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Bolshoi Theatre stagehand gets minor injury as scenery falls

According to Bolshoi spokeswoman Katerina Novikova, “the man was lightly pressed by the scenery in the dark”

MOSCOW, October 29 (Itar-Tass) — A stagehand in the Bolshoi Theatre has got a minor injury and after an X-ray study will be sent home from hospital, Bolshoi spokeswoman Katerina Novikova told Itar-Tass on Saturday.

According to her, “the man was lightly pressed by the scenery in the dark.” “In order to avoid health risk it was decided to send him to the Sklifosovsky Research Institute of Emergency Medicine for an X-ray analysis, and then, as doctors promised, the Bolshoi Theatre stagehand will be allowed to go home,” Novikova said.

The incident happened on Friday night.

The world famous Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow reopened its historic stage on Friday after a six-year reconstruction that cost close to 21 billion roubles (US$ 700 million) and developed the ancient building into a high-tech facility, but preserved the unique interior. The gala concert on Friday lasted two hours and involved the whole company of the Bolshoi Theatre as well as invited world opera stars to celebrate a new life in the old house.

The Bolshoi reopened after six years of overhaul. Its total floor space has increased twice - the theatre has gone deeper underground. It was also remodelled in line with the latest achievements in science and engineering.

The opening will be marked by a grand gala concert, which will bring together international stars of opera and ballet. The broadcast of the concert can be seen not only in Russia, but also abroad.

The main historical stage of the Bolshoi Theatre was closed for reconstruction on July 1, 2005. The cost of the Bolshoi’s overhaul has reached about 21 billion roubles.

Involved in the work there were 3.5 thousand architects, restorers, artists, builders, engineers, technicians and other professionals. Among the successfully resolved problems of upgrading the stage area are the replacement of obsolete engineering equipment, much of which was made in the early twentieth century, replacement of the upper and lower mechanisms of the stage and of the lighting equipment, as well as the creation of two-tier stage mechanisms - a unique technology solution in the world.