Mikhailovsky Theater opera and ballet in St. Petersburg occupies a prominent place among musical theaters Russia. It is located in the very "heart" of the city, at the address: Arts Square, 1. In the article, we will look at the layout of the hall of the Mikhailovsky Theater (St. show is visible. Let us now briefly remind the reader of the history of the theater and consider its interior decoration.
Historical information
The theater was opened by decree of Emperor Nicholas I in the premises of the former residence of the son of Paul I, Prince Michael. Since then, it has been called Mikhailovsky. The building was built on the square created by the great architect C. Rossi, so Alexander Bryullov had to try to make the project of the theater building correspond to the general ensemble. He succeeded in this to the full, so that the theater looks organically with nearby houses. From the outside, a very modest and unremarkable building delights visitors with interior luxury.
Petersburg saw the first performance back in 1833. At first they wanted to make it imperial, so that only members of the great family and close guests would watch the performances, but all the nobles fell in love with it so much that they began to come here from all over St. Petersburg for social meetings.
Since then, the popularity of this site has not subsided. Famous Johann Strauss and Fyodor Chaliapin, magnificent conductors Samuil Samosud and Eduard Grikurov, director Vsevolod Meyerhold and choreographers Oleg Vinogradov and Fyodor Lopukhov performed on these stages. Now the main choreographer of the theater is a guest star from Spain, Nacho Duato.
Description of the interior
The Mikhailovsky Theater (we will consider the layout of the hall below) does not have the most Big hall for presentations. It can accommodate only 890 opera and ballet lovers. It is framed in light colors walls and boxes, in combination with the red velvet of chairs, curtains and draperies of the “royal box”, located in the center of the hall opposite the stage.
In 1859, significant changes were made to the interior of the room: the auditorium was expanded, the boxes of the benoir and mezzanine were covered with rich stucco with figures of caryatids, and beautiful plafonds were installed. The portal above the proscenium is also decorated with these sculptures. Engaged in the reconstruction of A. Cavos.
Hall scheme
The Mikhailovsky Theater has the usual arrangement of seats in the hall, typical of most opera houses in the world. From below, opposite the orchestra pit, there are stalls chairs. Some theatergoers are not very happy with the arrangement of these seats, since the gentle rise of the floor in the stalls is very small. The seats are almost on the same level. The first ten rows are even. From the 11th to the 14th rows of the stalls have a rounded shape.
The rest of the chairs are in boxes. Their first row - the benoir - is at the level of the stalls. This is the very first floor of the lodges. Armchairs stand in two rows, four in each. On the scheme of the hall of the Mikhailovsky Theater it is clear that there are 7 benoir boxes on the left and on the right. In the center are places in a semicircle in three rows.
Boxes A and B are placed on both sides of the stage. There can be 8 people: four in front and four in the second row. The audience there sit almost above the stage and watch the performance as if from above.
The next floor is occupied by mezzanine boxes. Spectators are placed in the same way, four people each. Two chairs in front, near the railing and two behind. In the center, two rows of chairs on the left and right adjoin the central "royal" box. It is beautifully decorated with draperies and is also the most comfortable for watching performances.
The next three floors have a similar structure in the scheme of the hall of the Mikhailovsky Theatre. These are the first, second and third tiers. On each floor there are boxes and rows of chairs for spectators in the center. Let's now see what changes have occurred in the arrangement of seats in the auditorium after the recent reconstruction, and get acquainted with the innovations.
New floor plan
The Mikhailovsky Theater has prepared for art lovers a redevelopment of seats in the auditorium for the new season. The seats in the stalls, benoir and mezzanine were completely replaced. The new models are much more comfortable than the previous ones. They have comfortable armrests, high soft backs and even a footrest. Also changed the location of the seats in the stalls. If earlier there was a passage in the middle to the left and right rows of the stalls, now it has been completely removed, shifting all the seats to the central part of the theater. Passages are cleared on both sides. This was done to improve the perception of the performance. Also, the authors of the project of the updated scheme of the auditorium of the Mikhailovsky Theater considered that in this way the beautiful stucco molding of the benoir boxes, which was previously covered by people sitting nearby, would open up to the eyes of visitors.
Another change will affect the second-row seats in the benoir and mezzanine boxes. If earlier the seats were the same size both in front and behind, and the viewers of the second row had to look out from behind the shoulder of the neighbor in front, now the seats of the second row will be much higher. And to make it comfortable for the audience to sit on high seats, they have footrests.
All changes are thought out to the smallest detail, so that next season the audience will be much more comfortable and sit down and see what is happening on stage.
Best Places
The Mikhailovsky Theater has a classic seating arrangement, and like all similar opera houses, there are places with better visibility and audibility, and there are chairs on which it is not very comfortable to perceive the action taking place on the stage. It is perfectly visible in the first and second row of the stalls.
Praise the audience and the side boxes of the benoir. Everything is well seen and heard in the first row of the middle of the benoir. Well, of course, we are not talking about the "royal" box, because it is already clear that these are the most best places. In the first rows of the mezzanine, the audibility is good, but, according to the audience, binoculars are needed, since the visibility is not clear.
Bad places
Fans of opera and ballet speak negatively about some places in the theater. So, it is believed that in the places of the benoir, the so-called sides, where there is a sharp rounding of the hall, it is uncomfortable to sit. The stage is hard to see, so you can only listen.
In the rear rows of stalls, visibility also suffers due to a slight rise. You need to look over the shoulder of the neighbor in front. In boxes A and B, the audience watches the performance from above the heads of the artists, some movements are not visible.
FROM new scheme Hall of the Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg, you are now familiar with good and not very good places. It remains only to buy a ticket and enjoy fine art the best artists in the country.
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The theater met with an impeccably repaired facade and luminous electronic posters with constantly changing information. But the main feature of the opening is the replacement of seats and the reconstruction of the stalls, benoir and mezzanine.
Usually I take tickets for the 1st row of the 1st tier, but then I decided to test the benoir and at the same time evaluate the innovations.
Visually, the stalls caused rather rejection - along with the pompous old chairs, the solemn imperial style of the hall disappeared. But the convenience is obvious - the chairs are soft, not sitting out, the seats recline, which helps to get into place. The color was exactly right. It has become more democratic, but nostalgia will torment many years of Mikhailovsky's admirers for a long time to come.
Benoir clearly won, having received full-fledged chairs with armrests instead of high chairs - she appreciated the advantage from her own experience. The same armchairs appeared in the boxes of the benoir and mezzanine. Moreover, in the second rows of the chair's boxes a little higher and a retractable footrest is provided at the bottom. It will be necessary to test the lodges on some performance.
Well, since the theater is engaged in such a reconstruction, it is advisable to replace the chairs on the tiers, so that everything looks harmonious and everyone is comfortable. 
Photo of the old hall (from the Internet).
Admire, sigh and forget....
Hello!
I have already talked about the Mariinsky Theatre, but this time I will share with you my thoughts about the Mikhailovsky Theatre. When I was a student, I used to come here often, but now it's about once a year. Both institutions have their pros and cons, so I will try to give an objective assessment, despite my obvious bias
There will be no photo of the theater itself from the outside, because now it stands in scaffolding, and I have not been able to photograph the facade before.
LOCATION
The theater is located on the Square of Arts next to Nevsky Prospekt. Despite the fact that there is a parking lot in front of it, I advise you to still get there public transport. From the metro station Nevsky Prospekt (exit to the Griboedov Canal) walk literally 5 minutes. In this regard, he greatly outperforms the Mariinsky, which is quite far from the nearest station.
ABOUT THE THEATER
The theater has enough rich story. It appeared here back in the 30s of the 19th century, since then it has changed its status and name many times. At first, it was planned as an additional platform for the Alexandrinka, which already at that time thundered throughout St. Petersburg. A permanent troupe appeared only a hundred years later, under Soviet rule.
The Mikhailovsky Theater cannot be called an institution with a worldwide reputation. Despite the fact that the troupe often tours, I don’t know the names of the leaders at all, and I don’t know the dancers well. And yet, the hall is mostly packed to capacity, and not only by Russians, but also by foreigners. Ticket prices here are lower than at the Mariinsky, and some performances are just as good.
INSIDE
Since the theater was built in the 19th century, it was created in that fashion. Looks great, of course! Beautiful, rich, with many different details. It is immediately clear that he came to the opera and ballet theater with a rich history.
Its structure is almost the same as that of the Mariinsky, which I will dwell on in more detail.
In terms of tiers, everything is standard here (from bottom to top):
- parterre;
- benoir;
- mezzanine;
- 1st tier;
- 2nd tier;
- 3rd tier.
Each tier has its own separate wardrobe, which is very convenient, because it allows you to avoid crowding after the end of the performance. The parterre and benoir are undressed on the first floor, from where the entrance is made. The rest must go up the stairs.
At the entrance to the theater, there is a frame immediately, things are inspected. They did this 7 years ago, and now. Then there will be a large foyer where you can buy tickets, change clothes for the first tiers. Here are the stairs to the other tiers. Above all the entrances it is written where the stairs lead. Here they will check your tickets and, if necessary, they will tell you something. Programs can be bought right there or on your floor.
The last time I decided to remember the students and climbed to the 3rd tier, because there were the most cheap tickets. I forgot that this is not the Mariinsky Theater, and the view from here is disgusting. But I will return to the third tier below.
Buffets are not available on all levels. But on the 3rd, for example, there is a vending machine with hot drinks, cold drinks and chocolates. Now one of the stairs is under reconstruction, and therefore running from tier to tier is quite problematic if you have not been here before. But the staff is always happy to help. On the second tier there is a museum of the theater, where costumes, posters and even scenery models of old productions are presented.
The theater does not look as pompous as the Mariinsky, but it is still very beautiful inside, especially if there is nothing to compare with.
THE THIRD LEVEL OF THE MIKHAILOVSKY THEATER
I decided to put it in a separate paragraph. It so happened that the Mikhailovsky Theater even sells places from which nothing can really be seen. Well, maybe 10 meters of the stage. Therefore, do not buy tickets to the last 4 boxes near the stage! Never! Even if it's very cheap! You risk just not seeing anything. I completely forgot that fences and lighting fixtures interfere here, so I saw only half of the Sleeping Beauty ballet. If at the time of purchase it is written that the place has a limited view - do not take it! The Mariinsky Theater also has places with poor visibility, but there, as a rule, people sitting in front interfere, but here the structure of the tier itself interferes.
But there is a plus: tickets to Mikhailovsky for the 3rd tier appear at the same time as for the others. That is, you do not have to sit at night and catch when the tickets go on sale in order to have time to grab something for low price like in the Mariinsky. Basically just my personal advice: for the 3rd tier of Mikhailovsky, take tickets only in the center of the tier, not in the boxes. And preferably in the first row. Yes, this is not the cheapest option, but the view from there is no worse than from the stalls.
WHERE TO SIT
Personally, I liked the benoir. As a student (see below), I often went here at a discount and sat in the benoir. Expensive, but good review. In general, it is perfectly visible from any tier, if you take places not in the boxes, but in the center.
Even from the last row of the third tier, the view is quite good, but I advise you to take binoculars with you. Lodges of the third tier, as I already wrote, I categorically do not advise.
STUDENT ENVIRONMENT
Once a month, Michalovsky chooses one Wednesday with a specific production. If you are a student, you need to come to the theater box office with a student ticket, and then any seat in the hall will cost 700 rubles. As a student, I went and sat so many times, as I wrote above, usually in a benoir. These places now cost 4-6 thousand, and for a student - 700 rubles. So enjoy
ADVICE TO THOSE WHO GO TO THE THEATER
1. Don't be late
I once came across a review when a person cursed that he was late for a couple of minutes to the stalls, the performance had not yet begun, but the doors were already closed, and they did not let him in. He considered it a bad attitude towards the client. Mikhailovsky warns that entry after the third call to the hall is prohibited. Respect yourself and others, come early. I understand that anything can happen, but I love Mikhailovsky and Mariinsky because after the lights are out, no one will run around the hall anymore.
2. Keep an eye on your appearance
Recently in the BDT I saw a woman in jeans and a sweater. Of course, the rules do not state that they will not let you through, but still in St. Petersburg it is customary to go to the classical theater dressed up: women often come in evening dresses with beautiful hairstyles, men in white shirts and jackets. You don't have to walk like a wedding, but even smart-casual in the form of a classic jumper and black trousers will do. Just please, no jeans and sneakers. Now the dress code is often not respected, but in such a historically rich theater as the Mikhailovsky, one would like to see guests who respect such rules.
3. Don't bring kids
Now I'm talking about very young children and younger schoolchildren, whom some parents manage to drag to three-hour operas in the evening. For children, Mikhailovsky puts on a couple of children's ballets on Sunday afternoons. Tickets are a little cheaper for them, and the production itself is designed for children. It is necessary to accustom to the beautiful, yes, but not every child will be able to sit for several hours, albeit with intermissions.
4. Do not shoot during the action
I often see someone pull out their phone and start filming the production. This can not be done according to the rules of the theater - this time. It distracts those sitting nearby - that's two. And if it's a DSLR or, even worse, a soap box with an automatic flash... Dear guests, this is not a concert, this is a performance in a dark hall where the audience is concentrated, and all these screens are simply distracting. Please do not film yourself and make comments to your neighbors. As long as everyone silently watches it, people will do it! As a keepsake, you can take a picture of the bow of the performers at the end of the performance or find "official" photos on the theater website.
STATEMENTS
I go to Mikhailovsky exclusively for ballet, so I will only talk about him. So, for me, all productions are divided into 2 groups: under the direction of Nacho Duato and all the rest. Nacho is a guest choreographer who likes to stage classics with a modern twist. For some reason, his works are often sparse scenery. In a word, I don't like it.
For myself, I decided a long time ago that if scenery and other visual attributes are important in ballet, then you need to go to the Mariinsky, even if it is more expensive. If the "picture" itself is not so important, then Mikhailovsky will do. For example, ballet Swan Lake"is good in both theaters, but The Nutcracker is only in the Mariinsky. In Mikhailovsky, this is generally a failure, to be honest. This ballet is fabulous, New Year's, it should immerse the viewer in magical land, but it turned out to be something very poor. This ballet, like others by Tchaikovsky, is not particularly full of plot twists, so here all the power lies in the technique and the background against which this technique can be shown. Alas, Mikhailovsky, with his minimalism, did not succeed at all here.
From what I liked in Mikhailovsky, I can advise (only ballet):
- Swan Lake;
- Sleeping Beauty;
- Giselle;
- Corsair;
- Flames of Paris;
- Romeo and Juliet.
MIKHAILOVSKY OR MARIINSKY?
Here, of course, a matter of taste, but I still choose the Mariinsky. Yes, even more expensive. Let's get further. But there every production is a guarantee that you will be satisfied. You may not like the plot of the opera or ballet itself, but this particular production will definitely be successful. So far, I've only been disappointed once when I watched The Snow Maiden.
But if you are passing through St. Petersburg, are not very good at opera or ballet, and just want to touch the beauty, then Mikhailovsky is your option.
I myself will continue to come here. Sometimes you want to revisit what you've already seen. Sometimes the theater releases a new version, as, for example, with the Corsair. Yes, and there are still performances here that I did not go to. Given the difference in price with the Mariinsky, I put 4 points. Yes, many performances are much inferior to the main competitor, but given the price tag for tickets, it’s very good.
And a short video from the last visit:
Mikhailovsky Theatre.
The creation of the great Rossi would not fully justify its name without the temple of Melpomene. The Mikhailovsky Theater, located nearby, is often called its pearl. architectural ensemble. It has been compared to a magic box, hiding behind a simple classical facade the sparkling facets of precious placers of music and dance, performing arts and vocals, richly framed by luxurious historical interiors and stylish decorations.
The poster of the theater is quite consistent with its deceptive appearance. Behind the classical titles of opera and ballet productions, sometimes bold creative search and innovative experiments are hidden.
History reference
The grand opening of the third (after and) Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg took place on November 8, 1833 with a ballet to the music of Louis Sonnet "Cupid in the Village, or a Winged Child" and the vaudeville "Familiar Strangers" by the famous playwright Pyotr Karatygin.
Named in honor of the brother of Emperor Nicholas I, Mikhail Pavlovich, the theater is located in a specially built building erected by the talented Russian architect Alexander Bryullov, brother famous artist Karl Bryullov. The design of the façade provided by Carl Rossi was used, who during the construction (1819-1925) planned the entire area in a single style.
When working on the internal arrangement of the premises, Bryullov benefited from the experience of staying abroad and a detailed study of Western European construction methods. theater buildings. The architect originally solves the problem of optimal placement of spectator seats, replacing the parterre with an inclined amphitheater. According to contemporaries, the theater was built "according to all the rules of acoustics and perspective."
In 1859, a major restructuring not only enlarged the stage, added 200 seats by lengthening the auditorium and completed the fifth tier, but also changed the appearance of the interior decoration. The interiors, designed by Bryullov under the influence of restrained ancient architecture, gave way to elegant forms of the Renaissance and Baroque. Inspired by new trends, the architect Albert Kavos, the author of the project, generously decorates the foyer with mirrors, fine stucco ornaments, and places figures of caryatids above the proscenium. Above auditorium a picturesque ceiling appears Italian artist Giovanni Busatto "The victory of the forces of enlightenment and science over the dark forces of ignorance." In terms of beauty and splendor, the restored theater is still not inferior to famous theaters peace.
The history of the theater is clearly divided into two periods: before October revolution and after.
The Imperial Mikhailovsky Theater did not have its own troupe and a single genre orientation. Concerts, ballets, vaudevilles, dramatic performances, and sometimes operas were held here.
At first, performances were given for members of the imperial family and their distinguished foreign guests by the Alexandrinsky and Mariinsky theaters. After the reconstruction, the entire St. Petersburg world began to gather here. The French language is firmly established on the stage. drama troupe, in terms of cast, surpassing the theaters of Paris, sharing the championship only with the Comédie Francaise, the largest government theater in France. The famous Rachel, Jean Bressan, Charles Burton, actors of the Sarah Bernard troupe toured on the Mikhailovskaya stage, they were replaced by eminent actors of the competing German troupe. Johann Strauss, the king of the waltz, ended his St. Petersburg seasons here with the operetta The Gypsy Baron.
Not surprisingly, the Mikhailovsky Theater had a noticeable European influence on the Russian theater school.
In the mid-1890s, previously rare opera performances became more frequent in connection with the repair Mariinsky Theater. The beginning of the flowering of the singing career of Fedor Chaliapin fell on this period. Along with the famous bass, leading figures of the Russian stage perform in Mikhailovsky: the brothers Karatygin, Kachalov, Komissarzhevskaya, Kshesinskaya, Stanislavsky.
The new stage of development is closely connected with the events of 1917, when foreign artists left Russia, and the issue of forming a domestic troupe arose. Director and conductor Samuil Samosud and director Nikolai Smolich played an important role in the development of the theatre. Already by 1918, a permanent troupe was recruited, and on March 6 the theater opened the season as the second state Opera theatre Petrograd, and in 1920 he received the title of academic. The theater formulated its aesthetic credo as "the theater of the singer-actor".
The following year, it was renamed the Maly Academic Theatre, and five years later the abbreviation MALEGOTH appeared. The growing interest in Soviet society in the 1930s ballet art allowed to create ballet troupe which was headed by an outstanding dancer, choreographer Fyodor Lopukhov.
In these difficult years, traditions are born that have not been lost to this day. The theater is becoming, as it is called, a "laboratory for the creation of Soviet opera", but in fact, it turns to emphatically experimental models. latest art, is at the forefront of the modern interpretation of the classics, transforming into the most interesting theater not only of the country, but of the world. Premiere performances of Dmitri Shostakovich's opera performances The Nose and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, an innovative version of Vsevolod Meyerhold's The Queen of Spades saw the light on his stage. However, after Stalin saw “Lady Macbeth” during a tour in Moscow, “MALEGOT” had to take a hit after the publication of the article “Muddle instead of music”, which caused a lot of noise ...
AT post-war years Continuing cooperation with modern composers, the theater for the first time in the world staged "War and Peace" by S. S. Prokofiev. The activities of prominent representatives of Russian art are directly related to the theater. At different times, the following people worked here: S. Lemeshev, V. Meyerhold, D. Shostakovich, L. Yakobson, V. Vinogradov, Yu. Temirkanov, M. Rostropovich, G. Vishnevskaya.
After the first foreign tour, which took place in 1984, the troupe launched a successful international activity to present the traditions and the latest achievements of Russian opera. On the stage, the main positions were occupied by works of Russian classics: "Boris Godunov" by M. P. Mussorgsky, "Eugene Onegin" by P. I. Tchaikovsky, "Prince Igor" by A. P. Borodin. In 1989, the theater was named after Modest Petrovich Mussorgsky.
The historical name Mikhailovsky returned to the theater in 2001, and a few years later the restoration brought back the former luxury of the interiors.
Theater repertoire today
The creative team of the theater, talented directors and performers turn each performance into an exciting event and an unforgettable performance. Continuing the tradition, today the theater's repertoire includes opera and its modern versions, classical ballet performances and the latest dance performances by the invited Spanish choreographer Nacho Duato.
A worthy place in the repertoire is occupied by opera and ballet performances to the music of P. I. Tchaikovsky. Respectful attitude to the classics and beautiful music unites the opera " Queen of Spades”, which has been performing on the stage of the Mikhailovsky Theater for more than three decades, and a unique version of the ballet “Swan Lake” - a restored performance Bolshoi Theater, which has become the hallmark of Russian ballet all over the world.
Ballet on the theater stage.
But the opera "Eugene Onegin" staged by avant-garde director Andriy Zholdak is not perceived by everyone. The production received the highest award golden mask” as the best opera performance and directorial work, however, since the premiere in 2012 and until now, it continues to cause a mixed reaction from the audience, and remains the subject of heated debate about its too textbook interpretation.
The rich and varied repertoire of the Mikhailovsky Theater includes operas to music by Mozart, Verdi, Puccini, ballet performances by Minkus, Stravinsky, Astafiev, and others. best composers different eras and peoples.
You can come to the theater not only for a performance, but also for a tour to get acquainted with the luxurious interiors, visit the auditorium, on stage and behind the scenes. On the second floor of the theater there is a small museum, the exhibits of which acquaint you with the activities of the theater in different years.
Where is it located and how to get there
Address: St. Petersburg, Art Square, 1 (nembankment of the Griboedov Canal, 4).
The best way to get to the Mikhailovsky Theater is by metro. The nearest metro station, Nevsky Prospekt, is within walking distance.