Ostrovsky Theater (Kostroma): history of creation and repertoire

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

The Ostrovsky Theater is considered one of the very first in Russia, which has survived and is fully functioning to this day. It staged foreign and domestic classical works.

Origins

The Ostrovsky State Theater opened its doors to the public in 1808. Then Kostroma was a rich city, where merchants lived. Even today you can find old houses that have survived from those times. They traded various utensils, and barkers were actively working nearby.

At this time, Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was born in Kostroma, in a family of we althy merchants. Later he became the founder of the theater in Russia. The city has discovered a completely new art. In 1863, another theater-goer, Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky, was born in Moscow. And in the interval between them, in 1823, Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was born, a playwright who showed Russia the true life of merchants.

The merchants really liked the new art form. Since the merchants were not poor people, they could support the undertakings of young talented playwrights and help the actors. Reposesthey began to arrange even before the Ostrovsky theater was opened. Kostroma became the center of art. The first performances were shown during private receptions in residences and country cottages. Serfs played in them. Over time, they were replaced by professional actors.

Early history

The Kostroma Drama Theater was first mentioned in 1808. It may have existed before, but there is no official information. Scenes were played on the territory of a modern hospital - a special arena was built there. For the first time, the play "Melnik - a sorcerer, a matchmaker and a deceiver" was shown there. This building welcomed guests from the Imperial Moscow Theatre, who were forced to leave their homes in 1812. Each performance they played so impressed both the audience and the local actors themselves that a new round began in the history of the Kostroma stage. Famous actors of that time were Kartsov, Anisimov, Chagin, Glebov, Sergeev, Obreskov.

New shelters for the temple of Melpomene

Soon the small building was not enough, and the theater was forced to look for a suitable stage. She was found on the Lower Debra. This street became famous for the first stone theater building. Previously, the tannery of Syromyatnikov, a merchant from the second guild, was located in this place. Both the actors and the audience are so accustomed to this in a merchant city that they were not at all surprised by the thin line between art and industry. Nothing has survived from the building to this day. Only notes from past times with a description of the premises were left. eyewitnessesit was mentioned that from the street it seemed that only the wall was standing. It was necessary to go downstairs in order to then go up to the theater premises. But his yard opened a beautiful view of the Volga.

Shchepkin, who played the role of Tortsov in the play "Poverty is no vice," gave performances in this building. Potekhin and Pisemsky were present in the auditorium. And 1863 became a significant year for the Kostroma theatre. It was then that a special building was erected for him on Pavlovskaya Street. All the townspeople threw themselves at him. It became the crowning achievement of architectural art in Kostroma at that time. The one-story theater looked more like a Greek temple, with many columns, a semi-circular facade and semi-rotundas at the porch.

Legend in action

Locals are still convinced that this building was overtaken by a supernatural attack. When it was just beginning to be built, the bricks were taken from the former monastery of the Epiphany, which burned down a little earlier. Builders bought materials and didn't care too much about superstitions. In 1865 the theater burned down almost to the ground. It was restored in two years.

Update

The acting troupe was recruited with the help of professional entrepreneurs. They updated the entire line-up quite often. Until 1917, Neverin, Zolotarev-Belsky, Ivanov, Chaleev-Kostromskoy played in the theater. Entrepreneurs were faced with the task of choosing not only actors, but also determining the repertoire. More than ten performances could be played in one theatrical season. The actors of the role rarely learned to the end, often improvised and always expectedhints from the prompter in the booth.

In 1898, actors from the Maly Theater visited the Kostroma stage, including the famous Sadovsky family. From 1899 to 1900, the auditorium was remodeled by a new entrepreneur, more space was made available for the stalls by reducing the number of boxes. But in 1900, the lobby floor burned down.

Wartime

In 1914-1915 Varlamov and Davydov from St. Petersburg performed on the stage. The actor Mammoth Dalsky also came from there. He stayed in Kostroma from 1915 to 1917.

The theater was almost destroyed by the October Revolution of 1917. In 1918, a performance based on Gorky's play "At the Bottom" was brought to it from Moscow. Every movement of the theater-goers was recorded in the city party branch. Some of the actors moved to St. Petersburg, some stayed and showed the best plays from a small list to choose from.

In 1923, the institution was given the name of the great playwright. From now on it was the Kostroma Drama Theatre. Ostrovsky. The plays that could be shown were necessarily coordinated with party leaders.

When the Second World War began, the troupe was offered to disperse, it was planned to close the Ostrovsky Theater. Kostroma at that time experienced a real tragedy. But the actors refused. The inspectors who arrived did not expect to see Ostrovsky's "live" theater, the performances in which were sold out to the audience. After watching the performances, they gave the Kostroma stage the go-ahead to continue their activities.

I went from the theater to the fronta special team of fifteen people. They played Ostrovsky's play "Truth is good, but happiness is better" for the soldiers.

In 1944, the anniversary of the theater was celebrated and it was given the status of a regional one. The celebration, despite the wartime, was carried out magnificently and brightly.

After the war

From 1957 to 1958, the building began to be reconstructed. It was partially restored to its former appearance, and inside it was changed according to the project of the architect Iosif Sheftelevich Shevelev.

In 1983, the Ostrovsky Drama Theater was awarded the honorary Order of the Red Banner.

In 1999, it acquired the status of a public institution.

Ostrovsky Theater: repertoire

The playwright Ostrovsky, beloved in the city, became the basis for the Kostroma stage. They were staged both during the life of the writer, and are played to this day. Also among the classical productions you can see the dramas of William Shakespeare, Alexander Pushkin, Leo Tolstoy, Moliere, Bernard Shaw, John Patrick, Jiri Gubach, Alejandro Kason and others. Along with well-known works, author's adaptations of young screenwriters are also shown.

The Ostrovsky Theater often invites troupes from other cities to visit. Actors from the capital often bring original productions. In addition, the institution is the owner of dozens of various awards at international and all-Russian festivals.

Most popular pieces in the repertoire:

• "Odd Mrs. Savage" - comedybased on the novel by John Patrick.
• "Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov.
• "While she was dying" by Natalia Ptushkina.
• "Boris Godunov" by Pushkin.
• A modern adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
• "Thunderstorm" by Ostrovsky.