Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre (Russian: Большой театр, Bol'shoy Teatr, Large Theater) is a world-famous theatre and opera company in Moscow, Russia, which gives performances of ballet and opera. It is in the centre of Moscow, near the Kremlin.
History of the building
The Bolshoi Theatre began in 1776 when Empress Catherina II allowed Prince Pyotr Urusov to run theatrical performances.[1] That theatre burned down and a new one was built in 1825. After that one burned down too, it was rebuilt and reopened in 1856. After that, no important repairs were made to the building for 150 years. By the beginning of the 21st century it was in a very bad state and in danger of falling down. Major repairs were started in 2005, and the theatre was re-opened in 2011.
At the time of the Communist Revolution (1917), the Bolsheviks thought the theatre represented the old tsars and everything that had been bad in Russia. They wanted to demolish it. Then they started to use it for their meetings. Lenin and Stalin both gave speeches there. The operas that were performed had to be ones that did not criticize the Soviet Union in any way[2]
Bolshoi Theatre Media
- Bolshoy Teatr.jpg
The old Bolshoi Theatre in the early 19th century
Bolshoi Theatre in 1883 after reconstruction by Alberto Cavos
- Bolshoi Theatre 1905.jpg
Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow, Russia. 1905
- Bundesarchiv Bild 102-13138, Moskau, Bolschoi-Theater.jpg
- For documentary purposes the German Federal Archive often retained the original image captions, which may be erroneous, biased, obsolete or politically extreme.
- The Soviet Union 1951 CPA 1612 stamp (175th death anniversary of the State Academic Bolshoi Theatre. Theatre building).jpg
The Bolshoi on a 1951 stamp
- Bolshoi Theatre.JPG
Bolshoi Theatre in 2006 before the renovation
The curtain of the Bolshoi Theater
- Performance in the Bolshoi Theatre.JPG
Performance in the Bolshoi Theatre (1856)
- Alexander III of Russia's coronation album 21.jpg
Alexander III of Russia and his family at the Bolshoi, 1883
- Golden Mask 2014 photographer Dmitriy Dubinskiy.jpg
Auditorium of the Bolshoi Theatre in 2014
References
- ↑ "Bolshoi Theatre". Archived from the original on 2010-06-05. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
- ↑ "The Grand Rebirth of the Bolshoi" in The Independent, Wed 27 April 2011 p.29.
Other websites
- From Russia With Love: Costumes for the Ballets Russes 1909-1933 Archived 2010-07-23 at the Wayback Machine
