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Among the guests invited to attend the festive event were members of the Government, members of the State Duma and the Federation Council, heads of political parties and regional executive authorities, representatives of the judicial authorities, academics, athletes, cultural figures, the military, traditional faith leaders and the heads of major companies and civic organisations.

The event programme featured one-act ballets, the Carmen Suite and Diamonds.

The ballet Carmen Suite was first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre in 1967. Music was arranged by Rodion Shchedrin based on Georges Bizet’s famous opera. The part of Carmen was performed by Maia Plisetskaya. In 2005, the performance was resumed.

The ballet Diamonds to Pyotr Tchaikovsky’s music is one of the three acts from the ballet Jewels by George Balanchine, which he first staged for the New York City Ballet Company in 1967. The premier performance of Jewels at the Bolshoi Theatre took place in 2012.

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Russian President Vladimir Putin: Colleagues, friends,

We have again met at the Bolshoi Theatre for a New Year’s Eve celebration. Last time we met here for New Year’s Eve and ahead of the Year of Theatre, and it seemed to me that many liked the way we met to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Clearly, all of you are busy and you do not have much time to visit the Bolshoi. Therefore, an opportunity like this seems to be a nice gift for each of us.

Today, we look forward to the wonderful emotions that classical music always charges us with, all the more so as it will be performed by brilliant musicians at the country’s main theatre.

Two of the best ballets in the world will be performed today on this famous stage: the captivating Carmen Suite and Diamonds by Balanchine. I am sure that the great music and choreography combined with friendly and informal communication will create a pleasant atmosphere for our meeting and put us in a good mood for New Year’s Eve.

Hope is what always brings us together ahead of the New Year. We hope that the new year will be better than the previous one. We know that each year brings with it new achievements, new names and new discoveries and gives us new experience – professional and worldly. But what is invariable is our desire to work for the common good, for our Motherland, for the prosperity of our country, so people can live better in practice rather than in word.

Of course, on the eve of the New Year, we review what has been done over the previous year, how the country lived in 2019 and what it has under its belt at the beginning of 2020. All this, all these results, are, to a large extent, results achieved by the people who have gathered here today. I would like to thank you for this.

With all my heart, I wish you every success in 2020. I wish you health. Happy New Year.