MOSCOW, March 14People's Artist of Russia, acting Rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet Nikolai Tsiskaridze, in response to the question of where to go to watch ballet in Russia, did not advise one thing, but noted that the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters should be the most important in the world.
“The finale of “Boris Godunov”: the people are silent. I can tell you to go there, but that doesn’t mean you’ll like it. You love Van Gogh, and I love Rembrandt. And how can we come to an agreement? You see, someone comes in “Swan Lake,” and someone goes crazy over “Giselle,” and someone comes and says: “Please give me Prokofiev’s “Cinderella.” And this is completely different. This is one genre, but there are different types, so it cannot be said that there is anything the same,” said Tsiskaridze, answering the question of where to go to watch ballet in Russia.
He emphasized that the Bolshoi and Mariinsky theaters should to be the most important in the world.
«All the same, the Bolshoi and Mariinsky should be the most important theaters in the world. It should never be any other way. The Mariinsky and Bolshoi are a brand, a national treasure. Just like the place (Vaganova Academy — ed.) where you and I are located, it is a national treasure. And any person who comes to this street should be proud even of the fact that he is simply walking next to this building, where so many of the greatest figures of world culture grew up,” the artist concluded.
Read the full text of Nikolai’s interview Tsiskaridze >>