The Wood's Wayward Wanderings Two: Bolshoi Tour

On our top ten things to do in Moscow was to take the Bolshoi Theatre Tour.

Apollo in the Chariot of the Sun

A striking bronze portrayal of Apollo, the God of art, and four flying horses has crowned the Bolshoi's grand portico since 1825. The sculpture is also featured on the back of the 100-rouble note. It has eight Ionic columns across the stately portico.

The Bolshoi is only a few blocks from the Kremlin and Red Square. View facing the street.

Established in 1776, the Bolshoi theatre and ballet companies are among the oldest in the world. The first theatre building was opened in 1780, but was destroyed by fire in 1805. The company relocated to the Petrovsky Theatre, where it remained until 1812, when the building was also consumed by fire during Napoleon's invasion. A new building opened in 1825 on the original site, but in 1853 it too was ravaged by fire. As part of the restoration, the building's height was increased. It reopened in 1856 and to this day retains its status as a world-class ballet and opera venue.

The staircase taking you to the Grand Imperial Foyer. Fortunately they let us take pictures of anything we wanted, although some areas were very dark.

While we were waiting for our tour to begin we were intrigued by the performance videos that were shown on the large screens in the entrance.

There are no performances on Mondays. It is when they take down or set up.

The Imperial Box is hung with crimson velvet. The lavish royal box dominates the rear of the hall. Above the box, Russia's imperial crown has replaced the Soviet hammer and sickle.

More boxes to the left.

and boxes to the right

The orchestra pit.

The chandelier, imported from France in 1863 weighs 3,300 pounds. The cut-glass chandelier had its candles replaced by 300 electric light bulbs in 1895.

Our tour included a group of professional ballet dancers from many foreign countries who would be performing in one of the Bolshoi's smaller stages the following night.

There are other concert halls located within the building. This can be used as a rehearsal room or evening concerts They are equipped with the latest technology.

the flooring

We are now up on the fourth tier.

a closer look at the chandelier

The auditorium, with 5 elaborate tiers of boxes, has a capacity of 1,740. The decoration features crimson draping, white stucco mouldings and copious amounts of gold leaf. The restoration between 2005 and 2011 required 10 pounds of gold.

where refreshments are served during intermission

The royal family would go through these doors to take their seats.

The Grand Imperial Foyer is open during performances. It boasts magnificent handwoven wall fabric based on samples from the 19th century.

In one of the rooms a memorial was set up for the famous ballerina, Maya Plisetskaya who was a Soviet-born ballet dancer, choreographer, ballet director and actress. She danced during the Soviet era. In 1960 she became the prima ballerina of the Bolshoi. She first performed at the Bolshoi Theatre at age eleven and joined the Bolshoi Ballet company at age 18. As a member of the Bolshoi until 1990, her skill as a dancer changed the world of ballet. She was one of the international superstars and in 1996 was named President of the Imperial Russian Ballet.