The
Historical Background of the Music and Comedy Theater of
St. Petersburg
The former Palace Theater now known as the
Music Comedy Theater is located on
Italianskaya
Street. This historic street is one of the oldest
in the city. The palace theater was designed by the architect, E. T. Sokolov
and work which began in 1799 was completed in 1801. We are proud to offer our
performances in such a beautiful and historic setting.
Between 1842
and 1846 major renovations were carried out under the direction of architect L.
Vendramini. In 1896 the palace was acquired by the Grand Duke Nikolai
Nikolayevich the younger. The Grand Duke commissioned architect A. S. Khrenov
to redesign the facades and interiors of the palace and to redesign the
interior room plan.
In 1910 the
palace was reconstructed to house a theater. It was necessary to create two new
halls to accomplish this. The lower hall accommodated a restaurant and the
upper hall an auditorium. The auditorium is one of the first examples of
Russian Classical Style public interiors constructed at the beginning of the
XXth Century.
The original interiors of the palace have been preserved. There are a series of Gala rooms
preceded by a spectacular Gala staircase. These include the Golden Foyer, the
Yellow drawing room, the White and Green halls, and the famous Buffet-Grotto.
The beauty
of the palace interiors consisting of intricate gilded decorations, sparkling
chandeliers, elegant bronze sconces, and fireplaces delight ballet aficionados
and are a special treat for anyone attending a performance.
The palace
has recently been restored and again is one of the most beautiful settings for
an artistic performance. The performances themselves boast the best Russian
dancers performing
Russia's
most famous classical ballets.
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