Bolshoi in trouble
The Russian ballet is suffering problem after problem
Within the past six months Moscow’s Bolshoi theatre has lost its musical director, seen its restoration plans delayed, and been the subject of embezzlement rumours, as auditors uncovered irregularities in the building’s refurbishment accounts.
Yet this winter the Bolshoi’s very foundations are under threat; construction work underground has caused part of the theatre’s courtyard to collapse.
Though the Bolshoi’s opera and ballet companies continue to perform elsewhere, the 230-year-old building, whose name literally means ‘big’ or ‘grand’, seems unable to live up with its enviable reputation. The Bolshoi provided a lavish auditorium for the royal companies to perform Russia’s balletic jewels, including Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake and Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet, and operas such as The Tsar’s Bride.
When Russia became a Soviet republic, the Bolshoi became a prized cultural export, and the theatre a state-funded symbol of excellence and artistry. But, like the rest of the USSR, the building was slowly crumbling from within.
When the theatre’s doors closed in 2005 for a grand renovation, the project was predicted to take three years. Yet, at present the theatre building is an empty shell covered by hoardings and the original architects and contractors are no longer involved in its renovation. The chief conductor and artistic director, Alexander Vedernikov, resigned earlier this year, after his concerns surrounding the theatre’s acoustics went unaddressed.
With the date for reopening put back to at least 2011, it would seem the Bolshoi’s woes are more far-reaching than a simple case of artistic differences. Maria Yacoob
www.bolshoi.ru
