St Petersburg's Theatre Museum (Teatralny muzey) is not about dusty playbills but about the other side of the stage: costumes from the imperial theatre workshops, sketches by Bakst and Malevich, a ballet barre and the noise machines that make stage thunder. It occupies the former Directorate of the Imperial Theatres on Zodchego Rossi Street, a few steps from the Alexandrinsky Theatre. In autumn it makes a good plan for a rainy day or for the hours before a performance, and admission costs 250 roubles.
Below: what to see in the main building, which branches are open now, what it costs and how long to allow, and how to combine the museum with the Alexandrinsky Theatre and Rossi Street. We checked opening hours, prices and displays on the museum's official website on 19 October 2026.
🎭 Where the museum is, and why the building matters
The official name is the St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music (Sankt-Peterburgsky gosudarstvenny muzey teatralnogo i muzykalnogo iskusstva). Its address is 2A Zodchego Rossi Street, with the entrance from Ostrovsky Square (Ploshchad Ostrovskogo). Note that 6 Ostrovsky Square is the address of the Alexandrinsky Theatre; the museum entrance is on the same square but in a different building.
Carlo Rossi designed the ensemble specifically for the Directorate of the Imperial Theatres, and until 1917 the Directorate worked here: contracts were signed in these rooms, and Chaliapin, Kschessinska and Meyerhold came through its doors. The museum opened to the public on 16 May 1921, built on private collections such as those of the actress Maria Savina and the patron L. I. Zheverzheev.
A wall of costume sketches and posters in the Theatre Museum display — Photo: Vaija, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
🩰 What to see in the main building
One admission ticket covers one of the two permanent displays, the adult or the children's one, so decide in advance.
- "Theatre Legends of St Petersburg" is the main display and has twice won the "Museum Olympus" award (2009 and 2011). It covers Russian theatre from the 18th to the 20th century: costumes from the imperial theatres, actors' portraits, famous ballerinas' pointe shoes, and models and sketches by Benois, Bakst, Golovin, Malevich and Tatlin. It includes the multimedia "Ballet Class": a barre once used by Anna Pavlova, Nijinsky and Ulanova, with virtual lessons from Tsiskaridze and Baryshnikov.
- "The Magic World of Theatre" is an interactive display behind the scenes of the Red Hall: models of an ancient theatre, Shakespeare's Globe and the Drottningholm court theatre in Sweden, plus noise machines on which you can make thunder, wind and surf yourself. This is the one for families with children.
- The temporary exhibition "Ballet. Earthly Gods", about 20th-century male ballet, runs until 31 January 2027: Vasiliev, Grigorovich, Chabukiani, Sergeyev, Soloviev, Jacobson.
A stage set model in the museum display: wooden structures, a wheel and stairs — Photo: Vaija, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Allow an hour to an hour and a half for one display without rushing. If you want to understand what you are looking at, join a tour: the overview "Theatre Through the Ages" and themed tours ("Meyerhold: the Master's Path", "From Directorate to Museum", "Backstage: A Women's History of Theatre", "Dinner Is Served!") last 60 minutes and cost 700 roubles in a mixed group. Tours are in Russian. There is also a street tour, "The Theatre Quarter", around Ostrovsky Square and Rossi Street.
💳 Tickets and opening hours
- Admission is 250 roubles; pensioners and children aged 7–18 pay 150. Under-7s are free, and under-18s are free on the third Thursday of each month, but free tickets are issued only at the box office.
- Audio guide: 350 roubles; there is also a free audio guide to the display from the PRO Muzey project. A video lecture ticket is 100 roubles.
- Monday 11:00–19:00, Tuesday closed, Wednesday 13:00–21:00, Thursday to Sunday 11:00–19:00. The box office and entry with online tickets close an hour earlier.
Monday matters: many places are shut that day, but the Theatre Museum is open. For more options see our list of museums open on Mondays. Tuesday, on the other hand, is out. Wednesday evening until 21:00 is a handy window if you are busy during the day.
🏠 Branches: what is open in autumn 2026
The museum has five sites, but not all are open:
- The Rimsky-Korsakov Apartment Museum, 28 Zagorodny Prospekt, building B, in the courtyard wing where the composer spent the last 15 years of his life. Open Wednesday to Sunday (Wednesday 13:00–21:00, other days 11:00–19:00); admission 250 roubles. It currently also hosts "Rex and Everyone, Everyone, Everyone", an exhibition for adults and children about the Rimsky-Korsakov family's dogs and other animals.
- The Samoilov Actors' Apartment Museum, 8 Stremyannaya Street, same hours, admission 150 roubles. Inside is the display "Stars of 20th-Century Russian Ballet".
- The Sheremetev Palace Museum of Music with its collection of instruments: we have a separate article about it.
- The Chaliapin House Museum on Graftio Street is closed for repairs and restoration until the end of 2027, so don't plan on it.
🏛 Combining it with the Alexandrinsky Theatre and Rossi Street
Step outside and you are on one of the city's most recognisable streets: Zodchego Rossi Street, with its two identical buildings, runs straight to the back of the Alexandrinsky Theatre. On the other side is Ostrovsky Square with its garden and the monument to Catherine II, and beyond it Nevsky Prospekt. According to Yandex Afisha, the nearest metro stations (for the neighbouring Alexandrinsky Theatre) are Gostiny Dvor, Nevsky Prospekt and Dostoevskaya.
The Alexandrinsky Theatre in the evening: the lit colonnade and a street lamp on Ostrovsky Square — Photo: Vityavo, Wikimedia Commons, CC0
A good autumn plan: the museum in the late afternoon (the box office closes at 18:00), then an evening performance at the Alexandrinsky. At the end of October it is dark by curtain-up, and the floodlit colonnade looks better than in daytime. To compare theatres by price, see our guide to cheap theatre tickets.
🧭 What to keep in mind
- One ticket covers one display: the adult "Theatre Legends" or the children's "Magic World of Theatre".
- You can buy a concession ticket online, but show your document at the entrance; free tickets cannot be issued online.
- The box office closes an hour before the museum: at 18:00 on a normal day, at 20:00 on Wednesdays.
- Payment: cards issued abroad do not work in Russia, so bring a Russian card or cash for the box office. Labels and tours are mainly in Russian.
- With children: "The Magic World of Theatre" and the "Rex" exhibition at the Rimsky-Korsakov apartment.
- Who it won't suit: anyone expecting a huge half-day museum, as the rooms are intimate; anyone not interested in theatre; and anyone hoping to visit Chaliapin's house, which is closed until the end of 2027.
📌 In short
✅ The Theatre Museum is at 2A Zodchego Rossi Street, entrance from Ostrovsky Square, next to the Alexandrinsky Theatre.
✅ Admission is 250 roubles, concessions 150, a group tour 700. One ticket covers one display.
✅ Open on Mondays, closed on Tuesdays; on Wednesdays it stays open until 21:00.
✅ Branches: the Rimsky-Korsakov and Samoilov apartments are open Wednesday to Sunday; the Chaliapin House is closed for repairs until the end of 2027.
✅ Allow an hour to an hour and a half per display and combine it with Rossi Street and an evening show at the Alexandrinsky.
Checked on 19 October 2026 against the official website of the St Petersburg State Museum of Theatre and Music (main building, branches, ticket prices, tours, exhibitions) and Yandex Afisha.
Cover photo: Muesse, Викисклад, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexandrinski-Theater_St._Petersburg_SAM_1089.JPG)
