Moscow Hermitage Garden
Encyclopedia
Park
A park is a protected area, in its natural or semi-natural state, or planted, and set aside for human recreation and enjoyment, or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. It may consist of rocks, soil, water, flora and fauna and grass areas. Many parks are legally protected by...
in the central part of Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
on Karetny Ryad Street. It is known for its cultural attractions and adjacent theaters. Regular events include opera, ballet and concerts.
History
The Garden was developed by Yakov Schukin, a Russian theater entrepreneurEntrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
and mecenate, and opened to the general public in 1894. Cosy summer garden for open-air concerts with open stage was formed by Y. Schukin around his theater. The official dedication was held on June 18, 1895. On first time the Garden was named "New Hermitage".
26 May 1896 it hosted the Lumière's Cinématographe
Cinematographe
A cinematograph is a film camera, which also serves as a film projector and developer. It was invented in the 1890s.Note that this was not the first 'moving picture' device. Louis Le Prince had built early devices in 1886. His 1888 film Roundhay Garden Scene still survives.There is much dispute as...
premiere in Moscow.
In 1898 here on the stage of Hermitage Theatre on Karetnyi Ryad was opened Moscow Art Theatre. Also the premieres of famous works of Chekhov The Seagull
The Seagull
The Seagull is the first of what are generally considered to be the four major plays by the Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov. The Seagull was written in 1895 and first produced in 1896...
1898, Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
1899, Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
1901, have been performed here.
Performances here have included such prominent actors as Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt
Sarah Bernhardt was a French stage and early film actress, and has been referred to as "the most famous actress the world has ever known". Bernhardt made her fame on the stages of France in the 1870s, and was soon in demand in Europe and the Americas...
, Ernesto Rossi
Ernesto Rossi (actor)
Ernesto Rossi , was an Italian actor and playwright.He was born in Livorno to a middle class family and was intending to study at the university there, when he substituted for an actor in the Calloud theatre company who had become ill. After his successful performance, he continued performing with...
, Gustavo Salvini and many others. The Garden has been the site of opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
s by the Savva Mamontov
Savva Mamontov
Savva Ivanovich Mamontov was a famous Russian industrialist, merchant, entrepreneur, and patron of the arts.-Biography:He was a son of the wealthy merchant and industrialist Ivan Feodorovich Mamontov and Maria Tikhonovna . In 1841 the family moved to Moscow. From 1852 he studied in St...
company and seen benefices for Fyodor Shalyapin.
At present time
The Novaya Opera, Hermitage and Sphera theaters are located in the Hermitage Garden.Since 1998 at summertime the Garden is a traditional venue for Moscow International Outdoor Jazz Festival – “Jazz at the Hermitage Garden”.
2008 fire
On February 7, 2008 the historic Schukin Stage building was damaged by a fire that broke out in the upscale nightclubNightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
Dyagilev Project. The nightclub, which had opened in March 2006, was burnt to the ground. Emergency services tried to extinguish the fire using a specially equipped helicopter. The roof and wooden beams of the Schukin building collapsed, leaving only a solid brick wall. The administrative offices part of the building was not damaged. The official investigation concluded that the fire was caused by a short circuit. Officials announced that the historic building would be restored.