The main building of the theatre, rebuilt and renovated several times during its history, is a landmark of Moscow and Russia (its iconic neoclassical facade is even depicted on Russian 100-ruble banknote). On 28 October 2011, the Bolshoi was re-opened after an extensive 6-year-long renovation costing about £500 million ($700 million). The renovation included an improvement of acoustics to the point of the original quality (which had been lost during the Soviet Era), as well as the return to the original Imperial decorations of the Bolshoi.
The main Bolshoi theater is reopening after a six-year restoration that has installed modern stage technology and repaired run-down areas of the theater.
-- Started in 2005, the reconstruction of the interior of the main hall and stage, including the refurbishment of an interior that was once paneled with rare pine and gilded by hand with real gold before the Soviets replaced them with sound-absorbent cement and copper.
-- The theater is gaining a second stage with a sound-reflecting floor coating -- specifically designed for opera -- and a ballet stage returned to its once-famous four-degree angle that is able to absorb impact, making jumping safer for dancers.
-- The number of seats will shrink from 2,200 to 1,720 for the main stage, by replacing the rigid Soviet-era seats with ones that are wider and more comfortable. As the Bolshoi will perform on two stages, touring will have to be cut.
-- The theatre's 236th season opened last month with The Golden Cockerel, an opera based on a fairy tale by 19th century writer Alexander Pushkin.
-- The first foreign troupe to perform on the revamped stage will be Italy's La Scala orchestra and choir with Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem.
History of Bolshoi Theatre
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| Bolshoi Theatre in 1932, during the Soviet times |
The current building was built on Theatre Square in 1824 to replace the Petrovka Theatre, which had been destroyed by fire in 1805. It was designed by architect Andrei Mikhailov, who had built the nearby Maly Theatre in 1824.
At that time, all Russian theatres were imperial property. Moscow and St Petersburg each had only two theatres, one intended for opera and ballet (these were known as the Bolshoi Theatres), and one for plays (tragedies and comedies). As opera and ballet were considered nobler than drama, the opera houses were named "Grand Theatres" ("Bolshoi" being the Russian for "large" or "grand") and the drama theatres were called "Smaller Theatre" ("Maly" being the Russian for "small", "lesser", or "little").
The Bolshoi Theatre's original name was the Imperial Bolshoi Theatre of Moscow, while the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theatre (demolished in 1886), was called the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre.
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| Modern view of the Bolshoi Theatre |
The Moscow theatre was inaugurated on 18 January 1825 with a performance of Fernando Sor's ballet, Cendrillon. Initially, it presented only Russian works, but foreign composers entered the repertoire starting around 1840. A fire in 1853 caused extensive damage; reconstruction was carried out by Alberto Cavos, son of Catterino Cavos, an opera composer. The theater reopened in 1856. During World War II, the theatre was damaged by a bomb, but it was promptly repaired.
The Bolshoi has been the site of many historic premieres including Tchaikovsky's The Voyevoda and Mazeppa, and Rachmaninoff's Aleko and Francesca da Rimini. Feodor Chaliapin, Leonid Sobinov, Antonina Nezhdanova, Ksenia Derzhinskaia and other outstanding opera singers performed at the Bolshoi.
Important dates
17 March 1776 — creation of the Bolshoi company, thus laying the foundation of the Bolshoi Theatre
30 December 1780 — opening of the Petrovsky theatre
8 October 1805 — fire and destruction of the building of the Petrovsky theatre
1806 — Theatre granted the status of "Imperial Theatre"
13 April 1808 — opening of New Arbat Imperial Theatre
1812 — fire and destruction of the theatre as a consequence of the French invasion of Moscow
1821—1824 — building of a new theatre, designed by Joseph Bové
6 January 1825 — opening of the Bolshoi (Big) Petrovsky Theatre
1843 — large-scale reconstruction of the theatre from the design by A. Nikitin
11 March 1853 — fire and destruction of the building of the theatre
14 May 1855 — approval of the reconstruction project for the building of the theatre. The project is undertaken by А. Kavos.
20 August 1856 — opening of the Bolshoi Theatre
16 December 1888 — première of the opera Boris Godunov by Modest Mussorgsky
1895 — capital repairs of the building of the theatre
10 October 1901 — première of the opera The Maid of Pskov (Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov) with Feodor Chaliapin acting as Ivan the Terrible
4 May 1919 — creation of the first symphony concert of the orchestra of the theatre conducted by Sergei Koussevitzky
7 December 1919 — renamed: the State Academic Bolshoi theatre
12 December 1919 — attempt to abolish the Bolshoi theatre
18 February 1921 — opening of Beethoven Hall
1921—1923 - reconstruction of the theatre under auspices of Ivan Rerberg
1935 — première of Dmitri Shostakovich' opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District
New stage of Bolshoi Theatre
The New Stage of Bolshoi Theatre was opened on November 29, 2000. A new scene is built close to the historic building of the Main Stage of Bolshoi, at the left side of it. Together with auxiliary buildings (a restored 17th century building, where to rehearsal halls, artists' recreation rooms) have a single theater complex, the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. The new building is built on the natural hill. Just recently there were blocks of old houses with communal apartments.
21st-century renovation
From July 2005 to October 2011 the Theatre was closed due to restoration work. It had undergone many renovations in its time, but none as major as this. The building, whose architecture includes three different styles, was damaged, and a quick renovation seemed to be necessary. The renovation was initially due to cost 15 billion rubles ($610 million), but engineers found that the structure was more than 75% unstable and it was then estimated that about 25.5 billion rubles (app. €1 billion) would need to be spent. However, at the completion of the restoration work, it was announced that only 21 billion rubles were spent. The work was funded entirely by the federal government.
Despite the reconstruction, the company was operational, with performances held on the New Stage, while some were given on the stage of the Great Kremlin Palace. On 28 October 2011, the Bolshoi Theatre was re-opened with a concert featuring international artists and those of the ballet and opera companies.
The renovation included an improvement in the acoustics to restore it to the level of the pre-Soviet era as well as the return to the original Imperial decorations, such as the Russian Two-Headed Eagle instead of the Soviet Hammer and Sickle. The restoration also repaired the foundation and brickwork.
Inside the theatre, the entire space has been stripped from the bottom up, the 19th-century wooden fixtures, silver stage curtain, and French-made red velvet banquettes removed for repair in specialist workshops. At the very top of the facade, the two-headed eagle of the original Russian coat of arms has been installed in place of where the Soviet hammer and sickle hung for decades.
It's a renovation that has been six years in the making, dogged by delays, and hanging with a price tag of $700 million dollars.
But on October 28, Russia's iconic Bolshoi Theatre will attempt to reclaim its place as one of the world's cultural jewels at its star-studded gala opening.
Theatre director Anatoly Iksanov described the theatre's need for change after its history of fires, floods and World War Two bombing that damaged the structure.
Anatoly Iksanov, General Director, Bolshoi Theatre:
"The building was in an emergency condition, the likelihood of it collapsing was estimated at 70 percent. That's a lot."
Interior panels of rare pine, decorated with real gold demonstrate a return to the building's pre-Soviet glory.
And the hall is now wired with cutting edge acoustics with the latest in stage technology and lighting.
To match its new makeover will be a grand reopening, which has been billed as a Russian evening of music and dance.
President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin will preside at the ceremony, which will broadcast live in Russia, Europe and the United States.
Ballet and opera
All about: Bolshoi Ballet
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| Performance in the Bolshoi Theatre (1856) |
The Bolshoi is a repertory theatre, meaning that it draws from a stable of productions, any one of which may be performed on a given evening. It normally introduces two to four new ballet or opera productions each season and retires a similar number. The sets and costumes for most productions are made in the Bolshoi's own workshops. The performers are drawn primarily from the Bolshoi's regular ballet and opera companies, with occasional guest performances. Since the collapse of the Soviet Union, there have been a few attempts to reduce the theatre's traditional dependence on large state subsidies. Corporate sponsorship occurs for some productions, but state subsidy is still the lifeblood of the company.
The Bolshoi has been associated from its beginnings with ballet. Tchaikovsky's ballet Swan Lake premiered at the theatre on 4 March 1877. Other staples of the Bolshoi repertoire include Tchaikovsky's The Sleeping Beauty and The Nutcracker, Adam's Giselle, Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet, and Khachaturian's Spartacus.
After the death of Joseph Stalin, international touring companies went out from the Bolshoi and became an important source of cultural prestige, as well as foreign currency earnings. As a result, the "Bolshoi Ballet" became a well-known name in the West. However, the Bolshoi suffered from losses through series of defection of its dancers. The first occurrence was on 23 August 1979, with Alexander Godunov; followed by Leonid Kozlov and Valentina Kozlova on 16 September 1979; and other cases in the following years. Bolshoi-related troupes continue to tour regularly in the post-Soviet era.
The opera company specializes in the classics of Russian opera such as Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, Glinka's A Life for the Tsar, and Rimsky-Korsakov's The Tsar's Bride, as well as the operas of Tchaikovsky. Many operas by western composers are also performed, especially works of Italian composers such as Rossini, Verdi, and Puccini. Until the mid-1990s, most foreign operas were sung in Russian, but Italian and other languages have been heard more frequently on the Bolshoi stage in recent years.
Some operas, such as Borodin's Prince Igor, include extensive ballet sequences. Many productions, especially of classic Russian opera, are given on a scale of grand spectacle, and can have dozens of costumed singers and dancers on stage for crowd or festival scenes.
Current cultural status
The quadriga was sculpted by Peter Clodt von Jürgensburg.
The Bolshoi Theatre is famous both in Moscow and throughout Russia. It is frequented by many tourists, with the result that prices can be correspondingly much more expensive when compared to other Russian theatres. This is especially the case for ballet, where the prices are comparable to those for performances in the West. For local citizens concerts and operas are still relatively affordable, with prices ranging from 350 roubles (balcony seats for matinee performances) to 5,000 roubles (for the seats in orcherstra or stalls).
The Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre used to exist in Saint Petersburg. It stood next to the Circus Theatre (rebuilt in 1860 as the Mariinsky Theatre), but it was replaced in the 1890s by the present-day building of the St. Petersburg Conservatory. It was at St. Petersburg's Bolshoi that the first great Russian operas, Glinka's A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Lyudmila, were premiered.
The Bolshoi Ballet has a branch at the Bolshoi Theatre School in Joinville, Brazil.
In a bit of ideological editing, the Bolshoi theater appears to be "destroyed" by the device of a split screen in Dziga Vertov's Man with a Movie Camera.
All about: Moscow, Russia, Bolshoi Ballet, Dmitry Medvedev, Vladimir Putin
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