In the evening Shteiman and I went together to Carmen at the Music Drama Theatre*. This theatre is really worth paying attention to: the scenic side, the productions, the care and attention to detail - these are all admirable, often marvellous. The conductor was not Bikhter, as a result of which the music was free of peversions and distortions. I listened to Carmen with the greatest possible pleasure; it is in many respects a model of what an opera should be. And how splendid to have an operatic work filled with such vivid thematic material!