"I do not agree with the policy of the [Federal] Agency [for Culture and Film] or with the timeframe for the renovation of the Bolshoi Theater," Luzhkov said.
Culture and Film Agency Head Mikhail Shvydkoi, the board's other chairman, said earlier that the renovation costs would total about $780 million. And according to Bolshoi Managing Director Anatoly Iksanov, the work is to be completed by January 2008.
The Bolshoi Board of Trustees was set up in April 2001 to sponsor the theater's various projects. It convenes twice a year to hear a performance report from management and to draw up an action plan for the coming season.
The Bolshoi Theater's historic 19th-century building closed for a three-year major renovation in July 2005. A month later, the Russian finance minister said there was not enough money in state coffers to fund the $880mln-plus project and that the costs should be reduced to one-third of the estimated budget. The theater's management protested, arguing that the building no longer conformed to modern safety standards and that the $317 million the government was offering was only enough for a cosmetic facelift.
While the main building is undergoing refurbishment, the Bolshoi Company is holding performances in its new opera and ballet house erected nearby in 2002.
