Architecture of the Theatre

- First English translation of seminal work on Soviet theaters by architect Grigory Barkhin - a key figure in Soviet architecture from the 1920s

- Originally published in 1947, it became an essential work for universities and art colleges and was translated into German and Chinese

- Little-known designs for theaters all over Soviet Union, including Smolensk, Alma-Ata, Kazan, Minsk, Rostov-on-Don and many others

In the 1930s Barkhin became particularly interested in theater architecture, and this culminated in the publication in 1947 of a two-volume work, Architecture of the Theatre. This was the most comprehensive and deeply researched study of theater architecture of the time. The two volumes follow a historical timeline, from early classical theaters to some of Europe’s national treasures - La Scala, Opéra Garnier, Vienna State Opera - and the development of theater architecture in the Russian Empire. The second half of the book is devoted entirely to Soviet theater architecture of the pre-war period, in particular the five-star design of the Red Army theater in Moscow, and competition projects for theaters in Rostov-on-Don, Sverdlovsk and Minsk, which Barkhin himself designed with his son Mikhail. These projects can be seen as the cornerstone of the development of Soviet architecture of the time. In this remarkable book, published here in English for the first time, Barkhin sets out a blueprint for architecture that combines an understanding of the subject with a bold and uncompromising vision.

Grigory Barkhin (1880-1969) was born in Perm and trained as an architect at the Academy in St Petersburg. He designed residential and public buildings, as well as farms, villages and urban centers. But his overriding interest was in theater architecture. Theater projects included designs for Rostov-on-Don, Sverdlovsk and Minsk and in 1947 he published his authoritative work The Architecture of the Theatre. Before the war he worked on the General Plan for the Reconstruction of Moscow (1933-37) and after the war helped to formulate the design for the reconstruction of Sevastopol (1944-47).