Завершение проекта реставрации и реконструкции зданий Большого театра
Restoration and renovation of the Bolshoi Theatre buildings is being completed. Now there is no need to deliver construction materials and stage equipment to the construction site. As a result Petrovka Street will be cleared from the construction barriers, and the traffic area will be expanded, the official representative of the general contractor Mikhail Sidorov has said.
“Over the next week the Muscovites will see the renovated Northern Facade. It was the only facade of the building renovated. It should be noted, that since 1856 when the Bolshoi Theatre was founded, the Northern Facade has been frequently modified both in the 19th and 20th centuries. At present its architectural look is brought into stylistic unity with the refurbished historic parts of the building” – Mikhail Sidorov remarked.
Like the three restored facades the northern side of the Theatre is painted in gold and sand color. That was the original design of the theatre facades by architect Alberto Cavos in 1856. The description of this unusual color was found in the archives in the course of the study of the color set of the Theatre exterior. The desirable hue was produced through combination of umber, ochre, clay and lime. The overture of the front and flank facade walls performed by the restorers confirmed that the right tint has been chosen.
“For the purposes of reconstruction of the historic look of the facades complex restoration works have been carried out. The restorers have studied numerous archive recordings and bibliographic materials, compared them with photographs of the beginning of the 20th century. In order to choose the right tint finishing mortars and walls painting have been analyzed” – the representative of the general contractor noted.
In the course of the reconstruction missing elements of plaster bas-reliefs were completely restored. Chips and cracks were filled with a special mixture. The flank facades were again decorated with cast-iron galleries. These elements had been designed by the architect Alberto Cavos who restored the building of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1856 after fire. The contemporaries of the architect were particularly impressed by the image of the Theatre at night when the illuminated galleries looked like a diamond thread encircling the flank facades.
The last stage of additional demineralization of the Front Facade columns will be accomplished in the near future. It took several years for the restorers to repair the white stone columns. The columns were being wrapped in special composition of cellulose and clay for a period of one and a half or two weeks. Multiple application of such compresses enabled to considerably decrease the salt level. The principal stage of the renovation works was finished in the autumn of 2010. By then the restorers had managed to recover the initial ivory color of the stone.
In order to consolidate the result the restorers decided to repeat the demineralization works to secure the long-term natural beauty of the white stone.
Besides, sculptures of muses Erato and Terpsichore are now being mounted in the Front Facade. These plaster figures were demolished in 1941 by a bomb explosion. The sculptures are now recreated on the basis of the design of Alberto Cavos. The sculptures which had been mounted in the Soviet times were dismantled and transferred for keeping to the museum of the Bolshoi Theatre”, – the official representative of the general contractor said.
“Over the next week the Muscovites will see the renovated Northern Facade. It was the only facade of the building renovated. It should be noted, that since 1856 when the Bolshoi Theatre was founded, the Northern Facade has been frequently modified both in the 19th and 20th centuries. At present its architectural look is brought into stylistic unity with the refurbished historic parts of the building” – Mikhail Sidorov remarked.
Like the three restored facades the northern side of the Theatre is painted in gold and sand color. That was the original design of the theatre facades by architect Alberto Cavos in 1856. The description of this unusual color was found in the archives in the course of the study of the color set of the Theatre exterior. The desirable hue was produced through combination of umber, ochre, clay and lime. The overture of the front and flank facade walls performed by the restorers confirmed that the right tint has been chosen.
“For the purposes of reconstruction of the historic look of the facades complex restoration works have been carried out. The restorers have studied numerous archive recordings and bibliographic materials, compared them with photographs of the beginning of the 20th century. In order to choose the right tint finishing mortars and walls painting have been analyzed” – the representative of the general contractor noted.
In the course of the reconstruction missing elements of plaster bas-reliefs were completely restored. Chips and cracks were filled with a special mixture. The flank facades were again decorated with cast-iron galleries. These elements had been designed by the architect Alberto Cavos who restored the building of the Bolshoi Theatre in 1856 after fire. The contemporaries of the architect were particularly impressed by the image of the Theatre at night when the illuminated galleries looked like a diamond thread encircling the flank facades.
The last stage of additional demineralization of the Front Facade columns will be accomplished in the near future. It took several years for the restorers to repair the white stone columns. The columns were being wrapped in special composition of cellulose and clay for a period of one and a half or two weeks. Multiple application of such compresses enabled to considerably decrease the salt level. The principal stage of the renovation works was finished in the autumn of 2010. By then the restorers had managed to recover the initial ivory color of the stone.
In order to consolidate the result the restorers decided to repeat the demineralization works to secure the long-term natural beauty of the white stone.
Besides, sculptures of muses Erato and Terpsichore are now being mounted in the Front Facade. These plaster figures were demolished in 1941 by a bomb explosion. The sculptures are now recreated on the basis of the design of Alberto Cavos. The sculptures which had been mounted in the Soviet times were dismantled and transferred for keeping to the museum of the Bolshoi Theatre”, – the official representative of the general contractor said.