At the Opera I saw what is called a gala performance. The magnificently lighted hall was large and beautiful in form. Neither galleries nor balconies are known here. In Petersburg, there is no placing of the bourgeoisie to hinder the architects in their plans; thus the auditorium can be built on simple and regular lines like the theatres of Italy, where the women who are not of high society go to the parterre.
As a particular favour, I had obtained a seat in the first row of the parterre for this performance. On the days of gala performances these places are reserved for the highest nobility, that is to say the most important officials of the court. No one is admitted except in uniform, in the dress of his rank and station.
I did not particularly like the spectacle; I was more interested in the spectators. Finally the court arrived. The imperial loge is a brilliant salon which occupies the back of the hall; this salon is even more brilliantly illuminated than the rest of the theatre, which is itself very light.
The Czar's entry was impressive. When he approached the front of his loge, accompanied by the Czarina and followed by their family and the court, the entire audience rose.
Journey for Our Time: The Journals of the Marquis de Custine. 2001. Page 90.
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