Musicology Professor Simon Morrison has published a new book, Bolshoi Confidential: Secrets of the Russian Ballet from the Rule of the Tsars to Today, to instant critical acclaim. While reviews continue to pour in, read some of the most recent reactions to Prof. Morrison’s latest tour-de-force:
“Morrison turns to the past in order to unpack the conundrum of the Bolshoi within the enigma-wrapped, mystery-obscured riddle of the Russian state…Bolshoi Confidential is a 512-page-long history that includes sex scandals, double-suicide pacts, bribery, arson, executions, prostitution rings, embezzlement, starving orphans, dead cats in lieu of flowers…” – The New Republic
Morrison “offers a rich, fascinating and nuanced examination of the role of the arts in Russian history, one that highlights their profound importance to the creation of a national identity and their troubled relationship with the country’s rulers.” – The Wall Street Journal
“Much of the book entertainingly marshals the eccentric and the petty: there is enough ingenious selfishness here for a novel by Gogol. But the history of Russia is also a history of tyranny, and Morrison acknowledges how many of the Bolshoi’s staff suffered as a result.” – Times of London
“Morrison…gives the Bolshoi a first-rate historical treatment. Thoroughly scholarly and simultaneously astute and clear-voiced, he sometimes has to carry out what seems like archeology to discover how the business and the art of the Bolshoi proceeded.” – Christian Science Monitor
Morrison “writes in clean and lucid prose and is a meticulous researcher who has patiently sifted through the archives and arrived at measured conclusions. Yet although he doesn’t deal in gossip or sensationalism, his chronicle of Moscow’s hallowed opera house and its links to Russian regimes of all stripes makes gripping and fascinating reading.” – Literary Review
