Circus Ciniselli (Russian: ''Цирк Чинизелли'') was the first brick-built

circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclist ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

; it is situated beside the

Fontanka The Fontanka (russian: Фонтанка), a left branch of the river Neva, flows through the whole of Central Saint Petersburg, Russia – from the Summer Garden to . It is long, with a width up to , and a depth up to . The Moyka River for ...

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 ...

. The building, which still stands, was opened on 26 December 1877, with a large stage (13 meters in diameter) and stables (housing 150 horses). The architect was

Vasily Kenel Vasily Alexandrovich Kenel (, 1834–1893) was a Russian Empire architect. Bibliography He studied in the St Petersburg Academy of Arts, where Konstantin Thon was his teacher. In 1860 he was sent by the academy abroad as a pensioner for 4 y ...

. The Italian circus performer Gaetano Ciniselli (1815-1881) first visited Saint Petersburg in 1845, as part of the troupe of Alessandro Guerra. He returned to Russia in 1869, this time working with Carl-Magnus Hinne, his brother-in-law, in his circuses in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and Saint Petersbrug. Ciniselli settled in Russia, and inherited Hinne's circuses in 1875. The Ciniselli family managed the circus until 1919, when they emigrated. They would often lease the building to stage high-profile entertainment events, such as the World Wrestling Championship in 1898 and

Max Reinhardt Max Reinhardt (; born Maximilian Goldmann; 9 September 1873 – 30 October 1943) was an Austrian-born Theatre director, theatre and film director, theater manager, intendant, and theatrical producer. With his innovative stage productions, he i ...

's production of ''

Oedipus Rex ''Oedipus Rex'', also known by its Greek title, ''Oedipus Tyrannus'' ( grc, Οἰδίπους Τύραννος, ), or ''Oedipus the King'', is an Athenian tragedy by Sophocles that was first performed around 429 BC. Originally, to the ancient Gr ...

'' which featured

Alexander Moissi Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here are Aleksandar, Al ...

in 1911. In 1918, Iury Iurev revived the play using the original set. This was followed by the production of ''

Macbeth ''Macbeth'' (, full title ''The Tragedie of Macbeth'') is a tragedy by William Shakespeare. It is thought to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the damaging physical and psychological effects of political ambition on those w ...

'' featuring Maria Andreyeva and

Feodor Chaliapin Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...

. Two halls in the building house the first circus

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

in the world, opened in 1928 and boasting more than 80,000 exhibits as of 2002.

References

External links

Entry in the online St Petersburg EncyclopediaThe BOLSHOI Saint-Petersburg State Circus
{{Coord, 59.938569, N, 30.34117, E, type:landmark, display=title 1877 establishments in the Russian Empire Buildings and structures in Saint Petersburg Tourist attractions in Saint Petersburg Culture in Saint Petersburg Theatres in Saint Petersburg Circuses Museums in Saint Petersburg Circus museums Cultural heritage monuments of regional significance in Saint Petersburg

See also

References

External links