The Alexander Theatre ( fi, Aleksanterin teatteri, sv, Alexandersteatern) is a Finnish

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

in the city of

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

at Bulevardi 23–27, also known as Russian Theatre.

History

In the summer of 1875, then

Governor-General Governor-general (plural ''governors-general''), or governor general (plural ''governors general''), is the title of an office-holder. In the context of governors-general and former British colonies, governors-general are appointed as viceroy t ...

Russian Finland The Grand Duchy of Finland ( fi, Suomen suuriruhtinaskunta; sv, Storfurstendömet Finland; russian: Великое княжество Финляндское, , all of which literally translate as Grand Principality of Finland) was the predecessor ...

(1866-1881) Count

Nikolay Adlerberg Count Nikolay Vladimirovich Adlerberg (; 19 May 1819 – 25 December 1892), was a Russian aristocrat who served as Councilor of State and Chamberlain in the imperial court, as well as governor of Taganrog, Simferopol and Finland. Biography ...

(of Swedish noble descent), a frequent theatregoer, received

Alexander II of Russia Alexander II ( rus, Алекса́ндр II Никола́евич, Aleksándr II Nikoláyevich, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ftɐˈroj nʲɪkɐˈlajɪvʲɪtɕ; 29 April 181813 March 1881) was Emperor of Russia, Congress Poland, King of Poland and Gra ...

's permission to build a Russian theatre for Russians living in

. The building was designed by the engineer Colonel Pjotr Petrovitš Benard, though probably on the basis of standardized drawings.Arvi Ilonen, Helsinki - An Architectural Guide, Helsinki: Otava, 1990. The auditorium of the theatre was decorated by the

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

architect Jeronim Osuhovsky, and the Finnish artist Severin Falkman decorated the ceiling paintings, which contain twelve cupids reminiscent of the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre ( rus, Мариинский театр, Mariinskiy teatr, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music th ...

in Saint Petersburg. The theatre's technology was designed by Iosif Vorontsov; the theatre itself was completed in October 1879, and in February 1880 it was named after Russian Tsar Alexander II. The grand opening occurred on 30 March 1880 with

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroads ...

''. In 1918 the

Finnish National Opera and Ballet The Finnish National Opera and Ballet ( fi, Suomen Kansallisooppera ja -baletti; sv, Finlands Nationalopera och -balett) is a Finnish opera company and ballet company based in Helsinki. It is headquartered in the Opera House on the coast of the T ...

moved to the Alexander Theatre, and remained in the premises until 1993. After the

moved to their newly built house, the Alexander Theatre got back its historical name and once again became a theatre venue. Since 1993, the theatre has been used for guest stage performances of various genres. The complex also houses different offices, rehearsal facilities, dance studios and different companies. The Alexander Theatre is reportedly haunted by the

ghost A ghost is the soul or spirit of a dead person or animal that is believed to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely from an invisible presence to translucent or barely visible wispy shapes, to rea ...

of a dead officer. It is assumed that he died during the

Crimea War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the d ...

and moved to Helsinki, as the tiles of Alexander Theatre were moved there from

Åland Åland ( fi, Ahvenanmaa: ; ; ) is an Federacy, autonomous and Demilitarized zone, demilitarised region of Finland since 1920 by a decision of the League of Nations. It is the smallest region of Finland by area and population, with a size of 1 ...

Notes

External links

* Theatres in Helsinki Opera houses in Finland Cultural history of Finland 1879 establishments in Finland Theatres completed in 1879 Kamppi {{Opera-struct-stub