Moscow Chamber Musical Theatre, Opera house in Moscow, Russia.

The Moscow Chamber Musical Theatre occupies the building at Nikolskaya Street 17, formerly the Slaviansky Bazaar restaurant, and has been its home since 1997. Its pale mint-green facade with white trim rises three storeys, with rows of rectangular windows in white frames. A wide beige-gold marquee above the central entrance bears dark lettering naming the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation and the theatre, and a dark banner below advertises a January performance.

The theatre was founded in 1972 with a clear focus on modern opera productions that had no place in the major houses of the time. Over the years it built a reputation as a stage where new works could be premiered and tested before broader audiences.

The theatre's name honours Boris Pokrovsky, its founder and longtime director of the Bolshoi, who led it until his death in 2009. Its repertoire has centred on rare and little-known works, from Haydn's "The Apothecary" and Salieri's "First the Music, Then the Words" to Schnittke's "Life with an Idiot", written in agreement with Pokrovsky. The building on Nikolskaya Street, house 17, formerly held the Slavyansky Bazar restaurant.

The theatre sits in central Moscow and is easy to reach by metro or bus. Because the hall is small, seats tend to fill up quickly, so it is worth planning your visit in advance and checking what is on before you go.

The theatre is one of the very few venues in Russia devoted mainly to chamber opera, a genre that rarely gets its own dedicated stage. This focus has drawn a regular crowd that is quite different from the typical opera audience found in larger houses.