Bolshoi Theatre

The company was founded on 28 March [O.S. 17 March] 1776,[7] when Catherine II granted Prince Peter Urusov a licence to organise theatrical performances, balls and other forms of entertainment.[8] Urusov set up the theatre in collaboration with English tightrope walker Michael Maddox.[9] Initially, it held performances in a private home, but it acquired the Petrovka Theatre and on 30 December 1780, it began producing plays and operas, thus establishing what would become the Bolshoi Theatre. Fire destroyed the Petrovka Theatre on 8 October 1805, and the New Arbat Imperial Theatre replaced it on 13 April 1808, however it also succumbed to fire during the French invasion of Moscow in 1812.

The first instance of the theatre was built between 1821 and 1824, designed and supervised to completion by architect Joseph Bové based upon an initial competition-winning design created by Petersburg-based Russian architect Andrei Mikhailov that was deemed too costly to complete.[10][11] The new building opened on 18 January 1825 as the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theatre with a performance of the catalan Fernando Sor's ballet, Cendrillon. Initially, it presented only Russian works, but foreign composers entered the repertoire around 1840.[12]

In 1843 a large-scale reconstruction of the a fire in 1853 caused extensive damage and so a further reconstruction was carried out, by Alberto Cavos, son of the opera composer Catterino Cavos.

On 7 December 1919 the house was renamed the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre. Only a few days later, however, on 12 December, there was an unsuccessful attempt to shut the institution entirely. Beethoven Hall opened on 18 February 1921. Ivan Rerberg directed further reconstruction of the theatre between 1921 and 1923. A bomb damaged the structure during World War II, but this was repaired.

A new stage for the Bolshoi Theatre, called the New Stage, went into service on 29 November 2002, constructed to the left of the theatre's historic main stage. Together with auxiliary buildings — a restored 17th-century building, two rehearsal halls, and artists' recreation rooms — it forms a single theatre complex, the Bolshoi Theatre of Russia. The new building is on a natural hill which it shared, until recently, blocks of old houses with communal apartments.[13]

The curtain of the Bolshoi Theater

From July 2005 to October 2011 the theatre was closed for restoration. The building, whose architecture combines three different styles, was damaged and a quick renovation seemed to be necessary.

Repairs were initially estimated at 15 billion rubles ($610 million) but engineers found that more than 75% of the structure was unstable,[14] According to The Moscow Times, the true cost may have been double that,[5] and Der Spiegel quotes a figure of $1.1 billion.[6] The rebuilding and renovation was funded entirely by the federal government.[15]

During the long period of reconstruction, the company continued to mount productions, with performances held on the New Stage and on the stage of the Great Kremlin Palace.

The renovation included restoring acoustics to the original quality (which had been lost during the Soviet Era), as well as restoring the original Imperial decor of the Bolshoi.[4][16] Finally, on 28 October 2011, the Bolshoi Theatre re-opened with a concert featuring international artists and the ballet and opera companies.[4] The first staged opera, Ruslan and Lyudmila, followed soon after.

The Bolshoi has been the site of many historic premieres, including:

• Tchaikovsky's The Voyevoda and Mazeppa
• Modest Mussorgsky's one version of Boris Godunov was given on 16 December 1888.
• Rachmaninoff's Aleko and Francesca da Rimini
• Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Maid of Pskov, with Feodor Chaliapin singing the role of Ivan the Terrible
• Dmitri Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District in 1935.

• The first symphonic concert by the Bolshoi Orchestra took place at the Bolshoi Theatre on 4 May 1919, conducted by Serge Koussevitzky
• During the COVID-19 pandemic, at least 34 members of the theatre were infected.[17]