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Alexandrinsky Theater

Alexandrinsky Theater in St Petersburg

Address: Saint Petersburg, Ploschad Ostrovskogo, 6

State Academic Drama Theater. Pushkin - the legendary Alexandrinsky Theater - is the oldest national theater in Russia. The date of foundation of the theater is the date of birth of the Russian professional theater.

From the 18th to the beginning of the 20th century it was the main imperial theater. Today, the theater is a national treasure of Russia and is on the UNESCO list of safeguards.

More than two and a half centuries ago, on the orders of Elizaveta Petrovna of August 30, 1756, Russia received its own national theater. To this end, a group of artists, led by Fedor Volkov, was transported from Yaroslavl. In the books on the history of culture, this man passes as “the father of the Russian theater”. The director of this first national theater troupe is the master of classicism, AP Sumarokov.

After more than half a century, a special building was built for the first Russian theater according to the design of C.Rossi (1828-1832), the garden is arranged in front of it - both the theater and the garden are named Alexandrinsky (in honor of Tsar Nicholas I’s wife, Alexandra, known for his passion for art form).

Pushkin, Lermontov, Gogol, Turgenev, Dostoevsky, Tolstoy, Chekhov, Tchaikovsky, Witte, Stolypin, Mannerheim, and many other politicians, crowned persons, scientists, military, cultural figures visited the Alexandrinsky Theater.

It hosted the premiere of almost all works of classic Russian drama. On this stage, famous actors played - from Karatygin and Martynov to Simonov and Cherkasov. Here worked famous directors - Meyerhold, Vivienne, Kozintsev, Tovstonogov, Akimov. Today, the theater is headed by the people's artist of the Russian Federation, State Prize laureate Valery Fokin.

 "Alexandrinka" was the first not only in the theater business. The project of K.Rossi and engineer M.Klark who worked with him was in many respects the first in the engineering thought itself of the 19th century. In this project, for the first time in history, a new system of metal structures of the roof was proposed. This idea, which caused serious concerns and distrust of the architect, even entailed stopping the construction. An interesting letter, which was sent by K.Rossi to the then minister of the imperial court, Volkonsky. In it, the architect expresses his firm conviction in the quality and accuracy of all the calculations of the structures, and as a guarantee he suggests hanging it on the rafters of the building if something happens to the roof. And the following story happened in this whole story - the building of the Alexandrinsky Theater stands to this day, the first major overhaul in his life happened only in 2005.

I must say that immediately after the opening of "Alexandrinka" famous Rossi as a huge thank you received as a gift his own theater bed . A touching and sad story is also associated with this gift. Eminent the architect, who transformed St. Petersburg with his creations, almost constantly needed money, and therefore he periodically sold her.

In one of these episodes in the "Rossinovskoy" theater bed there was a major scandal, almost disrupting the presentation. Tickets turned out to be from representatives of various social strata - a merchant and a nobleman; in this case, a joint viewing of the performance was impossible. This episode turned out to be dramatic for C.Rossi - he lost his gratuitous theatrical bed.I must say that in 1832, Rossi completely departed from architectural creativity, quarreling with the courtiers of Nicholas I, and in 1849 died almost in absolute oblivion.

Alexandrinsky Theater amazes not only with its classical grand architecture and the magnificence of the decorative facade and interior. When carrying out major repairs, for example, the absolute suitability of the “Rossinovskaya” ventilation system was discovered, which provided maximum protection of the building against fires.

In addition, "Alexandrinka" was from the very beginning put on a steam heating system, which at that time was a wonder. Moreover, even the current thermometer of this heating, walled in the wall of the theater, was detected.

At that time, a huge lineup of carriages and carriages was gathering at the entrance of the Alexandrinsky Theater, since there was a secular "opinion" that it was indecent to walk to this magnificently luxurious theater.

During the pre-anniversary season 2005/2006, the theater underwent a renovation. As a result, the historical appearance of the interiors has been recreated, and the stage area has become one of the most technically equipped in Russia. The celebration in 2006 of the 250th anniversary of the theater was the most important event of the state policy in the field of theatrical art.

In 2012, the New Stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater Theater and Concert Complex was opened, including a transforming stage, an educational and rehearsal stage, and a media center.

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