Vladimir YARANTSEV

ALEXANDRINSKAYA SQUARE
AND THEATER STREET

T Theaternaya, or Alexandrinskaya, square (now Ostrovsky Square), Teatralnaya Street (now Zodchego Rossi Street) and Square. Chernyshev (now Lomonosov Square) - a system of ensembles in the center of St. Petersburg, created by the architect K.I. Rossi in 1828–1834 on Spassky Island, on the site of vast areas between Fontanka, Nevsky Prospekt and Sadovaya Street.

Opening to Nevsky Prospect, Teatralnaya (Alexandrinskaya) Square with the Alexandrinsky Theater and the new building of the Imperial Public Library built by Rossi is located on the territory that was part of the estate of the Anichkov Palace. (The palace received its name from the neighboring bridge over the Fontanka, and the bridge from the name of the chief of the military team stationed at the bridge at the beginning of the 18th century.) In 1793, the estate with the Anichkov Palace was acquired by the treasury, which was in charge of the property of the sovereigns, to house the Cabinet of Her Imperial Majesty . In 1795–1801 Cabinet Architect E.T. Sokolov built a building in the Anichkova estate on the corner of Nevsky and Sadovaya for the Imperial Public Library established by Catherine II.

V. Sadovnikov. Alexandrinsky Theater and Public Library. 1835

In 1799, part of the Anichkov estate was transferred to the Directorate of Imperial Theaters, and the Italian Pavilion that existed in the garden was rebuilt into a theater. Since 1803, the theater building has been the main venue of the imperial Russian acting troupe (from now on - the Maly Theater). Since 1809, the Anichkov estate, donated to the sister of Emperor Alexander I, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna on the occasion of her marriage to the Prince of Oldenburg, became her residence.

The idea of ​​​​creating the architecture of the square between the Anichkov Palace and the Public Library belongs to J.F. Thomas de Thomon, who in 1811 developed a project for a theater in the form of a Greek temple in the depths of the square, separated from Nevsky by a fence with a gate. Another rounded square, framed by a colonnade, was planned towards Sadovaya. The highest approved project was prevented from being implemented by the war with Napoleon.

After four years of widowhood, Grand Duchess Ekaterina Pavlovna married a second time - to the heir to the Württemberg throne, Crown Prince Wilhelm, and left Russia. In 1817, Emperor Alexander I gave the Anichkov Palace to his brother Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich (future Emperor Nicholas I), for whom the architects K.I. Rossi and A.A. Menelas redeveloped the estate.

On its border with the site of the Maly Theater, approximately along the axes of the side projections of the palace, Rossi built two garden pavilions, decorated with images of warriors in Russian armor with laurel wreaths - for a collection of weapons (Nikolai Pavlovich’s own arsenal) and for flowers (probably for his wife ). A metal fence was installed between the pavilions. While carrying out these works, Rossi already envisioned the creation of a square with a theater. The final design of the ensemble of two squares took shape by 1828.

The monumental theater building was erected as the compositional and semantic center of the square created for it, subjugating even the imperial Anichkov Palace located on the same square. The theater building, located in the depths of the square, is designed for all-round visibility; all its facades are front. The first floor appears as a powerful foundation, treated with rustication - a symbol of masonry. Having reworked the type of Greek temple traditional for the architecture of classicism, Rossi placed not a portico on the main façade of the theater facing Nevsky Prospekt, but a spectacular six-column Corinthian loggia at the level of the 2nd and 3rd floors. Above it is a stepped attic, on the plane of which are placed the figures of Slavs, crowning the Russian State Eagle (now replaced by a lyre). The composition is completed by the quadriga of Apollo (sculptor S.S. Pimenov), signifying the triumph of the arts.

The enormous height of the auditorium and stage box required an additional floor raised above the main volume of the building. It is decorated with frequent small windows with semi-circular endings. On the side facades, porches protruding far from the wall serve as a plinth for powerful eight-column Corinthian porticoes. The rear façade of the theater is decorated with Corinthian pilasters. The sculptural decoration of the facade, standing out against the background of the walls, echoes the purpose of the theater building as a temple of the arts. These are statues of Muses in niches on the side risalits of the main and rear facades and a wide bas-relief frieze encircling the building, visually continuing the line of capitals - with images of theatrical masks and garlands.

The new theater, named Alexandrinsky in honor of the reigning Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, wife of Nicholas I, was opened on August 31, 1832. Like all the buildings of the imperial theaters of both capitals, it was a stage for various imperial troupes, subordinate to the single Directorate of Imperial Theaters

The eastern border of Alexandrinskaya Square - towards the Anichkov Palace and Fontanka - is marked by the fence and pavilions of the Anichkov Palace garden. The western border is defined by the new building of the Public Library, built simultaneously with the theater. It was attached to the old corner part of the library near Nevsky Prospekt, but in Rossi’s composition it became the main building. The facade of the library building, built by the architect Rossi, is harmonized with the facade of the library building by the architect Sokolov so much that both are perceived as a single whole.

The decor of the facade of the library building allegorically interprets it as a temple of science. Between the risalits stretches a grandiose Ionic loggia of 18 columns, between which are placed statues of sages and poets of antiquity: Homer, Euripides, Hippocrates, Demosthenes, Virgil, Tacitus, Cicero, Herodotus, Euclid, Plato. Above each statue there is a multi-figure bas-relief. The building is crowned by a stretched stepped attic with figures of Slavs and the Russian State Eagle (replaced in Soviet times by the emblem “book with a feather in a laurel wreath”), on the attic there is a statue of Minerva with a small sphinx on her helmet, an allegory of wisdom. The facades of the library building with white columns, statues and decorative details retained Rossi's favorite color gris-perle(pearl gray).

The axis of Alexandrinskaya Square on the other side of Nevsky Prospect continues with Malaya Sadovaya Street leading to Manezhnaya Square and ends with a decorative portico built by Rossi. The portico is a kind of reflection of Alexandrinskaya Square, connecting it with the system of Manezhnaya and Mikhailovskaya Squares.

Behind the theater are identical buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Directorate of Imperial Theaters with a theater school. Their facades, decorated with Doric semi-columns, are a kind of backdrop to Alexandrinskaya Square. The Doric order of ten simple semi-columns on each building speaks of subordination. These buildings lead to Teatralnaya Street, which consists of only two unusually long buildings, whose height is equal to the width of the street (22 meters), and the length is exactly ten times greater. The lower floor of the Teatralnaya Street buildings was originally arcaded and was comparable in width to the theater loggias. The two upper tiers of the buildings, contrary to the canons of the Empire style, are decorated with double columns (50 on each building).

At the other end of Teatralnaya Street, Rossi designed the round Chernyshev Square near the bridge of the same name across the Fontanka, continuing the tradition of bridgehead squares outlined by A. Kvasov. He built the buildings of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Public Education with huge windows on it. Chernysheva Street passes through the two-tiered triple arch of the Ministry of Public Education, which has become the center of Chernysheva Square. Above the arch inside the building was the ministerial church of St. St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, marked on the façade with double Doric columns and crowned with a massive cross.

The facade of the Ministry of Internal Affairs from the Fontanka side is ceremoniously decorated with three-quarter columns and symmetrical loggias. The narrow facade of the building on the side of the square has the same architectural solution. The two-tiered triple arch of the building of the Ministry of Public Education opens up a perspective on the twin Doric columns of the Bolshoi Gostiny Dvor, visually as if crowned by the dome of the Kazan Cathedral located in the distance behind them. The site opposite the ministry between the theater school building and the Fontanka remained in private ownership, and the grandiose project of K.I. Rossi was not completely completed.

M. Mikeshin. Monument to Catherine II. 1862–1873

In the center of Alexandrinskaya Square, Rossi created the second public garden in the history of St. Petersburg. In 1862–1873 a magnificent and heavy monument to Catherine II was installed in it, designed by the artist M.O. Mikeshin. He used a bell-shaped form of the monument, creating the overall unity of the composition and the image of “Orthodoxy, autocracy and nationality.” On a pedestal made of gray polished granite, the Russian Empress with the attributes of imperial power stands surrounded by prominent figures of her reign. At the bottom of the pedestal there is a dedicatory inscription “To Empress Catherine II during the reign of Emperor Alexander II” and a composition of attributes, in the center of which in a laurel wreath is an allegory of the law (a book with the inscription “Law”) as the main historical merit of both sovereigns.

K. Rossi, sculptor S. Pimenov. Rossi Pavilion. 1817–1818

Mikeshin's project was carried out by architects D.I. Grimm and V.A. Schröter, sculptors M.A. Chizhov (statue of the empress) and A.M. Opekushin (statues of statesmen). Despite the artistic divergence from the Empire ensemble of the square created by Rossi, the monument to the Empress is connected with it in a meaningful way - developing the theme of Catherine’s “golden age”, embodied by Rossi in the system of orders and allegories designated by Apollo and Minerva. But, placed along the central axes of the library and theater, this monument violated the visual connections of the buildings as parts of the ensemble.

On Chernyshevaya Square, the chief gardener of St. Petersburg, A. Wiese, created a small square; in 1892, a bronze bust of M.V. Lomonosov (sculptor P.P. Zabello) was installed in it in front of the building of the Ministry of Public Education.

A. Bezeman. Alexandrinsky Theater. Mid-19th century

When creating Alexandrinskaya Square, Rossi left the areas on the sides of the theater free. In the 1870s, the block along the side facade of the theater next to the building of the Ministry of Internal Affairs was developed. In 1874, in the corner of the square, a four-story house of the Imperial Russian Musical Society was built in the modest forms of an orderless neo-renaissance. Nearby, opposite the side portico of the theater, an impressive four-story building of the First City Credit Society was erected in the orderly neo-Renaissance, with a deep rustication of the facade and Corinthian pilasters at the level of the 3rd–4th floors. The building undoubtedly violated the order hierarchy of the organization of the square, but the general appearance of the facade is perceived more as an accompaniment to Rossi’s buildings than as a contrast.

N. Basin. Apartment house. 1870s

At the same time, next to them, in line with the main facade of the theater, architect N.P. Basin built his own apartment building - an architectural manifesto of the Russian style of Alexander II, which became famous. This is a new stage in the search for a national style in architecture - later called the “rooster style”. In the context of Rossi's empire ensemble, the house makes a stunning impression on the viewer.

Located on the corner of Tolmazov Lane (now Krylova Lane) leading from the square, Basin’s five-story house has two facades and thus, unlike other buildings, has volume, rivaling the theater building. It is emphasized by bay windows, including a corner one, crowned with turrets. The architectural design of the building is based on neo-Renaissance forms (which corresponds to the real origin of Russian architecture of the Muscovite Kingdom from the Italian Renaissance). The rich plasticity of the facades is created by their varied design: windows of different configurations and sizes, platbands, sandriks, columns, kokoshniks crowning the cornice. All facades are generously decorated with stucco patterns, reproducing decorative motifs of Russian wooden carving and embroidery. The embossed roosters that decorate the facades of Basin’s house, transferred from Russian towels, became an iconic element of the style that gave it its name.

The architects of the period of historical styles did not lose the culture of the ensemble, but rethought the ensemble as the saturation of the urban environment with historical associations, a free combination of buildings of different styles, symbolically similar to the combination of buildings of different periods. Basin's house on Alexandrinskaya Square developed the stylistic clash already set by the monument to Catherine II in a less demonstrative, but also “Russian” style. It is significant that the then owner of the Anichkov Palace, Tsarevich Alexander Alexandrovich - the future Emperor Alexander III - was the first of the Romanovs to grow a beard during these years, demonstrating a desire for national traditions.

E. Vorotilov. Public library. 1901

In the remaining undeveloped area between the library and Basin’s house, architect E.S. Vorotilov in 1896–1901. erected a new library building. The facade of the building along the square continues the façade of Rossi and is almost equal to it in length. Vorotilov repeated the vertical floor divisions of Rossi and the general compositional scheme of the extended central part with side risalits, maintaining forms close to the general classical appearance of the complex. Following the spirit of the times, Vorotilov did not plaster the facades, but lined them with gray sandstone, matching the color of the walls of the Rossi building, but without highlighting the columns, platbands, etc. Almost the only decoration of the facade that does not repeat the shape of the old building are metal flagpoles in the proto-modern style.

Given its large size, the Vorotilov building, which in other places has every reason to be an urban planning accent, is emphatically modestly inferior to the Rossi building, as if going into the shadows. The artistic design of Vorotilov’s building was more than ten years ahead of its time, anticipating the neoclassical style in St. Petersburg architecture.

On the other side of the theater, the building of the Office of the Vindavo-Rybinsk Railway, lined with dark gray granite, built at the beginning of the 20th century in the forms of modernized neoclassicism, repeats the motifs of the Empire decor in the decoration of the facades: lion masks, wreaths, garlands, cornucopia; the figures of Slava are crowned with the railway monogram.

In 1902, on the opposite side of Alexandrinskaya Square from Nevsky Prospekt, the building of the trading house of the Eliseev brothers (architect G.V. Baranovsky) appeared - a bright manifesto of the Art Nouveau style. On its facades there are figures on consoles that are allegories of Industry (a master with a ship in his hands), Trade (naked Mercury), Science, and Art. In general, the sculptural decoration of the square embodied the idea of ​​an ideal reign - the “golden age”.

Alexandrinsky Theater building, created by K. I. Rossi, is one of the most characteristic and outstanding architectural monuments of Russian classicism. It plays a dominant role in the ensemble of Ostrovsky Square. As a result of the redevelopment of the Anichka Palace estate in 1816–1818, a vast city square arose between the Public Library building and the Anichka Palace garden. For more than ten years, from 1816 to 1827, Rossi developed a number of projects for the reconstruction and development of this square, which included the construction of a city theater on it.

The final version of the project was approved on April 5, 1828. Construction of the theater began the same year. On August 31, 1832, its grand opening took place. The theater building is located in the depths of Ostrovsky Square and faces its main façade towards Nevsky Prospekt. The rusticated walls of the lower floor serve as a base for the ceremonial colonnades decorating the facades of the theater. The colonnade of the main facade of six Corinthian columns clearly stands out against the background of the wall, pushed into the depths. The traditional motif of a classical portico brought forward is here replaced by a spectacular loggia motif, rare in St. Petersburg. The surface of the walls on the sides of the loggia is cut through by shallow semi-circular niches with statues of the muses - Terpsichore and Melpomene and completed with a wide sculptural frieze encircling the building. The attic of the main facade, decorated with sculptural figures of Glory, is crowned with the quadriga of Apollo, symbolizing the successes of Russian art.

The side facades of the theater and the southern facade, which closes the perspective of Zodchego Rossi Street, are solemn and impressive. When working on the theater project, Rossi focused his attention on its volumetric-spatial solution, monumentality and expressiveness of the external appearance.

Inside the building, the auditorium is of greatest interest. Its proportions are well found. Fragments of the original architectural design have been preserved here, in particular the decorative gilded carvings of boxes near the stage and the central large (“royal”) box. The barriers of the tiers are decorated with gilded ornaments made in the second half of the 19th century. Sculpture plays an important role in the design of facades. Its performers were S. S. Pimenov, V. I. Demut-Malinovsky and A. Triskorni. Apollo's chariot was minted from sheet copper at the Aleksandrovsky Iron Foundry according to the model of S. S. Pimenov. For the centennial anniversary of the theater in 1932, under the leadership of I.V. Krestovsky, the unpreserved statues of Terpsichore, Melpomene, Clio and Thalia, installed in niches on the facades, were re-made.

The building of the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg on Ostrovsky Square was built in 1832 according to the design of Karl Rossi.

Anichkovs (Onichkovs) - a family of Russian pillar nobility. Over the past three centuries, it has been closely associated with the city of St. Petersburg, giving its name to several key urban infrastructure facilities.

Coat of arms of the Anichkov family (in the old days, the Onichkovs).

The genus has been known since the 16th century. According to a later genealogy tale, in 1301 a certain Tatar Khan Berka (Berkai), prince of the Great Horde, entered the service of Ivan Kalita. After baptism, Berka allegedly took the name Onikiy, married the daughter of a noble man Vikula Vorontsov, and his descendants began to be called Anichkovs.

In 1801, the architect Brenna rebuilt the large wooden pavilion that stood on the site of the current square into a theater, in which the Italian entrepreneur Antonio Casassi organized an Italian opera troupe.

Vincenzo Brenna
Vincenzo (Vincentiy Frantsevich) Brenna (August 20, 1747, Florence - May 17, 1820, Dresden) - decorative artist and architect, Italian by origin. Court architect of Emperor Paul I.

Engraving by S. Cardelli based on the original by A. Ritt. 1790s

Casassi, Antonio

Antonio Casassi was an Italian impresario who worked in St. Petersburg. In 1780 he entered the service of the directorate of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theaters. Very little information has been preserved about Antonio Casassi himself. In 1801, by his order, V. Brenna built a wooden theater in St. Petersburg, on the site of the current Alexandrinsky Theater, in which he maintained an Italian opera troupe. The troupe and the theater itself, under the name "Maly", came under the jurisdiction of the state directorate in 1803.

Over time, this room no longer met the growing needs of the city, and it was decided to build a new stone theater. However, the implementation of the idea was delayed due to the unstable situation under Alexander I - military conflicts with Turkey, the war with Napoleon of 1812.

In 1818, the boundaries of the garden were narrowed, and the area formed between the Public Library and the garden of the Anichkov Palace was transferred to the theater directorate.

Rossi building

Between 1816 and 1827, Carl Rossi developed a number of projects for the reconstruction and development of this square. All these options included the construction of a city theater on the square. The final version of the project was approved on April 5, 1828, and construction of the theater building began in the same year.

Four years later, on August 31 (September 12), 1832, in the center of St. Petersburg, on Alexandrinskaya Square (now Ostrovsky Square), on the site of the wooden “Maly” Theater, the grand opening of a new majestic empire-style theater building took place.

Alexandrinsky Theater. 1903

State Academic Drama Theater named after A.S. Pushkin. 1957

The main façade of the theatre, on the side of Nevsky Prospekt, is decorated with a deep multi-column loggia, the space of which seems to be part of Ostrovsky Square.

Alexandria Theatre, 19th century

Alexandria Theatre, 19th century

The side facades of the building are made in the form of eight-column porticoes.

On the other side, the street designed by Rossi and forming a common ensemble with the theater leads to the theater (Zodchego Rossi), the perspective of which is closed across the entire width by the rear, almost flat, but richly decorated facade of the theater.

The building is bordered by an expressive sculptural frieze with antique theatrical masks and garlands of laurel branches. In the niches on the end facades there are statues of muses, on the attic of the main facade there is a quadriga of Apollo. The work was carried out by one of the outstanding sculptors of his time - V. I. Demut-Malinovsky.

Muse with harp (right niche)

Muse with a mask (left niche)

Interior

A loggia with a powerful Corinthian colonnade, crowned with an attic with stucco reliefs of Glory and the chariot of Apollo, rich design of cornices, friezes, bas-reliefs, rhythmic lines of windows, arches, balustrades - all this makes up a solemn ensemble, a kind of architectural symphony; The interior decoration of the theater is also remarkable.

Seats for spectators were created according to the most advanced multi-tiered system of boxes for its time with an amphitheater and a spacious stalls. The five-tier auditorium has good proportions and excellent acoustics. In 1841, there were 107 boxes (10 in the benoir, 26 boxes on the first tier, 28 on the second, 27 on the third and 16 on the fourth), a balcony for 36 people, a gallery on the fourth tier with 151 seats, 390 seats on the fifth tier, 231 chairs in the stalls (9 rows) and 183 seats behind them. In total, the theater could accommodate up to 1,700 people.

Alexandria Theater today

The decoration of the auditorium is solemn and elegant, the interiors of the theater have practically preserved the original decoration. Initially, blue upholstery was used, it was replaced in 1849 with crimson: the theater, in which the lighting was provided by oil lamps, became smoky from the inside. For the same reason, over time, all the wall and ceiling paintings were updated, and later the stage was completely redone. In addition to the velvet decoration, the boxes are richly decorated with gilded carvings: the carvings of the central (“Royal”) box and the boxes near the stage were made according to drawings by Rossi, and the ornament on the barriers of the tiers was created in the second half of the 19th century.

The decoration of the auditorium was complemented by a wonderful perspective pictorial ceiling, which depicted Olympus and Parnassus (artist A. K. Vigi), which was later replaced.

Original engineering design

The design of the theater's roof is based on original systems of metal structures invented by K. I. Rossi in collaboration with engineer M. E. Clark. This design was innovative and was proposed for the first time in the history of construction equipment. The roof rests on 27 iron arched trusses with cast iron parts with a span of 29.8 m. The internal longitudinal walls support 18 lower arched trusses that carry the attic floor and the suspended ceiling above the auditorium. The tiers of boxes are supported by cast iron brackets. The ceiling above the stage is a system of triangular trusses with a span of 10.76 m, supported by cast iron consoles and struts.

K.I. Rossi defended his design in front of inert official circles, which was not easy. Confidence in the strength of the metal structure he proposed is illustrated by one of the reports
“... in the event that... ... any misfortune occurs from the installation of metal roofs, then as an example for others, let me be hanged at the same time on one of the rafters of the theater.

Russian State Academic Drama Theater named after. A.S. Pushkin - the legendary Alexandrinsky Theater - is the oldest national theater in Russia. It was established by a Senate Decree signed by the daughter of Peter the Great, Empress Elizabeth, on August 30, 1756, on the day of St. Alexander Nevsky. It was this theater that became the progenitor of all Russian theaters, and the date of its foundation is the birthday of the Russian professional theater. The establishment of the theater served as the beginning of the state policy of the Russian state in the field of theatrical art. For two and a half centuries, the Russian State Drama Theater served as an attribute of Russian statehood. From the day of its foundation until 1917, it was the main imperial theater, the fate of which was occupied by the Russian emperors. In 1832, the Russian State Drama Theater received a magnificent building in the center of Nevsky Prospect in St. Petersburg, designed by the great architect Carl Rossi. This building was named the Alexandrinsky Theater (in honor of the wife of Emperor Nicholas I, Alexandra Fedorovna) and since then the name of the Alexandrinsky Theater has been inextricably linked with the world history of performing arts. The unique building complex, with a five-tier auditorium, a huge stage, palace front foyers, a majestic facade, which has become one of the emblems of the Northern capital, is one of the pearls of world architecture registered by UNESCO. The walls of the Alexandrinsky Theater preserve the memory of great figures of the Russian state, politicians, military leaders, and cultural figures. A.S. has been here. Pushkin, M.Yu. Lermontov, N.V. Gogol, I.S. Turgenev, F.M. Dostoevsky, L.N. Tolstoy, A.P. Chekhov, P.I. Tchaikovsky, A.M. Gorchakov, S.Yu. Witte, V.A. Stolypin, K.G. Mannerheim, many crowned heads of European states. It was here, at the Alexandrinsky Theater, that the premieres of almost all works of Russian dramatic classics from “Woe from Wit” by A.S. took place. Griboyedov to the plays of A.N. Ostrovsky and A.P. Chekhov. The Alexandrinsky Theater is a textbook on the history of Russian theatrical art. It was on this stage that famous Russian actors played - from V. Karatygin and A. Martynov to N. Simonov, N. Cherkasov, V. Merkuryev, I. Gorbachev, B. Freundlich. This stage was decorated with the talents of famous Russian actresses from E. Semenova, M. Savina (founder of the Union of Theater Workers of Russia), V. Komissarzhevskaya to E. Korchagina-Alexandrovskaya, E. Time, N. Urgant. Today, such artists as S. Parshin, V. Smirnov, N. Marton, G. Karelina, I. Volkov, P. Semak, S. Smirnova, S. Sytnik, M. Kuznetsova and many other outstanding experienced artists work on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater and young artists.
Over the years, great theater directors Vs. worked in the theater. Meyerhold, L. Vivien, G. Kozintsev, G. Tovstonogov, N. Akimov. The performances of the Alexandrinians were included in all world theater encyclopedias. Great artists A. Benois, K. Korovin, A. Golovin, N. Altman, outstanding composers A. Glazunov, D. Shostakovich, R. Shchedrin collaborated with the theater.
Since 2003, the artistic director of the theater has been a director with a European name, People's Artist of Russia, State Prize laureate Valery Fokin.
Among the great oldest national theaters of Europe - the Parisian Comedie Francaise, the Vienna Burgtheater, the London Drewry Lane, the Berlin Deutsches Theater - the Alexandrinsky Theater takes pride of place, serving as a symbol of the Russian National Theater. The theater has unique collections of scenery, costumes, furniture, theatrical props, weapons, and rich museum funds, which can be exhibited both in Russia and abroad in the most prestigious exhibition spaces. During the 2005/2006 season. The Alexandrinsky Theater carried out a general reconstruction, as a result of which the historical appearance of the building's interiors was recreated. At the same time, Alexandrinka became one of the most advanced modern stage venues in terms of engineering. The grand opening of the reconstructed Alexandrinsky Theater took place on August 30, 2006, during the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the oldest state drama theater in Russia. In the morning, Metropolitan Vladimir of St. Petersburg and Ladoga consecrated the stage and auditorium of the theater, blessing the assembled actors, directors and theater workers. In the afternoon, the Marble Palace hosted the opening of the exhibition “Theater of Illustrious Masters,” dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the Russian theater. The opening of the renovated Alexandrinsky stage was the culmination of the anniversary celebrations. Among the guests were Metropolitan of St. Petersburg and Ladoga Vladimir, Governor of St. Petersburg Valentina Matvienko, Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of the Russian Federation for the North-Western District Ilya Klebanov, Head of the Federal Agency for Culture and Cinematography Mikhail Shvydkoy.
The celebration of this anniversary has become the most important event of state policy in the field of theatrical art. Based on the order of the President of the Russian Federation No. Pr-352 dated 03/02/2004, the Russian Government Order No. 572-r dated 05/12/2005 “On the celebration of the 250th anniversary of the establishment of the Russian State Theater” was issued, in accordance with which the main events took place in Alexandrinsky Theater throughout 2006. In November 2012, the 180th anniversary of the Alexandrinsky Theater building was solemnly celebrated. The new stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater opened on May 15, 2013. The modern unique architectural complex of the New Stage was built according to the design of St. Petersburg architect Yuri Zemtsov on the site of the former theater workshops between Ostrovsky Square and the Fontanka embankment. The new stage is a multi-level space, including 4 halls of different capacities and a spacious two-level foyer; it is equipped with the most advanced lighting, sound, video and media equipment. The New Stage Media Center, an ideal venue for meetings, master classes and film screenings with 100 seats, has everything necessary to organize television-level Internet broadcasts; Many New Stage events are broadcast on various Internet resources.
The new stage is not only a modern stage for the oldest drama theater in the country, which produces 4-5 premieres during the season and hosts more than 120 performances. Over the course of three years, the New Stage has developed a reputation as one of the main cultural and educational multidisciplinary centers in St. Petersburg. The New Stage regularly hosts master classes and meetings, concerts, film screenings, exhibitions – 250 events annually. In the summer of 2016, another platform was opened to the public on the New Stage - the Roof, where meetings, poetry readings, concerts, and film screenings take place. In August 2014, the Alexandrinsky Theater was awarded the status of National Treasure.
In April 2016, the Alexandrinsky Theater was included in the register of the State Code of Especially Valuable Objects of the Cultural Heritage of the Peoples of the Russian Federation.

Name: Russian State Academic Drama Theater named after. A. S. Pushkina (Alexandrinsky) (ru), Alexandrinsky Theater / Russian State Pushkin Academy Drama Theater (en)

Other names: Alexandrinsky Theater / Theater named after. Pushkin in St. Petersburg / Alexandrinka

Location: Saint-Petersburg, Russia)

Creation: 1827 - 1832

Style: Classicism

Architect(s): Carl Rossi

Architecture of the Alexandria Theater

Source:
G. B. Barkhin “Theatres”
Publishing House of the Academy of Architecture of the USSR
Moscow, 1947

In 1827-1832. In St. Petersburg, one of the most architecturally remarkable theaters in Europe for its time, the Alexandrinsky Theater, now the Pushkin Theater, was built according to Rossi’s design. In 1801, on the site of the current square of the Alexandria Theater, there was a small wooden theater built by Brenna, facing Nevsky Prospekt. In 1811, Thomas de Thomon designed a much larger theater on this site. The design of this theater has been preserved. The building is rectangular in shape with a ten-column portico of the main facade and a huge pediment decorated with sculpture. The area where the Tomon Theater is planned. has the same opening from Nevsky Prospekt as Rossi. but the theater building was erected by Tomon with a significantly smaller depth from Nevsky than Rossi’s. There is no background closing behind the theater in Tomon’s project. In addition, Tomon's theater area is significantly reduced due to the presence of a deep rounded pocket on the right side. Tom de Thomon's project was not implemented. The architect Mauduit also made an attempt to design a theater on this site in 1817. Finally, in 1818, the theater project drawn up by Rossi was approved. The exceptional significance of this building for St. Petersburg is not limited only to the beautiful architecture of the building itself, but also lies in the amazing architectural environment that Rossi managed to create here in connection with the construction of his theater.

The main significance of the Rossi Theater in the history of theater architecture lies mainly in the excellent external architecture of the building. As for the general layout of the Alexandria Theater and the design of the auditorium, in this regard Rossi did not provide anything particularly new in comparison with the best European theaters of his time.

The plan of the Alexandria Theater does not devote any significant space to common areas; all amenities and all the luxury of decoration are concentrated exclusively in the front rooms. A small vestibule with two staircases offset from their axis, enclosed in blind cages and designed without much grandeur. The flights of these stairs are designed with a width of 2.13 m only to the height of one floor, at the level of the royal box, after which the flights narrow to 1.4 m. Above the vestibule in front of the royal box is the front foyer, 6.4 m high; the foyers serving the remaining tiers, with the same area, have a height of only 4 m. The foyers for the public are cramped, the buffets and restrooms are inconvenient for use. The auditorium of this theater deserves attention.

The hall accommodates 1,800 spectators, the plan is horseshoe-shaped, the outline of the curve is close to the French one: half a circle connected to a wide portal by straight segments. Just like in French theaters, the stalls located in front and the semicircular amphitheater in the back of the hall are designed. In addition to the benoir there are 5 tiers of boxes. The boxes, for better visibility, are tilted towards the stage. At one time, this technique was recommended by Seghezzi, but this only led to the inconvenience of using the boxes due to the slope of the floor and to the fall of the barriers, which was extremely unfavorable for visual perception. The rather flat ceiling of the hall, as well as the architecture of the portal, are of little interest. The individual designs of the box barriers and the treatment of the central box are very well executed.

The main interest and significance of the theater lies in its external architecture. The Alexandria Theater is one of the most perfect works of Russia and, in terms of its architecture, is undoubtedly the best theater in Europe. In the center of the front facade there is a loggia and an eight-column portico. The rear facade is designed in the same way, but instead of columns it is decorated with pilasters. The side facades have protruding eight-column pediment porticoes; the building is richly decorated with sculpture. The front and rear facades end with attics characteristic of Russia. The front attic is crowned with a quadriga with four horses. The auditorium and stage protrude above the overall volume of the theater in the form of a parallelepiped. Sculptural groups are installed above the protruding frames of the loggia. The lower part of the building is treated as a rusticated basement with very simply designed entrance doors. The side porticos form two covered entrances. Under the entablature, which covers the entire building, there is a wide sculptural frieze of garlands and masks.

In general, the architecture of the theater, despite its exceptional unity and integrity, is very rich and varied in detail.

Sources:

• History of art. Volume five. Art of the 19th century: art of the peoples of Russia, France, England, Spain, USA, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, Holland, Austria, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia, Latin America , India, China and other countries. “ART”, Moscow
• Ikonnikov A.V., Stepanov G.P. Fundamentals of architectural composition Art, M. 1971
• "History of Russian Architecture" edited by S.V. Bezsonova State Publishing House of Literature on Construction and Architecture 1951
• G. B. Barkhin “Theatres” Publishing House of the Academy of Architecture of the USSR Moscow, 1947
• E.B. Novikov "Interior of public buildings (artistic problems)". - M.: Stroyizdat, 1984. - 272 p., ill.