Posted 24 February 2005 - 09:34 PM
That's the page.
1. Once you register, you'll navigate to a page that has the current month in the top middle, with the previous month to go back on the left, and the next month on the right. You can use these to navigate to the appropriate month. (The schedule is up through April.)
2. For each month, you'll see a schedule of all available performances -- or after April, a message that means the data isn't ready yet -- including start time and whether it is an opera or ballet. Scroll to the performance for which you want to purchase or check tickets.
3a. To see the available tickets as a list -- section, seat number, price, click the "in table" link for the performance.
3b. To see the available tickets as colored dots in the venue (Main hall or New hall), click the "in picture" link for the performance. (By scrolling over the colored dot, you'll see the section, seat number, and price.)
4. To select one or more tickets, click the colored dot(s) on the picture or the check box(es) from the list, and click the "put into basket" button.
5. From there, you'll get a summary and be asked to confirm the order.
6. Once confirmed, you'll get a confirmation number. From there, you choose the payment method. If you don't pay for the tickets after confirmation, the system releases the tickets after a lag. If there aren't any/enough tickets for the performance you want, it's worth going back the next day to try, in case some are released.
7. Re payment methods: when I purchased tickets for the 20 March, I was given the option of paying by cash or credit card. When I purchased tickets for 13 March, I was only allowed to pay by credit card. I'm not sure if the difference was the number of days before the performance, price of the tickets, etc.
->If you pay by cash, I believe the site is trying to say you have to pay for them at the box office within 3 days of placing the order, or they'll release them.
->If you pay by credit card, you'll be given the opportunity to create an "Assist" account, in which you sign up your credit card, and enter a code issued by Assist to purchase. Usually the way this works is that the third-party "Assist" site has your credit card info, but the Bolshoi (merchant) does not, except for the last 4 digits. They accept MasterCard, Visa, and I believe a local card (possibly debit card.) You'll have to enter the CV code (the three digits on the back of a V/MC) for the site to authorize the purchase.
I chose to enter my credit card info on the site. Buying from an out-of-North America site may be why when I tried to use my credit card today for a biggish purchase today, it was declined, even when the store called it in. (Because the first thing anyone who uses a stolen credit card would buy is opera tickets.)
8. If the card goes through, you'll get a confirmation page with a sentence in red, italic type at the top of the page to say that the order has been confirmed.
9. There's an important step left: you need to print the "confirmation certificate" from the confirmation page to bring to the box office to pick up tickets (and the site says that you need to supply the last four digits of the credit card used as well. If you leave that card home when you travel, jot down or remember the last four digits.)
The data can take a minute to settle in. If you click the button too soon, you'll get an error message that says that either there was a problem with authorization or [some other text I can't remember]. If you go back to the confirmation page and wait a little while to try again, it should work.
The certificate comes up in a pop-up box. Scroll down to the "print" button, and print the certificate. (There are no browser controls in the pop-up box to print.)
It actually takes a lot less time to do than to describe. This is the best ticket ordering site I've ever used.
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-- but a friend and I don't want to leave Russia without seeing the Bolshoi theater. But I want to be sure that if I purchase tickets from the website, we're not denied admission because we paid the local price.
Does anyone have a recommendation for which ballet we should see, if we can get tickets?
-- and choosing the seats from the graphic of the auditorium itself is a feature I wish Ticketmaster would adopt.
