The State Hermitage Museum: Information

The Hermitage Theatre is one of the oldest theatres in Saint Petersburg and Russia. It was built by the architect Giacomo Quarenghi between 1782-1785 by order of Catherine II on the site of the old Winter Palace of Peter I. The auditorium was built in the classical style with semi circular rows of benches rising from the amphitheatre stage. The walls and columns are decorated with coloured imitation marble. Statues of Apollo and nine muses are placed in niches above which are bas-relief portraits of famous musicians and poets.

The first Hermitage Theatre season opened on 16 November 1785 with the opera The Miller who was a Wizard, a Cheat and a Matchmaker (music by M. Sokolovsky, libretto A. Ablesimov).
On 20 January 1789 the premiere was held of the comic opera Kosometovich, the Woeful Knight, whose libretto was written by Catherine II.

Court masquerades were held here during the time of Alexander I. Over three years, from 1823 to 1826, the theatre was used as a military parade ground. Later performances were restarted.

An interesting page in the life of the theatre comes from the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century. In 1894 restoration was carried out under the leadership of the architect A. Kvasov. In 1902 the architect Leon Benois designed the theatre's foyer in the rococo style. Feodor Chaliapin, Leonid Sobinov, Mathilde Kschessinska, Anna Pavlova and Agrippina Vaganova all performed at the theatre. In 1914 a performance was held of the play the King of Judea, written by Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov (known as K.R.), a military and state official and one of the most educated people of his time.

The dramatic events of 1917 could not fail to affect the life of the theatre. It housed the Lunacharsky Workers University and in the 1930s concerts, ballets and operas were held here. In 1935 the theatre closed.

For many years the building was used as lecture hall for the State Hermitage. It also held scientific conferences and meetings. At the beginning of the 1980s it was decided to completely restore the theatre building. During reconstruction a new simultaneous interpreting system was created and film equipment and computerised light control equipment were installed. In January 1991 the Hermitage Theatre once again opened its doors to the public. The museum's lecture hall also reopened and it holds scientific conferences, seminars and symposia. At the same time, the Hermitage Theatre has become one of the most popular stages in Saint Petersburg.

The Hermitage Theatre Hall
Architect: G. Quarenghi

Sketch of costumes for
Shakespeare's Hamlet
in the translation by K.R.
1900
Mihaly Zichy

View of the Hermitage Theatre
Curtain sketch
After 1802
Pietro di Gottardo Gonzaga

View of the Hermitage Theatre and arch over the Winter Canal
1820s
Karl Kollmann

Portrait of the architect Giacomo Quarenghi
Early 19th C.
Unknown author

Section of the Hermitage Theatre auditorium with part of the foyer and stage
Early 19th C.
Ivan Kolpakov

The play the King of Judea
Author K.R.

Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich Romanov