Treasures from Aleksei Bakhrushin Theatre Museum

While in Moscow some weeks ago, I took the time to do something I have always wanted to do. I visited A. A. Bakhrushin Theatre Museum. Aleksei Bakhrushin was a businessman and philanthropist who amassed a pretty remarkable collection of theatrical memorabilia. His house, a lovely brick building in faux-Slavic style, and collection were later turned into a museum dedicated to the history of theater in Russia.      

A.A.Bakhrushin Theatre Museum

Some great vintage theater posters. The top three are forThe Scarlet Flower, The Firebird and The Stone Flower. The two below are for Snowmaiden and Şüräle. And the two below that are Koschei and The Sleeping Beauty.    

One of the main halls of the museum housed an exhibition Study of Garden dedicated to flowers, nature and gardens in theater, opera and ballet. They had a lovely collection of prints and I killed my camera's battery in this room trying to capture all of them.  

Marie Taglioni in La Sylphide 

Fanny Elssler as Florinda in the dance La Cachucha by Achille Devéria
Le Diable boiteux by Gide, directed by Coralli
The Paris Opera, Paris, 1836  

The Pearl costume sketch by K. F. Valts
The Miraculous Pearl by Riccardo Drigo
Bolshoi Theater, Moscow, 1890s

The Pearl has to be my favorite costume sketch. I am simply entranced by the mechanics of that skirt. How does it stay up? Does it make it difficult to dance? Shouldn't it be called 'The Clam', not 'The Pearl'?

François costume sketch by A. I. Charlemagne
The Queen of Ice by Marius Petipa
Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, 1865

Bettli costume sketch by A. I. Charlemagne
The Queen of Ice by Marius Petipa
Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, 1865 

Camellias costume sketch by A. I. Charlemagne
The Queen of Ice by Marius Petipa
Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, 1865 

Bellflower costume sketch by A. I. Charlemagne
The Queen of Ice by Marius Petipa
Mariinsky Theater, St. Petersburg, 1865

Bird woman costume sketch by F. L. Sollogub
Unknown Play, 1880s 

Water fairy costume sketch by F. O. Schechtel
The Golden Apples by Edmond Audran, directed by M. V. Lentovskiy
The New Theater (Maly Theater), Moscow, 1884

The second wicked stepsister costume sketch by O. N. Polikarpova
The Scarlet Flower, directed by E. Medvedev
Collection of The Puskin State Museum of Fine Arts, 2010  

The merchant costume sketch by O. N. Polikarpova
The Scarlet Flower, directed by E. Medvedev
Collection of The Puskin State Museum of Fine Arts, 2010 

The Scarlet Flower is the Russian version of the Beauty and the Beast story. And, incidentally, my favorite fairy tale. So I was especially excited by these fun and colorful costumes. I think these were made for an opera. I only wish I could have seen the show itself.        

Fancy spyglasses that double as key chains, snuff boxes and perfume bottles

During the 19th century theater boom in Russia novelty spyglasses became very popular. They were usually richly decorated with ivory, mother of pearl and rhinestones.          

A cast of Marie Taglioni’s foot and her dancing shoe

Marie Taglioni was a renowned Italian-Swedish ballet dancer who is probably most remembered for her role in La Sylphide which was created for her. Taglioni was very popular during her stay in Russia, so much so that a cast of her foot was made to show how neat and petite it was - Victorians clearly prized narrowness and smallness in feet. 

Modern recreations of 18th century male stage costumes, paper, 2011

Modern recreations of 18th century female stage costumes, paper, 2011

There were several rooms dedicated to different periods in theater history. The two costumes above are from the 18th century room. These masque costumes were quite impressive, considering they are made out of paper. I wish they had a few more of them.   

A model of an 18th century stage

The model above was great in its detail, but really too far to take a good look at. I do love the staircase and the hall with the columns that seem to be mashed together from two very different productions.

A model of the Maly Theater, Moscow 

I was told by one of the ladies working at the museum that this model has a pretty fun history. Originally, they thought that the model was simply one of the Maly Theater building from the outside. But once, when it had to be moved, it cracked and fell apart into two pieces. They thought that it broke, but it turned out that it just had a secret lever that opened it up to reveal a detailed model of the inside of the theater.  

I certainly wish my camera hadn't died as quickly. There were a few very nice costumes, not to mention many, many, many more prints and illustrations. I certainly intend to make another trip to this museum next time I'm in Moscow.

You can see the Bakhrushin Theatre Museum website here (unfortunately, only in Russian)