Red tape brings curtain down on Russian theatres
Filed Under Curtain Rods | Posted on August 3, 2008
They’ve toured across the globe, played the Albert Hall, and collaborated with some of the biggest names in classical music. The Helikon Opera has a reputation as the most exciting and innovative opera company in Russia. But catch one of their performances in Moscow, and you might be forgiven for thinking you’d walked into a school theatre.
Mr Bertman walked through the shell of the old theatre and into the courtyard behind, pointing to where the new stage will be, at the front of a sloping auditorium that will go seven metres into the ground.
The Helikon is not the only Russian theatre with renovation problems. The country’s two most famous theatres are also embroiled in lengthy refurbishments to bring their historic buildings up to modern standards. In Moscow, the Bolshoi is under wraps since it closed in 2005 for desperately needed reconstruction. Its sumptuous auditorium was due to be opened earlier this year, but the work has taken longer than expected and gone way over budget. It is now expected to reopen no earlier than September next year.
Meanwhile in St Petersburg, the old stage of the Mariinsky is still in use while a protracted crisis over plans for a new theatre rumbles on. The French architect Dominique Perrault presented his design for the theatre several years ago, but a series of disputes between the architects, the theatre and the city authorities mean construction is yet to start.
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