Exhibition of the Samoylov Family Museum-Apartment

About exhibition

The idea of creating the museum arose in the early 1990s in connection with the reconstruction of a hotel complex. At the request of the GIOP, the layout and interior decoration of Samoylov's apartment were completely preserved during the building's renovation. Thus a space was created that combines modern European standards with a piece of old St. Petersburg. The Theatre Museum filled the house with items of actors' everyday life from its collections. The central figure of the dynasty and of the entire exhibition is V. V. Samoylov. His study contains personal belongings, furnishings partly donated by descendants, and paintings masterfully executed by the actor. One of the halls is dedicated to the history of the Samoylov acting family; a large portrait hall tells of the Samoylovs' artistic circle and the history of St. Petersburg's imperial theatres in the 19th – early 20th centuries. In addition to portraits, a variety of theatrical household items and personal effects of the celebrated actors of the Alexandrinsky Theatre are displayed here. The exhibition "Stars of Russian Ballet of the 20th Century" presents the stages of development of national ballet from the early 20th century to the 1980s. Rooms devoted to Sergei Diaghilev's legendary "Russian Seasons", the A. Vaganova school, and the Soviet period in the history of the Kirov Theatre recount the great representatives of Russian ballet — A. Pavlova, T. Karsavina, G. Ulanova, N. Dudinskaya, M. Baryshnikov, R. Nureyev and many others.