TWO THEATRES
Russian project for the XVIII International Architectural
exhibition at Venezia
(la Biennale di Venezia) |
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The architecture of the Mariinski Theatre
The Mariinski Theatre is a comparatively late
building, but nevertheless has a history rich in fires and
reconstructions. The theatre traces its roots to a circus building
erected on the square between the St. Petersburg Bolshoy Theatre (a
site now occupied by the Conservatoire) and Kryukov kanal. On the
site of what was Gverr's private circus — a building about whose
architectural character we know almost nothing — in 1847—1849 the
theatre architect A.K. Kavos built an extensive, richly decorated
building with a large auditorium for the state circus. Performances
by this circus failed, however, to attract sufficient audiences and
the building was increasingly used as a stage for plays and opera
performances. In 1854 the circus was finally closed and the building
refurbished as a theatre.
In 1859 the original circus/theatre building burned down. In its
place in 1859—1860 Kavos built a new opera house, named Mariinski in
honour of the wife of Aleksandr II, Empress Mariya Fedorovna. The
composition and facades of this new theatre owed much to the
eclectic style used in theatre architecture by Gotfried Zemper —
above all, at his First Opera House in Dresden (built in the
1830s—40s). The latter is the source of the Mariinski's generalised,
non-specific neo-Renaissance decorative motifs, as well as of the
theatre's overall shape and structure with its auditorium rising
above the two-storey main blocks and wings and finishing in a
powerful semicircle facing the main facade. Fragmentary, desiccated
details on the facades included pilasters of various orders, lintels
over the windows, and numerous friezes and cornices. The auditorium
was likewise lavishly decorated.
The St Petersburg Bolshoy Theatre, which stood opposite the
Mariinski, was in 1885 closed down and turned into the Conservatoire. From this time forwards all performances were staged
in the Mariinski. The theatre's growing needs made expansion
essential. In the 1880s the St Petersburg architect Viktor Shreter —
who, like Kavos, was active in the field of theatre construction —
extended the theatre's left wing. In 1894 it was Shreter again who
carried out large-scale reconstruction of the entire theatre
building — this time replacing the original wooden structures with
metal ones, installing state-of-the-art heating and ventilation
systems, and adding a third storey to the wings. During this work
significant alterations were made to the decoration of the facade:
in place of Kavos's rather flat forms the main facade was
embellished with a large Corynthian order resting on the pedestal
formed by the theatre entrance. All the main volumes — the entrance,
wings, and the projection formed by the auditorium — gained in
height, a change which called for the use of more massive detailing
deriving either from Renaissance architecture or a generalised
Baroque style such as that found in the Opera Garnier in Paris. The
decoration of the auditorium was left more or less untouched, except
for the construction of a large foyer decorated in Louis XIV style
on the second floor above the entrance (here the two side staircases
meet).
Following the bombing of Leningrad in 1941—1943 the theatre (known
from 1935 as the Kirov) was restored to its original form
(1943—1944). In 1966—1967 the last major reconstruction was carried
out under the direction of S. Gel'fer and N. Filippov. At the same
time new blocks housing a second stage and rehearsal rooms were
built beside the canal. The facades of these additions tactfully
continued the main motifs of Schreter's decorations.
Vladimir Sedov
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