When the theatre became the main home of the Imperial Ballet and Opera in 1886, the theatre was improved. Many operas were performed there, including first performances of Mussorgsky's "Boris Godunov", Rimsky-Korsakov's "The Golden Cockerel", Tchaikovsky's "The Queen of Spades" and "Iolanthe", Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet" and "Cinderella", and Khachaturian's "Spartacus" were also produced there.