The Hermitage Theatre (Russian: Эрмитажный Театр, tr. Èrmitážnyj Teátr, IPA: [ɪrʲmʲɪˈtaʐnɨj tʲɪˈatər]) in Saint Petersburg, Russia is one of five Hermitage buildings lining the Palace Embankment of the Neva River. The semicircular auditorium is decorated with color marble and surrounded with ten niches for statues of Apollo and the muses. As the interior has never been overhauled, the original stage machinery remains in situ, but the elaborate sets, an acclaimed work of the Italian artist Pietro Gonzaga (1751-1831), were lost during the years of Soviet neglect.