Art News

Russia’s Bolshoi reopens after reconstruction that restored it to its original imperial splendor

MOSCOW (AP).- Russia’s Bolshoi Theater reopened Friday after a massive reconstruction effort that restored it to its original imperial splendor. The $700 million, six-year effort meticulously recreated the opulent 19th-century decor, many elements of which had been simplified or removed during communist rule. The renovation also added state-of-the art stage gear and created an additional underground hall. Russian and international celebrities, including former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev, opera diva Galina Vishnevskaya, ballerina Maya Plisetskaya and Italian actress Monica Bellucci, filled the grand gold-and-red, 1,743-seat hall in Moscow for Friday’s gala opening led by Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev. The most challenging part of the reconstruction effort was reinforcing the building’s foundation and the walls weakened by erosion. The historic