The Hermitage Theater, the oldest building of the Winter Palace Complex, was built on the site of the former Winter Palace of Peter I in 1711-1723. The theater itself was built later - in 1783-85 to the design by Giacomo Quarenghi and finished in 1802. The theater building is connected with the main palace by an arch over "Zimniaya Kanavka", the canal between the Moika River and the Neva River. The facade and hall decoration of the Hermitage Theater is unique and represents a classical masterpiece of palace architecture of the XVIIIth century. Today the hall of the Hermitage theatre and all premises are completely reconstructed. Ornamentation of the hall, lines of armchairs, a ceiling, a system of illumination, and acoustics are exactly restored. The geometrical proportions of the hall area and the stage allow to giving the artists necessary and large space, that is enough for staging ballet performances and provide excellent acoustics at the Hermitage Theater. The performances of the best Petersburg and Moscow ballet dancers and ballet troupes are arranged on this stage.
