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St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music, main building
6 Ostrovsky Sq.
February 19 – April 3, 2011
The exhibition organized on VTB Development Company initiative was developed and prepared by St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music in co-operation with the artist B. Beider, the Russian Academy of Fine Arts Museum and the State Museum of History of St Petersburg.
During last three centuries architects working in Petersburg–Leningrad continually developed ideas of theatre architecture. The principles of auditorium construction were changing, the system of circles simplified, dimensions of the box set enlarged and the theatre equipment became more complex. Architects belonging to various schools tended to fit their projects for theatre needs using all creative means of their time.
The exhibition occupies two rooms. One is dedicated to 18th century and tells about the first Petersburg theatres, Bolshoi Kamenny and Hermitage. The other is dedicated to 19th and 20th centuries and presents the best theatre buildings of that time such as Imperial Alexandrinsky, Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky theatres as well as Capella, Conservatoire and Philharmonic which play an important role in forming architectural landscape of the city.
Surrounded by symbolic columns, Sylphide’s figure turned to the centre of the composition and symbolizing ephemerality of art, an example of the modern theatre architecture, the model of Dance Palace at Europe Embankment was placed in the middle of the second room.
The project created by the Dutch architectural bureau UNStudio combining the most actual tendencies of theatre constructing will be raised to 2016. Its memorable silhouette mixing plasticity and transparency is going to become an integral part of the renovated square.
Obviously, a theatre was not among the first buildings raised in this town yet this very exhibition and presentation of the new high-class construction project help to repute St Petersburg as one of the few theatre capitals of the world.
 
   
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