The Mikhailovsky Theatre () is one of

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 ...

's oldest

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

and

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 ...

houses. It was founded in 1833 and occupies a Brulleau-designed building on 1, Arts Square 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 ...

. It is named after Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia. Since 1989, it has borne the

Modest Mussorgsky Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky (; ; ; – ) was a Russian composer, one of the group known as "The Five (composers), The Five." He was an innovator of Music of Russia, Russian music in the Romantic music, Romantic period and strove to achieve a ...

name. Since 1991 it has officially been named The St Petersburg Mussorgsky State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre—Mikhailovsky Theatre.

History

Before 1871

The theatre was established in 1833 by decree of Tsar Nicholas I. Before the 1917 Revolution, the Mikhailovsky did not have its own resident company. Performances were given either by a French company, hired by the Russian Imperial Theatres, or at the end of the century by the Mariinsky Theatre and Alexandrinsky Theatre companies. When the

Bolshevik The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...

s took power the French company was forced to leave Russia, and in 1917 the Mikhailovsky Theatre was closed.

Communist era

On 6 March 1918 the theatre was reopened as an opera theatre. Shortly afterwards the Mikhailovsky started changing its names: in 1918–20 it was called the Ex-Mikhailovsky Theatre, in 1920 it was renamed to the State Academic Comic Opera Theatre, in 1921 the theatre changed its name to the Maly Operny Teatr (Little Opera Theatre), in 1926 it got the name of the Leningrad State Academic Maly Opera Theatre, MALEGOT for short. New management and artists followed. From 1920 to 1930 the Maly Operny Teatr established itself as one of the leading experimental stages in Russian new

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

. Shostakovich made his debut at the Maly Operny: Samuil Samosud conducted world premiere performances of his '' The Nose'' and '' Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District'', the famous Vsevolod Meyerhold production of '' The Queen of Spades'' was staged there, and the world premiere of Prokofiev's epic opera '' War and Peace'' took place on the theatre's stage on 12 June 1946.

1930: Creation of the ballet company

In 1930s Russian choreographer Fyodor Lopukhov founded the ballet company of the Theatre. The first ballet premiere, '' Harlequinade'', choreographed by Lopukhov, took place on 6 June 1933.

The 2000s revival

From 1989 to 2007, the theatre bore the name of

, subsequently returning to its original name the Mikhailovsky Theatre.History of the Mikhaylovsky Theatre
official site. Retrieved 10 August 2008. In 2007, in what was seen as a controversial move, Russian businessman Vladimir Kekhman was appointed as General Director of the theatre. Vladimir Kekhman's strategy was to spend prolific amounts of money on ballet stars to build the Theatre's popularity. He built a business-based organizational structures to the Ballet, donated 1 billion roubles ($40m US) for renovation of the building, and invited Elena Obraztsova and Farouk Ruzimatov to coordinate the artistic revival of the Mikhailovsky. In 2007, Elena Obraztsova was appointed Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Opera and Farouk Ruzimatov became Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet. However, Obraztsova resigned in 2008 and Ruzimatov in 2009. The ballet company of the Mikhailovsky Theatre made its London debut in July 2008 in London Coliseum arranged by the British ex-dancer Gavin Roebuck. This season helped bring the company international recognition and led to a nomination for the Best Foreign Dance Company Award at the National Dance Awards in 2008, though Mikhailovsky lost out to the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...

. Also in 2013, the Mikhailovsky Opera made its debut at the Savonlinna Opera Festival, and, in November 2014, the Mikhailovsky Ballet debuted in the US at New York's Lincoln Center. In October 2012, Vladimir Kekhman was declared bankrupt at London's High Court of Justice, but he assured that the operation of the Mikhailovsky Theatre was not at risk. In April 2013, top ballet dancer Natalia Osipova left the company to join

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded ...

in London, after she had made the headlines in December 2011 for choosing the Mikhailosky Theatre over the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

. In 2015, the tenor Neil Shicoff was appointed Chief of the Mikhailovsky Opera, and from July 2017 till July 2018, the bass Paata Burchuladze was Chief of the Mikhailovsky Opera. Mikhail Messerer resigned from the Theatre in 2019.

Ballet company

Repertoire * ''

Don Quixote , the full title being ''The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha'', is a Spanish novel by Miguel de Cervantes. Originally published in two parts in 1605 and 1615, the novel is considered a founding work of Western literature and is of ...

'' – Mikhail Messerer's version * ''Duende'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * '' Giselle'' – Nikita Dolgushin's version * ''Class Concert'' – choreography by Asaf Messerer * '' Le Corsaire'' – Mikhail Messerer's version * '' Laurencia'' – Mikhail Messerer's version * '' Flames of Paris'' – Mikhail Messerer's version * '' Swan Lake'' – Mikhail Messerer's version * '' La Bayadère'' – Nacho Duato's version * '' La Fille mal gardée'' – choreography by Ashton - staged by Mikhail Messerer and Michael O'Hare * ''Cipollino'' – choreography by Genrikh Mayorov * '' Cinderella'' – Mikhail Messerer's version * ''Nunc Dimittis'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''Without Words'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''White Darkness'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''Bolero'' – choreography by Ivan Vasiliev * '' Coppelia'' – Mikhail Messerer's version * ''The Bronze Idol'' (based on the ''

Bronze Horseman The ''Bronze Horseman'' (, literally "copper horseman") is an equestrian statue of Peter I of Russia, Peter the Great in the Senate Square (Saint Petersburg), Senate Square in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It was opened to the public on 7 (18) Augu ...

'') – choreography by Lar Lubovitch * ''Na Floresta'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''Love is All Around'' – choreography by Ivan Vasiliev * ''Multiplicity. Forms of Silence and Emptiness'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''Morphine'' – choreography by Ivan Vasiliev * ''Invisible'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''Prelude'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''La Halte de cavalerie'' – choreography by Piotr Gusev after Marius Petipa * ''A Christmas Carol'' (based on the book by

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

) – choreography by Ivan Vasiliev * ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * '' La Sylphide'' - choreography by August Bournonville * ''Blind Affair'' – choreography by Ivan Vasiliev * '' The Sleeping Beauty'' – choreography by Nacho Duato * ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'' – choreography by Nacho Duato

Awards

* 2013: Best Ballet Company award at the National Dance Awards

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control 1833 establishments in the Russian Empire Ballet companies in Russia Music venues completed in 1833 Opera houses in Russia Theatres completed in 1833 Theatres in Saint Petersburg Cultural heritage monuments of federal significance in Saint Petersburg