We will be on a group tour to St. Petersburg in the Fall and one night we are attending a ballet. The tour company suggested suit or sport coat for men. Anyone have any suggestions as to whether a nice shirt and trousers and perhaps a tie would suffice? Dragging along a suit seems excessive, especially since often these types of performances are exclusively for tourists, not the true ballet attended by the locals. Would appreciate any advice.
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7254 posts
I agree that a tie is unecessary. We went to a "real" White Nights opera and there were plenty of Russian Gangsters (!) in Polo Shirts. We also went to a tourist ballet with Viking Cruises, which was OK, but none of the cast could have gotten a job in New York City. ( I don't mean to sound nasty, but I do see 40 nights of dance a year ...)
Posted by
seattle
2047 posts
We went to a ballet at the Mariinsky theater this March. My husband wore a nice shirt, but no tie or jacket. Some folks were dressed up, but many weren't. We did not feel like anyone cared.
Posted by
Chicago
8034 posts
We went to the Mariinsky a couple of years ago and my husband wore a blazer which he always carries when traveling and most of the men around us were in jackets. We were in very good seats. There were plenty of men in shirts and sweaters though. There is no fashion police that will bar you from the seats if you are poorly dressed.
for tourist ballets? Well I would not go to one of those; I'd buy a ticket to a first rate ballet back home. We have attended tourist productions of operas and various other cultural events and they are always very second rate, a couple of times even laughable.