On March 28, a souvenir sheet dedicated to the 250th Anniversary of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia was put into postal circulation

On March 28 of 1776, Catherine II granted Prince Peter Urusov a “privilege” to hold performances, masquerades, balls, and other entertainments. This date is considered the founding day of the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow. However, the building, which for many years has been apperciated as one of the main attractions of Moscow, appeared many years later. The maintenance of the entertainment establishment was financially burdensome, and by 1804 it had passed under the jurisdiction of the Board of Trustees. But a year later, the first fire occurred that destroyed the old theater building.

The Bolshoi Petrovsky Theatre, built in its place, opened on January 18, 1825. It was built by architect O. Beauvais by order of the Moscow governor Prince D. Golitsyn. The facade of the colossal building was decorated with a portico of 8 white stone columns with an Apollos equestrian triple on the pediment. After the fire of 1853, famous architect A. Cavos undertook the restoration of the theater. Russian sculptor P. Klodt created a sculpture group with Apollo, which is now famous all over the world. In August of 1856, the theater reopened in Moscow.

Today, the Bolshoi Theatre is the capital's main cultural landmark. It comprises opera and ballet companies and the Bolshoi Theatre orchestra. The names of the artists of the opera and ballet schools are the heritage of Russia and the entire theatrical world. Outstanding masters of the stage who worked and became famous here are I. Arkhipova and Yu. Grigorovich, I. Kozlovsky and E. Nesterenko, E. Svetlanov, as well as world-famous ballerinas - G. Ulanova, M. Plisetskaya and M. Semenova. The Bolshoi Theatre is one of the world's major theaters. It plays a leading role in shaping the Russian music-and-stage school and in the making of Russian national art, including the renowned Russian ballet.

The souvenir sheet provides an image of the historic stage of the Bolshoi Theater; the stamp features a scene from the Boris Godunov opera by composer M. Mussorgsky, staged at the theater in 1948.

In addition to the issue of the souvenir sheet, JSC Marka produced First Day Covers and a special cancel for Moscow, as well as an illustrated cover with the second emission type with gold foil and partial varnish and a label inside.


Design Artists: N. Belova, M. Bodrova.
Face value: 250 rubles.
Souvenir sheet size: 122×98 mm, stamp size in the souvenir sheet: 50×37 mm.
Quantity: 21 thousand souvenir sheets (the 1-st emission type); 3.15 thousand souvenir sheets (the 2-nd emission type*).
* To be on sale as part of an illustrated cover.

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