The main state of the Bolshoi Theater, one of the best known Russian landmarks, won't open its doors earlier than in late 2010, although the theater's management denies that the global downturn added to problems with financing the ambitious renovation project.
Late last year, Russia's Minister of Culture Aleksandr Avdeev finally spoke to the press about the delayed reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater. The restoration works, which began in the summer of 2005, were supposed to be finished by March 2008.
But early last year, the completion date was set back to November 2009, and by the summer of 2008, no one was in doubt that it would take much, much longer.
In the past few months, no one was willing to risk a prediction on an official opening date, and some people even said that the work could drag on for several decades. Avdeev, however, reassured the public that the Bolshoi renovation would be finished by the end of 2010.
The world-renowned theater, which was built in 1824, has survived a major fire, the building of a metro line beneath its foundations, bombing in World War II and several thoughtless renovations (which altered the acoustics unfortunately for the worse). Originally, the orchestra pit had been built atop a barrel-shaped hollow space, which served as a resonator, so that the sound would reach the audience amplified and enriched. In the 1920s, this hollow space had been erroneously filled with concrete, effectively killing any amplification and dulling the sound.
Later, when electricity was introduced to theatres, part of the space in the orchestra pit had been sacrificed to make room for lighting equipment. This at once made the works of great composers, such as Wagner, impossible, since his operas demand a large orchestra - for example, Das Rheingold (the first of the Ring of Nibelung cycle) calls for no less than six harps.
As the Bolshoi theatre aged and new technology, such as electricity, was introduced, the managers were forced to compromise on sound quality because there was simply no other option. By this century, however, there was no getting around it - the theatre had to be rebuilt completely. Engineers pronounced the building, with its foundation shifting dangerously, more than 75 percent unstable. Almost twenty major vertical cracks were found, and the German contractor for the stage equipment expressed a mixture of horror and amazement: "If any theater in Germany were in such a state, the authorities would have closed it down in a moment."
Many companies from the west also participated in the tender, and a few of them won contracts thanks to their expertise in the field and proven results in the best theatres in Europe and North America. Much of features of the renovated Bolshoi will be a first attempt in Russia, such as separate floors for ballet (flat and sound absorbing, to dull the sound of the dancers' feet) and opera (sound reflecting).
With the latest technology employed, the theater will be a facility well equipped for almost anything - underground warehouses will accommodate up to three full sets of performances, freeing the managers from worry about sets not showing up on time for rehearsals due to traffic jams. The new orchestra pit will comfortably accommodate 140 musicians, so we may look forward to Wagner and Strauss operas being added to the repertoire in the near future.
If there is one thing which will not be changed, it is the appearance. Every detail of the theater - furniture, curtain, fabrics and chandeliers has been carefully dismantled, photographed, catalogued and documented, and every step will be taken to assure that the newly renovated theater will look just like the old.
Only one part will be different - the original Russian coat of arms from 1856 will replace the Soviet emblem which has been in place since 1918. When the decision was made a few years ago, Mikhail Shvydkoy, then head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinema, said it seemed "fair and natural," and there was no dissent from anyone involved in the project.
The word "crisis" has probably become the most often repeated word not only in the media but in daily conversation as well, but Anatoly Iksanov, General Director of the Bolshoi, insists that the renovation project is untouched by the flurry of disquieting events in the economy. The cost estimation is still the same - 15,600,000,000 rubles, all of it from the state budget - and while the ruble has lost much against the dollar, the cost of building materials has seen a significant drop, and construction companies are hungrier for work.
At the moment, two companies are working side by side, speeding up the day when the Bolshoi can reopen its doors to the Moscow audience again.
When the Bolshoi reopens its doors to the Moscow audience again, it will reopen with Glinka's opera "Ruslan and Lyudmilla", staged by young innovator Dmitry Tcherniakov, and Tchaikovsky's classic, "Sleeping Beauty" choreographed by Bolshoi long-timer Yuri Grigorovitch.
However, The head of the press office, Katerina Novikova, said that with renovation dates being postponed so often, it is hard to make any definite announcements.
Now with the Minister of Culture Avdeev's publicly made promise that the theater will welcome audiences again by the middle of 2011, that day seems imminent. N
FACT BOX
In its long history, the Bolshoi Theater has experienced some tough times: three fires, a bombing, and more than six major repairs and reconstructions.
But the show, as they say, had to go on. Since the turn of the century, the Bolshoi has been putting more weight on the masterpieces of Soviet composers, for the first time staging almost forgotten operas such as "the Gambler" and "the Fiery Angel" (Prokofiev), and the ballets "the Bright Stream" and "the Bolt" by Shostakovich.
Tcherniakov, who will stage "Ruslan and Lyudmilla" for the re-opening, is a controversial young talent who has worked in many parts of Europe and Russia in the past decade. Popular abroad as well as in Russia, he has staged numerous operas, mostly by Russian composers, and has even received the "Golden Mask" award, but some have reacted negatively to his unconventional approach which strikes as defiant. Galina Vishnevskaya, for example, was so upset by his staging of "Evgeny Onegin" at the Bolshoi in 2006/2007 that she swore never to set foot in the theater again.
The Bolshoi still takes great pride in being the best representative of the Russian operatic repertoire. For trivia buffs, the Bolshoi's last performance before being closed for repairs was Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov."
