The Bolshoi company was founded on March 28, 1776, under a license from Catherine II. The present theatre was built between 1821 and 1824 by Joseph Bové, working from a competition-winning design by Andrei Mikhailov that was judged too costly to complete. It opened on January 18, 1825, as the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theatre. Its facade is described as neoclassical.
A fire in 1853 caused extensive damage, and Alberto Cavos led the reconstruction. The New Stage, built to the left of the historic main stage, opened on November 29, 2002.
The main theatre closed in July 2005 for a long restoration. Engineers found more than 75 percent of the structure unstable. The work, paid for by the federal government, cost an official 21 billion rubles, about $688 million, against an initial estimate of 15 billion. It restored the original acoustics and imperial decor, and the theatre reopened on October 28, 2011. It seats up to 1,740.
Comments