Watched ‘La Bayadère’ Ballet Show at the Estonian National Theatre

On my wish list in my visit to Tallinn was to watch a ballet show. Eastern Europe is the gateway to the ballet world and I wanted to have a taste of this in Estonia. I was lucky enough because when I was there the ‘Bajadeer’(also spelled as Bayadère)was premiered at the Estonian National Opera House! I could not have been more happier!







So here I am in the lift of Meriton Old Town Garden Hotel ready to go to the show. I was lazy to wear something else, so I improvised and put on my black heels (and not the stilettos because the cobbled streets in Tallin are a pain to walk on) and my dependable black shawl. Done! Would have loved to do something with my hair but did not have the time.







This is the Estonian National Opera Theater and this picture was taken from this trendy café called Kohvik Komeet located in the shopping mall across it. A very nice place to spend a break especially with this view.







The lobby of the theatre taken during the afternoon I bought the ticket. I bought the ticket a day before the show directly from the ticket counter of the theatre.









The Bajadeer ballet performance show is a 2-hour show including the break.



I also have a very nice seat, quite lucky I should say, near the middle on the lower balcony. This is the interior of the theatre. Very nice.










And look at that ceiling!







I found a quick snippet in YouTube of the Bajadeer ballet show, see below:








And here is the show… these pictures were taken from the website of Estonia’s National Opera. It is not allowed to take pictures and to film during the ballet performance so obviously not to embarrass myself, I slipped my camera back into my little bag.











Here is a little summary of the Bajadeer Ballet Show:



Ballet by Ludwig Minkus

World premiere on January 23, 1877 at Mariinsky Theatre

Premiere at the Estonian National Opera on May 16,



“La Bayadère” is a story of eternal love, vengeance, and justice. The ballet recounts the story of the impossible love between a temple dancer (bayadère) Nikiya and the noble warrior Solor. In a moment of forgetfulness, Solor becomes engaged to the Rajah’s daughter Gamzatti and in order to assure the young man’s love for Gamzatti, the Rajah decides to kill Nikiya...



To read more, go here: La Bajadere at the Estonian Opera



I found the show very delightful. I especially loved the scene with the ‘wild guys’. So much energy and power. Exhilarating.



During the break I went downstairs to the café at the basement for some martini. It’s a 15 minute break (umm, I think longer, not sure anymore) and you can elect to order food in advance. If you do this, you will have to go to this VIP room to enjoy your food, which I didn’t do because I didn’t want to eat in the theatre. Nevertheless, not ordering food during the show was a good decision.



My martini below at the cafe in the basement and the hallway outside the lower balcony level of the Opera House.







The Opera house after the show and the Bajadeer official poster.







Now back in the Netherlands, I’m looking forward to seeing something of this calibre or better in Amsterdam!