Bolshoi Theatre

The Bolshoi Theatre stands at Teatralnaya Ploshchad 1 in the Tverskoy District of central Moscow, Russia, and is the country's most famous house for ballet and opera. The neoclassical building with its eight-column portico and quadriga sculpture opened in 1825 and reopened in 2011 after a lengthy renovation that restored its interiors. Visitors who attend a performance enter a six-tier gilded and red-velvet auditorium seating around 1,740 people, beneath a large crystal chandelier and a painted ceiling. The repertoire includes classic ballets such as Swan Lake and The Nutcracker as well as Russian and international operas, with performances usually held in the evening and some matinees. The season generally runs from September to June, with summer breaks and touring periods when the main stage is dark. A performance with an interval typically lasts about three hours, and most visitors arrive early to see the foyers and take photographs of the facade in the evening light. Seats vary greatly in price and view: the stalls and lower tiers offer the best sightlines, while the upper tiers and side boxes are cheaper but may have restricted views. Tickets sell out well ahead for popular ballets, and prices on third-party resale sites often carry large markups, so the official website and box office are the safest sources. A smart-casual dress code is customary, and coats are checked at the cloakroom. Photography is usually allowed in the foyers but not during the performance. Some tours of the building are offered outside performance times. The square in front of the theatre is one of the best places to photograph the building, and the surrounding area near Teatralnaya metro is well served by restaurants, making it easy to combine an evening show with dinner.