Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater named after. Alisher Navoi
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The building of the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater named after. Alisher Navoi was built in 1947. It is unique in that it is the first building planned on the territory of Tashkent. In the 30s A competition was announced for the construction of this building. Architects from almost all republics of the Soviet Union took part in it. 47 of the best projects were presented to the government and the selection process took a whole month. As a result, the project of Academician Shchusev was chosen. This famous Soviet architect designed Lenin's Mausoleum, Kazansky Station, and many Moscow Metro stations.
According to his project, the appearance of the building should be national, but of a European quality standard. Shchusev turned to folk craftsmen and it was decided that the design of the building would include a lot of wall painting, carvings, and ganch carvings. Later, the interior space of the theater was divided into 6 foyers and decorated in styles traditional for various regions - Bukhara, Samarkand, Khorezm, Termez.
The large auditorium with 1,400 seats is a semi-oval with rows of velvet burgundy chairs with heavy hanging balconies; Russian stucco, unconventional for Central Asia, was used here; a lot of gilding was used in the design of the auditorium. The auditorium chandelier is made in the shape of a bunch of grapes.
On the left side outside the theater there is a memorial plaque on which it is written in three languages - Russian, English and Japanese - that the labor of Japanese prisoners of war was used in the construction of the building. A little further in the green zone we see a peace pillar on which is written in Japanese and Uzbek: “In the name of peace on earth.”
On the theater square there is a large marble fountain or house, its center is decorated with a half-opened cotton boll, which is a symbol of Uzbekistan as one of the world's cotton exporters. When the fountain is turned on, the streams of water have a whitish tint and symbolize streams of cotton. There is lighting along the perimeter and in the center of the fountain, thanks to which it looks especially beautiful in the evening.
The theater successfully tours abroad, its soloists win international festivals and competitions, and many interesting international projects are carried out. In the last three years alone, the theater has hosted world-class conductors on its stage: Saim Akcil, professor at the Istanbul University of Music, Pierre Dominic Panelelli from Germany; Lawrence Golan from the USA, Paolo Longo from France, Giovanni Guerrieri from Italy. Soloists of the opera houses of Korea and Japan, and ballet soloists of Russia, Ukraine, France and Great Britain performed on the theater stage.
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Sights of Tashkent
- Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theater named after. Alisher Navoi
- Palace of Prince Romanov
- Abulkosim Sheikh Madrasah
- Kukeldash Madrasah
- Jami Mosque
- Monument "Courage"
- Museum of Applied Arts of Uzbekistan
- Monument to Alisher Navoi
- Amir Temur Square
- Bunyodkor Square - Friendship of Peoples
- Mustakillik Square
- Chorsu Market
- Tashkent TV tower
- Shahidlar Khotirasi - in memory of the victims of repression