Boris Pokrovsky, a famed Russian opera director who staged many of the Bolshoi Theatre’s biggest productions in the Soviet era, died on Friday at age 97. [via AP] Here’s a scene from Pokrovsky’s lavish 1980 production of Sadko: [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/SaSxMYmAIMQ” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /]