The
Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was a
theatreA theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be given...
in
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
.
It was built in 1783 to
Antonio RinaldiAntonio Rinaldi was an Italian architect, trained by Luigi Vanvitelli, who worked mainly in Russia.In 1751, during a trip to England, he was summoned by hetman Kirill Razumovsky to decorate his residences in Ukraine...
's Neoclassical design as the Kamenny (i.e., Stone) Theatre. It was rebuilt in 1802 and renamed the Bolshoi, but burned down in 1811. The building was restored in 1818, and modified in 1826–1836 by
Alberto CavosAlberto Cavos was a Russian–Italian architect best known for his theatre designs, the builder of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow .-Early years:Alberto Cavos was born in Saint Petersburg to Venetian opera composer Catterino Cavos...
to accommodate more modern machinery. Until 1886, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was principal theatre to both the Imperial Ballet and the Imperial Russian Opera.
The
Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was a
theatreA theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be given...
in
Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
.
History
It was built in 1783 to
Antonio RinaldiAntonio Rinaldi was an Italian architect, trained by Luigi Vanvitelli, who worked mainly in Russia.In 1751, during a trip to England, he was summoned by hetman Kirill Razumovsky to decorate his residences in Ukraine...
's Neoclassical design as the Kamenny (i.e., Stone) Theatre. It was rebuilt in 1802 and renamed the Bolshoi, but burned down in 1811. The building was restored in 1818, and modified in 1826–1836 by
Alberto CavosAlberto Cavos was a Russian–Italian architect best known for his theatre designs, the builder of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow .-Early years:Alberto Cavos was born in Saint Petersburg to Venetian opera composer Catterino Cavos...
to accommodate more modern machinery. Until 1886, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was principal theatre to both the Imperial Ballet and the Imperial Russian Opera. It was there that the first Russian operas —
GlinkaMikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition inside his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
's
A Life for the TsarA Life for the Tsar , as it is known in English, although its original name was Ivan Susanin is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in five acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka...
and
Ruslan and Lyudmila — were premiered. Although the theatre would include many of the great Russian operas in its repertory, many of the works of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov would receive their world premieres on the stage of the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. Many of the great 19th century ballets of
Marius PetipaMarius Ivanovich Petipa was a ballet dancer, teacher, and choreographer...
and
Arthur Saint-LéonArthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.-Biography:...
were given for the first time on the stage of the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre.
In 1886 the building was declared unsafe and, at the behest of the theatre director
Ivan VsevolozhskyIvan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky was the Director of the Imperial Theatres in Russia from 1881 to 1898.A competent administrator, Vsevolozhsky ran the Imperial Theatres with a determination for excellence...
, the
balletBallet is a formalized type of performance dance, which originated in sixteenth- and seventeenth-century French courts, and which was further developed in England, Italy, and Russia as a concert dance form...
and
operaOpera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score. Opera is part of the Western classical music tradition. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
performances moved to the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, where they have remained ever since. The Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was then torn down to make place for the
Saint Petersburg ConservatoryThe N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov Saint Petersburg State Conservatory is a music school in Saint Petersburg. In 2004, the conservatory had around 275 faculty members and 1,400 students.-History :...
. The only surviving sections of the original theatre are the grand staircase and landing, preserved in the building of the conservatory.
Notable premières
Operas
- A Life for the Tsar
A Life for the Tsar , as it is known in English, although its original name was Ivan Susanin is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in five acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka...
(1836) — Mikhail GlinkaMikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition inside his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
- Ruslan and Lyudmila (1842) — Mikhail Glinka
- La Forza del Destino
La forza del destino is an Italian opera by Giuseppe Verdi. The libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on a Spanish drama, Don Álvaro, o La fuerza del sino , by Ángel de Saavedra, Duke of Rivas, with a scene adapted from Friedrich Schiller's Wallensteins Lager. It was first performed...
(1862) — Giuseppe VerdiGiuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi was an Italian Romantic composer, mainly of opera. He was one of the most influential composers of the 19th century...
Ballets
- The Pharaoh's Daughter
The Pharaoh's Daughter , is a ballet choreographed by Marius Petipa, to the music of Cesare Pugni, with libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges from Théophile Gautier's Le Roman de la Momie...
(1862) — chor. Marius PetipaMarius Ivanovich Petipa was a ballet dancer, teacher, and choreographer...
, mus. Cesare PugniCesare Pugni was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a virtuoso violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orchestral music...
- The Little Humpbacked Horse
The Little Humpbacked Horse, or The Tsar Maiden is a ballet in 4 Acts-8 Scenes with apotheosis. The original choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and was set to music by Cesare Pugni...
(1864) — chor. Arthur Saint-LéonArthur Saint-Léon was the Maître de Ballet of St. Petersburg Imperial Ballet from 1859 until 1869 and is famous for creating the choreography of the ballet Coppélia.-Biography:...
, mus. Cesare Pugni
- La Bayadère
La Bayadère is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the Ballet Master Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. It was first performed by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on...
(1877) — chor. Marius Petipa, mus. Ludwig Minkus----Ludwig Minkus a.k.a. Léon Fyodorovich Minkus was an Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher.Minkus is most noted for the music he composed while serving as Ballet Composer of the St...