Description of the attraction
The Chinese theater is currently a ruined building of the court summer theater, located on the left side of the entrance to Tsarskoye Selo Alexander Park.
During the reign of Empress Catherine II the Great, the Chinese theater was called the Stone Opera. According to the original plan, it was planned to build an "air theater" in its place - an open-air theater with sod benches.
The plan of the Chinese theater, founded in the 78th year of the 18th century, was developed by the architect Antonio Rinaldi, and the construction was supervised by Ilya Vasilyevich Neelov, who in some way changed the original project. The building had completely European features; the external decor and architectural forms of the theater were distinguished by relative simplicity: the white walls were decorated with pilasters, a wide cornice and narrow frames for windows and doors. The cornice, most likely destroyed during renovations in the 19th century, had an intricate pattern and was multi-colored, and only a high roof with curved "Chinese" corners characterized the architect's desire to create an exotic building.
The interior furnishings of the Chinese theater were splendid. The main box, plafond, stage portal - everything was decorated with dragons, Chinese figures, shields with signs of the zodiac and other details of oriental decor. The interior was enlivened by bells, beads, pendants, carved from wood, variegatedly painted, silvered and gilded. The decor of the boxes was made of painted cardboard with a backing of shiny foil. The central imperial and 2 side grand ducal boxes were decorated with genuine works of Chinese art: porcelain, decorative lacquer panels, furniture. In 1779, the famous decorator I. Christ painted on the orange silk curtain in the form of scenes and landscapes in the "Chinese style".
The first performance on the stage of the Chinese Theater was shown on June 13, 1779. The Italian composer Giovanni Paisiello presented the opera "Dmitry Artaxerxes" to Empress Catherine II. On August 16, the opera "Chinese Idol" by the same author was shown. The performances were shown in the summer of 1780 and 1781. Under the empress, the summer seasons in the Chinese theater were intense.
In the 19th century, there was a lull in the theater. Occasionally the imperial court of Nicholas I attended theatrical performances. By the way, in the summer of 1830, an opera by the Italian composer Gioacchino Rossini “The Barber of Seville” with the participation of the famous German singer Henrietta Sontag took place on the stage of the Chinese Theater.
The theater revived again at the end of the 19th century. So, in 1892, the play by Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy "The Fruits of Enlightenment" was staged here for the first time, and a year later the students of the Nikolaev gymnasium showed the tragedy of Sophocles "King Oedipus". In 1902, French President Emile Loubet visited Russia. For this event, a ceremonial performance was staged in the theater, for which electric lighting was arranged in the building.
At the beginning of the 20th century, a troupe of guards officers, including the Grand Duke Konstantin Konstantinovich, played on the stage of the Chinese theater "The Princess of the Dream" by Edmond Rostand and "The Messina Bride" by Friedrich Schiller. The popular parody theater "Crooked Mirror" also performed here. In 1908-1909, under the direction of the court architect Silvio Amvrosievich Danini, a major overhaul of the building was organized. The stage from the 18th century has been refurbished with the latest technology for staging large ballet and opera performances. The improved heating system made it possible to use the summer theater all year round.
With the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, the work of the Chinese theater ceased. The performances were only resumed in 1930. In mid-September 1941, during the shelling of the city of Pushkin, the unique building of the Chinese Theater was almost completely burned down.
