At the Theatre Исполнитель

At the Theatre

There are many theatres in Tashkent, and they are very popular with the public. Theatre lovers don’t miss any new performance at the Hamza Drama Theatre or the Abror Hidoyatov Youth Theatre. Both children and grown-ups like to go to the puppet theatre and the circus. Those who are fond of music go to the opera and ballet theatre and to the philharmonic.

I’ll never forget my first visit to the Navoi Opera and Ballet Theatre. My friend and I dreamt of seeing the famous ballet Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. We knew the plot very well and we decided to see a performance. We were clever enough to buy the tickets in advance because when we got to the theatre the sign “All tickets are sold” was already up.

We left our coats in the cloakroom and got a programme. We found our seats. The hall was full of people. The audience was well-dressed, talking, laughing and eating chocolates and ice-cream.

The orchestra began picking up its instruments. After the third bell, people were in their seats ready to watch the performance.

At 7 sharp the lights in the theatre went out, the curtains slowly went up and the orchestra began playing.

From the first minute I was deeply impressed. The set and dancing were superb and exciting. The costumes were wonderful, and the music was thrilling. The ballet seemed like a fairy-tale to me. I had never seen anything so wonderful.

After the first act we went to look over the theatre. There were many portraits of famous opera singers, ballet dancers, musicians and producers on the walls of the foyer.

After ten minutes, the bell for the second act rang and we went to our seats. When the curtains fell at the end of the performance there was a storm of applause. The dancers received call after call. They were presented with bunches of flowers. We enjoyed the performance very much.

Comprehension Questions

1. What theatres are there in Tashkent?
2. About what performance does the writer tell?
3. What did the audience do before the show?
4. How does the audience know that the show is beginning? How do they know when the second act is beginning?

Discussion Questions

1. Have you ever been to the theatre? If so, tell about it?
2. What type of performances can be held in a theatre?
3. How can people see these performances if there is no theatre in their town?
4. Are there theatres in your town? If so, what type of performances do they have? Do you go to them?