Moscow has jazz clubs, concert halls, circuses, puppet theaters, drama theaters, music halls, and another hundred or so venues that hold concerts and other events every evening. Here are a few of our picks for fall.
Zaryadye Concert Hall
Moscow’s first concert hall in more than 20 years is a beautifully designed and acoustically perfect masterpiece right across from the Kremlin in Zaryadye Park. The program is extraordinarily varied, from terrific jazz (Igor Butman’s Orchestra, Nov. 17) to Tchaikovsky and Beethoven symphonies (Nov.15) and even avant-garde ballet (Carmen. Polyform, Oct. 24). A very special event is the opera buffa “Worker and Kolkhoz Woman” (Oct. 19) based on an idea by Pavel Kaplevich and directed by Yevgeny Kulagin. In this performance, the famous sculpted figures are brought to life by their creator — Vera Mukhina — and travel around the world while struggling to keep to the terms of their animation agreement.
Inside Zaryadye Park, 6 Ulitsa Varvarka, Bldg 4. Metro Kitai-Gorod, Teatralnaya. More information and ticket sales on the site.
DanceInversion Festival
From mid-September until early November, Moscow’s best theaters will host performances of the DanceInversion Festival. The festival brings the most interesting, surprising, innovative and unexpected ballet and modern dance troupes from around the world. This year six troupes are bringing their best works, including “Minaret” by Omar Razhekh from Lebanon, “Hedda Gabler” from Norway, and a magical version of “The Rite of Spring” performed by the Chinese company Peacock that was staged by the dancer and choreographer Yang Liping. See the festival website for information about all the troupes, schedule and ticket sales information.
Bolshoi Premieres
The Bolshoi is always a thrill: the world’s best singers, dancers and musicians performing to a red-velvet and gold hall that is packed with audiences just a bit tipsy from their champagne pre-theater tipple. In October and November, you can see a new production of “Giselle,” a premiere of “Dido and Aeneas” or the slightly scandalous “Nureyev” by Russia’s most celebrated and politically embattled young director Kirill Serebrennikov. For children, there is “The Guide to the Orchestra. Le carnaval des animaux” with works by Benjamin Britten and Camille Saint-Saëns, or “Peter and the Wolf” at the Boris Pokrovsky Chamber Stage. Or order tickets now for the Christmas and New Year specials!
1 Teatralnaya Ploshchad. Metro Teatralnaya. Information, schedule and ticket sales on the site.
“Queen of Spades” Immersion Opera
Have you ever dreamed of being an opera singer? Moscow offers something close: an immersion opera. The famous opera “Queen of Spades,” written by Pyotr Tchaikovsky and based on a short story by Alexander Pushkin, is performed in an ancient manor house by 30 musicians, 16 soloists, and 10 actors and ballet dancers. The audience of 54 people — the traditional number of cards in an old deck — joins the orchestra, singers and dancers as they all move through the house, performing as they go. For 90 minutes, you are both participant and observer in this operatic world of aristocratic card games and fate. Oct. 18 and 19.
Troyka Multispace. 1/15 Yauzskaya Ulitsa, Bldg. 3. Metro Kitai-Gorod. Tickets available on the site.
