Larta Glass has staged what it describes as the world’s first immersive performance inside a float glass furnace at its Ramensky plant in the Moscow Region. The event marked the completion of a major cold repair and rebuild of the facility’s float furnace and brought more than 250 clients and partners into a space that, once operational, reaches temperatures above 1,500°C.
The renovation is designed to expand the Ramensky plant’s capabilities, including production of low-iron float glass in lengths of up to 18 metres, a format Larta Glass says has not previously been manufactured in Russia. The furnace originally began operation in 2006 and has produced approximately 115,000 kilometres of glass ribbon over nearly two decades.
The performance transformed the furnace chamber into an immersive theatre using lighting, sound and live music around the theme of the Phoenix, representing fire, renewal and a new production cycle. The programme featured the famous chorus from Alexander Borodin’s opera Prince Igor, performed by Russian dramatic soprano Ksenia Muslanova, Honored Artist of the Udmurt Republic.
Larta Glass developed the production in only one month, working within the narrow period between completion of the furnace construction and its scheduled heating. According to Marketing Director Maxim Koldyshev, the concept was intended to turn the industrial facility into an experience for customers and partners while addressing significant technical and safety requirements. 
The event also incorporated pieces of erklez, solid glass removed before the cold repair, as symbolic objects connecting the furnace’s previous production campaign with its next phase.
Source: Larta Glass with additional information added by Glass Balkan
