The renovation of the Bolshoi Theatre is drawing to a close.
The renovation of the Bolshoi Theatre is drawing to a close.
The oak piles in the foundation rotted away and had to be replaced with some 7,000 steel piles during the reconstruction.
The Bolshoi’s renovation is unprecedented in scale and quality.
Some 950 qualified specialists were involved.
The biggest challenge was to restore the Bolshoi’s original 19th-century acoustics, which were damaged in the Soviet era. Before the restoration of the theater’s sound system, the number of seats in the main auditorium was reduced to 1,740, down from 2,100, to make the area more spacious. The floors in the auditorium and in the orchestra pit were re-laid and the armchairs reupholstered to enhance the acoustical quality.
Three Russian institutes and international commissions have already checked the acoustics in the renovated Bolshoi. Now, it is the company’s turn.
The stage, with a large anti-fire curtain, consists of several layers. Some are outfitted specially for opera and others for ballet.
The Bolshoi’s auditoriums now look as they did in the 19th century at the time of Tsar Nicholas II’s coronation. The foyer’s original paintings, whitewashed in the Soviet era, have been brought back to life. The gilding has been restored by a team of 156 masters brought together from across the nation. Some 150,000 natural crystal pendants have been added to the theater’s chandeliers to replace the missing pieces taken away by visitors as souvenirs.
For the first time, all the four auditoriums of the Bolshoi Theatre – the Exposition Hall, the Choral, the Round, and the Beethoven – will be open to the public, with new rehearsal areas now available in the basement.
