Grand Opening of the historical stage of the Moscow City Theater "Helikon-Opera" under Dmitry Bertman
Grand Opening of the historical stage of the Moscow City Theater "Helikon-Opera" under Dmitry Bertman
On the 2nd of November 2015 Moscow music theater "Helikon-Opera" will open its 26th season in the historical building in Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street.
Reconstruction of the theater lasted for almost 8 years. Thanks to the help of the Government of Moscow, and personally, The Mayor of Moscow Sergey Sobianin and the Head of the Urban Complex Marat Khusnullin, the tumbledown manor of Shakhovskaja-Glebova-Streshneva turned into a modern theater complex.
According to the project, the restoration of the estate was combined with the construction of a new building of over 13,000 square meters,according to the standards of the modern theater. The courtyard was transformed into a luxury StravinskyHall with 500 seats. Acoustics, comfort and technical equipmentof the hall can be compared to the halls of world’s leading opera houses. The scene has 26 mobile platforms, moving circle, the unique "dancing" straps, the newest lighting equipment. At the back of the stage there are six bells (the biggest weights 260 kg). These bells were made in Voronezh specially for the theater and presented by the META Education Fund of the President of "Uralsib" Financial Corporation Nikolay Tsvetkov. The Red Porch of the courtyard of the estate was transformed into the box for VIP-guests.
Copyright: Herman Muradov
The team of "Mosinzhproekt" under the direction of Mars Gazizullin held a unique work of reconstruction of this monument of architecture, the Shakhovskaja-Glebova-Streshneva- main manor house: the foundation was reinforced, basements were deepened and equipped, wrecking ceilings were replaced, brick walls and facades were restored.
According to the preserved samples of the XIX century the manor interiors, which include coffered ceilings, cornices, stucco decorations, the dome of the small hall, artificial marble columns, chandeliers, floor lamps and wall lamps were restored. The floors in the halls and the lobby were decorated with artistic parquet, inlaid with rare species of wood. The grand staircase with marble stairs was reconstructed. After the reconstruction the area of the theater has increased almost 5 times!
Renovated theater will soon open its doors to the public. From the 2nd to the 8th of November the solemn gala concerts will be held in Stravinsky Hall in honor of the Grand Opening of historical stage. The friends of the theatre, world opera stars Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Olga Borodina, Alexander Antonenko, Olga Guryakova, Vasily Ladyuk, Boris Statsenko, Veronika Dzhioeva, Hasmik Grigoryan, Elena Zelenskaja and Inva Mula, performer of the famous aria of Diva Plavalaguna in the cult film "The Fifth Element", will congratulate Helikon with its long-awaited opening .
One of the main ideas of the gala concert is to present the renewed Helikon-Opera Theater, to show its evolution forthe latest 25 years, demonstrate the modern stage equipment, its excellent acoustics and the outstanding work of builders and restorers.
The opening ceremony will last for 90 minutes. The concert starts at 19:00.
Dmitry Bertman, Artistic Director of the theater, a stage director of the opening ceremony:
"Today, the Happiness habitats inHelikon! We have a magnificent opera house, the young professional team, knowing how to love and loving to create! Our opulence is in our smart and loyal audience, we are surrounded by colleagues, who are happy for us! We sing under the patronage of our true friends, and we are sincerely grateful to all those who built the theater with us! Helikon-opera is the house in which love and opera live together! We want to bask in this atmosphere together with you as long as possible! ".
Sergei Kuznetsov, the Chief Architect of Moscow, a set designer of the opening ceremony:
"We wanted to emphasize the image of the new Moscow and, more widely, the Russian theater, a contemporary art organism, dynamically developing in the heart of the historic city. We have created set design which uses the maximum opportunities of the scene, broadening its physical borders and clearly demonstrating the ability of "Helikon-Opera" to implement the most audacious creative ideas".