At the theatre

There are not many theatres in Minsk but they are all very popular with the public. Theatre lovers don't miss any new performance at the Gorky Russian Drama Theatre and Yanka Kupala State Academic Theatre. Both children and grown-ups like to go to the Puppet Theatre and the circus. Those who are fond of music go to the Opera and Ballet Theatre and to the Philharmonic.

I am a great theatre-goer. I’ll never forget my first visit to the Belarusian Opera and Ballet Theatre. My friend and I wanted to see the famous ballet Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. We knew the plot very well. We also knew some pieces of music from this ballet (Small Swans' Dance) and decided to see the whole performance.

We bought the tickets in advance and came to the theatre half an hour before the show. At 7 sharp the performance began. From the very first minute I was deeply impressed by every­thing I saw on the stage. The setting and the dancing were superb and exciting. The costumes were fine, the music was thrilling. The ballet seemed to me a fairy-tale. I had never seen anything more wonderful. My friend also enjoyed every minute of it.

After the first act we went to look over the theatre. We saw the boxes, the pit, the dress-circle and the gallery. There were many portraits of famous. Opera-singers, ballet-dancers, musicians and producers on the walls of the foyer. Among them we could see the portraits of A.Savchenko, R.Petrov, S.Gulegina, etc. In the foyer we came across our teacher of Literature. We had a word about the play and went to our seats again as it was the bell for the second act.

When the curtain fell at the end of the performance there came a storm of applause. It seemed that it would never end. The dancers received call after call. They were presented with large bouquets of flowers. We also applauded enthusiastically. The performance was a success.

Vocabulary

Show - спектакль, сеанс, представление

Performance- спектакль, сеанс, представление

Bouguet- букет

Lobby– вестибюль,

Foyer– фойе

Spectator- зритель

Audience– публика, зрители

Thepit- партер

Stall– кресло в партере

Prompter- суфлер

Conductor- дирижер

Dresser- костюмер

Dressinghoom– актерская уборная

Dress circle - бельэтаж

Extra ticket – лишний билет

Cast– состав исполнителей

Chandelier- люстра

Scenery- декорация

Playbill – театральная афиш

Exercises level II

Correct the statements:

- Theatres in Minsk are not popular with the public.

- Only children like to go to the Puppet Theatre and to the circus.

-Those who are fond of football go to the Opera and Ballet Theatre and to the Philharmonic.

- The ballet seemed to me boring.

• After the first act we went home.

Level III

Give the English for:

театралы, сюжет, купить билеты заранее, ровно в семь, балет казался мне сказкой, когда опустили занавес, им дарили букеты цветов