Children's musical theater Sats: photos and reviews

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

Among the many theaters of the capital for children, there is one special one. This is the world's first temple of art, where children are shown opera and ballet. It was discovered in the last century by Natalya Sats, an amazing woman with a difficult fate. She is no longer in the world, but the institution is still functioning. Now it bears her name. Our article is about the musical theater Sats and its founder.

Who is Natalya Sats

Natasha was born in the Siberian city of Irkutsk. Her parents were creative people: her mother was an opera singer, her father was a composer. It was he who predetermined the fate of his eldest daughter, linking her with music and theater as a child. Little Natasha lived in Siberia for only one year, as her family moved to the capital. The father of the family worked at the Art Theater, was friends with many celebrities. Konstantin Stanislavsky, Evgeny Vakhtangov, Sergei Rachmaninov - all these people were familiar to Natasha from childhood, as they were regulars at her house.

The girl started working at the age of fifteen, heading the children's sector of the theatrical and musical department of the Moscow City Council. ExactlyNatasha became the initiator of the appearance of the first children's theater in Moscow: she found a place, money, opportunities. Starting from the twenties of the last century, for seventeen years she was the permanent director of the Moscow Theater for Children (later it was renamed the Central). Its symbol was the Blue Bird. It is located above the musical theater named after Sats to this day. This figure was chosen by Natalia herself, and it is no coincidence. Her father wrote the music for the play by Maurice Maeterlinck, which was shown at the Art Theater in those years. It was called "The Blue Bird".

Under Natalia Ilyinichna, the children's theater enjoyed incredible success, he was even invited to tour abroad, which was a rarity in those days. Natalia also worked as a guest director abroad, for example in Berlin. And in 1937 everything collapsed. Natasha was arrested as the wife of a "traitor to the motherland." She spent five years in the Gulag camps, and after her release she did not receive permission to return to the capital. She lived in Alma-Ata, separated from her children. But even there Natalia did not stop working. It was thanks to N. Sats that musical theater appeared in Kazakhstan.

Only in the late fifties, she was rehabilitated and allowed to come to the capital. She set to work with renewed vigor. In 1965, the world's first children's musical theater appeared in Moscow. Sats remained its leader until her death in 1993.

Children's Musical Theater. N. I. Sats: creation story

Even as a child, Natasha really wanted to organize such a children'sa theater in which kids were taught to understand and love ballet, opera, symphonies. It didn’t work out right away, it took a long time to prove that opera and ballet are needed not only for adults. In 1965, the debut performance "Morozko" took place on the stage of the Variety Theater in Moscow, and this November day is considered to be the birthday of the new children's theater, which is now an academic one.

At first, the troupe did not have its own corner and wandered around on other people's stages, but the energetic Natalia Ilyinichna was soon able to solve this problem as well. First, the children's musical theater received premises on Nikolskaya Street, then moved to Vernadsky Avenue, where it is located now. As mentioned above, the symbol of the theater is the Blue Bird. It should be noted that the building was built specifically for the musical theater of Natalia Sats, and she herself took part in its design.

The popularity of the temple of art won immediately. Already in the first years of his work, he successfully toured both in Russia and abroad. Austria and Hungary, France and Italy, Japan and Canada - wherever the troupe has been! And everywhere the performances of the children's musical theater N. Sats were sold out. This is because both the head of the institution and his troupe unconditionally followed the precept of the great director Stanislavsky, who believed that children should play like adults, only even better.

Currently

After the death of Natalya Ilyinichna, the head of the children's music altheater was Viktor Provorov. He continued the work of the founder. So, under him, Thumbelina was staged, recognized as the best children's performance in the capital. Many of the productions performed at that time are still in the theater's repertoire.

Georgy Isahakyan has been its leader for the last seven years. Each season, the troupe under his leadership releases premieres. Theater performances are now designed for the most tender age - for kids from three years old. Of course, this does not mean that the older children in the Children's Musical Theater. Sats there is nothing to do. For teenagers, there is also a very rich choice of performances, and many parents note that they themselves like to watch wonderful performances. The building has undergone a major renovation. Now there are two scenes. One hall has more than a thousand seats, the other can accommodate about three hundred spectators. In addition, a children's studio has been operating at the theater for seven years, and anyone can get into it.

Design

Children's Musical Theater. Sats is unique not only because it is the first in the world, but also because of its interior design. The magic of design begins even at the entrance - there guests are greeted by heroes of Alexander Pushkin's fairy tales on bas-reliefs and treble clefs instead of door handles. And above the foyer there are hanging bridges, from where the heroes of their favorite works greet the children. Nearby is an incredibly beautiful rotunda with an aviary for birds. They were very fond of the founder of the theater, who believed that birds are the best singers. The rotunda is decorated with magnificent panels by famous Russian artists.

Huge aquariums guide viewers on their way to the upper foyer, which contains a variety of sculptures and unusual plants. This is where musicians often come out to chat with visitors and tell them something interesting about the instruments. In the same foyer there is an exhibition of children's drawings. It works constantly, and everyone can become a participant in it. Many children leave their work here right during the intermission. There are special chairs and a table with the necessary accessories for their creativity.

Next to the upper foyer is a fabulous room made in the form of a Palekh box. On human-sized plates, you can see scenes from various performances: "Ruslan and Lyudmila", "Romeo and Juliet", "The Little Mermaid" and many others. There is also a winter garden nearby with a buffet, which houses a sculpture of a mother with a child. Forests and fields with diverse fauna are painted on the walls of the buffet.

Parents who send their child to the hall alone and wait for him in the lobby will not be bored either. For them, a large TV screen hangs in the foyer, on which the performance is broadcast. Thus, adults can see the performance without being present in the hall. There are also kiosks in the lower foyer selling various books about music and records of performances.

Repertoire of the N. I. Sats

As already mentioned, the performances in this temple of Melpomene are designed for a wide variety of ages - from three years old and above. and genres of performancesare also varied here. These are operas, ballets, and symphony concerts. The premieres of this season are the performances "Aelita" (ballet), "Moydodyr" (opera for the smallest), "Masquerade" (ballet), "The Night Before Christmas" (opera). In addition, there are other equally wonderful performances in the theater: Snow White, The Wizard of the Emerald City, The Ugly Duckling, Twelve Months, Carmen, Cat's House, Swan Lake, Son shelf”, “Sherlock Holmes” and many others.

Poster

All of the above premieres can be seen at the Sats Children's Musical Theater in December. In addition, at the very beginning of the month, on the fourth day, a very interesting event will take place - a gala concert with the participation of the artists of the world ballet "Petipa and New Time". It is dedicated to the bicentenary of the birth of Marius Petipa.

In addition, in the last month of this year, everyone will be able to enjoy such wonderful theater performances as "Lord of the Flies", "Thumbelina", "The Steadfast Tin Soldier", "Madama Butterfly", "The Snow Queen", "Noah Ark", "Morozko" and others. Even on December 31, the theater will open its doors to the audience. The Nutcracker will be shown to kids and their parents. Tickets for performances cost from 100 rubles to 2000, depending on the row number.

Location

The Sats musical theater building is located on Vernadsky Avenue. The house number is five. You can first get to the institution using public transport by metro. Then you need to get off at the station "Universitet", and thenride the trolley bus two stops.

Reviews

About the musical theater Sats, most of the reviews are positive. Parents note that children really like the very atmosphere of the institution. Many say that their children have reviewed the entire repertoire several times (for their age). People write about the friendly theater staff, good audibility and visibility in the auditorium, affordable prices. Spectators also note the beautiful scenery, live music and the wonderful play of the actors. Many people buy books in the theater and consider that their cost is quite acceptable. Parents especially emphasize the fact that their restless children watch the performance calmly and with undying interest, even if it lasts about two hours.

Interesting facts

We offer a selection of interesting facts about the theater N. Sats and its creator:

1. Natalya Ilyinichna composed many of the librettos herself.
2. The world's first symphonic fairy tale "Peter and the Wolf" was written by Sergei Prokofiev together with Natalia.
3. It is not the bell that calls for the performance, but the music of Ilya Sats for "The Blue Bird".
4. In front of the theater there is a monument to its founder.
5. Natalia's first performance on stage took place at the age of one.
6. The opening of the children's theater on Vernadsky Avenue took place in the International Year of the Child.

Residents of Moscow and the region have a huge choice of where to take their child. But a visit to the Natalia Sats Musical Theater is a must.