Italian Operisti in Early Eighteenth-Century St Petersburg: Repertoire, Production, and Audience

In the first decades of the 18th century, Italian theatre and its artists became vital to the Russian empresses, who began to fashion their courts as theatres in which theatregoing played a central role. Countless playwrights and composers, librettists and impresarios, actors, and singers were active at the Russian court. This essay asks and answers the question of what role migrant theatre and opera professionals played in overcoming national borders and shaping a transnational musico-dramatic culture. It argues that the gradual integration of the Russian Empire into theatre networks occurred thanks to the initiative of the company of Italian actors, musicians, choreographers, dancers and theatre architects who worked in St Petersburg between 1733 and 1735. It examines who was responsible for scouting, hiring, and casting actors for the Russian court. What channels of communication did agents, impresarios, and actor-singers use to promote the circulation of the Italian musico-dramatic repertoire across Europe in general and in Russia in particular?