The StPetersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music founded in 1908 is one of world's largest theatre museums. Our collection is practically peerless with regard to historical scope, versatility and value of exhibits. More than 450,000 rare objects tell the visitor about the history of Russian drama, opera and ballet from the very beginning to the present day. Among the highlights of the collection, representing the work of many internationally-known artists, are theatre designs by Leon Bakst, Alexander Benois, Alexander Golovin, Konstantin Korovin, Kazimir Malevich, memorabilia of Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Feodor Chaliapin, Dmitry Shostakovich, Igor Stravinsky, Georgy Tovstonogov, as well as stage accessories of Anna Pavlova, Galina Ulanova, Natalia Makarova.
Key names of the collection include Mikhail Glinka and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Vsevolod Meyerhold and Vera Komissarjevskaya, Marius Petipa and Vaslav Nijinsky - the true stars of Russian theatrical and musical culture whose light still shines on all of us. A unique collection of more than 3,000 musical instruments - comparable with the collections in New York and Paris - occupies a special place in the Museum. The collection of more than 3,000 authentic stage costumes, the former Wardrobe of the Imperial Theatres, is also of particular value.
Besides the main building in Ostrovsky Square (the former Management offices of the Imperial Theatres), part of the spectacular architectural ensemble designed by Carlo Rossi, the Museum has four branches, which are also jewels of the historical centre of St.Petersburg. The Sheremetev Palace hosts the exhibition, dedicated to the family of Counts Sheremetev, as well as the collection of musical instruments (here the Museum of Music is being created). The only composer's museum in St. Petersburg, the Rimsky-Korsakov Museum housed in his former apartment, will rival the Tchaikovsky Museum in Klin as far as the authenticity of its interior and exhibits is concerned. The Samoilov Museum, situated inside the building of The Nevsky Palace Hotel, hosts permanent exhibitions dedicated to the art of St. Petersburg drama and ballet. And the Chaliapin Museum, housed in the great singer's last apartment in Russia, has become a famous meeting place for opera lovers.
All the five buildings of the Museum are not only treasuries of Russian theatrical and musical heritage, but also venues where Russian and foreign actors and singers perform. Thus the Museum links the past with the present. The latter can not exist without the former, as it is impossible to imagine the modem cultural landscape of St. Petersburg without the St. Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music.
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