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BAKHRUSHIN THEATRICAL MUSEUM |
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Theatrical Moscow is dynamic and multifaceted just like everyday life of the capital, just like Muscovites themselves. Moscow theatergoers are demanding and choosy as always.
The history of the first Russian theater starts in 1673 by a performance on a biblical subject staged at the court of Alexei Romanov. Since that time the theatrical life in Russia has never ceased.
The Bolshoi Theater, a masterpiece of Russian classicism , crowns one of the most beautiful Moscow squares - the Theater square. The building was constructed in 1824 by Russian architect Joseph Bove and restored after the fire of 1853 by architect Kavoss.
The Bolshoi theater earned world fame and popularity due to the classical school of Russian ballet whose founder was a well-known French choreographer Marius Petipa who worked in Russia at the time. Such ballets as The Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, Romeo and Juliet, Spartacus, Don Quichote, Bayaderka, Carmen-suite have become the treasury of the Russian ballet art
The Bolshoi theater has gained world fame thanks to the talent and technique of such outstanding Russian ballerinas as A.Pavlova, G.Ulanova, O.Lepeshinskaya, M.Plissetskaya, E.Maksimova. Young generation of the Bolshoi ballet dancers - Nina Ananiashvili, Nadezhda Gracheva, Galina Stepanenko, Ilse Liepa, Anastasia Volochkova - follows the great traditions of their predecessors.
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Russian opera repertoire is linked to great Russian composers Tchaikovsky,
Musorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin. Now we continue to enjoy such
operas as Voevoda, Mazepa, Eugene Onegin, The Queen of Spades, Boris
Godunov, Prince Igor, The Snow Maiden, Iolanta, Oprichnik, Khovanschina
staged by the Bolshoi Theater. Over 800 opera and ballet performances have been staged in the Bolshoi theater since its foundation. In the XXI century it continues to attract new lovers and admirers of ballet and opera being the pride of Russian art and culture. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko musical theater is no less famous with its ballet The Swan Lake, operas The Snow Maiden, Iolantha, Eugene Onegin by Chaikovsky, ballet Don Quixote by Minkus, opera Love Drink by Donizetti. |
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Uniform artistic orientation and a permanent company characterize celebrated Russian drama theaters and this is appreciated by theater-lovers in Russia. That is why a number of drama schools attached to famous theaters have not ceased their existence , they uphold the traditions and preserve the continuity of the generations of actors which creates a unique image of the theater. Traditional Russian theater boasts of a high level of mastership of its art directors and actors and Moscow theatergoers are thankful for it.
State Academic Maly theater has staged a number of plays by A.Tolstoy based on the history of the Russian state: Tsar Boris, Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich, Tsar Peter and his son Alexey; Strindberg's King Gustav Vasa, one of the recent productions. Princess Turandot by Carlo Gozzi in Eugene Vakhtangov theater has not left the stage since 1921 when it was staged by Vakhtangov himself. Moscow State Art theater named after Chekhov recently produced L. Tolstoy's Light shines in the darkness and a comedy by N. Evreinov The most important thing.
In the history of the theater modern plays have always been staged alongside with classical ones. Lenkom ( theater named after Leninsky Komsomol) directed by a well-known stage director Mark Zakharov has successfully started the season by Mystification by N.Sadur. Chekhov's Seagull, Beaumarchais' Figaro's marriage, A. Vosznesensky's Yunona and Avos, Dostoevsky's The Barbarian and the Heretic, G. Gorin's Royal Games are immensely popular with the Moscow theatergoers. Lenkom's company numbers many brilliant young actors which makes this theater one of the most popular theaters in Moscow.
Sovremennik directed by Galina Voltchek is popular both in Moscow and abroad. It also started the season by the premiere of Remark's Three comrades.
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Yuri Lubimov's Taganka theater also enjoys popularity and success with the Moscow theater-lovers. Among theaters frequented by Muscovites there is A. Raikin's Satiricon, Oleg Tabakov's theater, Et cetera directed by Alexander Kalyagin, Petr Fomenko's studio theater and many others. Though their plays are not indisputable, they preserve a high level of mastery and let spectators enjoy the great art. Moscow State Tchaikovsky conservatory is the temple of classical music. |
State Tchaikovsky Symphony orchestra directed by V. Fedoseev, State Symphony orchestra directed by E. Svetlanov, musical ensemble The Virtuosi of Moscow directed by V. Spivakov, Y. Bashmet's chamber orchestra The Soloists of Moscow, Quartet named after Borodin perform on this stage.
The big hall of the Conservatory welcomes on its stage brilliant musicians and singers, such as V. Tretyakov, D. Khvorostovsky, I. Arkhipova, O. Borodina and others. The circus takes a special place in the Moscow artistic life. It became one of the most beloved forms of national art. At the beginning of the 19th century the fashionable horse circus made its way from Europe to Russia and here it faced the challenge of the Russian balagan (tomfoolery tradition) .
In the 17th century there appeared fairs and outdoor festive gatherings in towns that gave birth to the Russian balagan. In 1702 Peter I ordered a public theater temple for 400 people built in Red Square. During the intervals clowns entertained people and drew large crowds.
In 1880 a former circus horse rider and gymnast Albert Salamonsky built a circus in Tsvetnoy boulevard in Moscow. It housed 5 rows of armchairs, boxes, a dress circle, the second row of benches and a stand-up gallery. A stone building for horse stables was added to the circus in 1884. A swimming-pool for water performances was constructed 5 years later.
| A. Salamonsky tried to find and invite the best horse-riders for equestrian shows. Dumb shows were staged at that time as well. Presently there are two stationery circuses functioning in Moscow. The Old Moscow circus is now called Moscow Nukulin circus in Tsvetnoy boulevard, named after famous clown and actor Yuri Nikulin, the People's artist of the USSR who directed it since 1983. The new building of the Old Circus was open in 1989 to accomodate 2000 spectators. It has modern equipment in the offices, make-up rooms, animal sections. The central foyer has become especially beautiful. |  |
The New circus at 7, Prospect Vernadskogo was built in 1971 to accommodate 3400 spectators, has 3 interchangeable stages including one for ice and another for water performances. Great mastery of the Russian circus performers is known all over the world. Acrobats and jugglers, clowns and gymnasts, animal tamers and horse-riders bring joy, surprise and astonishment to the spectators.
Bakhrushin Theatrical Museum TOP
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In one of the central squares of the Garden Ring Road, near Paveletskaya metro station there is a decorative estate where a filigree palace castle topped with pointed towers of ancient red and white Moscow architecture with Gothic and modem style elements is surrounded by light-coloured buildings in austere classical forms of the XVII-XVIII centuries. This is the famous estate of a well-known manufacturer and patron of arts Alexei Bakhrushin (1865-1929) which was already known in the last century as Moscow theatrical Versailles. It was here that in 1894 A. A. Bakhrushin opened the first unique museum of theatre art. In 1913 he donated it to the State and to the city of Moscow. |
Later it became part of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. At present the Central State Theatrical museum named after A.A.Bakhrushin is known worldwide. It is the largest theatrical museum, a scientific research and education centre, a national treasury of theatrical heritage, a historical, cultural and architectural monument of universal importance. It possesses one of the largest collections which traces the development of all genres of art - drama, opera, ballet, children's and puppet theatre - from their inception to the present time.
This vast collection covers everything that pertains to theatre history, artistic image of the performance, the art of actors, playwrights, art directors, choreographers, stage directors. One can find here ethnographical monuments of popular ancient rites and entertainments, which bear elements of early theatre play, portraits and sculptures of theatre workers, sketches and mockup of scenery, stage costumes and accessories, theatre puppets, memorial articles, personal archives, collections of photographs, posters and programmes, theatre library, collections of films, videofilms and audio-recordings.
The museum regularly arranges exhibitions in Russia and other countries. You are welcome to the exhibition of theatrical art of the 20-SOies from Bakhrushin museum - the largest and the best theatrical museum in the world. Study the Russian language! (Suddeutsche Zeitung. Minich. 7 th January 1988). Bakhrushin theatrical museum boasts of its collection of Russian prerevolutionary and Soviet theatre history.
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It is one of the oldest, largest and unique museum collections in the world. (San-Francisco, Examiner, 10 th March, 1990). State theatre museum named after A. A. Bakhrushin is widely known beyond Russia and undoubtfully - all over the world. It is the oldest and the most outstanding theatre museum in the world. At present Bakhrushin museum has an extraordinary collection that preserves 1,5 million various genuine exhibits covering all periods of theatre history. (Dancing times, London, Vol. LXXXV, N 1012, pp. 68-71, January 1995)., |
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Here are the exhibitions that are open at present in Bakhrushin museum: Theatre from its inception to the XVIII century. Jesters' performances. Popular plays. Home, school and serf theatre. The first professional theatres.: Theatre art of the XIX century in the capital and in the province. The birth of Russian theatrical school. Drama. Opera. Ballet. Theatre on tours.; The art and life of F. Shalyapin and the musical theatre.; Theatre traditions and avant-guarde. Stanislavsky. Nemirovich-Danchenko. Meyerhold. Tairov. Vakhtangov. M. Chekhov.; Bakhrushin memorial study. A. A. Bakhrushin's biography. The history of the estate. Entrepreneurship. A. A. Bakhrushin and culture. Arranging the collection. The birth of the first theatrical museum. Literary and theatrical museum of the Imperial Academy of Sciences. Items of the collection.; The Bakhrushins and Moscow. The history of the family. Activities. Charity work. Patronage of arts. Art. Address: Moscow, ul. Bakhrushina, 31. Paveletskaya metro station. Information and tours: 233 44 70
Besides the main complex of buildings the museum comprises a number of branches that exhibit the main museum items: MUSEUM-ESTATE OF THE CLASSICAL RUSSIAN PLAYWRIGHT A. N. OSTROVSKY THEATRICAL GALLERY IN MALAYA ORDYNKA Address: Moscow, ul. Malaya Ordynka, 9 (bidg. 1 - Gallery) «Tretyakovskaya» metro station Information and tours: 233 86 84 HOME-MUSEUM OF THE LEGENDARY ACTRESS M. N. ERMOLOVA THEATRE SALON Address: Moscow, Tverskoy buL, 11 (bidg. 2 - Salon) Tverskaya metro station Information and tours: 290 54 16 MUSEUM-APARTMENT OF WORLD FAMOUS STAGE MANAGER-REFORMER V. E. MEYERHOLD Address: Moscow, Brusov per., 12, ??. 11 Okhotny ryad, Theatralnaya metro stations Information and tours: 229 53 22 These theatrical museums are open daily from 12 p.m. to 7 p.m. The last visitor is admitted at 6 p.m. Day off - Tuesday.
The Central State Bakhrushin museum occupies its unique, honorable, extremely important place in the past, present and future Russian and world art. As time goes by its importance increases. It will always be a carefully preserved theatre temple not only for the workers of art and culture and theatre connoisseurs, but also for numerous theatre lovers from Russia and theatre pilgrims from other countries.