The Alexandrinsky Theatre () or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a
theatre
Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a Stage (theatre), stage. The performe ...
in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
,
Russia
Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
.
The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial troupe was founded in 1756).
Since 1832, the theatre has occupied an
Empire-style building that
Carlo Rossi designed. It was built in 1828–1832 on Alexandrinsky Square (now
Ostrovsky Square Ostrovsky, Ostrovskoy, Ostrovskii (masculine), Ostrovskaya, Ostrovska (feminine), or Ostrovskoye (neuter) may refer to:
Places
* Ostrovsky District, several districts in Russia
* Ostrovsky (inhabited locality), several rural localities in Russia
*O ...
), which is situated on
Nevsky Prospekt
Nevsky Prospect ( rus, Не́вский проспе́кт, r=Nevsky Prospekt, p=ˈnʲɛfskʲɪj prɐˈspʲɛkt) is a main street ( high street) located in the federal city of St. Petersburg in Russia. Its name comes from the Alexander Nevs ...
between the
National Library of Russia
The National Library of Russia (NLR, , ''РНБ''), located in Saint Petersburg, is the first, and one of three national public libraries in Russia. The NLR is currently ranked among the world's major libraries. It has the second biggest libr ...
and
Anichkov Palace
The Anichkov Palace, a former imperial palace in Saint Petersburg, stands at the intersection of Nevsky Avenue and the Fontanka River.
History 18th century
The palace, situated on the plot formerly owned by Antonio de Vieira (1682?-1745), ...
. The theatre was opened on 31 August (12 September) 1832. The theatre and the square were named after Empress consort
Alexandra Feodorovna. The building is part of the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
.
It was one of the many theatres of the Imperial troupe. Dramas, operas and ballets were on the stage. Only in the 1880s, the theatre has become dramatic and tragedy filled.
The premières of numerous Russian plays have been performed at the stage of the Alexandrinsky, including plays by
Alexandr Griboyedov
Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (; 15 January 179511 February 1829) was a Russian diplomat, playwright, poet, and composer. His one notable work is the 1823 verse comedy '' Woe from Wit''. He was Russia's ambassador to Qajar Persia, where he and ...
,
Alexander Ostrovsky
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repe ...
, and
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...
. Famous directors who have staged work there include
Vsevolod Meyerhold
Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...
,
Grigori Kozintsev
Grigori Mikhailovich Kozintsev (11 May 1973, born Grigori Moiseyevich Kozintsov) was a Soviet theatre and film director, screenwriter and pedagogue. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1964. In 1965 he was a member of the jury at the ...
,
Georgy Tovstonogov
Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov (, – 23 May 1989) was a Russian-Georgians, Georgian theatre director.
He was the leader of the Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater, Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theater which was renamed after him in 1992.
Biography
G ...
, and
Nikolay Akimov
Nikolay Pavlovich Akimov ( – 6 September 1968) was an experimental theatre director and scenic designer noted for his work with the Leningrad Comedy Theatre. His most notorious production was the cynical version of ''Hamlet'' (1932), with Ophe ...
.
On 30 August 2006 the theatre reopened after a reconstruction.
References
External links
Official Web Site in English* 3D model
Alexandrinsky Theater for Google Earth
1756 establishments in the Russian Empire
Nevsky Prospekt
Theatres in Saint Petersburg
Carlo Rossi buildings and structures
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