“Everything breathes art here”
Exactly 190 years ago, on November 8, 1833, St. A new theater in St. Petersburg gave its first two performances. The Imperial Mikhailovsky Theater was opened by the decree of Nicholas I signed in 1931. It was named in honor of the ruler’s younger brother, Grand Duke Mikhail Pavlovich.
For two years, on an area near the Mikhailovsky Castle, where the Russian Museum is now located, bordered by Mikhailovskaya Square, Inzhenernaya Street and the Catherine Canal, the architect Alexander Bryullov built a modest-looking theater building, which was supposed to harmoniously fit into the interior . The Arts Square ensemble designed by Carlo Rossi in a classical style.
The building of the Mikhailovsky Theater was initially given the appearance of a residential building – only the stage box was visible above the roof. Bryullov had to try to compactly place the auditorium, stage, auxiliary rooms and grand staircase in the luxurious interior design.
The problem was the size of the site; width 38mand its length 108m. Additionally, the length of the project development phase has been reduced up to 68 mThis created additional difficulties. Therefore, the area of u200bu200bauxiliary premises was reduced, the main staircases were replaced with more modest ones, and the large foyer, as well as the “decoration painting room”, had to be completely abandoned. The stalls were replaced by a steep amphitheater rising upwards.
Despite the difficulties, the interior decoration was completed by the “big brothers” of the Mikhailovsky Theater – St. He did not leave the impression that he was doomed to be lost between the Bolshoi Kamenny Theater in St. Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. “Let’s enter the Mikhailovsky Theater, how light it is, how fragrant, how everything here breathes art,” Literaturnaya Gazeta wrote in 1843.
The floors in the Mikhailovsky auditorium were supported by slender stands and supports, the boxes and seats of the amphitheater were made of dark red velvet and decorated with gilding, the ornaments of the ceiling, barriers and walls referred to scenes from Pompeian paintings, the foyer was symmetrically decorated with sculptures that the audience followed into the corridor for 900 people.
Theater opening and repertoire
On the grand opening day of the Imperial Mikhailovsky Theater, Emperor Nicholas I and his wife, grand dukes, poets Vasily Zhukovsky and Pyotr Vyazemsky were present in the hall, and two performances took place on the stage – the ballet “Cupid in the Village” by choreographer Alexis Blanche and actor and playwright Pyotr Vaudeville “Familiar Strangers” performed by Karatygin’s troupe of the Alexandrinsky Theater.
By that time, this play had been successfully performed in Alexandrinka for three years – the 30s of the 19th century were the heyday of vaudeville in Russia. “Familiar Strangers” was Karatygin’s first play in this genre – it was immediately positively received by both critics and audiences. I first saw Nicholas in 1830.
“A few days later I received a beautiful diamond ring from His Majesty. This was literally my biggest reward! “The royal welfare was of paramount importance in our behind-the-scenes circle,” Karatygin recalls in his “Notes.”
In them he noted that at that time “the Emperor rarely visited the Russian theater” – in high society it was customary to be interested in Italian opera and French theater. Originally designed for the imperial family and their entourage, and showing Russian vaudeville on its opening day, Mikhailovsky later became the platform for French and German theater companies. For a long time it was called in the French style – “Theater Michel” or in German – “Michael-Theatre”.
The performances – vaudeville, ballet – were successful, it was even believed that the French troupe of the Mikhailovsky Theater was second only to the Paris Comedy-Française. Johann Strauss conducted the orchestra here more than once, and not only foreign artists, but also famous Russian artists appeared on stage – in particular, the Karatygin sisters, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Fyodor Chaliapin. By the way, since 1894, in connection with the renovation of the Mariinsky Theater, operas began to be staged here.
In 1859, the Mikhailovsky Theater was rebuilt according to the design of architect Alberto Cavos – 200 more seats were added to the hall.
own group
The Mikhailovsky Theater was forced to form its own troupe after the October Revolution. German artists left the country in 1914, and the French left the country in 1917. The new season of 1918 opened on March 6 – Mikhailovsky became the second state opera house in Petrograd. In 1920, it was renamed the State Academic Comic Opera Theatre; In 1921 it was renamed the Maly Academic Theater and in 1926 the Leningrad Academic Maly Opera Theater (abbreviated as MALEGOT). In the 20s and 30s, new Soviet operas were staged in Mikhailovsky – “The Nose” and “Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk” by Dmitry Shostakovich, “Quiet Don” by Ivan Dzerzhinsky.
In the 1930s Mikhailovsky also founded his own ballet company. In January 1932, the ballet dancers selected for this gave their first closed performance in the hall of the ethnographic department of the Russian Museum. It was a dance suite based on the Greek holiday, created by choreographer Fyodor Lopukhov. The production was a success and gave impetus to the development of Mikhailovsky as an opera and ballet theatre.