Evening star., 1952-02-05

III 1S q oOINAtdA vi 04SCAH444ICs dAAA
technique. with rather old-fash-I
ioned scenery apt to show
wrinkles. Yet, 1t is an exciting
and spellbinding spectacle, with
a passionately enthusiastic. criti-I
cal and appreciative audience to
sharpen the senses.
The Bolshoi theater Is very
large, with no galleries but tier
upon tier Of gilded boxes.
On the ceiling are painted, with
Russian generosity, 10 muses.. The
red curtain is embroidered with
the dates of prominent revolu-1
tions, and over the proscenium
arch is a portrait of Lenin and al
long parchment scroll inscribed
with the music Of the Inter-
rationale.
Soldiers Medals Clank.
The seats are filled with for
eign diplomats. delegations. prom
inent citizens and soldiers.
Some soldiers have so many
medals that they make a noise like
IAN empty railway-restaurant car
when the owner moves. One
officer has a green comb among
ibis medals.
Some women are expensively
dressed. They wear much black
velvet. and occasionally jewelry.
but have little chic.
The six rows of boxes are
crowded to bursting point. People
are sitting and standing and
leaning over each others shoul-
ders. Many have queued 10 hours
for their tickets.
AS the lights 60 down, the
eagerness of the audience can be
felt. Whisperings and silences
impart an extraordinary feeling
of expectation. One knows in
stinctively from them the exact
moment when the overture will
begin, or the curtain rise.
Need for Escapism.
All through the performance
they miss nothing. No excellence
.of technique-even on the part
of the stage effects-goes uaap-
plauded; and at the end the:
clap, cheer, and insist on curtain
calls as if their hearts would
break.
I suppose the explanation IS
easy. A good ballet provides the
most comprehensive form OF es-
capism in the. world. Russian
ballet is the best in the world;
and nowhere in the world is. es-
capism more needed and - sub
consciously perhaps desired than
in Russia. 5s@sls.. 81. I
The result is an emotional ex-
plosion - the most impressive
thing to be witnessed in Russia, a
fusion Of audience and actors ur-
known in the less uninhibited,
more sophisticated--and dare ]
say, in this sole particular. deca-
Ident-west.
Audience apart. the performance
stiIl woud be magical. The stage
is enormous, the dancing OF q
quality had not imagined.
When was in Moscow the most
dancers of all had not yet re-
turned from spending their Stain
prizes at their villas on the Black
Sea. Yet, the chief parts were
danced with superb skill.
The Jester was q short. solid
little man, full Of snap and
boundless vigor, the evil genius
as evil as a fairy tale and when
the Prince pulled his wig off and
killed him he rolled. kicked and
thrashed about the boards Of the
stage involved for whole minutes
in vast, satanic death.
Ballet Welcome Relief.
The corps de ballet. especially
the men, danced with an accom-
plishment and unity one thought
impossible.
In the fountain Of Bakhchisaral
there was a Tartar dance. danced
by real Tartars with whips. which
threatened Westerners with heart
failure.
Altogether it was sheer fairy
tale, full of the fairy tale ex-I
tremes of beauty and ugliness,
good and evil.
Most new experiences in life
turn out much as one had antici-
pated, but few take one by sur
prise, grip one by the throat. and