Sold Out!

Sold Out! SRO! Full House! Not an empty seat in the place. The ballet was a whole different story from the opera. There were even more people there last night than there were at Giselle. And boy do I know why - this was a spectacular Swan Lake. Odette-Odile was gorgeous - in every way - with the most AMAZING arms (better than Anishvilli's!). She did 32 perfect fouettes as Odile, and actually turned into a bird as Odette! It was just thrilling. And the sets and costumes were quite nice - not nearly as tired and worn out as I expected. They even did a creditable job on the water! This is a version (I assume a very traditional Petipa version) that I have never seen before - Rothbart has a much bigger role than Siegfried, which was a good thing, because even though Siegfried (Sevoyan from Odessa) was very elegant, and was a wonderful partner, he wasn't such a great soloist. But Rothbart (whose costume was fantastic - he really looked like a black, evil, male swan), was superb in the solos - and he had many. The ending was totally different from the one I know - here Rothbart dies and Odile and Siegfried live happily ever after (he arrives in time to save her and kill the evil Rothbart). I just loved it - and I loved the audience, which was very enthusiastic in their appreciation - many times bursting into applause. They have a great custom here of clapping time to the music when they like what the dancer is doing - needless to say everyone in the audience, including us, was doing this during the fouettes. When the ballet did not begin exactly on time (because there were so many people to be seated) there were intermittent bursts of applause, from those that were already seated, indicating their irritation at the delay. It was sort of like the Wave at a baseball game - someone would start clapping and others would join in, and then it would stop, and soon it would begin again. There were many flowers and curtain calls for Ina Klueva, the ballerina and a principal of the Kharkiv Ballet Company, and she kissed each person who brought flowers up onto the stage for her - I guess it's a Ukrainian custom, or at least a Kharkiv custom, to do this. All in all, it was a perfect evening.

Until I got home and discovered that I had left my Zeiss binoculars at the theater! Why, you may ask, did I even bring them, sitting as I was in the first row! I don't know - but I did use them from time to time to get really detailed closeups. I was so excited at the end that I completely forgot about them (I think they were in my lap) when I jumped up to join the standing ovation. Ed was walking Belle when I discovered that I had left them behind, so I called him on his cell phone. He came back right away and walked over to the Opera House to see if he could find them. The place was completely locked up, but he found the stage door and an old crone there who only seemed to know only one word - "NYET"!! She pointed him in the direction of the parking lot and the lone car that was there - and when he approached it he found a couple in the car, making out, who knew nothing about, and had nothing to do with, either the ballet or the Opera House! By the time he got back home I had also discovered that my camera had died during the performance, and the great shots Ed had taken of the swans and the flower ceremonies were nowhere to be found. And then, on top of everything, Belle woke us up at 2 a.m. insisting on a walk!! Well, at least she gave us the sign that she needed to go out rather than taking matters into her own hands!! Ed of course drew that duty - sometimes his protectiveness is a real boon for me - he doesn't want me to be out alone after dark, and this was definitely after dark!

Today I went off to Mir Travel to buy our plane tickets to Moscow and Riga, while Ed went to get his haircut (it came out great!). The bad karma that started last night after the ballet continued unabated. I asked the people at the travel agency if they thought I might have a problem with my visa because we had decided to take the sleeper train to Moscow (which leaves at 7:30 p.m. on Friday night, the 21st, and arrives in Moscow at 9 a.m. the next day) rather than fly there on Saturday, the 22nd (our visa is only good for July 22 to July 25). Oh yes, they said - this could be a real big problem because we would reach the border at about 9:30 p.m. on the 21st!!! They were really helpful - found the Russian Consulate on the map for me (only about 1 mile from where we live, right off Pushkinskaya) and got me the phone number too - they even invited me to call on their phone. When I finally got through and found someone who speaks English, I was told that this might be a problem and that I should come in to see the Consul and get the necessary paperwork so that we wouldn't have any difficulties at the border. Okay - it's a drag - but I'm sure it can be solved. We'll probably have to pay some dough to Russia for another visa. Then I asked the travel agent whether she thought it would be a problem coming back because we were flying from Riga to Moscow and arriving at one airport, but flying out 4 hours later from a different airport. Oh YES - this REALLY was a problem - because it was a problem for them too - if they issue a ticket and we don't have the proper visas, they get fined. We tried to find alternative routes back, but there was nothing available on July 30, Sunday, and I know Ed won't want to stay away another day - he already feels guilty about taking the week off for this trip. And even if we came back on the 31st, it would cost us $200 more than the other route. So I called the Consulate again, and this time I was told that this would NOT be a problem, but that I should come in and talk to their "diplomat." So I told the travel agent to issue the tickets as originally booked. But now they were no longer available! Her co-worker had just canceled the booking because she didn't want the agency to get a fine!!! For the first time since I've been here I was really pissed off. I cajoled, I begged, I was firm - I failed to get anywhere - so I picked up our passports and my 5000 Hryvna and got back on the metro to go home.

Once I got there I immediately went online and managed to make the necessary reservations for Moscow-Riga-Moscow - but it's costing more than it would have if they hadn't canceled the booking. And we still have to go back and get the Moscow-Kharkov tickets from Mir Travel because it's on UT Air and there is no English online booking available. Plus, Aeroflot (the Moscow-Riga-Moscow airline) emailed that even though my booking was confirmed, and paid for with my visa card, I had to go to an Aeroflot Office and get a paper ticket! I emailed and asked where the Aeroflot Office in Kharkov is, and was told that there is none, so I have to go to a travel agent and get them to do it! What a bitch this trip has been to organize!! And I feel so stupid having wasted all that money on the visas, and the ticket screw-up, and so inefficient to boot. But I'm sure it will be worth it - it's going to be a lot of fun exploring Moscow and Riga with the Smiths. And I just got an email from Dian with a list of all the concerts that are on in Riga - Sting!!! And an organ trio concert!!! And then, of course, there's always the Bolshoi!

By now it was time to go to the Puppet Theater - today's show was "The Golden something or other". There were lots of kids there - it was so much fun to see and watch and hear them. The puppets ("kuklas" or hand puppets, as opposed to marionettes - I wonder if Kukla from Kukla, Fran and Ollie, one of my favorite TV programs as a kid, derives from this word) were wonderful, and during intermission we went upstairs to the Puppet Museum. On the way up we passed cages with parakeets and cockatoos and other birds in the stairwell, all of which seemed a lot happier and in better condition than the birds at the zoo. On the second floor there were some more cages with a bunny in one, a parrot in another, a turtle in yet another, and finally two guinea pigs! On the third floor we found the "museum" - displays of puppets that were just wonderful to see close up. It's amazing how varied they are and how much emotion they convey. Now if only they had a gift shop. Chatchkes for Ed to buy!! And that I would like!!! But no such luck - maybe we'll get back to the Crafts Museum soon and it will actually be open - that's reportedly the place to buy "souvenirs."

It was blazing hot on the third floor of the Puppet Theater, where the Museum was located, and since we couldn't understand a word of the puppet show, and since it was really hot in the theater as well, and since we are going again tomorrow evening, we decided to call it quits and come home. Ed is a happy camper watching Germany and Argentina go into extra time in the World Cup, as I type away on my blog.