The Saint Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music is located in the historical centre of the city. The building of the museum is a part of one of the most majestic architecture ensembles of St. Petersburg — the Ensemble of Alexandrinsky Theatre. This architectural masterpiece together with the street, which bears his name, was created by the great Carlo Rossi.
Starting from 1840, there was the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres in one of the surrounding buildings. It was the very place, where the fate of Russian theatre was decided and contracts with actors were signed. Mussorgsky, Tchaikovsky, Ostrovsky, Chekhov and other great figures of national theatre were bringing here their masterpieces for stage role plays.
In 1918, there was a reorganization of the Directorate and it was decided to open the first Petrograd Museum of Theatre in this building. The establishment of the museum was approved by the People's Commissar of Education A. Lunacharsky.
However, already in 1908, "The First Russian Theatre Exhibition" took place in Panaevsky Theatre in St. Petersburg. That's why this year is considered to be the date of the Theatrical Museum establishment. The showpieces, represented to the public at this exhibition, comprised later the base of the museum resources.
Gradually the museum collection was filled with materials from private collections of I. Gorbunov, M. Savina, A. Molchanov, V. Protopopov, S. Svetlov, L. Zheverzheyev, G. Litvin, and the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres archives.
The first exposition was open to the public on the16th of May 1921. The first museum branch — Rimsky-Korsakov Memorial Museum-Apartment (28 Zagorodny Avenue), where the great composer spent last 15 years of his life — was established in 1970.
In 1975, the Memorial Museum in F. Shalyapin's house (26 Graftio St.) was opened. The State Collection of Musical Instruments was added to the museum resources in 1985. In 1990, the museum was granted one more property — Sheremetevs' Palace, the famous Fountain House, built in the 18th century (34 Fontanka Embankment). Once the Musical Instruments Collection was moved in, it was renamed the Museum of Music in Sheremetev Palace. Another branch was opened in 1994 — Samoylov Memorial Museum-Apartment, dedicated to the history of the actor dynasty of the Samoylovs (8 Stremyannaya St.).
The first two years of the Museum operation were the period of intense collecting. Later the Museum focused on gathering and exhibiting materials, primarily related to the history of the domestic drama theatre. After the opening of the new branches (the Rimsky-Korsakov and Shalyapin Museums) and receiving of the Musical Instruments Collection, the history of music and music theatre became an important specialization of the Museum.
Nowadays in the museum and its subsidiaries, you can enjoy excursions and lectures on the theatre history, recording concerts, memorial evenings, and meetings with prominent actors, artists, musicians, independent film presentations, solo performances and chamber concerts. The museum as a scientific, cultural and education centre is visited by over 100,000 people a year.
A monumental building, finished with limestone, mined in the quarry of town of Pudost, lifts its head in the highest point of a hill on the shores of the Serebryanoye Lake (literally Silver Lake) in Gatchina. The imperial palace is the only "castle palace" in the suburbs of Saint Petersburg.
But despite the fact that the appearance of the Palace...
The first owners of the Kuzminki estate were G. D. Stroganov and his descendents. In 1722, they were granted the title of Baron.
The Stroganov family was known since the 14th century. During the reign of Tsar Ivan the Terrible the Stroganovs were granted vast lands in the Transural Region, and the rights to build towns with fortifications and ar...
The Shchusev State Museum of Architecture is the first in the world specialized museum of architecture. It was founded by initiative of the Union of Soviet Architects in 1934. Its collections reflect thousand years of the history of Russian architecture; they are indeed a national treasure. By a decree of the President of Russia dated the 24th of J...