DRESS OF PEASANTS—SCENE FROM A RUSSIAN OPERA.
"Peter the Great determined to develop the drama, and engaged a Hungarian actor, who happened to be at Moscow, to look after the matter. This actor went to Germany and engaged a troupe, and among them was a man who divided his time between theatrical affairs and ship-building. When he was not ship-building he was writing plays and managing Peter's theatre at Moscow, and he seems to have engaged in the two occupations with equal facility. Peter attended the performances accompanied by his officers. In order to encourage the drama there was no admission fee, the company being supported by the Government.
"At first the performances took place in a large hall of the Suhareff Tower. After a time a wooden theatre was built near the Kremlin, and performances were given regularly. The City of Yaroslav established a theatre of its own under the direction of Feodor Volkhoff, an actor who afterwards became famous in Russia. In 1752 he was summoned to St. Petersburg by the Empress Elizabeth, to direct performances at the court theatre, and in 1756 the Empress issued an Imperial order establishing a government theatre in the capital. The centennial of this event was the celebration referred to.
A DRESSING-ROOM OF THE OPERA-HOUSE.
"The Moscow Opera-house stands in a square by itself not far from the Kremlin. Carriages can be driven all around it, and there are three entrances for spectators besides the one reserved to the actors. The theatre is never crowded, as only as many tickets are sold as there are seats, and no money is taken at the doors. There are five rows of boxes besides the parquette, or ground-floor, and the gallery, which occupies the whole of the upper tier. We had our places in the parquette, and found them very comfortable. Each seat is a separate arm-chair, with plenty of space around it, so that one may walk about between the acts without disturbing his neighbors.
