Mikhailovsky Theatre
Alexander Brullov was commissioned to design the new theatre building.
It had to match the existing ensemble of Mikhailovsky Square, now Arts
Square. On 8 November 1833, on the name day of the Grand duke Mikhail,
brother of Emperor Nicholas I, the curtain rose for the first time
in the new theatre. The same year the French troupe, which had
previously shared the stage with Russian actors in another recently
completed theatre, the Alexandrinsky, moved into the new building. Thus
began the eighty-five year-long life of the French Theatre
in St Petersburg. It was run by the Imperial Theatres Company, which
was under the direct control of the Ministry of the Imperial Court.
Representatives from those two bodies frequented Paris where they found
new actors and actresses for employment in Russia. French plays
alternated with Russian and German works interspersed with musical
parties and concerts. The theatre was the House of French Culture. Here
people perfected their French — «refined, high vogue, elevated to the
utmost beauty and elegance» — and became acquainted with the history,
literature and art of France. Parisian gossip and jokes abounded.
In 2001, the Mikhailovsky Theatre reclaimed its historic name, and
in 2007, it was recognized as St. Petersburg’s most prestigious musical
theatre. Today, while preserving Russia’s centuries-old musical theatre
traditions, the Mikhailovsky Theatre is constantly pushing to be at the
forefront of contemporary world theatre. The refurbishment of the
Mikhailovsky Theatre, undertaken on the initiative of its then new
director Vladimir Kekhman and at his own personal expense, was completed
in record time. The renovated luxury of the entrance hall and
auditorium enables theatre lovers to pass their time in comfort.
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