Museum of Theatre and Music Art

Categories / Science. Education/Museums
MUSEUM OF THEATRE AND MUSIC ART, St. Petersburg State (6 Ostrovsky Square). The museum was established in 1918 in the former apartment of the Board of Directors of Imperial Theatres, and has been at this address ever since. The first exhibition was opened in 1922. The museum is based on the collection of portraits and documents collected by actor of Alexandrinsky Theatre I. F. Gorbunov from 1883, on the archives of the Board of Directors of Imperial Theatres and other private collections, including those of M. G. Savina, A. E. Molchanova, V. V. Protopopova, L. N. Zheverzheeva, V. F. Komissarzhevskaya, P. V. Samoylova, and O. G. Spesivtseva. The collection of I. F. Gorbunov was exhibited at the First Russian Theatre Exhibition of the Literary Artistic Society in Panaevsky Theatre in 1908. The fund of the Department of Painting, Drawing and Arts and Crafts (32,000 objects) includes portraits, sculpture, miniatures, prints, sketches of costumes and decor, scale models (from the middle of the 18th century on), a large collection of works by the artists of World of Art Association and by the masters of the avant-garde style. The Department of Manuscripts and Documents (with some materials dating back to 1725) contains the collections of printed music, autographs, producers' explications, diaries, notes, letters by famous composers, musicians, writers, dramatists, poets, artists, actors and directors of drama, opera and ballet. The Memorial Department keeps personal things and awards of outstanding figures of theatre and music art, things of theatre everyday life of the 18th -19th centuries, a large collection of theatre costumes of various styles and epochs numbering some 2000 exhibits. The collection of photos and negatives of the museum is the largest Russian collection of such kind. The museum possesses large collections of posters and theatre programmes (from the end of the 18th century on) and a unique collection of sound recordings. In 2003 the funds of the museum numbered 450,000 exhibits. The branches of the museum include: Rimsky-Korsakov Memorial Apartment Museum, Chaliapin Apartment Museum, the Samoylovs Memorial Apartment Museum, and the Museum of Music. The main building of the museum and all its branches house exhibitions and chamber concert halls, hold excursions, lectures, concerts, creative meetings and thematic soirees. The museum carries out research and publishing work, documents modern performances, organises travelling exhibitions in Russia and abroad, and compiles data libraries in the Internet. The main building of the museum (built in 1828-34 by architect K. I. Rossi) is a monument of Empire architecture and a part of the ensemble of Ostrovsky Square (former Alexandrinskaya Square).

References: Тихонов Л. П. Музеи Ленинграда. Л., 1989; Белякаева-Казанская Л. В. Силуэты музыкального Петербурга. СПб., 2001. С. 320-323; Музеи Санкт-Петербурга и Ленинградской области: Справ. СПб., 2002. С. 60-61.

A. A. Kirillov. Chaliapin Fedor Ivanovich
Gorbunov Ivan Fedorovich
Komissarzhevskaya Vera Fedorovna
Molchanov Anatoly Evgrafovich
Protopopov Vladimir Vasilievich
Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolay Andreevich
Rossi Carl Ivanovich (Carlo Giovanni)
Samoylov Pavel Vasilievich
Savina Maria Gavrilovna
Spesivtseva Olga Alexandrovna
The Samoylovs
Zheverzheev Levky Ivanovich
Ostrovsky Square/Saint Petersburg, city, house 6
Тихонов Л. П. Музеи Ленинграда. Л., 1989
Музеи Санкт-Петербурга и Ленинградской области: Справ. СПб., 2002
Белякаева-Казанская Л. В. Силуэты музыкального Петербурга. СПб., 2001 Imperial Theatres Board
Alexandrinsky Theatre
World of Art, Association
Rimsky-Korsakov Memorial Museum Apartment
Chaliapin F. I. Memorial Flat