AT THE THEATRE

I’ll never forget my first visit to the Bolshoi Theatre when I was in Moscow.

My friend bought in advance two tickets for a matinee performance of the ballet “Swan Lake” by Chaikovsky. We arrived at the theatre long before the performance began, for there were three of us and we were one ticket short.

A notice on the box-office of the theatre said: “Sold out”. So we stood at the entrance asking people as they were going in if they had a spare ticket. At last we bought a ticket from a man who had booked two seats but whose friend hadn’t turned up. We left our coats in the cloak-room and I get a programme from the usher to see what the cast was.

When we arrived at the hall we saw many people walking down the gangway looking for their seats. The musicians in the orchestra were tuning their instruments. We found our seats, which were in the stalls, and went to look over the theatre. My friend showed me the boxes, the pit, the dress-circle, gallery and balconies. At twelve sharp the lights went out. The conductor appeared and the overture began.

After the overture the curtain went up. I was in raptures at what I saw on the stage. I had never seen anything more wonderful. The setting and the dancing were superb. The ballet seemed to me a fairy-tale. When the curtain fell the house burst into applause. I applauded (clapped) so much that my hands ached.

During the first interval we went to the refreshment room (buffet). When the last curtain fell cries of “encore” sounded all over the theatre. The dancers received call after call and were presented with large bouquets of flowers.

The performance was a great success. My first visit to the Bolshoi Theatre is one of the most pleasant memories I brought away from Moscow.

3. Answer the following questions:

1) What theatre is considered the best in your town?

2) What kinds of plays are there on the repertoire?

3) Is the standard of its production high?

4) Is it possible to pick up a ticket at the entrance if you couldn’t book it at the box-office?

5) Is there any difference in the price of tickets for morning or evening performances?

6) Which seats are most expensive?

7) Would you care to go to the Opera House or to the Play House?

8) Would you rather go to a symphony concert or to a music-hall show?

9) Do you mind having a seat on the balcony or in the gallery?

10) What plays by English or American playwrights have been staged in your town lately?

4. Fill in the blanks with the necessary words in brackets:

1) If you are fond of music you must go to the …. (cloak-room, Opera-House, box-office)

2) We bought in advance two … for a matinee performance. (opera-glasses, theatre-programmes, tickets)

3) The musicians in the orchestra were tuning their …. (instruments, composers, conductors)

4) The … are over at about eleven o’clock. (roles, tickets, performances)

5) When … fell the house burst into applause. (theatre, curtain, balcony)

5. Translate into Ukrainian:

1) If you are fond of music you must go to the Opera House.

2) She likes to see both classic and modern plays.

3) Usually we book tickets beforehand.

4) When we came to the theatre we saw a sign at the entrance saying “House

Full”.

5) Many people were standing at the entrance asking for a spare ticket.

6) When the curtain fell the house burst into applause.

7) The actor got many curtain calls and was presented with flowers.

6. Make the following sentences interrogative:

1) The play begins at half past seven.

2) There are some people talking loudly in the theatre.

3) Some people smoked cigarettes in the cloak-room.

4) Nick is speaking quietly to Ann.

5) Ann and Nick will come home from the theatre till twelve o’clock.

6) There is a girl in a green dress on the stage.

7) Ann and Nick like to go to the theatre.

8) I met my friend in the interval.

7. Make the following sentences negative:

1) There is a chance of getting tickets to the theatre.

2) This play is a tragedy.

3) Our seats are in the sixth row of the stalls.

4) Those are very fine seats.

5) We shall have to show our tickets to the usher.

6) There are some people that smoke in the theatre.

7) Ann goes to the theatre every week.

8) We buy tickets to the theatre at the box-office.

9) They enjoyed the performance very much.

8. Remember the following people’s jobs:

Make sure that you can name these people’s jobs correctly and match the names of arts with the names of people’s activities.

Someone who writes music or plays a musical instrument is … a poet

Someone who acts in plays or films is … a playwright

Someone who paints pictures is … a ballet dancer

Someone who makes up songs and music is … a musician

Someone who writes plays is … a singer

Someone who dances in a ballet is … an actor, actress

Someone who writes poems is … a composer

Someone who sings is … an artist

9. Find the correct word in the left-hand column corresponding to the definition in the right-hand column. Translate them into Ukrainian and write down into your vocabularies:

a glance -seats in the part of the theatre nearest to the stage

splendid - a group of people playing musical instruments together

to conceal - a musical composition played as an introduction to an

opera

to be eager - to attract, to give pleasure

to sparkle - a large space in a theatre for the use of the audience

during the interval

a poster - a line of things (people)

a foyer - to adjust the strings of a musical instrument

the stalls - where an event takes place

a row - a quick look

an orchestra - to hide, to keep a secret

to tune - magnificent, excellent

an overture - excited state of the mind and feelings

a scene - to have an influence on

to charm - to send out flashes of light

an emotion - to want to do something very much

to affect - a placard displayed in a public place announcing smth

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