04.09.2012
Happy New Light!
The crystal chandelier that hangs grandly over the auditorium underwent complete restoration this summer. At the beginning of the new season, the audience will see it ‘in a completely new light’. An extremely complex restoration process was completed during the theatre’s brief summer closure. This was possible due to the financial support of Tatiana Zingarevich, a member of the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s Board of Trustees.
The restoration specialists had to tackle not only the spots that had accumulated on the chandelier over time, but also the results of the previous repairs conducted in the 1950s and 1980s. Back then, the chandelier was not considered an object of cultural and historic value, but rather as a common light fixture. The repairs were functional in nature and not much thought was given to the preservation of the original historical details. Notably, damaged crystal elements were simply replaced with regular glass.
Natalia Yuzhakova, head of the restoration team:
“The work was unique, first and foremost, due to the fact that it was carried out in such a short time. We confined ourselves to one month, with an extra month given over to preliminary preparations, without which we could not have finished by the deadline. All the stages of the restoration were carefully overseen by the Committee on the State Control, Use, and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks.
We started with diagnostics, and the diagnosis turned out to be a grave one: a good deal had to be restored, and a lot had to be made again from scratch. For example, there were decorative brass oak leaves attached along the chandelier’s external ring directly underneath the diffuser. It turned out that 31 leaves, exactly half of them, remained, and there were precisely the same number of gaps to which leaves should have been attached. Therefore, the restorers not only had to restore the surviving ones, but also needed to cast and emboss an equal number of new leaves. The rims themselves, which are the foundation to which the crystal pendants are affixed, were warped. Splints had been installed on a few of them, as well as on one broken extremity. The restorers fixed this warping as well as they could. The strength of the new rims is unquestionable. Of course, we also changed all the electrical fittings. The silver-painted rough fabric which is draped over the base and attachment system, and which had not been changed since the middle of the 1950s, was replaced with special fire-resistant material.
Whereas our experts who were repairing the base and the rims and those who were working on the electrical system and the metal had the chance to take a day off at least occasionally, the four crystal restorers worked throughout the whole of August without a rest, without a break, and without Saturdays and Sundays off. The total weight of all the crystal pendants was approximately 300 kg. This is authentic old Russian crystal with a very special smoky yellowish tint to it. The crystal elements have completely unique shapes, in which the facet pattern is more complex than ordinary diamond faceting. The crystal body has two symmetrical, pointed, octagonal ends. We had to fix chips and cracks, polish it, and restore its sparkle and shine. Some of the ruined elements were hastily replaced with regular glass during the previous repairs. Now they have been newly replaced by crystal that we made ourselves in our studios. The most difficult task was to select the same tint used in the old crystal pendants and create the unique faceting pattern. I think we managed to do that, and now when the chandelier bathes the hall in its enchanting light, the audience will be able to appreciate the magical twinkling of the restored crystal.”
The Mikhailovsky Theatre would like to thank the top-class craftsmen and employees of the Natalia Yuzhakova Studio who restored the chandelier in an exceptionally short time. Special thanks for assistance in financing the restoration work goes to Tatiana Zingarevich, member of the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s Board of Trustees.
The restoration specialists had to tackle not only the spots that had accumulated on the chandelier over time, but also the results of the previous repairs conducted in the 1950s and 1980s. Back then, the chandelier was not considered an object of cultural and historic value, but rather as a common light fixture. The repairs were functional in nature and not much thought was given to the preservation of the original historical details. Notably, damaged crystal elements were simply replaced with regular glass.
Natalia Yuzhakova, head of the restoration team:
“The work was unique, first and foremost, due to the fact that it was carried out in such a short time. We confined ourselves to one month, with an extra month given over to preliminary preparations, without which we could not have finished by the deadline. All the stages of the restoration were carefully overseen by the Committee on the State Control, Use, and Protection of Historical and Cultural Landmarks.
We started with diagnostics, and the diagnosis turned out to be a grave one: a good deal had to be restored, and a lot had to be made again from scratch. For example, there were decorative brass oak leaves attached along the chandelier’s external ring directly underneath the diffuser. It turned out that 31 leaves, exactly half of them, remained, and there were precisely the same number of gaps to which leaves should have been attached. Therefore, the restorers not only had to restore the surviving ones, but also needed to cast and emboss an equal number of new leaves. The rims themselves, which are the foundation to which the crystal pendants are affixed, were warped. Splints had been installed on a few of them, as well as on one broken extremity. The restorers fixed this warping as well as they could. The strength of the new rims is unquestionable. Of course, we also changed all the electrical fittings. The silver-painted rough fabric which is draped over the base and attachment system, and which had not been changed since the middle of the 1950s, was replaced with special fire-resistant material.
Whereas our experts who were repairing the base and the rims and those who were working on the electrical system and the metal had the chance to take a day off at least occasionally, the four crystal restorers worked throughout the whole of August without a rest, without a break, and without Saturdays and Sundays off. The total weight of all the crystal pendants was approximately 300 kg. This is authentic old Russian crystal with a very special smoky yellowish tint to it. The crystal elements have completely unique shapes, in which the facet pattern is more complex than ordinary diamond faceting. The crystal body has two symmetrical, pointed, octagonal ends. We had to fix chips and cracks, polish it, and restore its sparkle and shine. Some of the ruined elements were hastily replaced with regular glass during the previous repairs. Now they have been newly replaced by crystal that we made ourselves in our studios. The most difficult task was to select the same tint used in the old crystal pendants and create the unique faceting pattern. I think we managed to do that, and now when the chandelier bathes the hall in its enchanting light, the audience will be able to appreciate the magical twinkling of the restored crystal.”
The Mikhailovsky Theatre would like to thank the top-class craftsmen and employees of the Natalia Yuzhakova Studio who restored the chandelier in an exceptionally short time. Special thanks for assistance in financing the restoration work goes to Tatiana Zingarevich, member of the Mikhailovsky Theatre’s Board of Trustees.
