The Mikhaylovsky Theatre (Mikhailovsky, as stated on the official website, Михайловский театр) is one of the oldest opera and ballet houses in Russia. It was founded in 1833 and is situated in a historical building on the Arts Square in St. Petersburg. It is named after Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia.
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The theatre was established in 1833 by decree of Tsar Nicholas I.
Before the 1917 Revolution the Mikhailovsky did not have its own resident company: performances were given either by a French company, hired by the Russian Imperial Theatres, or at the end of the century by the Mariinsky Theatre and Alexandrinsky Theatre companies. Most of the great French actors of the period were invited to perform at the theatre: Those appearing included Jeanne Sylvanie Arnould-Plessy, Rachel Félix, Lucien Guitry, and Sarah Bernhardt, as well as singers such as Hortense Schneider. Both Classical and contemporary authors and composers had their works produced to great acclaim in French. Plays by Molière, Victor Hugo, Victorien Sardou, and Alexandre Dumas, fils and operettas by Jacques Offenbach were praised by the intelligentsia and the Russian aristocracy, such as Tolstoy and Tchaikovsky.
When the Bolsheviks took power, the French company was forced to leave Russia. Shortly afterwards the Mikhailovsky changed its name to the Maly Operny (Maly Opera Theatre). New management and artists followed. In 1920-1930 the Maly Operny established itself as one of the leading experimental stages in Russian new musical theatre. Shostakovich made his debut at the Maly Operny: Samuil Samosud conducted world premiere performances of Shostakovich's The Nose and Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, the famous Vsevolod Meyerhold production of The Queen of Spades was staged there, and the world premiere of Prokofiev's epic opera War and Peace took place on the theatre's stage on June 12, 1946.[1]
From 1989 to 2007 the theatre bore the name of Modest Mussorgsky, subsequently returning to its original name the Mikhailovsky Theatre.[1]
In what was seen as a sensational move, in 2007 the Russian businessman Vladimir Kekhman was appointed as General Director of the Theatre. Russian theatre has no tradition of making a clear distinction between artistic and administrative management: Thus Kekhman's efforts to build business-based organisational structures at the Mikhailovsky received controversial reviews from the media. However, when Mr Kekhman donated 1bn roubles ($40m US) for renovation of the building[2] and invited Elena Obraztsova and Farouk Ruzimatov to coordinate the artistic revival of the Mikhailovsky, (he) "succeeded in making the ballet world sit up and take notice"[3].
In 2007, Yelena Obraztsova was appointed Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Opera and Farouk Ruzimatov started his work as the Artistic Director of the Mikhailovsky Ballet. As of 2009 both Obraztsova and Ruzimatov hold a seat on the Artistic Committee of the Theatre, while Peter Feranec is Music Director of the Theatre and Michael Messerer is Ballet Master in Chief.
The Mikhailovsky Ballet made its London debut in July 2008 on the London Coliseum stage. The short season led to a nomination for the Best Foreign Dance Company Award at the National Dance Awards in 2008, though the Company lost out to the New York City Ballet NYCB by a small margin.