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Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today
Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today | Simon Morrison
11 posts | 6 read | 25 to read
An enthralling, definitive new history of the Bolshoi Ballet, where visionary performances onstage compete with political machinations backstage. On a freezing night in January 2013, a hooded assailant hurled acid in the face of the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet. The crime, organized by a lead soloist, dragged one of Russias most illustrious institutions into scandal. The Bolshoi Theater had been a crown jewel during the reign of the tsars and an emblem of Soviet power throughout the twentieth century. Under Putin in the twenty-first century, it has been called on to preserve a priceless artistic legacy and mirror Russias neo-imperial ambitions. The attack and its torrid aftermath underscored the importance of the Bolshoi to the art of ballet, to Russia, and to the world. The acid attack resonated far beyond the world of ballet, both into Russias political infrastructure and, as renowned musicologist Simon Morrison shows in his tour-de-force account, the very core of the Bolshois unparalleled history. With exclusive access to state archives and private sources, Morrison sweeps us through the history of the storied ballet, describing the careers of those onstage as well as off, tracing the political ties that bind the institution to the varying Russian regimes, and detailing the birth of some of the best-loved ballets in the repertoire. From its disreputable beginnings in 1776 at the hand of a Faustian charlatan, the Bolshoi became a point of pride for the tsarist empire after the defeat of Napoleon in 1812. After the revolution, Moscow was transformed from a merchant town to a global capital, its theater becoming a key site of power. Meetings of the Communist Party were hosted at the Bolshoi, and the Soviet Union was signed into existence on its stage. During the Soviet years, artists struggled with corrosive censorship, while ballet joined chess tournaments and space exploration as points of national pride and Cold War contest. Recently, a $680 million restoration has restored the Bolshoi to its former glory, even as prized talent has departed. As Morrison reveals in lush and insightful prose, the theater has been bombed, rigged with explosives, and reinforced with cement. Its dancers have suffered unimaginable physical torment to climb the ranks, sometimes for so little money that they kept cows at home whose milk they could sell for food. But the Bolshoi has transcended its own fraught history, surviving 250 years of artistic and political upheaval to define not only Russian culture but also ballet itself. In this sweeping, definitive account, Morrison demonstrates once and for all that, as Russia goes, so goes the Bolshoi Ballet.
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KristiAhlers
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Pickpick

As part of my #balletthemereads I selected this book. I love books like this that truly delve into the history of the subject #ballet #balletreads

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TheBookHippie
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#FOODANDLIT RUSSIA ballet

Both excellent 🩰

Butterfinger Beautiful covers. 3y
56 likes2 stack adds1 comment
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bbackes
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Challenge | Day 19

Late. Again.
Sorry.

#whenyourelaxitsfriday on #startinganewjanuary by @writerlibrarian

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Schuhbox
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Bailedbailed

Ugh! Hated this book! Ditched half way through after fast forwarding through a lot as well! I listened to this and the narrator was awful but the writing was like a textbook too. I'm a sucker for books about ballet and I was excited about it too. So disappointing.

BookishTrish I bailed on the audio too. I'm wondering if it'd work in print. 7y
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Gleefulreader
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SOOOO excited to find this one at the library tonight! (Like I need more books right now.)

BookishFeminist This looks fascinating. Looking forward to your thoughts on this one 😀 7y
Lucylovesreading Oooo i just watched the documentary that came out this year on the Bolshoi 7y
My_novel_obsession This is why I love Litsy so much. I find out about books like this that weren't even on my radar. 7y
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Hobbinol
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LeahBergen My copy has a different cover (but it's an ARC 😟) 7y
Alfoster Lovely photo! 7y
Hobbinol @LeahBergen The cover of the one you have is not so shabby! 😍 7y
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Hobbinol @Alfoster Thank you so much (I collaged a couple elements.) 😊 7y
Alfoster @Hobbinol Wow! Don't know how to do that but I'm jealous😊! 7y
Moray_Reads Amazing picture! 7y
Hobbinol Thank you so much @Moray_Reads !😊 7y
ValerieAndBooks Ooh, will have to stack this one! Looks like a good one for my daughter, too! 7y
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balletbookworm
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Mehso-so

Somewhere between a pick and so-so, depending on where you stand in your experience as a dancer (if you are a dancer).

This is extremely well-researched so if you aren't familiar with ballet it's an excellent overview of the Bolshoi ballet as an entity. However, if you are like me, and are/were a dancer, and really looking forward to a BALLET book, Morrison is not a dance writer. He writes very ably about music but the dance writing is clunky.

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balletbookworm
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Today's plane reading. :)

Lola Did you pick this up at BEA? Looking forward to reading it! Wish I was going to see you at BRL! Have a spectacular weekend! 7y
balletbookworm @Lola I did! This was one of my "I will cut you if I don't get one" must-haves ;) 7y
LitHousewife Looks good! Have a safe, bookish flight. 7y
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LeahBergen
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Well, it was a long dry spell but I finally won something again on Goodreads. Thank you for the ARC, @PenguinRandomCa ! #bookmail #PenguinRandomCa #PenguinRandomHouse

Sweettartlaura I just got my win from them, too! Hoping to get to it this weekend. Enjoy! 8y
LeahBergen @Sweettartlaura Nice! What did you win? 8y
Sweettartlaura Eileen, by Ottessa ... ??? 😮. I'll know her last name by the time I'm done with it, promise 😉 8y
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LeahBergen @Sweettartlaura Ooo, lucky! I've been wanting to read that. Enjoy! 8y
Sweettartlaura I'll let you know how it is 😊 8y
Hobbinol Very jealous! I preordered that book months ago! Enjoy! (Other than books, I geek out on ballet.. and opera... and...)💚💚💚 8y
TheNextBook I need this! And that statue is gorgeous! 8y
LeahBergen @Hobbinol I don't know why I am always being surprised at just how much we have in common! 😘 8y
LeahBergen @TheNextBook Thank you! And the book seems like it is going to be really good. 😀 8y
Hobbinol Oh dear. So you preordered it too. 😂😉 8y
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Genrebending
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Switched from fiction to this beast. #24in48
#readathon @24in48
I don't like when titles promise you 'secrets', but he seems to have good historian cred, I trust Liveright and Norton, and based on personal experience growing in that country and knowing people who worked at the Bolshoi, I'm sure its history is a big hot mess.

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Lola
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So I thought snaring this gem was the highlight of #BEA16 today. But then I saw @GregZimmerman AND got to meet @jeff and @todd from @outofprint @Litsy AND @Liberty from @bookriot. Can't wait to see what tomorrow brings!

jeff Great to meet you! 😀🤘 8y
SandraD1 You met Liberty??? I just died. 8y
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