Music and Comedy Theater of St. Petersburg. (Palace Theater)

The address of theatre: St.-Petersburg, Italianskaiy street 13

The Historical Background of the Music and Comedy Theater of St. Petersburg

The former Palace Theater now known as the Music Comedy Theater is located on Italianskaya Street. This historic street is one of the oldest in the city. The palace theater was designed by the architect, E. T. Sokolov and work which began in 1799 was completed in 1801. We are proud to offer our performances in such a beautiful and historic setting.

Between 1842 and 1846 major renovations were carried out under the direction of architect L. Vendramini. In 1896 the palace was acquired by the Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolayevich the younger. The Grand Duke commissioned architect A. S. Khrenov to redesign the facades and interiors of the palace and to redesign the interior room plan.

In 1910 the palace was reconstructed to house a theater. It was necessary to create two new halls to accomplish this. The lower hall accommodated a restaurant and the upper hall an auditorium. The auditorium is one of the first examples of Russian Classical Style public interiors constructed at the beginning of the XXth Century.

The original interiors of the palace have been preserved. There are a series of Gala rooms preceded by a spectacular Gala staircase. These include the Golden Foyer, the Yellow drawing room, the White and Green halls, and the famous Buffet-Grotto.

The beauty of the palace interiors consisting of intricate gilded decorations, sparkling chandeliers, elegant bronze sconces, and fireplaces delight ballet aficionados and are a special treat for anyone attending a performance.

The palace has recently been restored and again is one of the most beautiful settings for an artistic performance. The performances themselves boast the best Russian dancers performing Russia's most famous classical ballets.