International Theatre Day
Description:
In 301 after the adoption of Christianity, theater in Armenia was banned. In the Middle Ages, the theater existed in the form of a circus, folk games, spiritual drama and educational rhetoric.
In the period of strengthening the feudal system, despite the opposition of the Church (sermons of Catholicos John Mandakuni, V century), presented the ancient dramaturgy (Menander, Euripides), the works of Armenian comediographers, tragedians, mimographers. There were special theater buildings (like ancient amphitheaters) with separate upper seats for women. Performances were given systematically, theaters attracted a large number of spectators.
The popularity of theatrical performances prompted the clergy to introduce theatrical elements into church rites. From the liturgical drama arose the Christian mystical theater, a characteristic product of the culture of the feudal era.
In the works of Armenian philosophers of the VI-VII centuries there is evidence that the theater occupied a prominent place in the public life of Armenia. In the late Middle Ages, theatrical performances were widespread in the Vaspurakan principality, in the Ani kingdom, in the Cilician kingdom. In Akhtamar, troupes of actors-gusans and actresses-vardzak performed. The high reliefs carved from stone on the walls of the Akhtamar temple of the X century depict the masks of the Armenian theater of that time in two of its varieties - household comedy, similar to the dramaturgy of Menander, and the satirical square theater of "gusan-mimos", "tsakhratsu". In the XII century, a theater appeared in the Kingdom of Cilicia, where the center of cultural life of the Armenian people moved. At the same time, the first extant works of Armenian dramaturgy include: the dramatic poem by O. Pluz, the mystery drama Adam’s Book by A. Sunetsi.
There are many theaters in modern Armenia, among which the Sundukyan Theatre occupies a special place.
Sundukyan Theatre is the leading drama theater of the Armenian SSR. The creative work of actors and directors was formed here, many of which gained fame outside the republic. The activity of the theater is of great importance for the promotion of the classical repertoire, as well as for the development of Armenian Soviet drama.
Another famous theater in the city is the A. Spendiarov Opera and Ballet Theater, the building of which was built according to the project of architect A. I. Tamanyan. On the stage of the theater there are operas “Anush”, “David-Beck”, ballets “Gayane”, “Three Poems” and others.
The city also has the Paronian Theatre of Musical Comedy, the Stanislavsky Russian Drama Theatre, the Kaplanyan Drama Theatre, the State Chamber Theatre, the Young Spectator Theatre, the Pantomime Theatre, the Puppet Theatre, the Agulis Theatre and many others.
en.wikipedia.org, http://www.armeniatur.am.