"Christmas trees in every box"

Deputy artistic director-director of the Bolshoi Theater, director of the executive directorate of the Bolshoi 2000 ball, Viktor Tikhonov, told Vlast correspondent Tatyana Kuznetsova about who and how will celebrate the New Year at the Bolshoi Theater.

— How much do tickets to the ball cost?
— The most expensive ones are $1500, the cheapest ones are $600.
— And how many have already been sold?
- Almost all.
- How are you going to go for a walk?
— Guest meeting from 19.30 to 20.30. From 20.30 there is a classical program of the Bolshoi Theater, the Stanislavsky Theater and the New Opera. Bashmet should be, Kolobov with a symphonic piece. This all ends in about an hour. Then the ballroom couples begin to dance, involving the guests in their dance. From 22.30 to 23.30 - the second hour of the concert program - entertainment numbers that the theaters are now preparing. At 23.55 we watch the President’s congratulations on the video screen, and after that the ball continues until 01.30. At the end, everyone is invited to Teatralnaya Square, where fireworks will be displayed.
—Aren’t you afraid for the safety of the interiors?
“We’ve been preparing for this for two months now.” Our specialists, together with the Marriott Hotel, have painstakingly worked on this issue. That’s why we don’t have 1000 guests, but only 540. And if you count the stalls—the creative intelligentsia—then that’s about 750 people.
— What will the interior of the theater be like?
— Like New Year’s: green garlands, multi-colored light bulbs... Christmas trees in every box. There will be no big communal Christmas tree. In addition, the floor in the auditorium will be on the same level as the stage. The orchestra pit will be blocked off. A single space is created, so that after the concert any guest can do a waltz tour on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. All boxes up to and including the third tier will be occupied. They have tables with four seats, and the benoir has tables with six seats. In the stalls there are tables for eight people. The creative intelligentsia of Moscow will be there - admission is free for them - and our friends from the Bolshoi Theater Friends Club, with whom we are holding this ball.
— How much will Bolshoi earn from the New Year’s Eve?
— It’s difficult to calculate now, since it’s difficult to understand our expenses. But there will be income, that’s for sure. These are mainly sponsorship funds that will be collected during the preparation and holding of the ball.
— That is, lotteries, all sorts of auctions?
— There will be lotteries, but they will be comic ones. These are not the methods by which money is made. Here we work with each sponsor personally. In addition, we hope that in the near future our Bolshoi Theater Development Fund, which works with the Friends Club, will receive charitable status. Then our friends, sponsors, and patrons of the arts will have more opportunities to invest money in supporting the Bolshoi Theater.
— How can I get tickets to the ball?
— Through the Friends Club. Through meetings, personal conversations, communication at receptions. Considering the noble goals of this ball and the uniqueness of the event, large companies are happy to meet halfway and help the Bolshoi. The BBC is interested in this ball, and we will have a live broadcast to 150 countries around the world. But our Russian television was not interested, not a single channel.
— The theater cancels performances from December 22...
— Not from the 22nd, but from the 26th. Moreover, the 27th, Monday, is a day off. Compensation for the cancellation of these performances is included in the ball's cost estimate.

Magazine "Kommersant Power" No. 50 dated December 21, 1999, p. 47

Authors:

Tatiana Kuznetsova