The Alexander Theatre (; ) is a Finnish

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 ...

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

at Bulevardi 23–27 in the neighborhood of

Kamppi Kamppi () is a Subdivisions of Helsinki#Neighbourhoods, neighbourhood in the centre of Helsinki, the capital of Finland. The name originally referred to a small area known as the "Kamppi field" (see below), but according to the current official d ...

History

In the summer of 1875, then

Governor-General Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

Grand Duchy of Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland was the predecessor state of modern Finland. It existed from 1809 to 1917 as an Autonomous region, autonomous state within the Russian Empire. Originating in the 16th century as a titular grand duchy held by the Monarc ...

(1866-1881) Count

Nikolay Adlerberg Count Nikolay Vladimirovich Adlerberg (; 19 May 1819 – 25 December 1892) was a Russian aristocrat who served as Councilor of State and Chamberlain in the imperial court, as well as governor of Taganrog, Simferopol and Finland. Early life ...

(of Swedish noble descent), a frequent theatregoer, received

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Grand Du ...

's permission to build a Russian theatre for Russian minority living in

at that time. The building was designed by the engineer Colonel Pyotr Petrovich Benard, though probably on the basis of standardized drawings.Arvi Ilonen, Helsinki - An Architectural Guide, Helsinki: Otava, 1990. The auditorium of the theatre was decorated by the

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 ...

architect Jeronim Osuhovsky, and the Finnish artist Severin Falkman decorated the ceiling paintings, which contain twelve cupids reminiscent of the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

in Saint Petersburg. The theatre's technology was designed by Iosif Vorontsov; the theatre itself was completed in October 1879, and in February 1880 it was named after Russian Tsar Alexander II. The grand opening occurred on 30 March 1880 with

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

''. In 1918 the

Finnish National Opera and Ballet The Finnish National Opera and Ballet (; ) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the Töölönlahti bay in Töölö, which opened in 1993, and is state-owned through ...

moved to the Alexander Theatre, and remained in the premises until 1993. After the

moved to their newly built house, the Alexander Theatre got back its historical name and once again became a theatre venue. Since 1993, the theatre has been used for guest stage performances of various genres. The complex also houses different offices, rehearsal facilities, dance studios and different companies. The Alexander Theatre is reportedly haunted by the

ghost In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

of a dead officer. It is assumed that he died during the

Crimea War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and moved to Helsinki, as the tiles of Alexander Theatre were moved there from

Åland Åland ( , ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland. Receiving its autonomy by a 1920 decision of the League of Nations, it is the smallest region of Finland by both area () and population (30,54 ...

Notes

External links

* Theatres in Helsinki Opera houses in Finland Cultural history of Finland 1879 establishments in Finland Theatres completed in 1879 Kamppi {{Opera-struct-stub