On Bolshaya Dmitrovka stands a building, constructed in 1894 according to the design of architect Konstantin Viktorovich Tersky, although it was actually rebuilt from an old mansion.

In 1893, the new owner of the estate, merchant G. G. Solodovnikov, decided to transform the existing buildings into a theatrical establishment. The architect was tasked with speeding up construction and preserving the old walls, which led to a convoluted layout and mediocre quality of work. Nevertheless, by 1896, the Solodovnikov Theater began its operations. On May 6, 1896, French impresario Raoul Gunsbourg presented Lumière films here, including the famous "Arrival of a Train." This was the second cinema screening in Moscow.

The theater also housed the private opera of Savva Mamontov, where Fyodor Shalyapin made his stage debut. The conductor was Sergey Rachmaninoff, and the decorations were created by masters such as Levitan, Serov, Polenov, the Vasnetsov brothers, and Korovin.

One of the theater's most notable performances was the opera "Mozart and Salieri," dedicated to the memory of Alexander Dargomyzhsky, which premiered on December 7, 1898. The opera was staged with decorations by Vrubel, and Shalyapin sang. The audience and critics received it enthusiastically. It was the first opera by Rimsky-Korsakov based on a plot by Pushkin. Later, "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" and "The Golden Cockerel" were added to the repertoire, and "Mozart and Salieri" became a classic of Russian opera.

Unfortunately, fortune soon turned away from Savva Ivanovich. He was arrested due to a dubious campaign. The former Mamontov theater began hosting the "Society of Russian Private Opera" by Kozhevnikov, but on October 30, 1907, all the troupe's property and the theater itself burned down. The convoluted layout complicated the firefighters' efforts.

A few years later, the building was restored under the guidance of architect T. Ya. Bardt, and the troupe of S. I. Zimin moved in. It was more liberal than the Imperial Bolshoi Theater, which was even reflected in the gifts from the audience. The impresario himself recalled: "I remember there were offerings in the theater, where doves flew out of a bouquet, kittens, puppies, and even white mice were gifted. Of course, offerings in the form of sable fur or ermine also happened."

Surprisingly, after the revolution, Zimin's theater continued to exist, becoming state-owned and acquiring the nickname "former" among the people. Vladimir Gilyarovsky recalled how he once conversed with Bryusov here: "at some meeting or performance. We sat backstage in the artists' dressing room, drank tea, and ate sandwiches with horse sausage."

In 1918 and 1921, V. I. Lenin spoke at house 6 on Bolshaya Dmitrovka at various meetings and conferences, which granted the building the status of a federal cultural heritage site.

Later, the building became a branch of the Bolshoi Theater, and since 1961, the Moscow Operetta Theater has been operating here.