What would you tell your foreign friends about some musical places of russia

What would you tell your foreign friends about some musical places of Russia? Use the words from the box.

• annual
• ballets
• brass bands
• catchy, romantic and sentimental
• choral
• composer
• conductor
• first nights
• full houses
• opera houses
• took place
• was staged
• jazz

St Petersburg is known for its musical traditions. There are wonderful ___ like the Mariinsky Theatre.* Its famous Valery Gergiev* organises the ___ Easter Festival of classical music. The Mariinsky is famous for the ___ of outstanding Russian operas like Life for the Tsar (or Ivan Susanin), the first Russian national opera, by Mikhail Glinka.* It ___ in 1836.

The world-famous Russian ___ Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky* was born in the town of Votkinsk. His most famous works are the ___ Swan Lake,1 The Nutcracker2 and The Sleeping Beauty.3 His music is considered to be ___ .

The Russian ___ tradition is long. The first Russian folk choir was organised by Prince Yuri Golitsyn* in the village of Novocherkutino (now Lipetsk Region) in 1856.

Many Russians like ___ . The famous Oleg Lundstrem big band was founded in Harbin, China, by Oleg Lundstrem and his brother Igor in the 1930s. In 1947 the band came to live to Kazan, and in 1964 to Moscow. Their concerts have always been very popular and success-ful and they have often played to ___ .

In some Russian parks you can listen to ___. They are very popular among older people.