Bolshoi Theater makeover: call for gold masters
Published 14 March, 2010, 15:06

Edited 14 March, 2010, 19:21

One of the most ambitious and, at the same time, controversial reconstruction projects in Moscow is now calling for goldsmiths from all over the former Soviet Union to work on the Bolshoi Theater auditorium.The Bolshoi Theater has been one of the world's grand performing venues for over 200 years. First built at its present location in Moscow in 1780, the theater withstood two world wars, two revolutions, Stalin's reign, communism, and catastrophic fires, losing a lot throughout its history. Now it is being prepared to challenge the world's best venues at the beginning of the new century.

A crew of over 30 people has already been put together to restore the rich original interior decoration in the theater. But many more people are required to restore the longstanding mirror frames, furniture, stucco moldings, lamps and other sophisticated décor elements of the theater’s main hall in time – the renovated theater is planned to open October 2, 2011.

The decoration of the main theater hall requires an ancient technique which is now known well to very few top professionals and is said to be known to even fewer goldsmiths outside Russia.

"Gilding – is a very labor-intensive process. We have already involved all known masters from Moscow, St. Petersburg and Ryazan, and now we wish to call for the help from Ukraine, where the gilding school is very good” RIA Novosti news agency quotes a spokesperson close to the reconstruction project.

The gilding technique that will be applied in the Bolshoi is used only for interior decoration and is one of the most expensive, as it demands additional preparation of surfaces and gold polishing. But the result of this sophisticated decoration process is truly impressive and is vastly superior to all other gilding techniques.

The full-scale reconstruction of the Bolshoi theater in the center of Moscow began in 2005. Ever since the decision to reconstruct the Bolshoi was taken, there have been massive social disputes over it, involving professional lawyers, architects, historians and those opposed to the massive changes in the historical face of Moscow. Some say the historical building would have collapsed soon if the reconstruction had not taken place. Others maintain that “it's against the law” to “reconstruct architectural monuments,” theycan only be "restored". Thus, in their opinion, this reconstruction is another crazy initiative of the Moscow authorities, headed by Mayor Yury Luzhkov, that lead to the loss of architectural monuments in the heart of Russia.

As was planned from the beginning, the reconstruction was started for the sake of giving the theater a bigger backstage area, intended for the installation and changing of scenery. Besides the renovated historical foyer, additional lobbies and buffets, the renovated Bolshoi Theater will include an underground part, where the scenery for the next four to five performances will be kept. The underground space of the theater will be 26 meters deep, and feature a total of six underground levels.

The present building of the Bolshoi Theater was constructed by architect Albert Kavos after the previous building burned down, and opened on August 20, 1856, the coronation day of Alexander II.

The five-tiered Bolshoi auditorium was well-known for its acoustics. The interior was trimmed in wood, and it was said that the theater itself was a musical instrument – one of the most acoustically perfect buildings in the world. But even those acoustics have fallen into disrepair. One of the reasons is the Neglinka River, which eroded the ground under the theater. After it was enclosed into a pipe and the ground waters disappeared, the wooden piles of the building’s foundation started to rot under the influence of air. In 1920, one of the main hall’s walls subsided during a performance, the doors jammed, and the audience was evacuated. It forced architect and engineer Ivan Rerberg, in the late 1920s, to place a concrete plate under the main auditorium, reminiscent of a mushroom’s shape. However, the concrete spoiled the acoustics.

By the 1990s, over 60 per cent of the building was in very grave condition, having decayed greatly since its last repair works. Time attacked the theater from both construction and decorative perspectives. Throughout the building’s history, its face has been changing constantly.

In 1993, the government of Russia took the decision to launch the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater complex of buildings.

Over ten years passed before the reconstruction project was actually started. In 2002, with the assistance of the Moscow government, the New Stage of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater opened on Moscow’s Theater Square. Opening the New Stage has given the chance to begin reconstruction of the main building, though the new hall is less than half the size and can host only one third of the theatre’s repertoire.

On July 2, 2005, the historical building of the Bolshoi Theater was closed for reconstruction. The re-opening has been postponed several times during the reconstruction. It is hoped that the current autumn 2011 completion date will not be deferred.