The Russians are coming!The Ryssians are coming! (To the Rio)
bill...@att.net
The following article is posted by special permission, to this
newsgroup, obtained from the Las Vegas Sun whose internet site is
located at:
http://www.lasvegassun.com
All contents copyright 1998 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
A big thank you to the Las Vegas Sun for helping this newsgroup.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
April 17, 1998
Russian treasures coming to Rio in November
By John Wilen
LAS VEGAS SUN
Call it a triumph for capitalism.
More than 1,100 historic Russian art objects that were covertly
protected from destruction during the Soviet era by museum curators at
risk of life and liberty are coming to the Rio Suite hotel-casino for
one simple reason: money.
"We have made a significant contribution to the Peterhof," the 300
year-old summer palaces of the Russian czars, said David Hanlon,
president and chief operating officer of the Rio.
"In today's world, the United States is the only country that can
support such a large exhibit, because it is extremely expensive," said
Vadim Znamenov, general director of the State Museum Reserve at
Peterhof.
Rio officials weren't saying how much they're spending on the exhibit.
"I would prefer not to make this an event of what the Rio spent to
bring this here," Hanlon said.
But the Rio is clearly expecting the exhibition -- the largest display
of historic Russian objects ever in the United States -- to bring the
resort national recognition and to increase visitorship.
Officials from the Rio and the Russian State Museum Reserve announced
details of the exhibition during an elaborate news conference
Thursday.
It was complete with authentic 18th Century Russian guards, a brunch
of authentic Russian fare and a gift exchange. Hanlon, Znamenov, Nina
Vernova, vice director of the Museum Reserve, and a translator entered
the event in a procession, stepping to the strains of the Russian
national anthem.
The exhibit will open Nov. 7 in a special 20,000-square-feet exhibit
hall off the Rio's Masquerade Village. It will run until April 15,
1999. Tickets, which go on sale this Friday, will be $14, though
Nevada residents will be offered discounts.
Cost was clearly not the only factor in the State Museum's decision to
exhibit at the Rio. The resort beat out museums across the world for
the right to display the Peterhof items in part because it offered to
recreate entire Peterhof rooms. At Thursday's news conference, State
Museum officials said they were particularly pleased the artifacts
would not be displayed in standard museum format.
Items on display will include a plethora of objects from the Romanov
dynasty, including thrones, clothing, gowns, dishes, paintings,
religious items and reproductions of entire Peterhof rooms. The
majority of the 1,100 objects, about 10 percent of Peterhof's total
collection, will come from the palaces themselves. Several items are
also being provided by the Forbes family.
Notable objects include the thrones of Peter the Great and other
emperors, Peter the Great's full-dress uniform, the inkwell Nicolas II
used to sign his abdication, the nightshirt Paul I wore the night he
was murdered, and the Coronation Book of Alexander II, which the
Guinness Book of World Records lists as Russia's largest book.
Galleries will include a room dedicated to the emperors that built and
lived at Peterhof themselves. Starting with Peter the Great, who
founded Peterhof in 1705, the Romanov Gallery will "show and
characterize every emperor," Vernova said.
Other galleries will include interior reproductions of the railroad
car in which Czar Nicolas II abdicated the throne in 1917, banquet and
assembly halls, a drawing room, the bedroom of Alexander I, and the
Art Gallery of Monplaisir, which will include 14 pieces of art from
the real Monplaisir.
Officials are most excited about a gallery called Dining with the
Czars, which will include five distinct porcelain dining sets and five
authentic menus. Thomas Roberts, the Rio's vice president of leasing
and development, said the resort will offer authentic Russian food
outside the exhibit.
Also of interest to Las Vegas will be a gaming table and porcelain
chips owned by Catherine the Great.
Znamenov said the idea of exhibiting historic Peterhof objects in a
place like Las Vegas is not as odd as it seems. Peterhof and Las Vegas
actually share a lot in common, he said.
"Peterhof is something that resembles Las Vegas, of all places," he
said. "It's a moveable feast."
Znamenov explained Peterhof is a rambling expanse of 10 palaces on the
Gulf of Finland. The grounds are punctuated with gold statues and more
than 150 18th and 19th-century fountains.
"There is always sun in Peterhof," he said.
The Las Vegas exhibit will take place during the long Russian winter,
while Peterhof is mostly quiet, Znamenov said.
Many of the objects in the exhibit will be available for viewing for
the first time, Znamenov said. He explained many of the objects will
be restored and in condition for display for the first time due to the
Rio's financial help.
But there are other reasons many of the objects have never been
displayed, officials said.
During Soviet times, "A great number of pieces of art were not
permitted to be shown," Vernova said.
In fact, Soviet authorities sold many "first class" objects from
Peterhof, and ordered others destroyed, Znamenov said.
"Museum employees have gone to great lengths to protect and save these
objects," he said.
In 1937, a Peterhof curator was accused of trying to preserve objects
that were "ideologically incorrect," Znamenov said. The curator was
sentenced to five years in a labor camp and two years of exile.
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bill...@att.net
.Viva Las Vegas.
Chuck.K
One slight addition to this story. According to the full
page advertisement in yesterdays R-J, the first day (Friday)
of ticket sales will be RESTRICTED to Nevada residents ONLY,
so that they get first choice to see these historical
treasures.
I got mine, get yours before they're all gone. Tickets are
available from the Rio Box office AND Ticketmaster.
Chuck.....
===============
> bill...@att.net wrote:
>
> The following article is posted by special permission, to this
> newsgroup, obtained from the Las Vegas Sun whose internet site is
> located at:
> http://www.lasvegassun.com
>
> All contents copyright 1998 Las Vegas SUN, Inc.
>
> A big thank you to the Las Vegas Sun for helping this newsgroup.
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> April 17, 1998
>
> Russian treasures coming to Rio in November
>
> By John Wilen
snip
Scott&Diane
Chuck.K wrote:
According to the full
> page advertisement in yesterdays R-J, the first day (Friday)
> of ticket sales will be RESTRICTED to Nevada residents ONLY,
So who did you get to buy your ticket for you? Just kidding Chuck, I
couldn't resist. I'm sorry.
Scott
Chuck.K
Actually, strevel was kind enough to offer, but since Rio is
a non-union hotel, they wouldn't let him on the property to
pick the tiks up, fearing he would also be in an organizing
mood.
Chuck.....
Patti Shock
I think I heard it would be there for 6 months. In situations like
that, I prefer to wait until the initial crowds die down.
Patti Shock - UNLV - Las Vegas
http://www.nscee.edu/unlv/Tourism/
Dozens of pages and thousands of links.
Clint Westwood
Scott&Diane <sd...@execpc.com> wrote:
>Chuck.K wrote:
> According to the full
>> page advertisement in yesterdays R-J, the first day (Friday)
>> of ticket sales will be RESTRICTED to Nevada residents ONLY,
>
Two American kids livin' in the Heartland