While the outbreak of coronavirus has forced the world-famous Bolshoi Theatre to close its doors, it hasn’t stopped its splendid ballets and operas to reach audiences all around the world.

A picture of the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow
The Bolshoi Theatre has closed down due to the coronavirus outbreak but its performances will still find a way to reach audiences around the world © Spencer Platt / Getty Images

For the first time in its long history, the Moscow theatre has decided to go digital and stream some of its most celebrated performances on its YouTube channel. There will be six of them in total, all from the so-called “Golden Collection” of the Bolshoi - famous pieces that were prerecorded in the past and will now be available to everyone.

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Each ballet or opera will premiere on YouTube at 7 pm CEST, with the possibility for viewers to join in a real-time chat. For those who can’t make the live stream, the performance will remain available for the following twenty-four hours, as well as the comment section to discuss upcoming events. The first ballet was the Swan Lake, which was streamed on 27 March. Then there will be Sleeping Beauty on 28 March, the opera The Tsar’s Bride on 1 April, the ballet Marco Spada on 4 April, the opera Boris Godunov on 7 April. The final performance will be the Nutcracker, which will stream on 10 April.

A picture of the Bolshoi corps du ballet during Swan Lake
The six performances will be three ballets and three operas from the Bolshoi's Golden Collection © Robbie Jack / Corbis / Getty Images

“Theatre is deeply moving and is a rich experience, and although we cannot perform in front of live audiences, we’re excited to share our performances digitally,” said the general director of the Bolshoi Theatre, Vladimir Urin. “It’s been a lot of hard work on our part to make this happen, but we hope these performances will lift peoples spirits and support the well-being of all who tune into the Bolshoi”.

A picture of a ballerina during the Swan Lake
The livestreams have started with the Swan Lake and will finish with the Nutcracker © Bruno Vincent / Getty Images

If you want more information, you can check the Bolshoi’s official announcement here.

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