Location : Mariinskii Opera House
Saint Petersburg.
The first musical theater in Russia. The Mariinsky era began. Musical performances in Russia appeared in the 30s of the eighteenth century thanks to Italians and French. And in 1783, the Decree of Catherine II founded the theater “not only for comedies and tragedies, but also for opera.” Then the Stone (Big) Theater was built. The Russian troupe shared the stage with Italian and French. The Mariinsky stage appeared in 1860.
The theater owes its name to another royal lady – the wife of Emperor Alexander II, Empress Maria Alexandrovna. The new theater was built by the prominent representative of late classicism Albert Kavos.
High art requires a serious approach. At the end of the nineteenth century, the theater was expanding – a building for rehearsal rooms and theater workshops appeared. The architect Victor Schroeter gives the building a more monumental look by attaching the side wings, expanding the front staircase and the lobby. The dome is crowned by the famous turret. Blue velvet, silver brocade, stucco molding and sculptures – the new decoration of the theater impressed with its luxury contemporaries and is still considered one of the most magnificent in the world. Even a chandelier is also a work of art, the work of the master Enrico Frachioli. 23 thousand crystal pendants rang when Fedor Chaliapin sang on stage. The acoustics of the Mariinsky were perfected by crystal fragments specially placed under the stage and the orchestra pit. In the 70s of the twentieth century, during reconstruction,
The emblem of the theater is a curtain repeating the pattern of the train of the dress of Empress Maria Alexandrovna. It was created in 1914 according to the sketches of Alexander Golovin. The name of this artist is also the hall located under the roof of the Mariinsky. Here “soft” sets for performances are created and theatrical legends are born. According to contemporaries, Nikolai Gumilev and Maximilian Voloshin quarreled in this hall because of the poetess Cherubina de Gabriak. The case ended in a famous duel, fortunately, not causing damage to Russian literature.
Mariinsky’s “Honored Artist” – the bell – is located behind the stage. He appeared in the theater in the 30s of the last century. The big bell is occupied in the operas Khovanshchina and Boris Godunov. One of the main secrets of the Mariinsky is the secret door from the Grand Ducal Lodge backstage. It was intended for imperial persons who wanted to greet the artists after the performance. They say that it was in this way that the royal fans visited the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya.
Mariinsky artists are the main asset of the theater. The “best voices” served here: Osip Petrov, Fedor Chaliapin, Medea and Nikolai Figner, Sofia Preobrazhenskaya, Leonid Sobinov. Spectators, with bated breath, waited for their favorite tenor to take the salt of the first octave. The Mariinsky ballet troupe formed the famous “Russian school”: Matilda Kshesinskaya, Vaclav Nezhinsky, Galina Ulanova, Rudolf Nuriev, Mikhail Baryshnikov. The “Dying Swan” performed by the ballerina of the Mariinsky Anna Pavlova became one of the symbols of the Russian ballet. This scene was first presented by Kavos’s opera “Ivan Susanin” and Glinka “Life for the Tsar”, “Mermaid” by Dargomyzhsky, a joint creation of Petipa and Tchaikovsky “Sleeping Beauty”. It has become a platform for Meyerhold’s bold experiments … For the past quarter of a century, the theater has been run by world-class musician Valery Gergiev.
Today Mariinka is a new building on Decembrists 34, and a Concert Hall on Pisarev 20. And, of course, the historical building of the imperial theater. With truly unique opportunities for the viewer: you can even buy a ticket to the royal box if there are no high-ranking delegations. But inveterate theater-goers believe: listening to the opera must certainly be on the third tier, the acoustics are better here. A ballet to watch in the mezzanine – to see the dance drawing well.