The Mikhailovsky Theater in St. Petersburg will soon be closed for reconstruction. City Governor Alexander Beglov announced this at a meeting with the theater staff, TASS reported.
“You are currently undergoing reconstruction; the appropriate theater equipment and stage plan have been ordered. We will have to put up with the theater being closed for some time, but I think we will handle the moment,” the governor said, adding that the work is scheduled to be completed by the opening of the 2027 season.
The new artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater, Eldar Abdurazakov, emphasized that the work of the creative team will not stop during the reconstruction period. “We will find another theater or another building where we can hold our shows, and I am sure everything will be fine,” Abdurzakov said.
The exact date of closure of the Mikhailovsky Theater has not yet been announced.
On March 11, it became known that a new artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater was appointed – Ildar Abdurazakov, who has been heading the Sevastopol Opera and Ballet Theater in the annexed Crimea since December 2024.
Before that, Vladimir Kekhman served as artistic director of the Mikhailovsky Theater for more than 10 years. In January 2026, his employment contract was terminated by agreement of both parties.
Kekhman also served as General Director of the Gorky Moscow Art Theater from 2021 to 2025. In the summer of 2025, searches were conducted at Kekhman and at the Moscow Art Theater. According to unofficial data, they were associated with embezzlement charges during the reconstruction of the Moscow Art Theater.