New Post (206) : The famed Bolshoi theater “reopens” after a 6-year restoration !
From what my friends tell me. it’s surely been a wait worth waiting for………. The Bolshoi Theater built in 1825, closed for reconstruction in 2005.
The Bolshoi Theater, one of the main landmarks of the Russian capital and a symbol of Russian culture, reopened after six years of reconstruction with a gala concert attended by members of the Russian and international beau monde.
Russian President Dmitry Medvedev and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev were among the guests for the performance at Russia’s main ballet and opera house.
The Russian government spent 21 billion rubles ($681 million) on the restoration, which involved more than 3,600 designers, builders and engineers.
The gala concert began with a performance reproducing the restoration work. Artists dressed in builders’ uniforms and helmets performed the final scene from Mikhail Glinka’s A Life for the Tsar opera.
The acoustics have been improved significantly. The renovated theater has a back stage, extra foyers and cafeterias, and underground premises for storing stage decorations. ………The work has created an extra 50,000 sq meters of space in the building
PS: Now that the Bolshoi is back to its former glory & grandeur, the Mariinsky Theatre in St.Petes, Russia will have to settle once again for a close second position on the culture map.
I have great memories of both.
Charlie Brown
