No 21. Speak about your last visit to one of the theatres (cinemas) of minsk. Comment on your impressions. Explain what makes this kind of entertainment popular among people.

Impressions of the Ballet "Passions. Rogneda"

I believe that it's impossible not to love theatre. It shows how wonderful & interesting our life is. Unfortunately I can't say that I go to the theatre very often, the main reason is the shortage of time, but every visit is a great event for me.

Of all Minsk theatres I prefer the State Academic Opera & Ballet Theatre, because ballet conquered my heart many years ago when I visited it for the first time. And it's no wonder that I was so much impressed as the ballet-company of our Ballet Theatre is considered to be one of the best in the world & all the performances are always magnificently staged: costumes, scenery, everything being done on the most lavish scale. Moreover the interior of the theatre with its columns & candelabrums, with great number of photos of famous ballet dancers & opera-singers, the photos of the scenes from famous ballets hanging on the walls - everything dispose me to the atmosphere of solemnity.

Also it makes sense to say about the theatre's rich repertoire: the plots of the ballets are based on histori­cal events, literary works, and mythological subjects & can be with great interest seen by both children & adults. Of course each ballet is special; unforgettable in its way, but there is sure to be one which will impress you so greatly that you'll constantly look forward to seeing it again & again. The same thing happened to me when J saw "Passions" (Rogneda) by our famous choreographer Valentin Elizariev.

The ballet was very easy to see as the plot was familiar to me from the history. It was based on the legend about the princes of Polozk Rogneda, on the dramatic facts of her life. From the beginning of the 1^st act till the very end of the 2^nd one my attention was drawn to the stage, to the dancers showing their craftsmanship.

The main heroine was Rogneda. At first I could see a young & beautiful girl full of happiness & hopes for the future, who was in love & was loved at the same time. But then the audience saw (viewed) an absolutely different woman, who was in grief, who couldn't forgive her husband the murder of the father & her brothers, the same as his adultery. And the leading ballerina who performed the role of Rogneda entered into the part so greatly that every expression, every moment, every gesture of her went straight to my heart, her touching dancing just made the audience share with her in the moments of Rogneda's joy & sorrow. The dancer who was performing the part of Yaropolk, Rogneda's beloved also touched my feelings with his sensitive portrayal of the hero, but to tell the truth, the dancer, who was taking the part of Vladimir appealed to me more. Personally I think that it is necessary to be gifted & be a first class dancer to represent the negative hero in a ballet. From my point of view it was the most difficult role, but he brought the character to life so truthfully & successfully that he deservedly received the tremendous cheers from the public at the end of the performance.

Also I can't help telling you about the sets & the costumes of the ballet as the whole because they comple­mented one another. Everything was so bright, colourful & skillfully done that I couldn't but admire.

Also enjoying the ballet I was enjoying the music, which was specially written for the ballet, it fitted per­fectly all the scenes & dances. It was lyrical, romantic & moving, arousing deep emotions & creating a special mood. I was just charmed away by this fascinating music of A. Mdivani.

And when the ballet had been already over & I was going home, the sounds of the music, the scenes from the ballet were still alive in my memory & I realized that this ballet would always be a success.

Impressions of the musical "Jesus Christ - superstar"

I like to go to the theatre. I definitely agree with the statement that theatre is a remarkable world. It enriches our inner world and makes people more sensible. Unfortunately, I can't visit theatre as many times as I'd like be­cause of the shortage of time. But I was lucky to visit the Russian Musical Theatre when it was on tour in Minsk.

My friend and I wanted to get tickets for the "Jesus Christ - superstar" very much. This is a very popular rock-opera with the music written by Andrew Lloyd Webber and the plot written by Tim Rice. It has been on stage since 70s and it was interesting to see the Russian production of it. So we booked two tickets in the or­chestra stalls. The performance was in the Musical Comedy Theatre.

Well, from the very beginning I was deeply impressed with everything I saw on the stage. The scenery was very good, it fitted the mood of the performance. The music was impressive. Everyone was so fascinated that couldn't take his eyes from the stage. We were watching the actors on the stage tensely. Everything was clear to us because we knew the plot and the music by heart.

I want to mention the acting of the cast. Jesus Christ was peerless, he was at his best. With modulations of his strong voice he was able to electrify the audience. I also want to admit the actor who played the part of Kaifa. His voice was very powerful and the audience was absolutely thrilled with it. The other actors were also very earnest and they managed to bring the audience to their feet. There were a dozen curtain calls at the end and people went home with the expression of admiration on their faces.

No 22. Speak about Shakespeare’s life. Comment on his creative activity. Prove that he is one of the greatest figures in the world culture.

Shakespeare

William Shakespeare is generally considered the greatest dramatist in the world and the finest poet who has written in English. Shakespeare is also the world's popular author. No other writer's plays have been reprinted, translated and staged so many times.

Shakespeare is the author of 2 poems, 37 plays, and 154 sonnets. His plays can be divided into 3 types: historical dramas (Henry IV, Richard III), tragedies (Hamlet, Romeo & Juliet, King Lear, Macbeth, Othello) and comedies (The Merry Wives of Windsor, All Is Well That Ends Well, Much Ado about Nothing, The Taming of a Shrew)

He wasn't taken seriously during his lifetime, because he was thought to be a writer of popular plays that suited the audience. Yet his works are still enjoyed by many people all over the world.

Despite this popularity we know quite little about Shakespeare's life, just some details (found in church registers and business dealings).

We know that he was born in 1564 in Stratford - on -Avon. His father was a glove maker and his mother was a farmer's daughter. Shakespeare was the 3^rd of 8 children. He almost certain attended the grammar school in his native town, but of this we cannot be sure.

We know that he was married at the age of 18 to Anne Hathaway (who was 26) and that he had 3 children a boy and 2 girls.

At the age of 21 he went to London where he spent much of his life writing his masterpieces. He was a working actor, playwright as well as shareholder of the ‘Globe’.

In 1612 he partially retired and came back to Stratford, where he died in 1616. The date of his death was just the same as the date of his birth (the 23^rd of April).

So this is almost all that we do know. However, what is important about Shakespeare's life is not its details, but its products, the plays and the poems. There are many reasons for Shakespeare's broad appeal. First of all he has had enormous influence on culture throughout the world. His works helped to shape the literature of the English-speaking countries and of such countries as Germany and Russia. Besides, Shakespeare played a great role in the development of English language. He freely experimented with grammar and vocabulary and made full use of the great recourses of English.

He used 25,000 words in his works as compared to 5,000 words most of native speakers use. There is probably no better way for a foreigner (or even an Englishman) to appreciate the richness and variety of the English language than by studying Shakespeare's works. Many words and phrases from Shakespeare's plays and poems have become the part of our everyday speech. (They are used by millions of people who are unaware that Shakespeare created them). Many people know the lines and passages of Shakespeare even though they never read one of his plays. Examples include "To be or not to be", "A horse! A horse! My kingdom for a horse!", "Love is blind.", "All the world is stage", “Brevity is the soul of wit", "All's well that ends well".

Besides influencing language and literature, Shakespeare's ideas on such subjects is heroism, romantic love and the nature of tragedy have helped to shape the attitudes of millions of people. His plays and poems have long been a part of a liberal education. Shakespeare's plays are also a great source of inspiration for many film-makers and composers. Besides most serious actors and actresses have considered the major roles of Shakespeare to be the supreme test of their art.

To sum it up the world has admired and respected many writers, but the admiration for Shakespeare is so great that it made him almost into a god.

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