Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv): history, address and repertoire

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

Kharkiv Theater of Musical Comedy is one of the most famous cultural institutions in the second largest city in Ukraine.

Foundation

In 1929, the government of the Ukrainian USSR issued a decree on the establishment of the Ukrainian State Theater of Musical Comedy in Kharkov.

The basis of the troupe was the students of the famous director Les Kurbas Boris Balaban, Bogdan Kryzhanovsky and Januariy Bortnik. It was these actors who laid down the traditions of the operetta in Kharkiv.

The first chief director of the theater was Boris Balaban, who created the premiere performance based on the plot and music of "Orpheus in Hell" by Jacques Offenbach. The new libretto was written by Ostap Vishnya, and the composers A. Ryabov and Y. Meitus supplemented it with new dance numbers and melodies. The design for the performance was created by the artists S. Ioffe, P. Pogorely, A. Shcheglov, N. Petrenko and B. Chernyshov.

The celebration on the occasion of the opening of the theater and the premiere of the operetta "Orpheus in Hell" took place on November 1, 1929.

The history of the theater before the Second World War

In the 30s, the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv) was engaged in the "modernization" of classical plays, such as "The Cossack beyond the Danube","Rose-Marie" and others, presenting the audience with the traditional operetta repertoire (works by Kalman, Lehar, Strauss, etc.), as well as creating completely new performances.

A real blow to the theater was the government decree depriving Les Kurbas of the title of People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR. In addition, all of his students were removed from leadership positions, and a “fight against formalism” began.

Formation of repertoire

After the dismissal of Les Kurbas, Mikhail Avakh was appointed the chief director of the musical comedy, who, among other things, was supposed to fight bourgeois nationalism.

Contrary to the expectations of those in power, he began his career as the head of the theater with productions of "neo-Viennese classics". Avach created the performances "Silva", "Maritsa", "The Merry Widow" and "La Bayadère". He involved his more experienced colleagues D. Giusto and V. Rapoport in the work.

Avaha's collaboration with the chief conductor of the musical comedy, composer Alexei Ryabov, was also fruitful. In 1935, they began work on a performance based on the Sorochinskaya Fair, in which Gogol himself was brought on stage as a character. The performance was a huge success and entered the history of Ukrainian theatrical art forever.

Another resounding success was expected by the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv) in 1937, when the performance of the play "May Night" was presented to the audience.

However, a real triumph was the premiere of the play "Wedding in Malinovka", which has not left the stage for more than 70 yearsmusical theaters throughout the Soviet Union.

During the war years

Shortly before the occupation of the city, the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv) was evacuated to Central Asia. Thanks to the dedication of Les Ivashutich, Isaac Radomyssky, Semyon Ioffe, Naum Sobol, Savva Solyaschansky and other members of the troupe, he continued to perform in front of refugees and military men who were being treated in hospitals.

In Uzbekistan, on the basis of local folklore, the play "Khoja Nasreddin" was created. The theater performed in Bukhara, Ashgabat, Termez, Fergana and Frunze. However, the most fruitful tour was in Samarkand, where they were visited by about 100 thousand spectators. Despite this, the team was looking forward to returning to their hometown. And it was triumphant!

After the war

In the 1950s, performances of Field Marshal's Daughter, Maiden Trouble, Viy, May Night, Sorochinsky Fair, Matchmaking on Goncharivtsi, etc. were staged.

The premiere of V. Mayakovsky's comedy "The Bedbug" to the music of G. Yudin, which the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov) became famous for in 1964, thundered throughout the Soviet Union.

The staging of Raimonds Pauls' musical "Sister Carrie" staged by director Alexander Barseghyan in the early 80's also aroused great interest. Critics noted the novelty of the performance, in which tragic features appeared for the first time in the "frivolous" genre.

Among the unconditional achievements of the theater of the 8090s are the productions of Rhythm Ballet, Bambi, Juno and Avos, Jesus ChristSuperstar", "Monarch, Harlot and Monk", etc.

Repertoire of the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv) in the 21st century

The beginning of the new millennium was marked by the staging of the cult musical "My Fair Lady" directed by Arkady Klein. He also breathed new life into the comedy "Sorochinsky Fairs" by A. Ryabov, returning it to the repertoire of the team for the 200th anniversary of the birth of N. V. Gogol.

The Kharkiv audience enthusiastically greeted the performances in the format of the gala concerts “Vivat, Kalman!” and "All Secrets of the Operetta", as well as the children's revue "Visiting a Fairy Tale" by Alexander Drachev.

The Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv), whose poster is always of interest to operetta lovers, is proud of its talented vocal soloists Inga Vasilyeva, Natalya Koval, Tatyana Tsyganskaya, Eleonora Dzhulik, Alexei Andrenko, Irina Potolova and many others.

Today, viewers are invited to watch performances with their participation:

• The Merry Widow;
• "Beautiful Galatea";
• "The Secret of Juan's House";
• "Khanuma's Tricks";
• "Adventurers";
• "Wooing on Goncharovka";
• "Princess of the Circus" and others

Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv): address

To see the operettas and musicals listed above, you should buy tickets at the box office. It is located in the theater building, located at Blagoveshchenskaya (former Karl Marx) street, 32. You can get there, for example, by metro, reaching the station on Privokzalnaya Square.

Now you knowwhat is known and where is the theater of musical comedy (Kharkiv). Tickets for its premiere screenings are recommended to be booked in advance, as in such cases there is always a full house.