Work on Bolshoi Theater nearing end

MOSCOW, Oct. 24 (UPI) -- Restoration work on the facades of Moscow's Bolshoi Theater will be done by the end of November, and it will reopen next year, officials said.

While exterior work is winding up, contractors are installing a ventilation system and power supply in the famed theater's basement, RIA Novosti reported Sunday.

The theater was built in 1825. Reconstruction efforts were launched in 2005, but the project has been marred with repeated schedule delays and a misspending scandal, the report said.

"All work on the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater is being carried out according to plan," said Alexander Levchenko, acting head of Moscow's construction department.

When complete, the theater will have a back stage, extra foyers and cafeterias, and the underground area will have space for storing stage decorations. The work is expected to increase the theater's size by about 150,000 square feet.

Russian prosecutors opened an investigation last year into the suspected embezzlement of millions of dollars during the renovation.

Moscow officials said the theater would officially reopen in October 2011.