New Opera

The Novaya Opera in Moscow was founded in 1991 by conductor Yevgeny Kolobov with backing from then-mayor Yuri Luzhkov. Since 1997 it has played in a purpose-built theatre in the Hermitage Garden on the Boulevard Ring, where architect Vladimir Krasilnikov combined glass and marble in a glittering foyer. Kolobov led the company until his death in 2003 and shaped a repertoire away from the Bolshoi mainstream, with original editions of Verdi and Donizetti. The resident company today maintains around twenty-five productions and counts as the city's second major opera house. Tickets cost significantly less than at the Bolshoi and the 660-seat hall feels accordingly intimate.