Kamenny Island Theatre, Classical theatre on Kamenny Island, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Kamenny Island Theatre is a wooden classicist building on Kamenny Island in Saint Petersburg. Its pinkish-brown brick facade has a triangular pediment filled with carved reliefs of a lyre, masks and musical instruments, above a portico of six white Corinthian columns. A banner reading "КАМЕННООСТРОВСКИЙ ТЕАТР" hangs between the columns, and a long wing with arched white window moldings extends to the right.
The theatre was built in 1827 to a design by Smaragd Shustov, after Nicholas I had rejected a first, more costly project the year before. It was assembled from prefabricated timber elements in about forty days, and the opening on 1 July 1827 featured Karatygin's comedy "Two of Four". In 1843-1844 Alberto Cavos kept the building but replaced rotten timber supports with rubble masonry foundations and stone columns.
The building serves as a second stage for the Bolshoi Drama Theater, hosting performances in a close setting. The hall is so compact that audiences can follow every expression on the performers' faces from almost any seat.
The theatre stands on Kamenny Island at 13 Staro-Teatralnaya Square, by the Bolshaya Nevka near the 1st Yelagin Bridge. The island can be reached on foot from the metro, and the building is visible from the bridge. The surrounding garden, laid out under the direction of D. Bush, has around 400 trees and shrubs.
During renovations, workers dug out underground space beneath the building without touching the wooden structure above. This was a real challenge given that the ground in this part of the island is marshy and soft.
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