The Saint Petersburg Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (The Big Stone Theatre of Saint Petersburg, russian: Большой Каменный Театр) was a

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. It was built in 1783 to Antonio Rinaldi's Neoclassical design as the Kamenny (i.e., Stone) Theatre;

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born in T ...

’s opera ''Il mondo della luna'' was performed at the opening on 24 September. It was rebuilt in 1802 according to the designs of the architect Thomas de Thomon and renamed the Bolshoi, but burned down in 1811. The building was restored in 1818, and modified between 1826 and 1836 by Alberto Cavos to accommodate more modern machinery. Until 1886, the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was principal theatre for both the

Imperial Ballet The Mariinsky Ballet (russian: Балет Мариинского театра) is the resident classical ballet company of the Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Founded in the 18th century and originally known as the Imperial Russ ...

and the Imperial Russian Opera. In 1886 the building was declared unsafe and, at the behest of the theatre director

Ivan Vsevolozhsky Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky (russian: Иван Александрович Всеволожский; 1835–1909) was the Director of the Imperial Theatres in Russia from 1881–98 and director of the Hermitage from 1899 to his death in 190 ...

, the

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

and

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

performances moved to the

Imperial Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

, where they have remained ever since. The Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre was then torn down to make way for the Saint Petersburg Conservatory.

Notable premieres

Operas * '' A Life for the Tsar'' (1836) – Mikhail Glinka * '' Ruslan and Lyudmila'' (1842) – Mikhail Glinka * '' La forza del destino'' (1862) – Giuseppe Verdi Ballets * '' The Pharaoh's Daughter'' (1862) – chor. Marius Petipa, mus.

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; russian: Цезарь Пуни, Cezar' Puni; 31 May 1802 in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. In his early career he composed operas, symphonies, and various other forms of orches ...

* ''

The Beauty of Lebanon or The Mountain Spirit ''The Beauty of Lebanon, or The Mountain Spirit'' (french: link=no, La Belle du Liban, ou L'Esprit des montagnes; russian: Ливанская красавица, или Горный дух) is a fantastic ballet in three acts and seven scenes, wi ...

'' chor. by Marius Petipa mus. Cesare Pugni. * ''

The Little Humpbacked Horse Pyotr Pavlovich Yershov (russian: link=no, Пётр Павлович Ершов; – ) was a Russian poet and author of the famous fairy-tale poem ''The Little Humpbacked Horse'' (''Konyok-Gorbunok''). Biography Pyotr Yershov was born in the vil ...

'' (1864) – chor. Arthur Saint-Léon, mus. Cesare Pugni * ''

La Bayadère ''La Bayadère'' ("the temple dancer") ( ru. «Баядерка», ''Bayaderka'') is a ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by French choreographer Marius Petipa to the music of Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was staged especiall ...

'' (1877) – chor. Marius Petipa, mus.

Ludwig Minkus Ludwig Minkus (russian: link=no, Людвиг Минкус), also known as Léon Fyodorovich Minkus (23 March 1826, Vienna – 7 December 1917, Vienna), was a Jewish-Austrian composer of ballet music, a violin virtuoso and teacher. Minkus is no ...

References

Benois, Alexandre: Reminiscences of the Russian Ballet (London, Wyman & Sons, 1941) {{authority control Opera houses in Russia Music venues completed in 1783 Theatres completed in 1783 1783 establishments in the Russian Empire