People’s Artist of Russia, rector of the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet, prime minister of the Bolshoi Theater (from 1992 to 2013), Nikolai Tsiskaridze is confident that tickets to the “main theaters of the country” should not be equivalent to the monthly salary of a Russian. This was stated in a conference within the framework of the educational marathon “Knowledge.First”, the video of which is available on VKontakte.
“Today it seems to me that only very rich people can visit our main halls, because the pricing policy does not please me as a viewer… It didn’t cost me like a cast iron bridge. A ticket to a performance cannot cost as much as a person’s monthly salary. This is not normal. “I don’t support this.” – said Tsiskaridze.
The artist noted that when he danced on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, there were no empty seats in the hall. However, now the situation has changed.
“Now, when I come and see that the lines are empty, it makes me very sad because people can’t buy tickets. The main entries come from speculators on Teatralnaya Square. “It’s very sad.” – he pointed out.
At the same time, Tsiskaridze recalled that theaters are state budgetary institutions, that is, most of their financing comes from the country’s budget.
“It’s our taxes that support all these theaters, so they should be affordable for us. I would like to remind you that, for example, the Bolshoi Theater receives almost 5 billion rubles from the budget and other sources. This is not little money at all. “I think there should be a separate visitation program for those who want to do it.” – Tsiskaridze concluded.
Recall that this year the country’s main theater, the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre, continued its difficult struggle with ticket resellers and increased prices twice. In February, the price increase for the cheapest seats was 150%, repertory performances became more expensive than the mega-popular “The Nutcracker,” and morning and afternoon performances became equal in price to evening performances . At the same time, on average across the country and in the capital’s cinemas, tickets increased in price by only 4%.
On the eve of the new season, viewers learned that prices for stands and seats with limited visibility now range from 6 to 35 thousand rubles; seats in the opera and ballet stalls can be purchased for 30 to 50 thousand rubles.
As reported EADailyformerly People’s Artist of Russia Ilze Liepa stated that “The Bolshoi Theater, unfortunately, is no longer accessible to the viewer.” He stressed that ballet in Russia is more than ballet, and the Bolshoi Theater is more than the Bolshoi Theater. However, I would like this to be a brand of spirit and culture, not fashion.
