Bolshoi Confidential, Simon Morrison
Bolshoi Confidential, Simon Morrison
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Bolshoi Confidential
Secrets of the Russian Ballet--From the Rule of the Tsars to Today

Author: Simon Morrison

Narrator: Paul Boehmer

Unabridged: 17 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 10/11/2016

Synopsis

On January 17, 2013, a hooded assailant hurled acid into the face of the artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, making international headlines. A lead soloist, enraged by institutional power struggles, later confessed to masterminding the crime. The scandal, though shocking, is not an anomaly in the turbulent and tormented yet magnificent history of the Bolshoi. Renowned music historian Simon Morrison reveals the ballet as a crucible of art and politics, beginning with the disreputable inception of the theater in 1776 and proceeding through the era of imperial rule, the chaos of revolution, the oppressive Soviet years, and the recent $680 million renovation project. Drawing on exclusive archival research, Morrison creates a richly detailed tableau of the centuries-long war between world-class art and life-threatening politics that has defined this storied institution. As Morrison makes clear, as Russia goes, so goes the Bolshoi Ballet.

About Simon Morrison

Simon Morrison is a professor of music at Princeton University, a contributor to the New York Times and the New York Review of Books, and the author of Lina and Serge. He lives in Princeton, New Jersey.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Barry

A very enjoyable history of the Bolshoi, well-researched and readable. The in-depth histories of some of the Bolshoi's most enduring ballets (Swan Lake, Romeo and Juliet, Spartacus etc.) are the jewels of this book.......more

Goodreads review by Lexi

What a trial and a convoluted mess of a book/series of disjointed paragraphs forced together. Five stars for the research, but the final product reads like the first draft of a second year history essay, when a student has pulled together absolutely every piece of source evidence in one document and......more

Goodreads review by Marty

I am giving this four stars because of all the work and research. However, I was disapointed that some of the greatest dancers in the world were not given at least a chapter each. Infact the book is more a goverment testimony. Nijjinsky (the sister) and Pavlova were only mentioned in passing, never......more

Goodreads review by Victoria

Very poorly organized and the author writes with such obvious and strong personal opinions, especially about the more recent events, that it feels pretty biased.......more

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