Description of the attraction
The Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theater is one of the oldest theaters in the Volga region and Russia.
The central square of the city of Saratov has been called Teatralnaya since 1810, from the day the theater building was built in its very center. The theater had a small hall with a parterre, a small stage with poor lighting and serf actors, but it was the only one in the city and in the entire province. In 1842, for the first time in this theater, they staged Verstovsky's opera Askold's Grave.
After a fire in 1859, nothing remained of the wooden theater building, but on November 4, 1865, the City Theater was solemnly opened at the same place. It accommodated 1200 spectators and was large, spacious and made of stone. The building with its facade resembled one of the Viennese theaters, and in terms of interior decoration - the Moscow Maly Theater. Worked by architects Salko A. M. and Tveden K. V.
At the initial stage, the theater was a drama theater, but in 1890 it began to participate in opera performances, and later in ballet performances. By 1928, when a professional troupe was formed, the theater switched exclusively to opera and ballet performances.
In 1944, the Saratov Opera and Ballet Theater acquired the status of a republican one. In 1962, the theater building was rebuilt by architects: T. G. Botyanovsky and L. I. Yachin. Since 1978 the theater has been called: Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theater. Since 1986, the theater has been annually holding the Sobinovsky Musical Festival, which has now acquired an international status.
Today, the Saratov Academic Opera and Ballet Theater, whose repertoire includes performances of operettas, operas and ballets, has every right to be called the keeper and successor of the musical traditions of world art. The theater is a multiple winner of the Golden Mask festival and the winner of the Window to Russia competition.
