The Russian conductor, artistic director and general director of the Mariinsky Theatre, as well as the general director of the Bolshoi Theatre (GABT), People's Artist of Russia Valery Gergiev for the first time commented on the increase in ticket prices for performances in the institution he heads. He noted that the practice of various price categories exists everywhere.
"This is how tickets are sold all over the world. From first class, then business class, then economy class, economy comfort, and so on," the Paragraph portal quotes Gergiev.
Recall that this year the main theater of the country — the State Bolshoi Academic Theater (GBAT), continuing the difficult struggle with ticket resellers, raised prices twice. In February, prices for the cheapest seats increased by 150%, repertory performances became more expensive than the mega-popular Nutcracker, and morning and afternoon performances were equal in price to evening performances. At the same time, on average in the country and in the capital's theaters, tickets went up by only 4%.
On the eve of the new season, viewers learned that prices for tiers and places with limited visibility now range from 6 thousand to 35 thousand rubles, seats in the stalls for opera and ballet can be bought for 30-50 thousand rubles.
As EADaily reported, earlier People's Artist of Russia Ilze Liepa stated that "The Bolshoi Theater, unfortunately, is no longer available to the viewer." She stressed that the ballet in There is more to Russia than ballet, and the Bolshoi Theatre is more than the Bolshoi Theatre. However, I would like it to be a brand of spirit and culture, not fashion.
Also, People's Artist of Russia, rector of the Vaganova Russian Ballet Academy Nikolai Tsiskaridze said that tickets to the "main theaters of the country" should not equal the monthly salary of a Russian.
"Today, it seems to me that only very wealthy people can visit our main theaters, because the pricing policy does not please me as a spectator," he said, without naming specific theaters.
However, in his speech, he mentioned the Bolshoi Theater, noting that when he danced on stage, there were no empty seats in the hall. Now, partly due to pricing policy, whole rows may remain free.
At the same time, Tsiskaridze stressed that theaters are financed from the budget, that is, they exist on citizens' taxes and should be available for visiting.
After that, the principles of pricing in theaters were commented on by Nadezhda Sklyar, Deputy Chairman of the Union of Theatrical Figures of Russia, Anton Getman, director of the Novaya Opera Theater, and Mark Zakharov, director of the Lenkom Theater, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Mark Varshaver.