The Bolshoi Theater began as a private theater for the provincial prosecutor, Prince Pyotr Urusov. On March 28, 1776, Empress Catherine II signed the prince the privilege “to be the keeper of all theatrical performances in Moscow” for a period of ten years. This date is considered the founding day of the Moscow Bolshoi Theater. In 1805, the building of the Petrovsky Theater was destroyed by fire. The troupe began a nomadic life, performing on not very comfortable private stages, which posed a great threat to its continued existence.

In 1808, a new building was erected for it – the only one built in Moscow according to the design of the architect Carl Rossi. It was built “like a Greek temple, there were columns around it, in the middle of them there was a gallery along which one could walk around the entire theater.” The building, although it stood on a solid stone foundation, was itself made entirely of wood. When the Napoleonic army occupied Moscow and the great Moscow fire of 1812 began, this building was one of the first to burn. Meanwhile, two days before these tragic events, on August 30, a play was played here – the last, as it turned out.

In July 1820, construction began on a new theater building, which was to become the center of the urban composition of the square and adjacent streets. The grand opening of the new Petrovsky Theater – much larger than the lost old one, and therefore called the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater – took place on January 18, 1825. The building of the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater existed for almost thirty years. But he too suffered the same sad fate: on March 11, 1853, a fire broke out in the theater, which lasted three days and destroyed everything it could. Theater machines, costumes, musical instruments, sheet music, scenery were burned… The building itself was almost completely destroyed, of which only charred stone walls and columns of the portico remained.

Restoration work progressed rapidly. In May 1855, the dismantling of the ruins was completed and the reconstruction of the building began. And after a year and a half it opened its doors to the public.