March, 12, 2014. Issue No. 251

- My mother Lyubov V. Popova was a People's Artist of Ukraine. I was born in Ukraine, but my parents came from Siberia; they moved to the European part during the war. My mother stayed in Kharkov after it was liberated; she started singing in a choir and then became a People's Artist of Ukraine. I was not an early child. I was almost born at the theatre, because there were not such long maternity leaves as there are now. Starting from my first days I stayed at the theatre. When my mother was singing, I was lying in her dressing room. I did not know any other life.

- I guess I started singing the minute I was born! When I did not even talk, I was already humming something, and got the melody right. At the Kharkov Theatre everyone was saying: "Sasha sings in tune better than anyone else" <…>. I see no alternative: if a person can live without singing, I guess, he should not be singing then.
For the whole interview please refer to:
.mir24.tv/video_news/10046461/10046430
Belgorod mass media

The 3 International Music Festival Belgorod Music Fest opened with a concert of the spectacular Elena Obraztsova
A music holiday of an international scale is being conducted in Belgorod for the third time; it has already become popular with the audience. The Metropolitan Ioann of Belgorod and Starooskol said in his welcoming speech that today we all participate in this masterpiece, which is entitled "Boris Strulev and Friends".
The musicologist, famous literary and music critic and a People's Artist of Russia Svyatoslav Belza was the MC at this concert. Elena Obraztsova became the leading figure of the first day of the festival. Everyone knows her as an opera diva, one of the best mezzo-soprano singers in the world and the first Russian singer since the time of Feodor Chaliapin that is on equal terms with the brightest opera stars of the world. But that evening Elena Obraztsova presented herself to the audience in a new role: not only did she sing, but she also read her poems. She addressed the audience: "Today I am reading my poems. I have never read them to anyone, so you are the first to hear them".
She then read a very touching poem that struck a chord with everyone in the audience. Then Elena Obraztsova and Boris Strulev performed "Ave Maria" by Giulio Caccini.
March, 122014This season is a jubilee one for the opera diva. 50 years ago, in December 1964, when she still was a student, Obraztsova made her debut at the Bolshoi Theatre. She conquered the audience right away and became a world opera star. This year the
opera diva of all opera divas, as she is often called, celebrated her 75 birthday. Elena Obraztsova has worked with a great number of famous actors, singers and conductors; this list includes the names of the most prominent musicians. The singer astonished audiences at the best opera theatres of the world; this time she has come to the Belgorod Music Fest to conquer the Belgorod audience as well. /…/

Analysis of articles published March 7 -11 2014
The Polish newspaper Rzeczpospolita reports about Bolshoi Ballet performances in Polish cinemas.
Ismene Brown the Arts Desk reviewer reports in her blog about the appeal in court of the attackers of Sergei Filin and the reduction of their sentences.
The Telegraph (UK) writes about a new book of photographs of great theatres of the world that have a story to tell including the Bolshoi and Mariinsky Theatres.
The Irish Examiner reports about a new UK documentary being shown in TV about famous ballerina Tamara Rojo who reveals that one of her greatest inspirations was the Bolshoi's Galina Ulanova.Newsletter Digest has been compiled by The Bolshoi Theatre Press Office
Photos: Damir Yusupov and Mikhail Logvinov
Design layout: Vladimir AndrusenkoAll materials used in the digest are the public domain of information agencies, mass media, civil society organizations and government The Toronto Star reviews former Bolshoi Ballet dancer Svetlana Lunkina very positively dancing the lead in Swan Lake for the National Ballet of Canada.
The FT Magazine publishes a large interview with former Bolshoi Ballet star Ivan Vasiliev.
CNN broadcasts a report about the show Men in Motion about male ballet dancers.
On the Bolshoi Theatre official pages in the social networks we published the announcement of the meeting with the ballet master and choreographer John Neumeier
The A.A. Bakhrushin State Central Museum together with the "Friends of the Bolshoi Ballet" society conducted the meeting with the famous ballet master and choreographer John Neumeier.
The meeting was hosted by the ballet critic Ekaterina Belyaeva. The Bolshoi Theatre spokeswoman Katerina Novikova interpreted at the meeting.
The A.A.Bakhrushin State Central Museum has long been interested in John Neumeier, the luminary of the world ballet. Since 2006 three meetings dedicated to the creative career of the great ballet master and choreographer have been organized at the Museum lecture-hall together with the "Friends of the Bolshoi Ballet" society. This time the audience met the maestro face-to-face for the first time.
The Bolshoi Ballet is now rehearsing his production "Lady of the Camellias", which is
scheduled to premiere on March 20.

On March 10 at the meeting with John Neumeier the audience of the Bakhrushin Museum lecture-hall had a chance to deepen their understanding of the role that great literature plays in ballet. The famous ballet-master, whose productions are staged at the best theatre in the world and always are a great success, has a degree in the history of literature, which he received at the Michigan University in the very beginning of his career. Therefore, literature plays an important part in his creative career. During the lecture fragments of ballets, based on ancient literature and
classical pieces of the 16- 20 centuries ("The St Matthew Passion", "Odyssey's Passions", "Othello", "Romeo and Juliette", "Hamlet", "Death in Venice", "Lady of the Camellias" and others) were demonstrated.
The Bolshoi Theatre in the Internet