The Bolshoi Theater began as a private theatre of a Russian entrepreneur, departmental prosecutor of Moscow – Prince Pyotr Vasilyevich Urusov (1733-1813). On March 28, 1776, Empress Catherine II signed a “privilege” to the Prince for supporting of performances, masquerades, balls and other entertainments for a period of ten years. This date is considered the day of the foundation of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater.

Urusov's companion was an Englishman – Oxford graduate Michael Maddox (1747-1822), who came to Russia to teach mathematics to the future Emperor Paul I, but inadvertently became fascinated by the scene....
At first, the acting troupe consisted of 43 people: 13 actors, 9 actresses, 4 ballerinas, 3 dancers, a choreographer and 13 musicians. At the first stage of the theatre’s existence, the opera and drama troupes formed a single whole, and the composition of the troupe was very diverse: from serf artists to stars invited from abroad.

The first building of the theatre was erected on the right bank of the Neglinka River. It faced Petrovka street, from here the theatre got its name – Petrovsky. Its opening took place on December 30, 1780.

The Petrovsky Theater, erected in record time – less than six months, was the first public theatre building of such size, beauty and convenience built in Moscow. By the time of the theatre opening, however, Prince Urusov had already been forced to yield his rights to the companion, and later the “privilege” was extended to Maddox only, and later the theatre acquired the status of an imperial theatre.

In the fall of 1805, the building of the Petrovsky Theater burned down. The troupe began to perform on private stages.
In July 1820, construction of a new theatre building began, which was to become the center of the urban composition of the square and adjacent streets. The facade, decorated with a powerful portico on eight columns with a large sculptural group – Apollo on a chariot with three horses, “looked” at the Theater Square, which was under construction.

On January 18, 1825, the grand opening of the new Petrovsky Theater took place – much larger than the lost old one, and therefore called the Bolshoi Petrovsky. Specially written for the occasion was the prologue “The Triumph of the Muses” in verses by M. Dmitriev, with choruses and dances to music by A. Alyabyev,
A. Verstovsky and F. Scholz was performed, as well as the ballet “Sandrillona”, staged by the dancer and choreographer from France Félicité Hullin-Sor to the music of her husband F. Sor. The Muses triumphed over the fire that destroyed the old theatre building, and, led by the Genius of Russia, whose role was played by twenty-five-year-old Pavel Mochalov, revived from the ashes of a new temple of art. And although the theatre was indeed very large, it could not accommodate all comers. Emphasizing the importance of the moment and considering the desire of the public, the triumphal performance was completely repeated the next day.
Dramatic performances continued to be staged at the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theatre, but operas and ballets began to occupy an increasing place in its repertoire. Works by Donizetti, Rossini, Meyerbeer, young Verdi and works by Russian composers were staged.

The building of the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater existed for almost 30 years. But it suffered the same sad fate: on March 11, 1853 a fire broke out in the theatre, which lasted three days and destroyed almost everything. Active reconstruction work began.
The building of the Bolshoi Petrovsky theatre existed for almost 30 years. However, it suffered the same fate: on March 11, 1853, a fire broke out in the theatre. It lasted three days and destroyed almost everything. After that, active restoration work was carried out.

The last performance of the Imperial Bolshoi Theater took place on February 28, 1917. And on March 13, 1917 – the State Bolshoi Theater was opened. After the October Revolution, the existence of the theatre was threatened with closure. It took several years for the Bolsheviks’ government to abandon forever the idea of closing the Bolshoi Theatre. In 1922, the Bolsheviks government declared the closure of the theatre economically inexpedient. By that time, the building of the theatre was already “adapting” to the needs of the new government. The Bolshoi Theater hosted All-Russian Congresses of Soviets, meetings of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, and COMINTERN (Communist International) congresses. And the formation of a new country – the USSR, was also proclaimed from the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre.

During the Great Patriotic War, the building of the Bolshoi Theater was damaged by a bomb. However, already in the autumn of 1943, the Bolshoi Theater resumed its work with the production of the opera “Ivan Susanin” by M. Glinka. At this period, a part of the troupe remained in Moscow and continued to perform on the stage of the theatre. Many dancers and singers performed as the part of front-line teams, while others went to the war.

The Bolshoi Theater underwent many reforms and restorations, in 2002 the New Stage of the theatre was opened, since 2005 the next reconstruction of the building was underway. The restoration of the country's main stage was a landmark event for a large well-coordinated team of professionals of the highest level. The project brought together unique specialists whose work was appreciated by the Bolshoi Theatre audience.

On the occasion of the Bolshoi Theatre foundation day, we have prepared a musical selection of recordings of opera singers who were members of the Bolshoi Theater troupe in the late 19^th and early 20^th centuries.