Bolshoi Theater's renovation "great miracle" - Medvedev
MOSCOW. Oct 28 (Interfax) - President Dmitry Medvedev said the six-year renovation of Moscow's Bolshoi Theater had resulted in a "great miracle."
"I want to thank all those who have participated in the revival of our miracle, our great national brand," Medvedev said at the ceremonial reopening of Russia's number one opera and ballet house.
"It wasn't a small task but a very serious one. It is work that has been going on for six years. And all these six years, it has been a very emotional experience for everyone - for the theater, for its company, for all those who love and value this treasure that we possess. It has been a very emotional experience for the construction workers and for ordinary people. It has also been a very emotional experience for the government because it was serious work to monitor the project," the president said.
"The result is wonderful - cutting-edge technology, a cutting-edge approach to very complex structures of this kind," he said.
However, "most importantly, the Bolshoi Theater should preserve its spirit," Medvedev said.
"Our country has always been able to find money to keep the Bolshoi in the right kind of state. This was the case 150 years ago, and it is the case right now," he said.
He expressed hope that the renovated building would inspire the Bolshoi's company "to perform more of the miracles that they have always performed so brilliantly."
The ceremony was followed by a concert that opened with a famous chorus from the opera "Ivan Susanin" by Mikhail Glinka and was to include works by Russian composers Sergei Prokofiev, Pyotr Chaikovsky, Modest Mussorgsky, Dmitry Shostakovich, Alexander Borodin, and Sergei Rachmaninoff.
The Bolshoi's renovation began on July 2, 2005, after the building was found to be in a dangerous state of disrepair. The renovation plan included strengthening the foundations, restoring the acoustic properties of the auditorium, which had been impaired, and building underground floors.
While the renovation was in progress, the Bolshoi company was holding its performances at New Stage, a building opened next to the main edifice in 2002.