History of the building on Bolshaya Konyushennaya. Variety theater - hall layout with seats

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

In 2011, the reconstruction of the Variety Theater was completed in St. Petersburg. The scheme of the hall with seats has not changed significantly, but the interior has become completely different - now it reminds of the times when in the XIX-XX centuries. under a glass arch, guests were treated to a chic restaurant "Medved". Now the cast-iron columns and load-bearing rafters have found their original form, and the curved ceiling with changing lighting is similar to the previous one.

Amazing story

The entire St. Petersburg beau monde gathered in the Medved: many famous personalities visited here, Chaliapin and Komissarzhevskaya often dropped by here. At the end of the hall, there were already stages: every evening, artists of the cabaret, fashionable in those days, performed here.

The past of the hall of the Variety Theater named after Arkady Raikin is amazing. In a strange way, it turned out that the destiny of this historic building is to always remain visible and respectable, to receive celebrities and talents. Before the glazed room became a restaurant, it was the courtyard of the Demutov Tavern, the best hotel in St. Petersburg. Pushkin wrote "Poltava" in her rooms,Griboyedov, having barely finished the comedy, read Woe from Wit to his friends, Turgenev, Chaadaev, Batyushkov, Pestel stopped.

But the magnificent stone building where the Demutov Inn was located was erected in the seventies of the 18th century. Earlier, at approximately the same place, in 1723, at the behest of Peter the Great, a wooden house was built: a spectacular institution for the townspeople. In fact, it was the first theater in St. Petersburg.

State Theater

In 1939, after a number of state institutions visited here, the building was converted into the first Soviet variety theater. The layout of the hall with seats was simple: rows of spectator seats were placed between massive racks, in which picturesque cast columns were hidden, in front of a small stage. At the same time, the glass vault was covered with solid iron.

The theater turned into a legend of the national stage, and the building still hosted celebrities and talents. Utyosov, Vertinsky, Shulzhenko, Ruslanova and Pakhomenko sang here. The numbers were announced by Arkady Raikin, who masterfully mastered the art of entertainer. Since 1942, he headed the Variety and Miniature Theater as an artistic director and stayed in this position for 40 years. He led through the theater many artists of different genres, whom the whole country knew and loved.

Last changes

Without major changes, but the interior decoration of the Variety Theater was regularly updated. The layout of the hall with seats and stages remained the same. Last reconstructionreturned to the interior of the building the historical appearance of discreet luxury and respectability, with which the most complex visualization system is harmoniously combined.

Amazing spectators are mesmerized by a glass dome that changes color lighting depending on the action on the stage. But that's not all. The new equipment makes it possible to realize the complex theatrical effects that many of the world's famous stages are famous for.

The halls, foyer and stage have been transformed. The scheme of the hall with the seats of the Variety Theater has not undergone any special changes, but the premises have literally been reborn! With all the interior and technical changes, the auditorium remained comfortable and cozy. And most importantly, he, as always, pleases with meetings with his favorite artists.