How I Survived the Bolshoi Theatre & On Fashion

dress Marella, shoes Prada, bag Marjeta Grošelj, necklace Radmila Gorjanc

i always end up posting outfits a couple of days after i've worn them.
so many outfits, so little time! {shoe details here.}


I saw the Bolshoi Theatre's Eugene Onegin last night at Ljubljana Festival and the most mindblowing thing about it was that it wasn't mindblowing. I'm speculating that was almost entirely due to someone's "wise" decision to change the original structure of the opera (Act 1 - 3 scenes / Act 2 - 2 scenes / Act 3 - 2 scenes) into Act 1 with 5 (!) scenes and Act 2 with 2 scenes; Act 1 obviously went on for what felt like years, the plot was dragging on (I find this opera to be rather static until Lensky dies) and the scenography didn't change until Act 2 except for a couple of chairs that Tatyana threw around in despair in Scene 2.

There was an intermission after Act 1 during which I was seriously considering leaving but when I remembered that could have been the only time I ever saw the Bolshoi Theatre live (I wouldn't travel somewhere specifically for their performances, but it would be stupid to miss them when they came to Ljubljana) I decided to stay. It turned out to be a good decision because Act 2 was everything Act 1 lacked, offering decent compensation for our stiff limbs and growing tiredness – it had incredible rythm and Prince Gemin's (Alexander Naumenko) aria in Scene 6 was undoubtedly the peak of the evening. I wasn't really touched by anyone else's singing – they were all good, above average (what else can you expect from the Bolshoi Theatre anyway?), but it just didn't happen.

What truly stood out, however, were fantastic scenography and costume design, so far the best I've seen anywhere. Act 1 was set in a dining room of a mansion in the countryside which looked exactly the way I envisioned such surroundings reading Russian romantic literature and in Act 2 which took place in another dining room, this time in St. Petersburg, there was this huge chandelier (visual candy for someone as fond of chandeliers as me) and walls in my favorite shade of red (I call it opera red as every self-respecting opera house is full of decorations in this color) and furs and evening gowns and it all looked to die for, beyond gorgeous.

I figured that people's behavior during curtain calls reflected the overall (confusing, uneven) experience quite well – some individuals went for standing ovations while masses of others were simultaneously leaving the hall and some (including yours truly) stayed in their seats just applauding. I'm not a fan of intermissions, but this Onegin would have been far more enjoyable with an additional one between Scene 3 and 4 (originally Act 1 and Act 2); it's a pity nobody thought of that when there was still enough time.


my favorite moments from the fall '09 shows:

Balenciaga + Yohji Yamamoto
photos: style.com
Lauren Hutton summed up all my feelings about fashion in this quote:

There's no such thing as fashion. Fashion is an idea to make you think that you're not in it at all times. Fashion is what you're offered four times a year by designers. And style is what you choose.

Despite this, I cannot not like fashion because it also produces people with strong, consistent vision and meticulous approach to work. A secret? Each new Yohji Yamamoto collection makes my eyes water up. In one of the rare interviews he's given he stated that he would like to design time. I cannot imagine anyone better suited for the job.



Fellini's Giulietta degli spiriti, 1965
a reverie of sorts


P.S. Grafita modre ptičke iz te objave ni več, prav tako so prepleskali Najdaljšo miš na isti stavbi (ostal je sicer dobršen del repa). Zares lepo, da se v Ljubljani sistematično uničujejo vse njene simpatične posebnosti ...




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