History and modernity. Grand Theatre. History and Modernity Nizhny Novgorod Drama Theater
The Bolshoi Theatre - one of the largest theaters in Russia and the most famous theater in Moscow, which has become a cultural symbol of the city. Being one of the main attractions of the capital, the Bolshoi Theater won the love of the public not only for its achievements in opera and ballet, but also as an important architectural object shaping the face of the city.
In fact, few of the tourists visiting the city have been inside the Bolshoi Theater, but almost everyone has seen it from the outside: the view with the theater building is one of the classic "postcard" views of Moscow.
The modern building of the Bolshoi Theater was built in 1853-1856 according to the project of the architect Albert Cavos in the style of classicism with an eye on the burned-out previous one, designed by architects Osip Bove and Andrei Mikhailov. In 2005-2011, the building was reconstructed, retaining the main and side facades.
The main facade of the building with a gable roof is symmetrical and has a laconic but rich design. appearance: the lower tier is decorated with pilasters and rustication, above the left and right are bas-reliefs depicting ancient actors and musicians (almost the same, but differing in small details), the pediment is decorated with a double-headed eagle surrounded by two griffins. A massive eight-column portico protrudes from the front, the pediment of which is decorated with bas-relief images of the muses - the patrons of art - with a lyre. The portico is crowned with the famous bronze quadriga of Apollo (patron of the arts and leader of the muses) by Peter Klodt, large depicted on a 100-ruble bill and has become in itself one of the symbols of Moscow. Also, bas-relief images of the Muses with a lyre can be found in the frieze ornament, and behind the colonnade on the facade there are 2 sculptures of muses (with a lyre and a tympanum) and 7 bas-relief masks depicting emotions, surrounded by putti. The rear façade was extensively rebuilt and modernized between 2005-2011 and shows a mixture of styles.
Graceful cast-iron galleries with lanterns run along the sides of the building.
History of the Bolshoi Theater
The history of the theater began in March 1776, when the Moscow provincial prosecutor Peter Urusov, well-known philanthropist, received from the Empress Catherine II permission to organize and maintain "theatrical performances of all kinds,<...>concerts, vauxhalls and masquerades." A place was chosen for the theater on Petrovka, so it received the name Bolshoi Petrovsky Theatre.
Unfortunately, the theater burned down even before the completion of construction, and Urusov distanced himself from the idea, transferring the construction site to his companion, an English entrepreneur Michael Maddox(in the Russian tradition - Mikhail Medox). Under the direction of Maddox, designed by the architect Christian Rozberg a three-story brick building with white stone details was built; the hall was equipped with stalls, 3 tiers of boxes and a gallery, which accommodated a total of about 1000 people. The grand opening of the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater took place on December 30, 1780. In 1794, Maddox had financial difficulties, and the entrepreneur handed over the theater to the state: it turns into Moscow Imperial Theatre.
Unfortunately, in 1805 the theater building burned down again, and the troupe began to perform at various venues in the home theaters of the Moscow nobility. In 1806, a new wooden theater was built on Arbatskaya Square according to the design of the architect Carl Rossi, but already in 1812 it burned down in a city fire, and the troupe began to perform in the Apraksins' house on Znamenka (which also had fires from time to time, but without fatal consequences).
In 1816, the Commission on the Construction of Moscow, organized to eliminate the consequences of the fire of 1812, announced a competition for the construction of a new theater building in the same place, the obligatory condition of which was the inclusion of the charred wall of the former Maddox Theater in the new building. The competition was attended by Domenico Gilardi, Pietro di Gottardo Gonzago, Alexei Bakarev and other eminent architects, but none of the submitted projects was accepted. After a second competition, the project of a professor of the Imperial Academy of Arts was chosen Andrey Mikhailov, however, it was deemed too expensive and oversized, and the project was commissioned to be redesigned by an architect. Osip Bove. Beauvais kept the basics of Mikhailov's composition, but changed the proportions, reducing the size of the building, and made adjustments to the decoration. The main façade was punctuated by a portico topped with a sculpture of Apollo. According to Bove's plan, the theater was to be included in the plan of the post-fire reconstruction of Moscow developed by him and become the new compositional center of the city, for which a large rectangular square was planned in front of it, first called Petrovskaya, but in the 1820s renamed Teatralnaya.
Imperial Bolshoi Theater opened on January 18, 1825 with the performance "The Triumph of the Muses", the plot of which in allegorical form conveys the history of the theater and tells how the Genius of Russia united with the muses and created a new theater from the ruins of the burned-out theater.
Unfortunately, in 1853 the theater burned down again. The fire lasted several days and destroyed everything except the outer walls and the portico. The announced competition for the restoration of the building was won by the chief architect of the Imperial Theaters Albert Kavos. The new theater building basically retained the volume and layout of the old one, but its height was increased, and the architectural design was completely redesigned. Instead of a sculpture of Apollo, the portico was crowned with a bronze quadriga by Peter Klodt, and a bas-relief double-headed eagle was placed on the pediment - the coat of arms Russian Empire. The renovated theater opened on August 20, 1856.
After the Revolution of 1917, the Bolshoi Theater began to be called academic. Initially, it was threatened with closure, but in the end the theater was saved, and the dilapidated building was fortified; the imperial symbols on the facade were replaced by Soviet ones. In 1976-1991 it was called State Twice Order of Lenin Academic Bolshoi Theater of the USSR.
In 2005, the theater was closed for reconstruction, which was supposed to be completed in 2008, but continued until 2011. The reconstruction of the building was ambiguously accepted by the public: in the end, only 3 load-bearing walls remained from it (the main and side facades), everything else was completely rebuilt. However, during the reconstruction, the main facade of the Bolshoi Theater was qualitatively restored, and the Soviet coat of arms was replaced by the historical double-headed eagle.
Today the theater is called State Academic Bolshoi Theater of Russia(SABT), but much more often it is simply called the Bolshoi Theater.
Sex organs of Apollo
After the reconstruction of the Bolshoi Theater in 2005-2011, the townspeople were excited about the presence of male genital organs near the sculpture of Apollo in the quadriga by Peter Klodt at the top of the portico.
The fact is that Muscovites are used to seeing Apollo naked, and this is how he is depicted on a 100-ruble bill, but after the restoration of the sculpture, the man’s crotch suddenly turned out to be covered with a fig leaf.
According to the restorers who worked on Apollo, the fig leaf was there before, but fell off in the Soviet years, so Apollo stood without it for a long time, and the townspeople just got used to seeing it that way - especially since, in addition to the leaf, the wreath in right hand patron of the arts; thus, covering the penis with a leaf was necessary to restore the historical appearance of the sculpture. However, many townspeople are convinced that this cannot be, because even if the leaf fell off in the Soviet years, it is not entirely clear where the anatomically accurate penis appeared in its place, because Klodt hardly intended the leaf to be removable, and in this case it is hardly whether would have been so neatly molded.
After a few years, talk about the member of Apollo died down, but in general, the townspeople still did not come to a consensus on this issue.
Today, as Osip Bove planned, the building of the Bolshoi Theater has become one of the compositional centers of the city and even its symbol. Theater Square has become a point of attraction for citizens and tourists, and even if one of the guests of the capital is not at all interested in theatrical performances, he still comes here to see the architectural merits of the Bolshoi Theater with his own eyes.
We can say that the building has become one of the cult sights of Moscow on a par with the Kremlin, Red Square and other historical sites and buildings that are among the "mandatory" for tourists to visit.
The Bolshoi Theatre is located at Theater Square, 1. You can get to it on foot from the metro station "Theatrical" Zamoskvoretskaya line.
One of the main events of 2011 in cultural life Moscow, of course, is the opening after a six-year reconstruction of the State Academic Bolshoi Theater in October of the outgoing year.
The Bolshoi Theater has been the main theater venue for both the capital and the whole country for more than a century; it is included in the list of the most famous theaters in the world. The building of the Bolshoi is a priceless monument of Russian architecture. Without its facade, decorated with the famous Apollon's chariot, it is difficult to imagine the architectural appearance of the heart of the city, represented by Red Square, the Kremlin, Manezhnaya and Theater Squares.
A bit of history:
It is customary to conduct the history of the Bolshoi Theater from 1776, when, on the orders of Catherine II, the provincial prosecutor P.V. Urusov began the construction of the first "state" (financed from the state treasury) theater. All earlier theatrical productions were held in cameral conditions, the theater buildings were owned by Moscow nobles and merchants, they also kept the troupe, bought costumes and props, they also compiled the repertoire of their own theaters according to their own taste and discretion. They also managed the distribution of tickets, as a rule, only among their acquaintances; it was almost impossible for a person from another environment to get into such a theater. The Bolshoi Theater was intended to be the first Russian theater to sell tickets freely through the box office.
The building that P.V. Urusov, burned down even before the opening of the theater. After that, the provincial prosecutor transferred the cases to the English businessman Michael (Mikhail) Medox. Under his leadership, the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater was built and opened in 1780. It is difficult to say whether it was named in honor of Emperor Peter I or simply by the name of Petrovka Street, but it was with this name that the theater existed until the 1917 revolution.
This building, having stood for 25 years, burned down in 1805. The new one was built by the architect K.I. Rossi in just 3 years, but already on Arbat Square. It did not stand for long, in 1812, like many other wooden buildings, it did not survive the fire set in Moscow by Napoleon's troops.
In 1821, under the guidance of architect O.I. Beauvais began construction of a new building for the theater, on its original site, on Petrovka. The new Petrovsky Theater opened its doors to spectators in 1825.
The building built by O.I. Beauvais, frequent Moscow fires also did not pass by. The theater almost completely burned down in 1853. Only the stone walls and columns at the main entrance have been preserved.
By 1856, the building of the Bolshoi Theater was restored by the architect A.K. Kavos. The construction was carried out according to the surviving drawings of O.I. Beauvais, so the new building in almost everything repeated the outlines of the former, with only a few additions. So, for example, work on the sculpture towering over the main entrance was entrusted to the St. Petersburg sculptor P.I. Klodt. This master became famous primarily for the fact that he brilliantly created statues of horses. He made famous sculptures on the Anichkov Bridge in St. Petersburg, he also took part in the creation of a monument to Nicholas I on St. Isaac's Square (Auguste Montferan is considered to be the author of this masterpiece, however, it would be fairer to call it a collective work, Montferan was an architect, Klodt was a sculptor) . It is not surprising that a team of four horses (quadriga), controlled by the ancient Greek god, appeared above the entrance of the Bolshoi Theater, where the lonely figure of Apollon had previously been located. Above the sculpture, on the pediment of the building, there was a double-headed plaster eagle, the coat of arms of the Russian Empire.
It is in this guise that the Bolshoi Theater has survived to this day.
However, in the course of numerous restorations of the 20th century, which were not always reasonably planned and carried out, the historical appearance was largely erased and lost. This was especially true for interiors and acoustics.
Here it is worth mentioning one important fact, which was not customary to talk about during the years of Soviet power. The fact is that the theater is located on the spot where the Neglinnaya river flowed until 1819. During the capital reconstruction of the center of Moscow in 1817 - 1819, Neglinka was placed in an underground pipe. For many years, this fact did not affect the construction of the theater, but by the middle of the 20th century, the pipe had dilapidated, and the foundation of the building began to leak. However, instead of a global reconstruction of the structure, the worn parts of the pipe were quickly patched up with concrete slabs. And one such slab turned out to be directly under the orchestra pit. This could not but affect the acoustics. To top it all, when during the next "patching holes" under the orchestra pit they found a special "drum" - an acoustic air cushion - they decided it was a defect and filled it with cement.
As a result, the world-famous sound of the Bolshoi Theater lost its magnificence. Real connoisseurs of opera and ballet tried to buy tickets not for the traditionally best seats - in the stalls and front rows, but, on the contrary, for the "gallery" - in the back rows or on the balcony. From there, the flaws in the sound were not so audible.
Theater reconstruction:
In July 2005, the Bolshoi Theater was closed due to a general reconstruction. According to the initial project, it was planned to complete all the work by 2008, but it soon became clear that it was impossible to complete such a huge amount in this short period of time (according to various estimates, the wear of structures ranged from 50 to 70 percent). Therefore, it was decided to postpone the deadlines, but, thanks to the available time, to carry out the reconstruction as carefully and efficiently as possible.
Four years took only a thorough study of the state of the building, scanning its position in space and other preparatory work. Large-scale restoration began only in the autumn of 2009.
Work was carried out not only to replace dilapidated structures, but also to recreate the original appearance of the theater, which was significantly modified for the worse during the years of Soviet power. The previously painted-over murals of the White Foyer were restored, chandeliers and monograms, tapestries and jacquard fabrics were returned to the Round Hall and the Imperial Foyer.
Particular attention was paid to the restoration of acoustics, which, as already mentioned above, were damaged back in the 19th century. International experts conducted numerous acoustic studies and strictly monitored the implementation of all technical recommendations.
In addition, the designers were given the task of increasing the area of the theater at the expense of underground facilities. So a new hall appeared in the Bolshoi Theater - the Chamber Hall, accommodating 330 seats, located under the Theater Square.
More than three thousand professionals worked daily in the building, and more than a thousand worked in the restoration workshops outside of it.
Not everything went smoothly during the reconstruction of the theater. So, in 2009, a criminal case was initiated on the embezzlement of budget funds. In 2010, the head of the restoration customer was fired.
And now, after the grand opening of the Bolshoi Theater and the premiere show on October 28, 2011, the opinions of theatergoers about the results of the restoration differ sharply. Among others, the former prima of the theater Anastasia Volochkova and the current member of the troupe, one of its leaders Nikolai Tsiskaridze, spoke on this topic in a rather sharp form. So, for example, Volochkova wrote in her blog that "Russia was left without the Bolshoi Theatre", Tsiskaridze said in an interview that he was "disappointed with how the reconstruction of the Bolshoi went."
The controversy about the results of the reconstruction does not stop to this day.
The editors of the site project consider themselves not to have the right to take sides and, on the contrary, to condemn someone's point of view. However, the fact that the doors of the Bolshoi Theater are again open to the audience after a six-year break is undoubtedly one of the important events in the outgoing 2011 year.
One of the most famous and great theaters with a rich history. Even its name speaks for itself. There are several deep meanings hidden here. First of all, the Bolshoi Theater is a cluster of famous names, a whole constellation of magnificent composers, performers, dancers, artists, directors, an extensive gallery of brilliant performances. And also by the word "Big" we mean - "significant" and "colossal", a grandiose phenomenon in the history of art, not only domestic, but also world. Not only for years and decades, but for centuries, invaluable experience has been accumulated here, passed down from generation to generation.
There is practically no such evening that the huge hall of the Bolshoi Theater is not filled with hundreds of spectators, that the lights of the ramp do not burn, that the curtain does not rise. What makes fans and connoisseurs musical art strive here from all parts of the country and all the earth? Of course, the spirit of the originality of the Russian theater, its strength, brightness and depth, which are felt by every person who at least once crossed the famous threshold of the Bolshoi Theater. Spectators come here to admire the luxurious, elegant and noble interior, to enjoy the great repertoire that won fame centuries ago and managed to carry and preserve it through the centuries. World-famous artists shone on this stage, this building has seen many Great (that's right, with a capital letter) People.
The Bolshoi Theater has always been famous for the continuity of its traditions. The past and the future are closely intertwined within these walls. Modern artists adopt the experience of the classical heritage, rich in aesthetic values and saturated with high spirituality. In turn, the famous productions of past years come to life and are filled with new colors thanks to the efforts of new generations of artists and directors, each of whom contributes to the development of the theater. Thus, the Bolshoi Theater does not stop for a minute in its creative growth and keeps pace with the times, while not forgetting about the preservation and enhancement of the great creative heritage.
Over 700 opera and ballet performances were staged at the Bolshoi Theater - from 1825 to the present - performances written by both domestic and foreign composers. There are more than 80 names in total. Let's list just a few of them. These are Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff, Dargomyzhsky and Prokofiev, Shchedrin and Khrennikov; these are Verdi, Berlioz, Wagner, Beethoven, Britten and many, many others. And what about the performances! One can only admire, because the repertory history of the Bolshoi Theater contains over 140 operas, including Rigoletto and La Traviata, Mazepa and Eugene Onegin, Faust ... Many of these productions were born at the Bolshoi Theater and continue to to this day remain in the repertoire, enjoying great success.
Did you know, for example, that the great composer P.I. Tchaikovsky made his debut as the creator of music for opera and ballet at the Bolshoi Theater? His first opera was The Voyevoda in 1869, and his first ballet was Swan Lake» in 1877. It was on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater that Tchaikovsky first picked up a conductor's baton and conducted the premiere production of the opera Cherevichki in 1887. The most famous operas by Giuseppe Verdi were also shown for the first time in Russia at the Bolshoi Theater - these are performances such as Don Carlos, Rigoletto and La Traviata, Un ballo in maschera and Il trovatore. It was here that the operatic works of Grechaninov, Cui, Arensky, Rubinstein, Verstovsky, Flotov, Thom, Beethoven and Wagner celebrated their “Russian” birth.
Opera performances of the Bolshoi Theater have always been, are and remain the focus of the most talented performers. Artists such as the "Moscow Nightingale" Alexander Bantyshev, the first performer of the main repertoire roles Nadezhda Repina, the magnificent Nikolai Lavrov, who was distinguished by his unique gift for stage transformation and an unusually beautiful voice, Pavel Khokhlov, who went down in history operatic art as the first Eugene Onegin of the professional opera stage, as well as best performer the role of the Demon in the history of the Russian opera theater. The soloists of the Bolshoi Theater were Fyodor Chaliapin, Antonina Nezhdanova and Leonid Sobinov, Ksenia Derzhinskaya and Nadezhda Obukhova, Elena Stepanova, Sergey Lemeshev, Valeria Barsova and Maria Maksakova ... A whole galaxy of unique Russian basses (Petrov, Mikhailov, Pirogov, Reizen, Krivchenya), baritones ( , Ivanov), tenors (Kozlovsky, Khanaev, Nelepp) ... Yes, the Bolshoi Theater has something to be proud of, these great names are forever inscribed in history, and in many respects thanks to them our famous theater became famous all over the world.
Since ancient times, such a genre as opera has been intended for implementation in musical theaters, being an example of the synthesis of dramatic and musical art. P.I. Tchaikovsky argued that the opera has no meaning outside the stage. The creative process always represents the birth of something new. For musical art, this means working in two directions. First of all, the theater takes part in the formation of the art of opera, works on the creation and stage implementation of new works. And on the other hand, the theater tirelessly resumes productions of operas - both classical and modern. A new opera performance is not just another reproduction of the score and text, it is a different reading, a different look at the opera, which depends on many factors. These factors include the worldview of the director, and his way of life, and the era during which the production will be carried out. The opera work is characterized by both artistic and ideological reading. This reading dictates the peculiarities of the performance style. Giuseppe Verdi, the famous operatic reformer, wrote that without a meaningful interpretation, the success of an opera is impossible; without a confident and “reverent” interpretation, even beautiful music will not save the opera.
Why can the same opera be staged several times, in different theaters, by completely different directors? Because this is a classic that does not lose its relevance in any era, which for each new generation can turn out to be fruitful and rich creative material. The Bolshoi Theater, in turn, is famous for its interest in contemporary works operatic art, reflecting the trends of the postmodern era. Contemporary composers enrich the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater with new operas, many of which occupy a place of honor in the repertoire and deserve the love and respect of the public.
The stage embodiment of modern opera is not an easy job for the theatre. After all, an opera performance, as we have noted above, is a complex dramaturgical complex. Between theater and music there should be a strong and organic relationship, unique for each interpretation. Opera houses often collaborate with composers to help them complete and improve their works. I. Dzerzhinsky's opera The Fate of a Man, staged at the Bolshoi Theater in 1961, can serve as a model for demonstrating the successful result of this kind of cooperation.
First, the composer brought his work for listening, and then he was offered to create new music for the images of the main characters - for example, for Zinka. Improved and finalized on the recommendation of the theater, the score helped to make this image more lively, vivid, and deep in meaning.
Often works contemporary composers run into a wall of misunderstanding and prejudice on the part of leaders musical theater. It should be noted that sometimes really extravagant experiments do not benefit art. But there is no unambiguously correct view of the development of the opera and cannot be. For example, back in 1913, Sergei Prokofiev received advice from S. Diaghilev - not to write music for opera, but to turn exclusively to ballet. Diaghilev argued that opera was dying, while ballet, on the contrary, was flourishing. And what do we see after almost a century? That many of Prokofiev's opera scores can compete in saturation, melody, beauty with the best classical works of this genre.
Not only the composer and librettist take part in the creation of an opera performance, but also the theater itself, in which this performance will be staged. After all, it is on the stage that the opera receives its second birth, acquires a stage embodiment, and is filled with the audience's perception. Traditions of stage performance replace each other, constantly enriching themselves with each new era.
The main character of the musical theater is an actor and a singer. He creates a stage image, and depending on the interpretation of a particular performer, the viewer will perceive certain characters, learning the art of opera. Drama and music are closely related, the interpretation of the performer and the hero of the opera exist inseparably, the musical solution and the stage action are inseparable from each other. Each opera artist is a creator, a creator.
Old performances are replaced by new ones, the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater is regularly updated with new names of artists and new productions. And each such production embodies another serious step of the great theater on its significant historical path. This path is filled with endless searches and grandiose accomplishments and victories. The Bolshoi Theater combines the greatness of the past, the progress of the present, the achievements of the future. Modern generations of directors, artists, composers and librettists invariably help the Bolshoi Theater to achieve new heights in art.
The history of the Bolshoi Theater is no less interesting and majestic than the productions that live on its stage. The theater building, the pride of our culture, is located not far from the Kremlin walls, in the very center of the capital. It is made in the classical style, its features and lines amaze with monumentality and solemnity. Here you can see the white colonnade, as well as the famous quadriga that adorns the pediment of the building. Everything here is large-scale and grandiose - from the forms of the architectural ensemble to the size of the team. The hall is made in luxurious red and decorated with gold, has five tiers, and is illuminated by a magnificent huge crystal chandelier. More than 2000 spectators can watch the performance here at the same time! The stage is also impressive in its size - 22 meters deep and 18 meters wide. During operas on an epic scale, the stage can accommodate up to 400 people, and at the same time they will not feel cramped. The Bolshoi Theater team consists of more than 2,000 employees - this is the administration, technical staff, artists and many other qualified specialists. A lot of both opera and ballet performances were born on the stage of the Bolshoi Theatre, and since then, starting from the birthday of the Bolshoi and ending with the present, over 1000 premieres have been shown here. And now you will find out how it all began ...
So let's fast forward to 1776. On May 17, the capital's provincial prosecutor P. Urusov received a government privilege. She allowed the prosecutor to organize theatrical performances, masquerades and other entertainment events. Urusov needed a companion for work, and this companion was passionately in love with theatrical art Englishman M. Medox is an enterprising and intelligent person. May 17, 1776 is considered to be the birthday of the Moscow professional theater. Initially, the theater troupe consisted of only 13 actors, 9 actresses, 13 musicians, 4 dancers, 3 dancers and a choreographer. The collective did not have its own premises, they had to rent the house of Count Vorontsov, located on Znamenka, for performances.
The premiere performance took place in 1777 - it was D. Zorin's opera "Rebirth". Subsequently, the historian P. Arapov spoke about this production as follows: “On January 8, it was decided to give the first opera, the original ... it was composed of Russian songs. It's called "Rebirth". The directorate was very worried about the performance of the opera, and on purpose, before the premiere, they called the audience together to ask its permission. Despite excessive misgivings, the performance was a great success.
Two years later, a new production was presented - comic opera"The miller is a sorcerer, a deceiver and a matchmaker." A. Ablesimov acted as a librettist, M. Sokolovsky wrote the music. Contemporaries testified that the play was popular among the public, was "played" many times and always with a full house. And not only the Russian public came to see and listen to this opera with pleasure, but foreigners also honored it with their attention. Perhaps this is the first Russian opera performance that has gained such worldwide fame.
In the newspaper "Moskovskie Vedomosti" in 1780, on February 26, one could read an announcement announcing the construction of their own building for the theater. For this purpose, a spacious stone house was chosen, located on Bolshaya Petrovsky Street, near the Kuznetsky Bridge. The announcement also mentioned that the environment inside the theater is expected to be "the best of its kind." The partners purchased land for construction on the right bank of the Neglinka. It is rather difficult to imagine now that the site of the Bolshoi Theater was once an almost deserted area, periodically flooded by the river. On the right bank of the river there was a road leading to the Kremlin from the Novopetrovsky Monastery. Gradually, the road disappeared, and Petrovskaya Street with shopping arcades was built in its place. Wooden Moscow often burned, fires destroyed buildings, new ones were built instead of burnt houses. And even after the shops were replaced by stone buildings, from time to time fires continued to break out in these places ... The theater building was erected very quickly - from stone, three floors, a plank roof. The construction took five months - and this is instead of the five years allotted in accordance with the government privilege. 130 thousand silver rubles were spent on the construction. The building was erected by the German architect Christian Rozberg. This building could not be called beautiful, but its size truly amazed the imagination. The facade of the building overlooked Petrovsky Street, and the theater was named Petrovsky.
The repertoire of the theater included performances of ballets, operas, as well as dramatic performances, but most of all the public liked operas. Thanks to this, the Petrovsky Theater soon acquired a second, unofficial name: "Opera House". In those days, the theater group was not yet subdivided into drama and opera artists - the same persons appeared both in ballet, and in opera, and in drama. Interesting fact- Mikhail Shchepkin, accepted into the troupe of the Petrovsky Theater, started as an opera artist, took part in the productions of "A Rare Thing", "Misfortune from the Carriage". In 1822, he performed the part of the Water Carrier in the opera of the same name by L. Cherubini - this role forever became one of the artist's most beloved roles. Pavel Mochalov, the famous tragedian, embodied Hamlet and at the same time led the spoken part of Vadim in A. Verstovsky's opera. And later, when the Maly Theater had already been built, the stage of the Bolshoi Theater continued to abound dramatic performances, as well as productions with the participation of diverse actors.
History does not have complete information about the first repertoire of the Petrovsky Theatre, but there is evidence that the operas “Misfortune from the Carriage” by V. Pashkevich, “St. The repertoire at the beginning of the 19th century was diverse, but the audience especially welcomed the operas of K. Kavos - "The Imaginary Invisible Man", "Love Mail" and "Cossack Poet". As for the "Cossack" - it has not disappeared from the theatrical repertoire for more than forty years!
The performances were not daily, mostly two or three times a week. In winter, performances were shown more often. During the year, the theater gave about 80 performances. In 1806, the Petrovsky Theater received the status of a state theater. The fire of 1805 destroyed the building we talked about above. As a result, the team was forced to give performances at a variety of Moscow venues - this is the New Arbat Theater, and the Pashkov house on Mokhovaya, and the Apraksin house on Znamenka.
Professor A. Mikhailov, meanwhile, was developing a new project for the theater. Emperor Alexander the First approved the project in 1821. The construction was entrusted to the architect O. Bove. As a result, a new one grew up on the site of the burnt building - huge and majestic, the largest in Europe, it was recognized as the second largest after the La Scala theater in Milan. The facade of the theater, which was called the Bolshoi for its scale, overlooked the Theater Square.
In January 1825, namely, on January 17, an issue of the Moskovskie Vedomosti newspaper was published, which described the construction of a new theater building. In an article about the theater, it was noted that this event is presented to posterity as a kind of miracle, and for contemporaries - as something completely amazing. This event brings Russia closer to Europe - just one glance at the Bolshoi Theater is enough ... The opening of the Bolshoi Theater was accompanied by the prologue of Alyabyev and Verstovsky "The Triumph of the Muses", as well as the ballet "Sandrillon" by F. Sor. Apollo, the patron of the Muses, read solemn poetic lines from the stage, in which the beginning of new, happy times before Russia was passionately proclaimed. "The proud foreigner ... will envy in the fruits of abundant peace .... looking with envy at our banners." There were so many people who wanted to see the first production at the Bolshoi Theater with their own eyes that the directorate had to sell tickets in advance, thus avoiding pandemonium on the day of the premiere. Despite its impressive size, the auditorium of the theater could not accommodate even half of the audience. In order to satisfy the demands of the audience and not offend anyone, the next day the performance was completely repeated.
A. Verstovsky, a famous Russian composer, held the position of music inspector in those years. His personal contribution to the development of the national opera theater is very great. Subsequently, Verstovsky became a repertoire inspector, and then a manager in the Moscow theater office. Russian musical dramaturgy was developed under Verstovsky - it all began with small vaudeville operas, and then grew into major operatic works of a romantic nature. The pinnacle of the repertoire was the opera "Askold's Grave", written by Verstovsky himself.
M. Glinka's operas have become not just a colossal phenomenon in history classical music in general, but also a significant stage in the development of the Bolshoi Theater. Glinka is rightfully considered the founder of Russian classics. In 1842, his “heroic-tragic” opera “Ivan Susanin” (“Life for the Tsar”) was staged on the new stage, and in 1845, the opera “Ruslan and Lyudmila” was staged. Both of these works played an important role in the development of musical traditions. epic genre, as well as in laying the foundations of his own, Russian operatic repertoire.
Composers A. Serov and A. Dargomyzhsky became worthy successors of M. Glinka's undertakings. The audience got acquainted with Dargomyzhsky's opera "Mermaid" in 1859, and in 1865 Serov's opera "Judith" saw the limelight. In the 1940s, there was a tendency to disappear from the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater of foreign performances, which were mainly entertaining and of little content. They are supplanted by serious opera performances by Aubert, Mozart, Donizetti, Bellini and Rossini.
About the fire in the theater - it happened in 1853, on March 11th. It was a cold and cloudy morning early spring. The fire in the building broke out instantly, the cause could not be established. The fire in a matter of seconds enveloped all the premises of the theater, including the auditorium and the stage. In a few hours, all wooden structures burned to the ground, except for the lower floor with a buffet, office and cash desk, as well as except for the side halls. They tried to put out the flames for two days, and on the third day only burnt columns and ruins of walls remained in the place of the theater. Many valuable things perished during the fire - beautiful costumes, rare scenery, expensive musical instruments, part of the music library collected by Verstovsky, the archive of the theater troupe. The damage caused to the theater was estimated at about 10 million silver rubles. But the material losses were not so terrible, but the pain of the soul. Eyewitnesses recalled that it was scary and painful to look at the giant in flames. There was a feeling that it was not the building that was dying, but a close and beloved person ...
Restoration work began fairly quickly. It was decided to erect a new building on the site of the burnt one. Meanwhile, the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater gave performances in the premises of the Maly Theater. On May 14, 1855, the project for a new building was approved and scaffolding filled the area. The architect was Albert Kavos. It took a year and four months to restore the Bolshoi Theater. Remember, we said that part of the facade and outer walls were preserved in the conflagration? Kavos used them during the construction, and also did not change the layout of the theater, only slightly increased the height, slightly modified the proportions and re-created the decorative elements. Kavos was well acquainted with the architectural features of the best European theaters, he was well versed in the technical aspects of stage and auditorium design. All this knowledge helped him create excellent lighting, as well as optimize the optics and acoustics of the hall as much as possible. So, the new building came out even more grandiose in size. The height of the theater was already 40 meters, not 36; the height of the portico increased by a meter. But the columns have slightly decreased, but not significantly, only a fraction of a meter. As a result, the renovated Bolshoi Theater broke the most daring Italian records. For example, the theater "San Carlo" in Naples could boast of a curtain width of 24 arshins, the famous Milanese "La Scala" - 23 arshins, "Fenice" in Venice - 20 arshins. And at the Bolshoi Theater the width of the curtain was 30 arshins! (1 arshin is a little more than 71 centimeters).
Unfortunately pride architectural composition Bolshoi Theatre, an alabaster group led by Apollo perished in the fire. To create a new architectural group, Kavos turned to the Russian sculptor Pyotr Klodt. It was Peter Klodt who was the author of the famous equestrian groups decorating the bridge across the Fontanka in St. Petersburg. The result of the sculptor's work was the quadriga with Apollo, which became famous all over the world. The quadriga was cast from an alloy of metals and covered with red copper using galvanization. The new architectural group surpassed the old one by one and a half meters in size, its height was now 6.5 meters! The ensemble was marked out along the ridge of the roof of the portico on a pedestal and pushed forward a little. The sculpture represents four horses arranged in one row, galloping and harnessed to a quadriga, in which the god Apollo stands and controls them with a lyre and in a laurel wreath.
Why was Apollo chosen as the symbol of the theatre? As known from Greek mythology, Apollo is the patron of the arts - poetry, singing, music. Ancient buildings were often decorated with quadrigas with similar deities. On the pediments of majestic buildings, both in Russia and Europe, one could often see such quadrigas.
The auditorium was decorated no less elegantly and luxuriously. The notes of the architect Albert Cavos have been preserved, in which he mentioned his work on the auditorium of the Bolshoi Theater. Kavos wrote that he strove to decorate the hall magnificently, but not too pretentiously, mixing the Byzantine style and a slight renaissance. The main pride of the hall was a magnificent chandelier - candelabra decorated with crystal and lamps in three rows. The interior decoration itself deserved no less enthusiastic reviews - draperies in boxes of rich crimson color, decorated with gold patterns; the prevailing white color throughout, exquisite arabesques on all floors. The barriers were stuccoed and carved by the master Akht and his brothers, the sculptural work was done by Schwartz, the painting on the walls was created by the hand of Academician Titov. The plafond in the auditorium was also painted by Titov. This construction is unique, it occupies about 1000 square meters and is made in the theme of "Apollo and the Muses - the patroness of the arts."
According to ancient Greek legend, in spring and summer, the god Apollo went to the high Parnassus and the wooded slopes of Helikon to dance with the muses, of which, as you know, there were nine. The Muses are the daughters of Mnemosyne and the supreme god Zeus. They are young and beautiful. Apollo plays the golden cithara, and the Muses sing in a harmonious choir. Each muse patronizes a certain type of art, and each of them has its own object, symbolizing this type of art. Calliope is responsible for epic poetry, plays the flute; Euterpe also plays the flute, but also reads a book - she patronizes lyrical poetry. Another patroness of poetry - Erato - is responsible for love poems, and she has a lyre in her hands. Melpomene carries a sword, she is the muse of tragedy. Thalia is responsible for the comedy and holds an elegant mask, Terpsichore, the muse of dance, carries a tympanum. Clio is the muse of history, her eternal companion is papyrus. The muse Urania, who is responsible for astronomy, does not part with the globe. The ninth sister and muse, Polyhymnia, is called to patronize the sacred hymns, but the artists depict her as the muse of painting, with paints and a brush. With the appearance of Apollo and the nine muses, blissful silence reigns on Olympus, Zeus stops throwing menacing lightning bolts and the gods dance to the magical melodies of the Apollon cithara.
The curtain is another attraction of the Bolshoi Theatre. This is a real work of art, which was created by Kozroe-Duzi, a professor of painting from Venice. In Italian theaters, it was customary to depict on the curtain some episode from the life of the city, and for the Bolshoi Theater, according to the same tradition, the year 1612 was chosen - namely, the episode when Muscovites with bread and salt meet the liberators, soldiers led by Minin and Pozharsky. For forty years the curtain with this picture adorned the famous stage. In the future, the curtains at the Bolshoi Theater changed more than once. In the 30s of the last century, the artist F. Fedorovsky developed a curtain project depicting three historical dates - 1871, 1905 and 1917 (the first date is the Paris Commune, the second date is the first revolution in Russia, the third date is the October Revolution). This topical design persisted for fifteen years. Then, due to the general deterioration of the curtain, it was decided to leave the general style, but at the same time strengthen the political theme. The task of reconstructing the curtain was entrusted to the artist M. Petrovsky, it was 1955. Petrovsky in his work was guided by the initial sketches of Fedorovsky.
The renovated curtain of the theater was decorated with complex ornaments. The design used the image of a scarlet banner and the inscription "USSR", the phrase "Glory, glory, native land!”, as well as the image of a lyre, a golden star; of course, the famous Soviet emblem of the hammer and sickle, symbolizing fertility and labor, could not have done without it. Silk with gold thread was chosen as the material for the curtain. The area of the curtain was approximately 500 square meters, and its mass exceeded a ton.
But let's go back to the 19th century, during the period of restoration work led by the architect Kavos. These works were completed in 1856, and on August 20, in the presence of the royal people, the grand opening of the Bolshoi Theater took place. The Italian troupe performed the opera Puritani by V. Bellini.
The external and internal appearance that the Bolshoi Theater acquired in 1856 has survived to this day with some changes. The building in which the Bolshoi Theater is located is rightfully considered a masterpiece of Russian classical architecture, a historical and cultural landmark, an example of classical architecture, one of the most beautiful theater buildings in the world.
Composer Sergei Rachmaninov wrote: “Have you ever seen the Moscow Bolshoi Theater in pictures? This building is magnificent and grandiose. The Bolshoi Theater is located on the square, which was formerly called Teatralnaya, since there was also another theater, the Imperial, famous for its dramatic performances. The last theater is inferior in size to the first. According to the size, the theaters were named, respectively, the Bolshoi and the Maly.
For quite a long time, the Bolshoi Theater was a cultural institution subordinate to the Directorate of Imperial Theaters. The orchestra was led by random people who had little interest in the musical content of the productions. These "leaders" ruthlessly deleted entire episodes from the scores, reworked bass and baritone parts for tenors, and tenor parts for basses, etc. For example, in K.Weber's opera The Magic Shooter, the part of Kaspar was so mutilated and reduced that it turned into a dramatic one. In order to gain success with the audience, old popular productions were raised. F. Kokoshkin, director of the Moscow Imperial Theatres, in 1827 compiled a report in which he mentioned the following - he had to put "attractive" performances in the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater in order to eliminate the "shortage in income"; and he succeeded - the opera "Invisible" provided impressive fees.
The budget of the Russian opera of that period was very limited. New costumes were not sewn, new scenery was not built, being satisfied with old stocks. Even Glinka's ceremonial opera A Life for the Tsar (Ivan Susanin) was performed in old scenery and costumes until they completely turned into rags. The paucity of the stage setting was striking, especially in comparison with the Petersburg theatre. In St. Petersburg in the 1860s, decorative principles were completely updated and performances began to be staged on an unprecedented scale.
The second half of the 19th century brought with it some changes for the better. Changes began with the arrival of two talented musicians in the theater in the 1880s - I. Altani, who took the post of chief conductor and U. Avranek, who received the post of second conductor and chief choirmaster. The number of the orchestra reached 100 people, the choir - 120 people. These years are characterized by the flourishing of musical art in Russia as a whole, which was inextricably linked with an impressive rise in public life. This rise led to progress in all areas of culture, not only in music. The best classical operatic works were created in that era; they later formed the base of the national operatic repertoire, its heritage and pride.
Musical and stage art reached an unprecedented rise at the beginning of the twentieth century. The opera team of the Bolshoi Theater was enriched by brilliant singers, who subsequently glorified the theater throughout the world - these are Fyodor Chaliapin, Leonid Sobinov, Antonina Nezhdanova. Sobinov's debut took place in 1897 in A. Rubinstein's opera The Demon, where the future great singer performed the part of Sinodal. The name of Fyodor Chaliapin sounded in 1899, when the public first saw him on the opera stage in the role of Mephistopheles, in the play Faust. in 1902, while still a student at the Moscow Conservatory, she brilliantly performed in M. Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar as Antonida. Chaliapin, Sobinov and Nezhdanova are real gems in the operatic history of the Bolshoi Theatre. They found a wonderful performer, Pavel Khokhlov, the best in the role of the Demon and the creator of the stage image of Eugene Onegin.
In addition to enriching the team with talented performers, the theater's repertoire was also enriched at the beginning of the twentieth century. It includes grandiose and artistically significant performances. In 1901, on October 10, Rimsky-Korsakov's opera The Woman of Pskov was released, in which Fyodor Chaliapin leads the part of Ivan the Terrible. In the same 1901, the opera “Mozart and Salieri” saw the light of the limelight, in 1905 - “Pan Voivode”. In 1904, a new version of the famous opera A Life for the Tsar was presented to the attention of the audience of the Bolshoi Theater, in which the young "stars" of the troupe - Chaliapin and Nezhdanova - took part. Russian opera classics were also replenished with works by M. Mussorgsky "Khovanshchina", Rimsky-Korsakov "The Tale of Tsar Saltan" (1913) and "The Tsar's Bride" (1916). The Bolshoi Theater did not forget about the productions of remarkable foreign composers; operas by D. Puccini, P. Mascagni, R. Leoncavallo, as well as the opera cycle by R. Wagner were staged on its stage in those years.
Sergei Rachmaninov collaborated with the Bolshoi Theater fruitfully and successfully, showing himself not only as a brilliant composer, but also as a talented conductor. In his work, high professionalism, skill in cutting performance were combined with a powerful temperament, the ability to subtly feel the style. Rachmaninoff's works significantly improved the quality of Russian opera music. We also note that the name of this composer is associated with a change in the location of the conductor's stand on the stage. Previously, the conductor had to be positioned with his back to the orchestra, facing the stage, near the ramp; now he stood so that he could see both the stage and the orchestra.
The magnificent and highly professional orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater, as well as its no less professional choir, deserve special attention. For 25 years, the orchestra was led by Vyacheslav Suk, and the choir by Ulrich Avranek, conductor and choirmaster. The theater performances were designed by artists Vasily Polenov, Alexander Golovin, Konstantin Korovin and Apollinary Vasnetsov. It was thanks to their creativity that the productions acquired a colorful, imaginative, majestic look.
The turn of the century brought with it not only achievements, but also problems. In particular, the contradictions between the policy pursued by the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters and the artistic plans of creative theaters intensified. theater forces. The activities of the Directorate were of the nature of technical backwardness and routine, as before, they were guided by the staging experience of imperial scenes. This conflict led to the fact that the Bolshoi Theater periodically fell out of the cultural life of the capital, giving way to the Opera House of S. Zimin and the Private Opera of S. Mamontov.
But the collapse of the imperial theaters was not far off. The last performance of the old format at the Bolshoi Theater took place on February 28, 1917. And already on March 2, the following entry could be seen in the theater schedule: “A bloodless revolution. There is no performance." On March 13, the official opening of the State Bolshoi Theater took place.
The activities of the Bolshoi Theater resumed, but not for long. The October events forced the performances to be interrupted. The last performance of the peaceful period - it was the opera "Lakme" by A. Delibes - was given on October 27th. And then the uprisings began...
The first season after the October Revolution was opened on November 8, 1917 common solution collective of the Bolshoi Theatre. And on November 21, a performance took place on the stage of the theater - D. Verdi's opera "Aida" under the direction of Vyacheslav Suk. The part of Aida was performed by Ksenia Derzhinskaya. On December 3, C. Saint-Saens' opera Samson and Delilah was released, which became the premiere of the season. Nadezhda Obukhova and Ignacy Dygas took part in it.
On December 7, 1919, A. Lunacharsky, People's Commissar of Education, issued an order, according to which the Mariinsky, Mikhailovsky and Alexander Theaters in Petrograd, as well as the Bolshoi and Maly Theaters in Moscow, should henceforth be called "State Academic". Over the next few years, the fate of the Bolshoi Theater remained the subject of heated debate and intense discussion. Some were sure that the theater would become the center of the musical forces of socialist art. Others argued that the Bolshoi Theater had no prospects for development and could not be transformed in accordance with the new era. And it was a difficult time for the country - hunger, fuel crisis, devastation and Civil War. The question of closing the Bolshoi Theater was periodically raised, the necessity of its existence was questioned, it was proposed to destroy the theater as a citadel of "inert" academicism.
After the October Revolution, the theories of the “withering away of the genre of opera”, which arose as early as the beginning of the twentieth century, also received active dissemination.
Proletkultists zealously argued that opera was an art form with "negative baggage" and was not needed by the Soviet people. In particular, it was proposed to remove the production of The Snow Maiden from the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater, since one of its central characters is a semi-monarch-demigod (Berendey), and this was unacceptable. In general, all the operas of the composer Rimsky-Korsakov did not suit the proletarians. They also violently attacked La Traviata and Aida by Giuseppe Verdi, and even his other works. The opera in those years was defended by progressive intellectuals headed by A. Lunacharsky. The intelligentsia actively and selflessly fought for the preservation of the classical operatic repertoire, for preventing nihilistic proletarian performances from being staged. Lunacharsky boldly criticized vulgarizing ideas, spoke out against attacks on Aida and La Traviata, arguing that many party members love these operas. Shortly after the revolution, Lunacharsky, on behalf of Lenin, turned to the theater management with a request to develop interesting events to attract creative intelligentsia to education. The Bolshoi Theater responded to this request with a cycle symphony orchestras who have not left the stage - neither more nor less - for five years. These concerts were classical works both Russian and foreign. Each performance was accompanied by an explanatory lecture. Lunacharsky himself took part in these concerts as a lecturer, calling them "the best event in the musical life of the capital in the 1920s." These events were held in the auditorium. They removed the barrier that separated the hall from the orchestra pit, placing the string group on specially adapted benches. The first concert of the cycle took place on May 4, 1919. The hall was packed. Works by Wagner, Beethoven and Bach were performed, S. Koussevitzky conducted the orchestra.
Symphony concerts at the Bolshoi Theater were held on Sunday mornings. Subsequently, the program included works by Liszt and Mozart, Tchaikovsky, Scriabin and Rachmaninov, and the orchestra was conducted by Emil Cooper, Vyacheslav Suk, Oscar Fried and Bruno Walter. And the composer Alexander Glazunov conducted the orchestra on his own when performing his works.
In the early 1920s, a concert hall was opened for the public at the Bolshoi Theater, which was later recognized as one of the most acoustically competently built, elegant and sophisticated halls in Moscow. Today this hall is called the Beethoven Hall. The former imperial foyer was inaccessible to the general public in the pre-revolutionary years. Only a few lucky ones managed to see its luxurious walls, decorated with silk, decorated with handmade embroidery; its stunningly beautiful ceiling with stucco work in the style of Old Italy; its rich bronze chandeliers. In 1895, this hall was created as a work of art, and in this unchanged form it has survived to this day. In 1920, Bolshoi Theater soloist V. Kubatsky proposed placing several hundred chairs in the hall and building a compact stage, where instrumental evenings and chamber concerts began to be held.
In 1921, namely on February 18, a solemn ceremony of opening a new concert hall at the Bolshoi Theatre. The ceremony was timed to coincide with the 150th anniversary of the birth of the brilliant composer Ludwig van Beethoven. Lunacharsky spoke at the opening of the hall and delivered a speech in which he noted that Beethoven was very dear and especially needed to “people’s” Russia “strives for communism” ... after that, the hall began to be called Beethovensky. Many years later, in 1965, a bust of Beethoven by sculptor P. Shapiro will be installed here.
So, the Beethoven Hall became the venue for concerts chamber music. Famous instrumentalists and performers performed here - Nadezhda Obukhova, Konstantin Igumnov, Svyatoslav Knushevitsky, Vera Dulova, Antonina Nezhdanova, Egon Petri, Isai Dobrovein, Ksenia Erdeli and many others. Musical Moscow became inextricably linked with the Beethoven Hall of the Bolshoi Theatre… this continued until the period of the Second World War. The hall was closed, and for almost two decades it was not accessible to the public. The second opening took place in 1978, on March 25. The doors of the famous hall were flung open, and the audience was again able to attend Saturday afternoon concerts, almost each of which became a real event in the capital's musical life.
It should be noted that in the 1920s, a unique belfry was installed in the Bolshoi Theater, which has no analogues in the whole world. It was collected by the bell-ringer A. Kusakin all over Russia; by the way, it was Kusakin who for many years was the only performer of the bell ringing in theatrical productions. Bells were selected based on tonal characteristics, their number reaches forty. The weight of the largest bell exceeds five tons with a diameter of almost three meters; The diameter of the smallest bell is 20 centimeters. We can hear the real bell ringing at the opera, Ivan Susanin, Boris Godunov and others.
The second stage has been actively involved in the productions of the Bolshoi Theater since the end of the 19th century. In the autumn of 1898, the opening of the Imperial New Theater took place in the premises of the Shelaputinsky Theater (now it is known as the Central children's theater). Here, until the autumn of 1907, young artists from the Bolshoi and Maly theaters gave performances. In 1922, on January 8, the New Theater was reopened with the opera The Barber of Seville by D. Rossini. In the summer of 1924, the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater in last time performed on this stage. In September of the same year, the Experimental Theater was opened - it was located in the former S. Zimin Opera House (now we know it as the Moscow Operetta Theater). At the opening, the opera "Trilby" by A. Yurasovsky was performed. September turned out to be a rich month for discoveries - in 1928, the performances of the Second GATOB began this month. In the period from June 1930 to December 1959, a branch of the Bolshoi Theater worked here. During this period, 19 ballet and 57 opera productions saw the limelight.
In 1961, the troupe of the Bolshoi Theater received at its disposal the premises that belonged to the Kremlin Palace of Congresses. Every evening more than six thousand spectators filled the hall, more than 200 performances were performed during the season. The work of the Bolshoi Theater in this building was completed in 1989, on May 2, with the opera Il trovatore by Giuseppe Verdi.
Let's go back to the 20s - although the time was difficult for creative work the conditions were extremely harsh, serious works by Rimsky-Korsakov, Glinka, Mussorgsky, Dargomyzhsky, Tchaikovsky and Borodin did not leave the repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater. The management of the theater tried in every possible way to acquaint the public with famous operas by foreign composers as well. Here for the first time the Russian public saw "Salome", "Cio-Cio-San" (1925), "Floria Tosca" (1930), "The Marriage of Figaro" (1926). The stage performance of modern operas has occupied the staff of the Bolshoi Theater since the 1920s. The premiere of Yurasovsky's opera Trilby took place in 1924, and in 1927 the curtain went up for Prokofiev's opera The Love for Three Oranges. Within five years (until 1930) the Bolshoi Theater produced 14 ballets and operas by contemporary composers. These works were destined for a different stage fate - some came out only a couple of times, others lasted several seasons, and individual operas continue to delight the public to this day. The modern repertoire, however, was characterized by fluidity due to the complexity of the creative search of young composers. These experiments were not always successful. In the 1930s, the situation changed - operas by Gliere, Asafiev, Shostakovich began to appear one after another. The skill of performers and authors was enriched mutually and fruitfully. The updated repertoire brought up new artists. The rich opportunities of young performers allowed composers and playwrights to expand the range of creative searches. In this regard, it is impossible not to mention the opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District, written by the great composer Dmitry Shostakovich. It was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in 1935. Also of no small importance were the so-called "song" operas. famous author I. Dzerzhinsky - this is "Quiet Flows the Don" (1936) and "Virgin Soil Upturned" (1937).
The Great Patriotic War, and the work of the theater in the hospital had to be suspended. The troupe was evacuated to Kuibyshev (Samara) by government order of October 14, 1941. The building remained empty… The Bolshoi Theater worked for almost two years in evacuation. At first, spectators who came to the Kuibyshev Palace of Culture saw only a few concert programs performed by orchestra artists, ballets and operas, but in the winter of 1941 full-fledged performances began - Verdi's La Traviata, Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. The repertoire of the Bolshoi Theater in 1943 in Kuibyshev included nine operas and five ballets. And in 1942, on March 5, Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony was performed here for the first time in the country by the orchestra of the Bolshoi Theater under the direction of S. Samosud. This musical event has become significant in the culture of both Russia and the whole world.
However, it should be mentioned that not all artists went to the rear, some remained in Moscow. Part of the troupe continued to perform in the branch premises. The action was often interrupted by air attacks, the audience had to go down to the bomb shelter, but the performance invariably continued after the all-clear signal. In 1941, on October 28, a bomb was dropped on the building of the Bolshoi Theater. It destroyed the facade wall and exploded in the lobby. For a long time, the theater, closed with a camouflage net, seemed abandoned forever. But in fact, restoration and repair work was actively going on inside it. In the winter of 1942, a group of artists led by P. Korin began to restore the interior design of the theater, and in 1943, on September 26, work on the main stage was resumed by one of the most beloved operas - Ivan Susanin by M. Glinka.
Years passed, the theater continued to develop and improve. In the 1960s, a new rehearsal room was opened here, which was located on the top floor, almost under the very roof. The shape and size of the new playground was not inferior to the playing stage. In the adjacent hall, there was a place for an orchestra pit and a vast amphitheater, which traditionally houses musicians, artists, choreographers, artists and, of course, directors.
In 1975, they were preparing for a large-scale celebration in honor of the 200th anniversary of the founding of the theatre. The restorers did their best - they renewed the gilding, carving and stucco molding in the auditorium, restored the former white and gold decoration, which was hidden under layers of paint. 60,000 sheets of gold leaf were required to restore the regal luster to the barriers of the lodges. The stocks were also decorated with dark red cloth. They removed a luxurious chandelier, carefully cleaned the crystal and repaired minor damage. The chandelier returned to the ceiling of the auditorium of the Bolshoi Theater in an even more magnificent form, shone with all 288 lamps.
After the restoration, the auditorium of the most important theater in the country again began to resemble a golden tent woven from gold, snow, fiery rays and purple.
The post-war period for the Bolshoi Theater was marked by the appearance of new productions of operas by Russian composers - these are Eugene Onegin (1944) and Boris Godunov (1948) and Khovanshchina (1950), "(1949)," The Legend of the City of Kitezh " , "Mlada", "Golden Cockerel", "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "The Night Before Christmas". Paying tribute creative heritage Czech, Polish, Slovak and Hungarian composers The Bolshoi Theater added operatic works The Bartered Bride (1948), "" (1949), "Her Stepdaughter" (1958), "Bank Ban" (1959) to the repertoire. The Bolshoi Theater did not forget about the productions of foreign operas, Othello and Falstaff, Tosca, Fidelio were again on stage. Subsequently, the Bolshoi Theater repertoire was enriched with such rare works as Iphigenia in Aulis (1983, K. Gluck ), "Julius Caesar" (1979, G. Handel), "The Beautiful Miller" (1986, D. Paisiello), "Spanish Hour" (1978, M. Ravel).
The stage performance of operas by contemporary authors at the Bolshoi Theater was marked by great success. The premiere of the opera "The Decembrists" by Y. Shaporin in 1953, a magnificent musical work of historical themes, was held with a full house. Also, the playbill of the theater was full of wonderful operas by Sergei Prokofiev - "War and Peace", "The Gambler", "Semyon Kotko", "Betrothal in a Monastery".
The staff of the Bolshoi Theater carried out continuous and fruitful cooperation with musical figures of foreign theaters. For example, in 1957, the Czech maestro Zdenek Halabala conducted the orchestra at the opera The Taming of the Shrew at the Bolshoi Theater, and the conductor from Bulgaria, Asen Naydenov, took part in the production of the opera Don Carlos. German directors were invited, Erhard Fischer, Joachim Herz, who prepared Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore and Flying Dutchman» Richard Wagner. The opera The Castle of Duke Bluebeard was staged at the Bolshoi Theater in 1978 by the Hungarian director András Miko. Nikolai Benois, an artist from the famous La Scala, designed the performances of A Midsummer Night's Dream (1965), Un ballo in maschera (1979), Mazeppa (1986) at the Bolshoi Theater.
The staff of the Bolshoi Theater outnumbers many theater groups world, numbering over 900 artists of the orchestra, choir, ballet, opera, mimic ensemble. One of the main principles of the Bolshoi Theater was the right of each artist not to be isolated, a separate link, but to be part of a single whole as its important and integral part. Here stage action and music are closely interconnected, they reinforce each other, acquiring special psychological and emotional properties that can have a strong influence on listeners and spectators.
The Bolshoi Theater Orchestra is also a reason to be proud. It is distinguished by the highest professionalism, impeccable sense of style, perfect teamwork and musical culture. 250 artists are part of the orchestra, which performs the richest repertoire, saturated with works of foreign and Russian operatic dramaturgy. The choir of the Bolshoi Theater consists of 130 performers. It is an essential component of every opera production. The ensemble is characterized by high skill, which was noted during the French tour of the Bolshoi Theater by the Parisian press. The newspaper wrote - not a single world Opera theatre did not yet know such that the audience called for an encore of the choir. But this happened during the premiere performance of "Khovanshchina", performed by the Bolshoi Theater in Paris. The audience applauded with delight and did not calm down until the artists of the choir repeated their magnificent number for an encore.
Also, the Bolshoi Theater can be proud of its talented mimic ensemble, created back in the 1920s. The main purpose of the ensemble was to participate in extras, as well as to perform individual game parts. 70 artists work in this ensemble, taking part in every production of the Bolshoi Theater, both ballet and opera.
The performances of the Bolshoi Theater have long been included in the golden fund of the world opera art. The Bolshoi Theater in many ways dictates to the whole world the further paths of stage development and reading of classical works, and also successfully masters the modern forms of existence of opera and ballet.
Original taken from vladimirtan to the Bolshoi Theater, called the Colosseum by contemporaries
Total 13 photos
The construction of the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater by the architect Osip Bove was a real event for Moscow early XIX century. The Bolshoi Theater was called upon to glorify the city that won the war of 1812. Majestic classical style contributed to this in the best possible way. A sculptural group depicting Apollo on a chariot was installed on the portico. The beautiful eight-column building, according to contemporaries, became the best theater in Europe and was second in scale only to Milan's La Scala. Its opening took place on January 6, 1825. The townspeople called the new building "Coliseum". The Petrovsky Theater "raised its walls like a phoenix from the ruins in new splendor and splendor."
02 Design of the main facade of the Petrovsky (Bolshoi) Theater (built by O. I. Bove and A. A. Mikhailov in 1821-1824) 03 View of the Petrovsky Theatre. 1825 By analogy with the largest theater buildings in Europe (Big theaters in Bordeaux and St. Petersburg) the new theater in Moscow was called the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater and was considered the embodiment of theatrical architecture of classicism and one of the best buildings in its series. 04 View of the Petrovsky Theatre. 1827
On March 1, 1853, for some unknown reason, a fire broke out in the theater. The alabaster group of Apollo, which adorned the theater of Osip Bove, perished in a fire. A competition was announced for the restoration project of the theater building, in which the plan submitted by Albert Cavos won.
06 The main facade of the Bolshoi Theater after the restructuring carried out by A.K. Kavos in 1856
After the fire, only the walls and columns of the porticos survived.
07 Beauvais columns
08 The Beauvais columns are the only surviving element of the building from 1825
09
At the invitation of Alberto Cavos, the Russian sculptor Pyotr Klodt created the now famous sculptural group with Apollo.
10 sculptural group"Chariot of the god Apollo" - bronze quadriga by Peter Klodt
The architect also placed two statues of muses in cut niches in the theater facade.
Sculptures of muses on the facade of the Bolshoi Theater.
11 Dance Muse Terpsichore
12 Muse of Lyric Poetry Erato
The new Bolshoi Theater was rebuilt in 16 months and opened on August 20, 1856 for the coronation of Alexander II.
13 Illumination of Theater Square in honor of the coronation of Alexander II, 1856. View of the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theatre. Lithograph from a drawing by V. Sadovnikov from "Album" by A. Kavos. 1859.
Konstantin Stanislavsky said that the theater begins with a hanger. But if the building was designed and built by a famous architect, a special atmosphere for the audience appears at the very entrance. We recall seven Russian theaters that have become architectural monuments.
Bolshoi Theater in Moscow
During the restoration of Moscow after the fire of 1812, the architects tried to use the surviving fragments of the former buildings. The only wall of the Petrovsky Theater was to become part of the new temple of Melpomene. It was built in the second half of the 18th century by engineer Michael Maddox and architect Christian Roseberg.
Experienced architects Domenico Gilardi, Pietro Gonzago, Alexei Bakarev participated in the first stage of the competition, but none of the projects was approved. Andrei Mikhailov won the second competition. The project of an expensive monumental building was finalized by Osip Bove. He retained Mikhailov's plan, but changed the proportions of the theater and laid out a square in front of it. At first it was called Petrovskaya, and then it was renamed Teatralnaya.
In 1853, the building was badly damaged by fire, with only the outer walls and colonnade of the portico surviving. The modern Bolshoi Theater was built in the 1850s by Albert Cavos. During the restoration, the architect retained the general layout and volume of the building, but returned to Mikhailov's original proportions and decorated the theater in an eclectic style. The sculptural design of the building has also changed. The alabaster chariot of Apollo on the pediment was replaced by a copper quadriga of horses designed by Peter Klodt. It was placed above the portico.
“I tried to decorate the auditorium as splendidly and at the same time as lightly as possible, in the taste of the Renaissance, mixed with the Byzantine style. The white color studded with gold, the bright crimson draperies of the inner boxes, the various plaster arabesques on each floor and the main effect of the auditorium - a large chandelier of three rows of lamps and candelabra decorated with crystal - all this deserved universal approval.
Albert Cavos
Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg
The Alexandrinsky Theater was built by Karl Rossi on the modern Ostrovsky Square in 1832 on the site of the wooden Maly Theatre. The architect developed a development plan for both the area in front of the building and the street behind it.
Innovative for the beginning of the 19th century, the design of the roof was invented by Karl Rossi in collaboration with engineer Matvey Clark. Officials were afraid to coordinate the ceiling on iron arched trusses: no one had ever used anything like it. Then Carl Rossi promised to hang himself on one of the rafters of the theater in case something happened to the roof.
The building in the Empire style is decorated with works by Stepan Pimenov and Vasily Demut-Malinovsky: a frieze with theatrical masks, a sculptural quadriga of Apollo, statues of muses. The Imperial Theater got its name in honor of the wife of Nicholas I - Alexandra Feodorovna.
In addition to the solemn exterior, the theater had an impressive interior design. The multi-tiered system of boxes with an amphitheater and stalls was at that time the cutting-edge word in theatrical architecture. From the luxurious interior of those years, only the central and two side boxes near the stage have survived. The picturesque plafond of the hall, created by the artist Anton Vigi, has also been lost.
Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg
Albert Cavos became the author of the main stage of St. Petersburg. The Mariinsky Theater got its name in honor of the wife of Emperor Alexander II, Maria Alexandrovna. The building, which Kavos built in 1848, could serve as a stage for both theatrical performances and circus performances. After a fire in 1859, the Mariinsky was reconstructed. Since then, only theatrical performances have been held there.
Later, the building was rebuilt by the chief architect of the Imperial Theaters, Viktor Schreter, assisted by Nikolai Benois. The theater has a new building for rehearsal rooms, office space and workshops. Schroeter also slightly changed the appearance of the building: with the help of the famous turret on the dome, the architect disguised the ventilation pipe. The interiors have also been updated. The magnificent curtain, made according to the sketches of Alexander Golovin, remains one of the symbols today Mariinsky Theater.
Nizhny Novgorod Drama Theater
Nizhny Novgorod theater- one of the oldest in Russia, it has existed since the end of the 18th century. However, its own stone building was built for it only at the end of the 19th century. His project was developed by theatrical architecture specialist Viktor Schroeter. But in fact, the construction according to the Schroeter project was led by architects Pavel Malinovsky and Nikolai Frelikh.
The new theater was opened in 1896, on the day of the coronation of Nicholas II, with Mikhail Glinka's opera A Life for the Tsar. Spectators quickly nicknamed it "blue theatre" - the curtains on the boxes and doors, plush upholstery of chairs and barriers were of this color. Actor and director Nikolai Sobolshchikov-Samarin later recalled: “I was the first artist who entered the theatrical stage of the new Nizhny Novgorod theater in 1896. It seemed to me that in this beautiful building, flooded with electric light, all my bright dreams about the present will come true. art theater. Every time I entered the theater, I was seized with some kind of trepidation, and I caught myself walking through its corridors on tiptoe, reverently..
Irkutsk Drama Theater
According to the designs of Viktor Schroeter, by the end of the 19th century, about ten theatrical buildings were built in the Russian Empire - the Georgian Opera and Ballet Theater in Tbilisi, the Opera House in Kiev, the theater in Rybinsk that has not survived to this day and others. He also became the author of the drama theater in Irkutsk. As a competitive project, Schroeter proposed a scheme of a tiered theater worked out to perfection with a stalls, boxes and a deep stage.
The Irkutsk authorities allocated a modest budget for the construction. Schroeter had to build a small building, for 800 people, but at the same time an aesthetic and functional building. There were other restrictions: for example, the architect was given the task of constructing a building of brick and limestone without plaster or moldings. Construction began in 1893 and lasted only three years. Although not all of Viktor Schroeter's ideas were implemented, Irkutsk drama theatre impressed contemporaries with its exquisite appearance, elegant finishes, technical equipment and impeccable acoustics.
One of the main monuments of the Stalinist Empire style is the theater Soviet army- became the first Moscow theater building erected after the revolution. Construction on the project of Karo Alabyan, Vasily Simbirtsev and Boris Barkhin went from 1934 to 1940, it was personally controlled by Marshal Kliment Voroshilov. According to legend, it was he who came up with the idea to build a building in the shape of a five-pointed star.
The height of the Theater of the Soviet Army is ten ground floors and the same number underground. Halls Big and small stage in total can accommodate almost 2,000 people. main stage was designed for productions with the participation of more than a thousand people. The authors of the project assumed that an infantry battalion, tanks and cavalry would be able to participate in the performances. For military equipment even created a special entrance. True, tanks have not yet been used in any production: the stage cannot support their weight.
The interior of the theater was designed by famous muralists of the 1930s. Lev Bruni created the frescoes of the acoustic ceiling, Vladimir Favorsky - a sketch of the reinforced concrete curtain-portal, Ilya Feinberg and Alexander Deineka decorated the plafonds with paintings. Picturesque panels by Pavel Sokolov-Skal and Alexander Gerasimov are placed on the front stairs. Furniture, chandeliers and many interior details were created on special orders.
Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater
The Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theater is called the Siberian Colosseum. The largest theater building in Russia they were built in 1931-1941. However, it could look different. Initially, the architect Alexander Grinberg conceived it as a House of Science and Culture of six buildings with huge theatrical, concert and exhibition halls, a library, a museum and a research institute.
The theater itself was also supposed to be innovative - "a theater of technology and a real setting." It was planned that large troupes would play here, cars and tractors would appear on the stage, and special mechanisms would ensure a quick change of scenery. It was planned that the theater would be transformed into a pool for water performances, a circus or a planetarium.
During construction, the authors of the project abandoned these grandiose ideas. With the participation of architects Alexander Kurovsky, Viktor Birkenberg and Grigory Dankman, a traditional opera house was built instead of the House of Science and Culture. The grand opening took place a few days after the Victory - May 12, 1945.
Loading...
