Bolshoi Tour

The day after Christmas Levin and I had the opportunity to tour the Bolshoi Theater.  I didn't know this before we started preparing to move here, but Bolshoi means big.  So Bolshoi Theater, just means big theater.  Real creative huh?  Nearby is the Malenoi (I think) theater which is the small theater.  Also closeby is the youth theater.  The theater was closed for 6 years prior to us arriving so it was a big deal it opened up. It was closed for remodeling.  To see a ballet you have to buy your ticket the day they go on sale because within minutes they are sold out.  And they run for about $500 for a "cheap" ticket.  And opera is about $150.  So . . this may be our only chance to see the theater.

 This is an underground performance room.  It is only 6 meters from the Metro and you can't hear any of the noise from the trains.  That took a lot of work.  Thee floor rises and falls to accommodate the type of performance and how intimate it is.

 This is some hall . . yes, I have a bad memory.  It was really pretty though.

 This is an unflattering picture, but I want to explain about this room.  Although the Tsars lived in St. Petersburg they came to Moscow for the coronation so all the immediate parties afterwards were in Moscow.  This room above has such good acoustics the tsar could hear everything everybody said.  The tapestries on the wall all had the monogram of the new tsar.  Since Nicholas II was the last one the decor is for him.

 Another hall with the tapestries on the wall for Nicholas II.  Apparently the communists came in and took a knife and cut them all out.  So when they remodeled it (I don't know if it was this remodel or a previous one) they found a Russian loom (is that right?) from the same era to make the tapestries.

 These were some costumes found in the basement from an Italian show that came to the theater.

 Finally the main stage.  It is slightly inclined, but I'm not sure how well you could see if the room was filled with people.  There were workers preparing the stage for the Nutcracker production.

 These were our tour guides.  The man was the official tour guide, but refused to speak in English even though he can so the Embassy tour agency lady (just run by her and her husband) translated everything into English for us.  You can see behind them all the box seats.  It makes me think of Anna Karenina when I think of people renting out a box for the season.

Up from the balcony.  This was standing right next to the balcony.  If you sat in the back row of the balcony from where I was you could only see about 1/4th of the stage.  A few sections over you couldn't see a single piece of the stage if you were sitting there.  I'd be pretty mad if we paid a lot of money and then arrived and couldn't even see the stage!
The tour got a little long and I was super tired so I'm sure I missed important details, but that's the gyst of it. It was a fun experience.

Christmas

We aren't very good picture people.  And I finally figured out the other day no wonder our pictures haven't been turning out - the flash was turned off.  Nice.
Anyway, here are a few pictures from Christmas.

 Oliver got a tractor from Daddy and a Spiderman light up toy from Grandma.  He loves it.

 Daddy also got Leah a cotton candy machine.  The cotton candy it produces it pretty small, but we plan to use it with my new Family Home Evening chart that Levin gave me.  Now the kids will have a turn to pick treats so I think we'll use this.  Oliver also got a mini ice cream maker and Leah a little cupcake kit.

 Oliver on the trampoline Santa brought.  This is to burn off the calories from all the sugary treats.  I told Leah it was because he was tired of them jumping on all the furniture.

 Autumn got a little kitchen.  She may not be quite old enough to play with yet, but I'm sure she'll love it. :)  She also got clothes.  BORING!  But she is only 4 months old afterall.  Grandma came this week and brought her a fun Elmo doll so at least Grandma takes care of her fun.

 The kids with their Buzz Light Year guns that Santa brought.  Those got a little annoying after a while.  Mostly because Santa didn't realize the kids would just hold down the triggers.

Autumn's toy was a great success with the other kids too.  All three kids were cooking in the kitchen for a while.
I guess I didn't post a picture of it, but the two older kids also got a Wii game with the Nick Jr characters (Dora, Backyardigans, etc.) doing exercise games.  Leah has spent a lot of time doing it and has figured out if she jumps on our trampoline while she plays she can get a pretty good score without doing the actual movements you're supposed to do.