For the needs of the entrepreneur Kazassi. The institution was named the Kazassi Theatre. After the fire at the Bolshoi Theater in 1811, the architect Thomas de Thomon proposed to rebuild this theater by expanding its stage and hall. But this was interrupted by the War of 1812.
Talk about rebuilding the theater continued after the war, when Emperor Alexander I returned to St. Petersburg. For the new owner of the Anichkov Palace, Grand Duke Nikolai Pavlovich, the space of the estate was put in order, but there was not enough money to rebuild the Kazassi establishment. At this time, the funds went to the construction of the General Staff building. Despite the refusal to build a theater, the design of the square with a new building in the 1810s was made by Karl Rossi, who was engaged in altering the interiors of the Anichkov Palace.
Rossi's project began to be implemented with the coming to power of Nicholas I. The emperor wished to rebuild the square in front of the Grand Duke's palace, which was entrusted to the architect. On April 5, 1828, the project was approved, and the next day a Commission was created "for the construction of a stone theater and two buildings behind it." N. Selyavin, vice-president of the Cabinet, headed the commission. Rossi's assistants at the construction site were the architects N. Tkachev and I. Galberg.
By the spring of 1828, 950,000 rubles were paid from the treasury to the owners of the plots necessary for the construction. Those who were in no hurry to make room were forcibly evicted in one week.
For the foundation of the theater, about 5,000 piles were driven into the ground. The walls of the building were erected in the same year. In 1829, they began to install ceilings, which the architect planned to make from metal. This decision was opposed by General Engineer P. Bazin, who headed the Committee for Buildings and Hydraulic Works. He expressed his doubts about the reliability of metal ceilings in a report to the emperor. Nicholas I created a commission in order to examine the project "for the installation of metal rafters and the roof of the newly built theater on Nevsky Prospekt, whether the walls and rafters will withstand the weight of the machines and whether this device will be dangerous." Work at the Alexandrovsky iron foundry of M. Clark, which manufactured these structures, was suspended. Carl Rossi and M. Clark were asked to provide a model and explanations. In connection with these events, the architect Rossi wrote the following letter to the emperor:
"Excellent prince, gracious sovereign!
I had the honor to receive an order from Your Excellency, dated September 2, with the announcement that the Sovereign Emperor, having considered the opinion of General Bazin and other papers ... regarding the installation of metal roofs on the newly built theater ... deigned to stop all work on this device until the command.
In this case, I take the liberty of conveying to Your Excellency that when His Imperial Majesty deigned to approve my project for a new theater and chose me to build it, then I was clothed with fullness and perfect power of attorney, which I had the happiness to justify by experience by others already made by me. buildings that are not among the ordinary ones, such as: the device of a metal archive in the General Staff building and the conical vault of a large arch connecting the General Staff Building with the new building from the side of Malaya Millionnaya. Now, to the greatest regret, I see that I am completely deprived of this power of attorney, and envy and intrigues triumph.
As a result of this, and in order not to darken my reputation, I most humbly ask ... to apply for permission to complete the work begun on the installation of a metal roof, personally for me, together with Mr. Clark, according to our system. Both I and Mr. Clark answer with honor and head that not the slightest misfortune will occur from the mentioned roof and that the whole device will have the proper strength ...
In conclusion, I will inform Your Excellency that in the event that any misfortune should occur in the mentioned building from the installation of a metal roof, then as an example for others, let them immediately hang me on one of the rafters ... "[Quoted from: 2, 528]
After inspecting the finished metal structures on September 19, 1829 at the Clark factory, Nicholas I announced the decision: "... continue the stone construction of walls for a metal roof and immediately put several iron rafters for the roof for testing, and also put cast-iron rafters and above the stage after making over them experience in advance at the factory ... "The test consisted in checking the strength of the rafters by hanging a load weighing 40 tons on each of them. Thus, Rossi's project was nevertheless accepted for execution.
The project for the decoration of the hall was not fully implemented. The architect conceived it more elegant than it was executed. Bronze and copper were replaced by woodcarving and artistic painting. This decision was made due to the lack of funds that at that time went to the needs of the army. The design of the auditorium based on Rossi's sketches was created by Okhta carvers, stucco masters N. Sipyagin and M. Sokolov, artists the Dodonov brothers.
Nicholas I wanted to see the upholstery of the auditorium with red fabric. Rossi announced to the emperor that this was not available, and if you wait for its purchase, then it will not be possible to open the theater on time. Thus, Rossi achieved the realization of his plan - to decorate the auditorium with blue upholstery.
The grand opening of the theater took place on August 31, 1832. The next day the papers wrote:
"This huge, elegant, majestic building was built by the architect Rossi. The hall contains five tiers of boxes, except for the benoirs. There are 242 chairs located in nine tiers. ), numbered benches, very comfortable for spectators and listeners... The performance opened with the tragedy "Pozharsky, or the Liberation of Moscow" and a Spanish divertissement, that is, various Spanish dances" [Cit. according to: 2, p. 530].
The theater was named after the wife of Emperor Nicholas I Alexandra Feodorovna. Since then, it has been called "Alexandrinka". The building was included in a single architectural ensemble of Ostrovsky Square. Above the colonnade, the facade of the theater is decorated with a quadriga, ruled by the god of arts Apollo. The author of the sculpture is S. S. Pimenov. The Apollo Quadriga was made by the masters of the Alexander Plant. For this work, craftsmen Pyotr Katerinin and Pyotr Odintsov, as well as apprentice Rogozin, received silver medals on Anninsky ribbons, and master Andrey Malikov received a gold medal.
The Alexandrinsky Theater was originally under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Imperial Court. Its Rossi walls were painted light grey.
In the year of the opening of the Alexandrinsky Theater, on the basis of an imperial decree, the directorate provided Karl Rossi with a free and perpetual use of a ticket to box No. 14 of the second tier. On January 14, 1837, the director of the imperial theaters Gideons reported to the Minister of the Court:
".... Mr. Rossi suggested to the directorate if she would like to take away this box from him, and pay him money for it.
Due to the uncertainty whether Mr. Rossi still has the right to make such transfers of lodges without special permission ... I did not dare to accept his proposals.
But this box is occupied at almost all performances by various persons from the public, and as an entrance to it ... it is always done according to a special ticket issued to it by Mr. Rossi, it was discovered that a person was sent to the theater with this ticket, who sells in the corridor I tell this box in places about a loner of various kinds to people ... This sent one was not only confirmed many times not to do this again, but even ... he was detained in the theater for that with an announcement that if he continued such actions in the future, then .. will be escorted to the police.
Despite this, however, it turned out that during the performance of the former January 10, they were let into the box in the same way ... seven people of various kinds, of which a quarrel and a fight occurred between the two, during the investigation of which it turned out that the police found that among those who were sitting in this box there were nobles or officials, as well as serfs..." [Quoted from: 2, 548]
After this incident, Rossi was announced that the next such incident would end for him with a deprivation of a ticket.
Once upon a time, on the days of theatrical premieres and benefit performances, a long queue of carriages and carriages lined up at the entrance to Alexandrinka. Among the "golden youth" of that time, it was indecent to go to the theater on foot, so enterprising cabbies specially put their carriages near the theater, on Nevsky Prospekt. From there, young people drove to their destination.
On the eve of 1849, Nicholas I wanted to update the decoration of the auditorium of the Alexandrinsky Theatre. He ordered the four boxes near the stage to be enlarged and the upholstery of the hall to be replaced with red, which was entrusted to Carl Rossi, who created two projects for alterations. This work was the last for the 72-year-old architect.
In Soviet times, the theater received the name "Academic Drama Theater named after A. S. Pushkin." With the acquisition of this name, he also began to be called "Pushkin".
The building of the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. A historic building in the style of classicism, part of the architectural ensemble of Ostrovsky Square. It was built according to the project of K. I. Rossi in 1828-1832. It houses one of the oldest theaters in the country - the Russian State Academic Drama Theater. A. S. Pushkin.
At the site of the current Alexandrinsky Theater, there was originally a vast garden of the Anichkov Palace, on the territory of which, among other things, a wooden theater pavilion was located - an Italian opera group performed in it. In 1801, the pavilion was rebuilt, creating the Maly Theater on its basis. Over time, the growing cultural needs of St. Petersburg required the construction of a new, larger and more comfortable stone theater building. Therefore, in 1818, the territory cut off from the park of the Anichkov Palace was transferred to the jurisdiction of the theater directorate.
The Alexandrinsky Theater was named after the wife of Emperor Nicholas I, Alexandra, who patronized this art form. The design of the theater building was directly linked to the layout of the architectural ensemble of the modern Ostrovsky Square (after the opening of the theater, it also became known as Aleksandrinskaya Square). K. I. Rossi made the theater the main element of the entire square. The massive building in the classical Empire style had its main façade facing Nevsky Prospekt, and the back side facing Architect Rossi Street.
The front of the Alexandrinsky Theater was decorated with a multi-columned loggia of the Corinthian order, the side facades were decorated in the form of eight-column porticos. The entire perimeter of the upper part of the building is occupied by a sculptural frieze with antique theatrical masks and laurel garlands. At the ends of the theater in special niches there are statues of muses - Terpsichore, Melpomene, Clio and Thalia, and the attic of the main facade is crowned by the famous quadriga of Apollo (a cart drawn by four horses) - the work of S. S. Pimenov.
The interior decoration of the theater building is also striking in its splendor. The auditorium was made according to a modern multi-tiered system with boxes, an amphitheater and a stalls. The capacity of the hall was designed for 1700 people. The interiors were decorated with velvet, gilded carvings and wall paintings.
The roof of the Alexandrinsky Theater was an interesting design - the innovative idea of using metal arched trusses with cast-iron stops was first applied in the construction business. Moreover, the author of such a roof device was K. I. Rossi himself. Another technological innovation of the building was the installation of steam heating in the theater.
As a token of gratitude to the architect for creating such a masterpiece, after the opening of the theater, K. I. Rossi received a box at the Alexandrinsky Theater for life use, tickets for which he then often sold to moneyed citizens.
The building of the Alexandrinsky Theater is included in the Unified State Register of Cultural Heritage Objects (monuments of history and culture) of Russia.
Note to tourists:
Inspection of the building will be of interest to theater lovers who want to visit the performance, to all other tourists interested in the architecture of the first half of the 19th century, and can also become one of the points of the excursion program while exploring neighboring attractions -
The theater, located in the very heart of St. Petersburg, the theater where Griboedov's Woe from Wit and Ostrovsky's The Thunderstorm were first staged, the theater, which was called the "director's Mecca" - directors from Meyerhold to Tovstonogov worked in it ..
Birth of the first Russian public theater
The decree on the creation of the "Russian theater for the performances of tragedies and comedies" was signed by Empress Elizaveta Petrovna on August 30, 1756. The first public theater in Russia, he has earned the right to be called the father of the Russian theater. At the "birth" the troupe was headed by Fyodor Volkov, and Alexander Sumarokov himself became the director of the theater! Even then it became clear that the theater would become famous and gather on its stage a whole galaxy of stars of the theatrical world.
The Alexandrinsky Theater was called the "director's Mecca"
From pavilion to palace
In the middle of the 18th century, the Anichkov Garden housed the Opera House, intended for masquerades and performances. The first theater building on Ostrovsky Square appeared in 1801. In place of the wooden pavilion, the architect Vincenzo Brenna erected a theater in which the Italian troupe of the entrepreneur Casassi gave performances. After the infamous fire at the Bolshoi Theater in 1811, the architect de Thomon put forward a proposal to rebuild the building, but this was prevented by the war with Napoleon.
The first director of Alexandrinka was Alexander Sumarokov
Casassi Theater
However, the theater simply needed a large room. The famous architect Carl Rossi worked on the creation of the project for 11 years. The final version was approved only in 1828, the next day a commission was created "to build a stone theater and two buildings behind it" and immediately began construction. In 1832, a new theater was opened on the site of the old "Small" theater, an excellent example of the Empire style that reigned in architecture at that time. It was then that the theater was named Alexandrinsky in honor of the wife of Nicholas I, Alexandra Feodorovna.
The Alexandrinsky Theater is named after the wife of Nicholas I
Alexandrinsky Theatre, 1830s
Under the shadow of the muses
A special feature of the building are metal ceilings, which Rossi personally insisted on. Emperor Nicholas I had doubts about the strength of such structures, but the architect managed to prove his case. The facade of the theater is decorated with a multi-column loggia, the side facades - with eight-column porticos. The niches contain plaster sculptures of the muses Thalia (patron of comedy), Melpomene (patron of tragedy), Clio (patron of history) and Terpsichore (patron of dance). Where the muses are, there is Apollo, and this time it was not without him. The façade of the quadriga of the god Apollo (works by Vasily Demut-Malinovsky) is crowned, which makes the Alexandrinsky Theater related to the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow.
Alexandrinsky theater now
Glitter and luxury
The interior of the theater differs from what Rossi planned - the architect dreamed of more decorations. Nevertheless, the hall already looked magnificent: carving, gilding, painting, colored upholstery of chairs (originally blue, but due to oil lamps, the hall was smoky, and the upholstery had to be changed to crimson). Seats for spectators were located according to the then modern system of boxes in many tiers with an amphitheater and a spacious stalls. In total, the theater could accommodate almost 1,700 people!
As planned by Russia, there should have been even more decorations in Alexandrinka
Hall of the Alexandrinsky Theater
Textbook of Russian theatrical life
On the history of the Alexandrinsky Theater, one can write a textbook of Russian theatrical life. This theater has hosted the premieres of almost all the famous dramatic works of Russian classics. These are “Woe from Wit”, and “The Inspector General”, and “Thunderstorm” (a total of 49 plays by Ostrovsky were staged on the Alexandrinsky stage), and even the infamous first production of Chekhov's The Seagull. At the beginning of the 19th century, Griboyedov's early comedies The Young Spouses and Feigned Infidelity were successfully staged.
Almost all Russian classics premiered in Alexandrinka
The emphasis during the performances was placed on the plasticity of the actors, their external technique, the combination of singing and movement. This is what led to the difference between the St. Petersburg and Moscow theater schools. Famous actors performed on the stage of the theater: Davydov, Varlamov, Dalsky, Strepetova, then Komissarzhevskaya herself! They worked under the guidance of the most talented directors of their time, for example, Vsevolod Meyerhold, Igor Terentyev, Nikolai Akimov, Grigory Kozintsev, Georgy Tovstonogov. The outstanding artists Benois, Korovin, Golovin, Altman and composers Glazunov, Shostakovich, Shchedrin also collaborated with the theater.
What's in a name?
Since 1920, the theater was named the State Drama Theatre, and then, in 1937, on the centenary of Pushkin's death, the theater was named after the sun of Russian poetry. That is why the Alexandrinsky Theater is often called the Pushkin Theater. The official name returned only in the 1990s. During the Great Patriotic War, the theater worked in Novosibirsk, but returned to Leningrad only in 1944.
Troupe of the Alexandrinsky Theater in Petrozavodsk
In 2006, during the celebration of the 250th anniversary, the grand opening of the reconstructed Alexandrinsky Theater took place. And from 2010 to 2013, work was underway to create the second stage of the theater, which was opened with a performance-laboratory based on Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. Today the theater is directed by director Valery Fokin.
Konstantin Stanislavsky said that the theater begins with a hanger. But if the building was designed and built by a famous architect, a special atmosphere for the audience appears at the very entrance. We recall seven Russian theaters that have become architectural monuments.
Bolshoi Theater in Moscow
During the restoration of Moscow after the fire of 1812, the architects tried to use the surviving fragments of the former buildings. The only wall of the Petrovsky Theater was to become part of the new temple of Melpomene. It was built in the second half of the 18th century by engineer Michael Maddox and architect Christian Roseberg.
Experienced architects Domenico Gilardi, Pietro Gonzago, Alexei Bakarev participated in the first stage of the competition, but none of the projects was approved. Andrei Mikhailov won the second competition. The project of an expensive monumental building was finalized by Osip Bove. He retained Mikhailov's plan, but changed the proportions of the theater and laid out a square in front of it. At first it was called Petrovskaya, and then it was renamed Teatralnaya.
In 1853, the building was badly damaged by fire, with only the outer walls and colonnade of the portico surviving. The modern Bolshoi Theater was built in the 1850s by Albert Cavos. During the restoration, the architect retained the general layout and volume of the building, but returned to Mikhailov's original proportions and decorated the theater in an eclectic style. The sculptural design of the building has also changed. The alabaster chariot of Apollo on the pediment was replaced by a copper quadriga of horses designed by Peter Klodt. It was placed above the portico.
“I tried to decorate the auditorium as splendidly and at the same time as lightly as possible, in the taste of the Renaissance, mixed with the Byzantine style. The white color studded with gold, the bright crimson draperies of the inner boxes, the various stucco arabesques on each floor, and the main effect of the auditorium - a large chandelier of three rows of lamps and candelabra decorated with crystal - all this deserved universal approval.
Albert Cavos
Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg
The Alexandrinsky Theater was built by Karl Rossi on the modern Ostrovsky Square in 1832 on the site of the wooden Maly Theatre. The architect developed a development plan for both the area in front of the building and the street behind it.
Innovative for the beginning of the 19th century, the design of the roof was invented by Karl Rossi in collaboration with engineer Matvey Clark. Officials were afraid to coordinate the ceiling on iron arched trusses: no one had ever used anything like it. Then Carl Rossi promised to hang himself on one of the rafters of the theater in case something happened to the roof.
The building in the Empire style is decorated with works by Stepan Pimenov and Vasily Demut-Malinovsky: a frieze with theatrical masks, a sculptural quadriga of Apollo, statues of muses. The Imperial Theater got its name in honor of the wife of Nicholas I - Alexandra Feodorovna.
In addition to the solemn exterior, the theater had an impressive interior design. The multi-tiered system of boxes with an amphitheater and stalls was at that time the cutting-edge word in theatrical architecture. From the luxurious interior of those years, only the central and two side boxes near the stage have survived. The picturesque plafond of the hall, created by the artist Anton Vigi, has also been lost.
Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg
Albert Cavos became the author of the main stage of St. Petersburg. The Mariinsky Theater got its name in honor of the wife of Emperor Alexander II, Maria Alexandrovna. The building, which Kavos built in 1848, could serve as a stage for both theatrical performances and circus performances. After a fire in 1859, the Mariinsky was reconstructed. Since then, only theatrical performances have been held there.
Later, the building was rebuilt by the chief architect of the Imperial Theaters, Viktor Schreter, assisted by Nikolai Benois. The theater has a new building for rehearsal rooms, office space and workshops. Schroeter also slightly changed the appearance of the building: with the help of the famous turret on the dome, the architect disguised the ventilation pipe. The interiors have also been updated. The magnificent curtain, made according to the sketches of Alexander Golovin, remains one of the symbols of the Mariinsky Theater today.
Nizhny Novgorod Drama Theater
The Nizhny Novgorod theater is one of the oldest in Russia; it has existed since the end of the 18th century. However, its own stone building was built for it only at the end of the 19th century. His project was developed by theatrical architecture specialist Viktor Schroeter. But in fact, the construction according to the Schroeter project was led by architects Pavel Malinovsky and Nikolai Frelikh.
The new theater was opened in 1896, on the day of the coronation of Nicholas II, with Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar. Spectators quickly nicknamed it "blue theatre" - the curtains on the boxes and doors, plush upholstery of chairs and barriers were of this color. Actor and director Nikolai Sobolshchikov-Samarin later recalled: “I was the first artist who entered the theatrical stage of the new Nizhny Novgorod theater in 1896. It seemed to me that in this beautiful building, flooded with electric light, all my bright dreams of a real art theater would come true. Every time I entered the theater, I was seized with some kind of trepidation, and I caught myself walking through its corridors on tiptoe, reverently..
Irkutsk Drama Theater
According to the designs of Viktor Schroeter, by the end of the 19th century, about ten theatrical buildings were built in the Russian Empire - the Georgian Opera and Ballet Theater in Tbilisi, the Opera House in Kiev, the theater in Rybinsk that has not survived to this day and others. He also became the author of the drama theater in Irkutsk. As a competitive project, Schroeter proposed a scheme of a tiered theater worked out to perfection with a stalls, boxes and a deep stage.
The Irkutsk authorities allocated a modest budget for the construction. Schroeter had to build a small building, for 800 people, but at the same time an aesthetic and functional building. There were other restrictions: for example, the architect was given the task of building a building of brick and limestone without plaster or moldings. Construction began in 1893 and lasted only three years. Although not all of Viktor Schroeter's ideas were realized, the Irkutsk Drama Theater impressed its contemporaries with its refined appearance, elegant decoration, technical equipment and impeccable acoustics.
One of the main monuments of the Stalinist Empire - the theater of the Soviet army - became the first Moscow theatrical building erected after the revolution. Construction according to the project of Karo Alabyan, Vasily Simbirtsev and Boris Barkhin went from 1934 to 1940, it was personally controlled by Marshal Kliment Voroshilov. According to legend, it was he who came up with the idea to build a building in the shape of a five-pointed star.
The height of the Theater of the Soviet Army is ten ground floors and the same number underground. The halls of the Big and Small Stages in total can accommodate almost 2,000 people. The main stage was designed for productions with the participation of more than a thousand people. The authors of the project assumed that an infantry battalion, tanks and cavalry would be able to participate in the performances. For military equipment even created a special entrance. True, tanks have not yet been used in any production: the stage cannot support their weight.
The interior of the theater was decorated by famous muralists of the 1930s. Lev Bruni created the frescoes of the acoustic ceiling, Vladimir Favorsky - a sketch of the reinforced concrete curtain-portal, Ilya Feinberg and Alexander Deineka decorated the plafonds with paintings. Picturesque panels by Pavel Sokolov-Skal and Alexander Gerasimov are placed on the front stairs. Furniture, chandeliers and many interior details were created on special orders.
Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater
The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater is called the Siberian Colosseum. The largest theater building in Russia was built in 1931-1941. However, it could look different. Initially, the architect Alexander Grinberg conceived it as a House of Science and Culture of six buildings with huge theatrical, concert and exhibition halls, a library, a museum and a research institute.
The theater itself was also supposed to be innovative - "a theater of technology and a real setting." It was planned that large troupes would play here, cars and tractors would appear on the stage, and special mechanisms would ensure a quick change of scenery. It was planned that the theater would be transformed into a pool for water performances, a circus or a planetarium.
During the construction, the authors of the project abandoned these grandiose ideas. With the participation of architects Alexander Kurovsky, Viktor Birkenberg and Grigory Dankman, a traditional opera house was built instead of the House of Science and Culture. The grand opening took place a few days after the Victory - May 12, 1945.
The Alexandrinsky Theater is the oldest national theater in Russia. It was established by the Senate Decree, signed by the daughter of Peter the Great Empress Elizabeth on August 30, 1756 on the day of St. Alexander Nevsky. It is this theater that is the progenitor of all Russian theaters, and the date of its foundation is the birthday of the Russian professional theater. The establishment of the theater was the beginning of the state policy of the Russian state in the field of theatrical art.
The Russian State Drama Theater has served as an attribute of Russian statehood for two and a half centuries. In the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries, it was the main imperial theater, the fate of which was dealt with by the Russian emperors.
Since 1832, the Russian State Drama Theater has received a magnificent building in the center of Nevsky Prospekt in St. Petersburg, designed by the great architect Karl of Russia. This building was named the Alexandrinsky Theater (in honor of the wife of Emperor Nicholas I Alexandra Feodorovna) and since then the name of the Alexandrinsky Theater has been inextricably linked with the world history of performing arts.
It was here, in the Alexandrinsky Theater, that the premieres of almost all the works of Russian dramatic classics from A. S. Griboedov’s “Woe from Wit” to the plays of A. N. Ostrovsky and A. P. Chekhov took place. The Alexandrinsky Theater is a textbook on the history of Russian theatrical art. It was on this stage that famous Russian actors played - from V. Karatygin and A. Martynov to N. Simonov, N. Cherkasov, V. Merkuriev, I. Gorbachev, B. Freindlich. This stage was decorated with the talents of famous Russian actresses from E. Semenova, M. Savina (the founder of the Union of Theater Workers of Russia), V. Komissarzhevskaya to E. Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya, E. Time, N. Urgant. Today, such artists as S. Parshin, V. Smirnov, N. Burov, N. Marton, I. Volkov, A. Devotchenko, S. Smirnova, I. Voznesenskaya, M. Kuznetsova, K. Petrova and others
Great theater directors Vs. Meyerhold, L. Vivien, G. Kozintsev, G. Tovstonogov, N. Akimov worked in the theatre. Today, the Alexandrinsky Theater is directed by a well-known director, People's Artist of Russia, laureate of State Prizes Valery Fokin. The performances of the Alexandrinians were included in all the world's theater encyclopedias. Great artists A. Benois, K. Korovin, A. Golovin, N. Altman, outstanding composers A. Glazunov, D. Shostakovich, R. Shchedrin collaborated with the theater.
Academician D.S. Likhachev repeatedly said and wrote that the Alexandrinsky Theater "is truly a national treasure of Russia."
