Theatre - Astrakhan Drama

Astrakhansky Drama Theatre, one of the oldest theaters in Russia. Theatrical performances in the city were arranged in the 18th century. In 1810, the first performance of the permanent theater took place, its contenter in 1810-1818 was A.Gruzinov. In the theater there were operettas, tragedies and dramas. In 1811, 46 plays were performed, mostly comedic. Many performances were given for charitable purposes. Thanks to the energy and taste of Gruzinov, plays by A.P. Sumarokov, V.A. Ozerov, D.I. Fonvizin, Y.B. Knyazhin, I.A. Krylov, Moliere, P.O. Bomarshe were staged on the Astrakhan stage. Its popularity was largely due to the Kapellmeister I.V. Dobrovolsky, who created the first professional orchestra in the city. In 1825, the comic actor P. Vorobyov held the entreprise, in his activity enterprise was combined with artistic flair and lively initiative. During this period in the repertoire of the theater - Nedorosl Fonvizin, Woe from the wit of A.S. Griboyedov, Inspector N.V. Gogol, plays by W. Shakespeare and Fr. Schiller. Among the actors of the troupe of that time are Tretyakov, Zalessky, Molchanov, Gulyaeva, Krasovskaya-Gurovskaya. After the departure of the ruined Vorobyov troupe disintegrated, entrepreneurs and troupes were constantly changing, sometimes the theater was empty for 2-3 years. In the autumn of 1863, a new theater building was built at the expense of the merchant N. Plotnikov. P. M. Medvedev was invited as an entrepreneur, who in Astrakhan kept an opera, drama and operetta troupe. On October 2, 1883, the season opened in the new theater building with Odran’s comic opera Red Sun. On the Astrakhan stage, M.T. Ivanov-Kozelsky began his creative path, played Chatsky, Zhadov, Karl Moor. Medvedev himself created in the theater excellent images of Gorodniche, Gradoboyev, Shmagi. After the departure of Medvedev until 1917, the Astrakhan theater did not have a permanent troupe (acting groups led by N. N. Solovtsov, N. I. Sobolshchikov-Samarin, M. Dalsky, etc.). A number of seasons (1895-1996, 1905-1906, 1913-1914) the troupe of the famous entrepreneur P.P. Struisky worked in the theater. The last take-off of the pre-revolutionary theater falls on the season 1916-1917, when the leadership was in the hands of actress V.S. Kryazhaeva, who invited A.I. Kanin (he became the main director) and M.A. Betsky to the troupe. In 1918, E.O. Lyubimov-Lanskaya was appointed chief director and artistic director. The first after the revolution he set the Enemies of M. Gorky. The next director was Betsky and K.E. Oligin. Among the best actors of the then troupe are L.S. Allyanov, P.A. Karganov, E.M. Lubin. In the season 1920-1921, which opened with Gorky’s play Children of the Sun, P.N. Orlenev moved to the theater (who played the role of Dmitry Karamazov, Tsar Fedor, Rozhnov, Oswald, Paul I on the Astrakhan stage). In the 1920-1930s, V.S.Zotov, N.G.Maximov, M.M.Belosov, V.L.Lavrov, T.P.Marvin, A.M.Petrov, director Z.M.Slavyanova served in the theater. The theater puts plays by K.A. Trenev, A.E. Korneychuk, N.F. Pogodin, A.N. Afinogenov, L.I. Slavin, A.N. Arbuzov, V.M. Gusev and others. Stages in the creative growth of the theater were the performances Fear (1932), Egor Bulychev and others (1934), Othello (1936), Masquerade (1937), Living Corpse (1938). In 1940 the theater was given the name of S.M. Kirov. In the repertoire of the war years - performances Keys of Berlin, Commander Suvorov, Field Marshal Kutuzov, Guy from our city, Russian people. In the 1950s, the theater was led by L.S. Samborskaya. On the posters - Barbarians, Thunderstorm, Port Arthur A. Stepanova and I. Popova, Years of Arbuzov's Travels, Personal Affairs of A.P. Stein, Dragonfly M. Baratashvili. Prominent place was given to Western classics – Taming the Shrew, Othello Shakespeare, Don Carlos Schiller, Before sunset by G. Hauptman. Among the best productions of the theater are A. Ostrovsky’s Hot Heart (1958), Vs. Vishnevsky’s Optimistic Tragedy (1958) staged by M. Vakovsky and Maskarad M. Lermontov (1959) staged by N. Weitzer. In the 1960s, the Astrakhan Theatre was appointed another director Yurovsky. During this period, the theater experienced a creative upsurge. The performances created by the director had power, brightness of colors (Fakir for the hour of V. Dykhovichny and M. Slobodsky, 1961; Liar M. Mayo and M. Enneken, 1964; Shakespeare’s Cymbeline, 1964); The People I Saw Smyrny, 1965 In the troupe of the theater served L. E. Shaposhnikov, O. M. Popov, N. K. Garin, I. N. Chernikov, L. V. Gorbunova, N. V. Nagulov, B. V. Polinitsyn and others. In the 1970s, V. Bulychevsky’s Hot Summer (1970), Mad Money and Ostrovsky’s Handsome Man (1973), The Singer from Lille N. Sotnikov (1974), Don Carlos Schiller (1975), and V. Shukshin’s Energetic People (1976) played on the stage of the theater. Directors A.Obraztsov, I.Levin, N.Eshba worked; artists V.Melikishvili, V.Zharkov. In 1981, the main director of the theater was appointed V.Ya.Alexandrushkin. With his arrival, the repertoire of the theater was enriched with performances based on the works of modern authors: Wounded V. Krylenko (1984), Smoke of the Fatherland K. Simonov (1985), Legend of the actor S. Kalashnikov and V. Alexanderkin (1986), Deficiency I. Shchegolikhin (1986), Dictatorship of Conscience M. Shatrov (1987) and others. In the troupe of the theater worked artists T.N. Kosmakova, Y.M. Chernitsky, Y.A. Biryukov, I.A. Slobodskaya, L.Kamenogradskaya, N. Thursday, E. Grigoriev, N. Zavolokin and others. In the early 1990s, the building was closed for renovation, and the actors were forced to work in different venues. With the arrival of N.A. Shiryaev as artistic director (1997), the repertoire was revised. It again appeared plays of classical drama - a dream on a summer night of Shakespeare, the Idiot by F. M. Dostoevsky. Through the efforts of Shiryaev, the troupe was updated (artists N. Antonenko, S. Shtukin, Y. Dautov, V. Kurmashov, G. Pivovarov), a group of graduate students was recruited. A family portrait with a stranger S. Lobozerov, The Ghost of Alexander Wolf from the novel by G. Gazdanov, Seasons (Twelve months) by S. Marshak were put. In 1998, for the first time in 40 years, the theater came to Moscow and was warmly received by the Moscow public.