Musical comedy theater in Volgograd: description, repertoire, history

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

The development of culture and sense of beauty among the people should be a priority in every city. Volgograd is no exception - the capital of the region, one of the most famous hero cities and simply a remarkable tourist center. The Musical Comedy Theater in Volgograd shows that among the abundance of military and historical monuments there is always a place for fine theatrical art.

A bit of history

Volgograd musical theater is one of the largest and oldest in the region, as well as in the entire Lower Volga region. For more than 80 years of existence, it has acquired a deep history and vivid imprints of events. Has a huge weight in the development of the city and the country.

When the city was called Stalingrad, and the culture suffered greatly in the post-revolutionary period, a project of a small operetta theater arose. At that time, the city was in the Nizhnevolzhsky theater association along with Astrakhan and Saratov. There were only away performances, and they were held in the summer in open areas.

But this situation no longer suited the public, so in 1931 the Nizhnevolzhsky Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks agreed to the creation of the Second State Workers' Theater. A permanent troupe began to form. It opened in November 1932, the official start of activity was the showing of the operetta "Kholopka" by N. Strelnikov.

Wartime

Originally called the Stalingrad Theater of Musical Comedy, it was located in the old Concordia building, where there used to be another theater. A picturesque place overlooking the river Tsaritsa. But at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the building was destroyed. The inventory was evacuated, so immediately after the end of the Battle of Stalingrad, artists and management returned to the city.

Left without a "shelter", they decided not to stop what they love. The people supported the initiative, and the workers of the tractor plant allocated the FZU building in 1947. It was quickly re-equipped, the stage and spectator seats were installed, and performances began to be given. The creative spirit was an excellent support for the spirit in the difficult post-war period.

In 1952, the future Musical Comedy Theater of Volgograd (Stalingrad) celebrated its 20th anniversary. On this occasion, a majestic building was allocated on the Volga coast, overlooking a beautiful river landscape.

Rebirth

In the 90s, the theater stopped working for 5 years, it was repaired and put in order. The troupe, however, continued to tour other venues and enjoyed a largesuccess. At that time, the musical comedy was famous and was one of the five best theaters in the Soviet Union.

The development did not stop there. After repair by the city administration in 1995, the cultural center was named the Volgograd Musical Theatre. This is not just a name change, but the opportunity now to stage not only comedies and operettas within the walls of the institution. Classics of opera and ballet were added to the repertoire. The increase in the genre range has attracted the attention of even more theatergoers.

Servants of the Temple of Art

Along with the immortal classics, the theater staged contemporary works, which later became cult. In the 70-80s, most of the performances were based on the creations of new authors. And it was the brightest period in the life of the Volgograd Theater of Musical Comedy. Composers created especially for him: V. Basner - the play "A Heroine Wanted", O. Sandler - the production of "At Dawn", as well as G. Gladkov, K. Listov, V. Semyonov, etc. They repeatedly received all-Union awards, won competitions and were broadcast on central television.

Many of the actors of the so-called golden age of the theater still shine. The most famous names of the older generation that are part of the current troupe:

• Tatyana Zhdanova;
• Igor Shumsky;
• Alla Goncharova;
• Igor Tretyakov;
• Lyudmila Putilovskaya;
• Roman Baylov;
• Mikhail Korolev;
• Lada Semyonova and others.

This compositionthey repeatedly toured, and such cities as Moscow, Kyiv, Kharkov, Tallinn, Chisinau, Baku, Tbilisi, always received the artists with admiration. The Musical Comedy Theater of Volgograd had a stand with newspapers, where enthusiastic reviews were published, but after the renovation it was removed.

Notorious premieres

How did the cultural center attract art lovers, if many performances were sold out? The answer is simple - the right leader. They worked under the direction of Yu. G. Genin, who raised the theater to a new level. He demanded full dedication from the actors, so their vocal and choreographic data reached unprecedented heights. The scenery was also created luxurious.

Genin breathed newness into the classics, each performance had a twist. Thus, the production of "Viennese Blood" by Johann Strauss became one of the best in the USSR and for several years gathered full houses.

The repertoire of the Volgograd Musical Comedy Theater also included Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Traviata, which strengthened the institution's reputation. It was possible to stage The Marriage of Figaro by W. A. Mozart and other works of the world fund of opera and ballet classics: The Barber of Seville, Khanuma, Silva. Many of them are still played today. The reviews of Volgograd residents and guests of the city still make it clear that the theater is alive and developing, which means that the cultural heritage is growing.

Theatre today

The 2017-2018 season is the 86th for musical comedy. Upcoming performances in the playbill of the Volgograd Musical Theater are:

• "Scarlet Sails" (musical)based on the novel by Alexander Grin;
• "Hello… I'm your aunt!" (musical comedy) - directed by Oscar Feltsman;
• "An Ordinary Miracle" (musical) - directed by Gennady Gladkov;
• "The Merry Widow" (operetta) - a work by Franz Lehar;
• "Dubrovsky" (musical);
• Baby Revolt (musical comedy);
• "American Love" (musical);
• "Aladdin" (family musical) based on the famous oriental tale;
• "Khanuma" (musical comedy) famous world production of Gia Kancheli;
• The Bat (operetta) by Johann Strauss;

The variety of themes and plots in the performances makes it possible for the public of all ages and preferences to find a work to their liking. All dates and ticket prices can be specified on the official website of the theater and at the box office of the city. This is how the hall scheme of the Volgograd Musical Comedy Theater looks like:

Property of the city and region

The theater has more than 400 productions, with which more than 200 cities of Russia and the CIS countries were toured. At international festivals, artists showed true mastery, became multiple laureates. The current leaders of the creative team have honorary statuses. Chief director Alexander Kutyavin, choirmaster L. A. Ponomarev and conductor Anatoly Smirnov were awarded the titles of Honored Artists of Russia. Choreographer - maestro Sergey Varlamov, decorator - artist I. V. Elistratova.

Under sensitiveunder the guidance of professionals, talented actors reveal the deep messages of the works that penetrate the souls of visitors. No wonder the theater under the familiar name "musical comedy" pleases the audience for so long and makes the townspeople really proud of their activities.

Address of the Musical Comedy Theatre: Volgograd, st. Marshal Chuikov 4.