning and said that about 50 people showed up at the box office this morning to get standing room tickets.

They were informed out of the blue that standing room will only be sold if the house is sold out. The Metropolitan Opera has over 4,000 seats and never sells out for ballet, particularly late in the summer and at inflated prices higher than the regular opera season. This was not announced beforehand and seems to be a last minute gambit to force people to buy overpriced regular tickets. This means that I won't be bothering to see two casts in most of the ballets and will skip several performances. This is extremely vexing and the way it was handled is deeply offensive.

A lot of people were planning to do this beforehand and would have been able to get better seats had they known that no standing room will be sold unless the house is sold out. Meanwhile there are lots of tickets for everything except for "Pharoah's Daughter" which is selling out in the best sections...

Two notes from Washington:
1. I hear that the Kennedy Center has also implemented a "no standing room tickets unless house is sold out" policy, but haven't checked into it myself.

2. Road-tripping DonQ fans should note that lawn tickets for the Bolshoi's 2 performances of DonQ are $18. Hey, it's outdoors, but at least you get to sit. :-)

For those who haven't got tickets and want to get standing room, here're what's sold out and what's not:

Don Q 7/18: Only balcony and family circle are available

Don Q 7/19: Available. Only parterre and grand tier are sold out

Don Q 7/20 & 21: Only orchestra and family circle are available

Spartacus 7/22, 7/23 2pm & 8pm: All sold out

Bright Stream 7/25, 26, 27: Available

Pharaoh's Daughter 7/28: All sold out

Pharaoh's Daughter 7/29: Only orchestra & family circle are available

Pharaoh's Daughter 7/30 2pm & 8pm: Only family circle is available

I just filed a complaint with the NYC Dept. of Consumer Affairs. Consumer Affairs licenses all Box Offices in the city and also enforces fraudulent advertising.

I would encourage all NYC residents (or workers who have access to phones with NYC area codes) to take 10 minutes to call 3-1-1 and file a complaint. Please note that the poster specifically lists Standing Room but has no disclaimer, such as "at mgmt's discretion," "subject to prior sales," etc.

You will be asked for the address of the Metropolitan Opera. The computer does not accept "Lincoln Center" as an address. You'll have to specify Broadway and 64th St. The zip is 10023.

I feel so screwed.

Mussel, your listing is beyond value. Thank you very, very much.


If that's the case, at least it's consistent. The Met has one policy for the Opera, one for ABT and, apparently, whatever policy strikes the fancy of any particular visiting company.

Even worse is that I'm guessing these stats are for FULL view. So it's possible that , say, Spartacus does still have PARTIAL views available.

Do they mean all seats or just what's listed on the website (the full views)

See my point? If the website says "sold out" but there are still partials at the BO,
will they sell the SRO or not.?
This is really sleazy

Richard

B R E A K I N G N E W S ! ! !

I was just at the box office, bought a stand for tonight.

The lovely woman asked if I'd been by this morning. No. "We just changed the policy," she said. "For the rest of the run, we'll be selling Standing Room in the morning."

I have such a warm feeling , but maybe it's just the weather.