Every once in a while life provides you with chance to “bookend” a couple of dramatic life experiences. These past 24 hours Team Glavin did just that by visiting the Kremlin in the early afternoon and attending the Bolshoi for the Opening of Opera Season in Moscow.
We inched our way up to the entrance gate for the Kremlin Armory. I mean “inched” literally because the Octogenarian team arrived from one of the Cruise lines just before us. Is it possible that the whole ship wanted to see the Kremlin today? When I looked at Pearse in the line next to the smiling fella with his cane and hearing aid I think to myself “the alpha and omega of life” just enjoying the simple pleasures of life and travel. Pearse continues to be a “fan favorite” and I am thinking of renting him out for parties!!
The lads and dad saunter up to the first door of the Armory, mom lagging just slightly, after passing the strategically placed gift shop. Isn’t that what Disney perfected, a gift shop at the exit and entrance? As I look at case after case of snow globes, plates, eggs, Orthodox relics etc. etc. I am thinking “That’s odd for a military museum but hey they have a mall in the Metro so what do I know?” The anticipation of seeing the Big Red Machine (not the Cincinnati Reds) in all its glory was as exciting as the first trip to buy your model airplane or sports car. Our guide, a couple days ago, waxed poetic about the military parades on Red Square and where the tanks and anti-air craft guns and rocket launchers would ride through Red Square in pairs and split at St. Basils Cathedral as we’d seen it in many films and history book pages. I am a bit confused as we ascend a stair case to get to the first exhibit, tanks are heavy aren't they? Could it be that this will be the small armaments and historical information on the development of mechanized weapons etc.? you hear a collective "No No No No" (Pearse, Seamus, Eamon and dad) and Ann muffling a slight chuckle. It’s a Museum all right but as far as the eyes can see its dishes, nice dishes, but still just dishes. There are royal clothes and Coronation Robes and a room full of Carriages, not exactly rocket launchers if you know what I mean. Seamus said "Another 2 headed eagle just great!" Hey the difference between a summer carriage and a winter carriage is a nice “useless” fact but we came to see power argh argh argh as Tim the Toolman Taylor would say. Are you kidding me with Faberge Eggs and enameled Wine glasses? The closest we get to a fire fight is standing next to the many sprinklers and fire extinguishers. “Hey is that a gold throne?” Ann said we a straight face. She enjoyed her afternoon immensely and I am pretty sure the egg on our faces was as enjoyable as the eggs by the famed Faberge’. Lesson learned READ the BOOK before you go!! Ann 1 Lads and dad 0 if you’re keeping score at home.
Given our lesson from the afternoon I am approaching the Opera "Boris Godunov" a bit more skeptically. The kids were given a fair amount of information about the last opera we attended in Vienna. As I write this I marvel that in 2 weeks team ESP will have attended Operas in Vienna and Moscow, you can’t beat that with a stick. As our cruise line octogenarians say to us “Cherish this time it goes more quickly than you think!”.
We don’t prep the kids as well as we did in Vienna mostly because it is difficult to get the information in English. We are “winging it” and that’s risky. The Bolshoi is getting a “facelift” so navigating the construction is a challenge. Eventually we just follow the limousines and they guide us right to the door of the Bolshoi, we think. I do my standard, tap a guy on the shoulder, point to the tickets, point to the building and give the best “quizzical look” I can muster. He says “Speak English?” Are you kidding me. He’s from Washington DC and tells us we are in the right spot but he is a bit amazed that we have “orchestra seats”.
It is opening night and the crowd is noticeably
excited and our boys “hmmmmm” not as excited. If they don’t see a tank today all will be lost. Once inside the grand building, we pay 350 rubles for an English program which is significantly better than the one in Vienna. We give a quick synopsis of the story line. Ann, “Does that say 5 acts?” oh crap I better get the M&M’s, peanut and plain, from my backpack and water bottle too!
The Bolshoi is like a Pushkin poem, compact and yet powerful in its slightly understated décor. The program tells us that this is the 234th Season at the Bolshoi. I’d need a facelift after 234 years too. Our seats are 10 rows and 15 rows from the stage. That getting 5 tickets together thing is still tough even for the opera. We split Eamon and I in row 10 and the others in row 15. We dare not put 3 kids together for a 4 act opera or Pearse might wind up on the stage at some point. The orchestra explodes into the first scene and the stage is filled with 150+ people singing about the Tsar. We know that because
there is a flat screen in the corner prompting in English. I say a snmall prayer of thanksgiving and settle into my seat for almost 4 hours with a 25 minute intermission. There is so much action and scene change and set change that the boys are out of breath saying ”What about this?” and “Why did they do that?” It was rat a tat tat for the 25 minute intermission.
The departure from the Bolshoi is crowded and the kids are exhausted but happy. We make our way to the Moscow metro looking up in the sky and see the Kremlin’s brightly lit Red Stars. I wonder how many folks know that in Russian “RED” means Beautiful.
