Exhibition "Theatrical Legends"

About exhibition

Located in one of Saint Petersburg's most beautiful architectural ensembles, created by the brilliant Carlo Rossi specifically for the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres, is the Theatre Museum. The museum's collection is based on the private collections of actors M. G. Savina and I. F. Gorbunov, playwright V. V. Protopov, and patron and collector L. I. Zheverzheev. The exhibition has twice been awarded the highest museum prize "Museum Olympus" (in 2009 and 2011). It centers on rarities related to the history of Russian theatre from the 18th to the 20th century: sumptuous costumes made in the workshops of the Imperial Theatres, portraits of great actors, the pointe shoes of famous ballerinas, models and sketches by Benois, Bakst, Golovin, Malevich, Tatlin and much more. The multimedia exhibition "Ballet Class" offers the opportunity to work at the barre where Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky and Galina Ulanova once trained. Virtual representations of Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Tamara Karsavina, Mikhail Baryshnikov and Diana Vishneva demonstrate the basics of classical dance. This installation is an attempt to get to the heart of the St. Petersburg school of ballet, the pinnacle of which were the ballets of Marius Petipa, the French choreographer who staged more than 60 productions in St. Petersburg over 60 years. The historical section of the exhibition is devoted to the acknowledged masterpieces of the Petipa era.