The Conservatoire was founded by the conductor Anton Rubinstein in 1862. Originally, it was in a wing of Demidov's mansion in the Moika Embankment, then it moved to other places several times. On November 12, 1896, the opening ceremony of the building specially reconstructed for the Conservatoire took place. This building is in Theater Square.

Reconstruction of this building was supervised by engineer-architect Vladimir Nicolas. It became a building very unusual in that epoch: there were rooms for lectures and classes as well as a theater.

The architectural features of the Conservatoire resemble those of the Italian Renaissance and the French architecture of the 18-th century.

The first year after opening the Conservatoire, 179 students were enrolled. Later, 200 students would be enrolled every year. Professors of the Conservatoire were Anton Rubinstein, Fyodor Leshetitsky, Anton Gerke (piano), Genrik Venyavsky, Leopold Auer (violin), Karl Schubert, Karl Davydov (cello), Cesare Chairdi (flute), Walter Zabel (harp), Henrietta Nissen-Saloman, Camillo Everardi (vocal classes), Nikolai Zaremba (theory of composing), etc. Among the famous graduates of the Conservatoire were the pianist Anna Yesipova, the cellist Alexander Verzhbilovich, the singer Elizaveta Lavrovskaya, the bass Fyodor Stravinsky and many others.

The first graduate of the Conservatoire to become a composer was the great Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky. His name is the first in the list of names on the Memorial Board at the entrance to the Smaller Hall (the Quartet Hall), and there is his statue by the sculptor Vladimir Beklemishev in the Opera House foyer.

In 1988, the theater was named the Musical Theater of Opera and ballet at the Rimsky-Korsakov Conservatoire of St. Petersburg. At present, the Chief Conductor of the theater is Alexander Sladkovsky and the Chief Ballet-Master is Professor Nikita Dolgushin, People's Dancer of Russia.

A real gem of the Conservatoire is its auditorium (the Glazunov Concert Hall). Since the day of the first concert held here (on December 12, 1896), the original interior and the acoustics of the auditorium have been preserved. From August 2000 to May 2001, there was thorough restoration of this auditorium.

The repertoire of the theater includes the best works of Russian and international classics. The company of the theater continues the traditions of the Russian opera and the Russian ballet.

Assembly.M Tour Company