To a modern Petersburger, the BDT seems to be an integral part of the city, a building of the same age as the Alexandrinsky Theater. However, the building is a little more than a hundred years old, and the history of the Bolshoi Drama Theater does not at all count for a century: the centenary will be celebrated in 2019. It is Georgy Tovstonogov who is credited with integrating the BDT into the system of cultural values ​​of the city on a par with the Hermitage. We will conduct a short educational program on the history of the theater - from the beginning to the era of the Master.

Suvorin Theater

In 1862, the chaotic home-made Apraksin market, combined from the Shchukin and Apraksin yards, burned down. The fire destroyed all temporary and part of the permanent buildings. Count Anton Apraksin, whose losses amounted to millions of rubles, set about settling his territories anew. Anton Stepanovich was a man of many talents and interests: he flew on balloons, played music and suppressed uprisings, did not boast of wealth, did not spare money for charity and art. By his order, the architect Ludwig Frantsevich Fontona redesigned not only the buildings of the Apraksin Dvor, but also the building of the theater known to us.

The Apraksin Theater was technically considered one of the best private stage in St. Petersburg, but for a long time it did not have its own troupe: Count Apraksin rented out the premises to the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, and they used the building as a small stage in the Alexandrinka.

In 1895, the permanent tenant changed and the Apraksin Theater became the theater of the Literary and Artistic Society, or, as they also called themselves, the literary and artistic circle, where the main co-founders were, in fact, Alexei Suvorin, Pyotr Gnedich and Prince Pavel Obolensky.

Suvorin was a journalist, writer and theater critic, born in Voronezh, and came to the capital in 1863, where, already in the status of a promising writer, got a job at St. Petersburg Vedomosti. There he worked as a caustic feuilletonist under the pseudonym "The Stranger". When the entire editorial board was fired in 1874, rumors circulated that the Stranger was the main reason. By that time, Suvorin already had a new hobby - publishing, both book and newspaper: the first "Yellow Pages" of the city - the address directory "All Petersburg" - was published by him. It is believed that Suvorin also contributed to Chekhov's success by publishing the great playwright on the pages of his publication Novoye Vremya.

Petr Gnedich, despite his active literary and journalistic activities before the "Suvorin Theater", received recognition later, becoming in 1900 the manager of the troupe of the Alexandrinsky Theater. As for Pavel Obolensky, the prince did not aspire to playwright - he was attracted by the scene. The Alexandrinka alone, where he played since 1890, was obviously not enough for him.

The theater on Fontanka, 65 was colloquially called Suvorinsky, after the death of Suvorin himself, this name became official, and also Small - relative to the Alexandrinka. In the Maly-Bolshoi Theater of that time, fresh plays were successfully staged, delighting the aristocratic audience. In general, the Suvorin Theater was a fashionable and popular institution. At the turn of the century, Suvorin became the sole leader of the Maly Theater. After the death of the journalist in 1912, his son supported the theater of the literary and artistic society for several more years, and in 1917 the theater was taken away from the Suvorin family by the revolutionaries. At first - just to avoid it. Three years later, a homeless troupe of the Bolshoi Drama Theater was moved to Fontanka at that time.

Gorky theater

Strictly speaking, the centenary of the BDT St. Petersburg will have to celebrate in the middle of the World Cup in Russia - in August 2018: it was in August 1918 that the Moscow Art Theater actress and the Commissioner of Theaters and Performances of the Union of Communes of the Northern Region Maria Fedorovna Andreeva signed a decree on the creation of a “theater of tragedy, romantic drama and high comedy ". The position of Andreeva and the wording of the decree sound rather amusing in our time, but the Bolsheviks got down to business seriously.

The theater was created on the initiative and under the strict control of Maxim Gorky. The design of the performances was taken up by the artist Alexander Benois, however, he worked part-time, combining work on sets and costumes with the management of the Hermitage's art gallery. In 1926, Benoit left Russia altogether on a business trip, from which he reasonably decided not to return. The troupe was assembled by the famous operetta artist Nikolai Monakhov - until his death in 1936, he was included in it and appeared on the stage. Together with him, the Aleksandrinka actor Yuri Yuryev and Vladimir Maksimov, who, by the way, who had previously served at the Maly Theater, were appointed to the honorable first roles. Yuryev also brought the team of his Theater of Tragedy to the BDT.

We also decided on the main director: Andrei Lavrentyev, a student of Nemirovich-Danchenko, became him. It was his performance "Don Carlos" based on Schiller's play on February 15, 1919 that became the first appearance of the BDT troupe on the stage - though not on their own, but on the premises of the Great Hall of the Conservatory. In April of the same year, Alexander Blok became the chairman of the artistic council of the BDT. The next year, the Bolshoi Theater had already settled on the site of the Maly Theater - where it is to this day. In contrast to the Suvorin Theater - refined, aristocratic and avant-garde, the Bolshoi Drama Theater strove for the pathos of the revolution and heroic plots, which, however, did not exist in the absence of Soviet playwrights. Therefore, the first years in the BDT with heroic anguish put on "Macbeth" and "Servant of two masters."

Theater of many

Two seasons in the theater went off with a bang, and then it was time to let off steam: Gorky and Andreeva left the USSR, Blok left this world, Lavrentyev went on sabbatical for two years. During this time, first Nikolai Petrov, and then Konstantin Khokhlov, who still had to return to the BDT many years later, tried to play the role of artistic director first, to give up the chair to Georgy Tovtonogov after working for a year. But these were already times of crisis, and in the twenties the BDT was heard and on horseback: the returning Lavrentiev brought stability, then Adrian Piotrovsky, a philologist and translator of ancient authors, became the head of the literary part of the theater. It was thanks to the latter that the BDT began to stage plays by young Soviet (and not only) playwrights. In 1928, Piotrovsky left the theater for the position of artistic director of the Sovkino factory - the current Lenfilm.

A year later, Lavrentyev gave way to the chief director of Meyerhold's student Konstantin Tverskoy, while remaining in the theater as an actor. Tverskoy gladly took up contemporary drama, the basis of which was prepared by Piotrovsky. For the next six years at the BDT, if they staged classics, they did it, striving for an original reading. Another student of Meyerhold, Vladimir Lyutse, worked side by side with Tverskoy. In the Apraksin theater, young voices began to speak again, style and taste appeared: Lyutse and Tverskoy were building a modern theater on the cooling ashes of the revolution. But in 1935, Konstantin Tverskoy was evicted from St. Petersburg in connection with the murder of Kirov, and two years later he was shot in Saratov.

Aleksey Dikiy could have become a striking chief director, but he worked at the BDT for only a season (1936-1937), after which he was arrested and sentenced to five years in prison for counter-revolutionary activities. Dikiy did not return to Leningrad after his release. Behind him, the main directors were Boris Babochkin, Lev Rudnik, Natalya Rashevskaya, Ivan Efremov and, finally, Konstantin Khokhlov. The theater perished in its own internal squabbles, owed everyone and everything, and the audience completely bypassed the Big Party. The BDT needed not a director, but a leader.

In 1956, the delegates of the XX Congress of the CPSU were presented with the play "Optimistic Tragedy" by the Leningrad Pushkin Theater. A few months later, the director of the production, a middle-aged man, the main director of the Lenin Komsomol theater, the son of an enemy of the people, Tovstonogov, was asked to literally “save the first proletarian theater” by any means. He took office on February 13, 1956. And after a while, the BDT became what we know it. At least as they knew until 2013.

The Russian State Academic Bolshoi Drama Theater (BDT) is one of the first Soviet theaters. The prefix named after G.A. Tovstonogov ”he received in honor of his leader - the famous director Georgy Tovstonogov.

Theater of big names

Prior to that, the theater was named after M. Gorky and was called the Leningrad Academic Bolshoi Drama Theater. Actually, thanks to Maxim Gorky, the theater was organized in 1919; the basis of his troupe was made up of the artists of the Theater of Artistic Drama, created a year before. In 1920, the theater received a building on the Fontanka, and remains there to this day. An interesting fact: the first performance of the theater - "Don Carlos" based on the play by Schiller - lasted five whole hours; The premiere took place in winter, in mid-February, in frosty weather, and the building was not heated - but the audience willingly spent the whole evening in the hall. The scene was so exciting! And this is not surprising. After all, all the time of its existence, the charisma of the Bolshoi Drama was based on the bright energy of outstanding figures of Russian culture. Many big names are associated with this theater. In 1919, the poet Alexander Blok was appointed chairman of the artistic council. Maxim Gorky continued to take the most ardent part in the fate of the theater. This cultural platform was intended to become a source of heroic pathos, revolutionary ideology, majestic passions, not limited to the fate of one person, but exciting the fate of many. In those years, the repertoire of the Bolshoi Drama Theater was based on a revolutionary program. It was composed of works of world drama, corresponding to heroic moods: Shakespeare's tragedies, Hugo's dramas, plays by Merezhkovsky and Bryusov. But the fate of the theater turned out to be changeable. For various reasons - political or personal - talented directors did not stay in it for a long time, the team was left without a leader for a long time, without a strong hand, the theater gradually lost popularity ... And only in 1956 a new era began: the outstanding and successful director Georgy joined the team. Tovstonogov, very demanding on the quality of acting, setting the highest bar in his work. For more than 30 years, the fate of the theater was decided: the popularity and love of the audience returned to it.

By the strictest criteria for stage quality

The most important criterion for the skill of an actor in the theater remains the intellectual level and the ability to improvise. This is what has made the troupe of the Bolshoi Drama Theater one of the strongest theater groups in the world for decades. "Well-trained" by the strict director Tovstonogov, the actors passed on to new generations the traditions of self-exactingness and impeccable clever acting. In the 90s, after the death of the chief director, the theater again found itself "in search", it was temporarily headed by Kirill Lavrov, and then the leadership was transferred to director Temur Chkheidze. Changes affected the Bolshoi Drama Theater in 2011-2014: as in many other theaters at this time, it was undergoing technical restoration. Critics, and many spectators, feared that after the reconstruction the theater would no longer be the same - its ideology and philosophy would change too ... But the very first performance - "Alice" based on the works of L. Carroll with Alice Freundlich in the title role - became the owner of the highest theatrical St. Petersburg awards "Golden Soffit" in the nominations "Best Performance" and "Best Actress". It is impossible to buy tickets to the Bolshoi Drama Theater on the day of the performance - after all, this is one of the most popular stage venues, a historical and cultural center, for a visit to which they prepare in advance ...

The Bolshoi Drama Theater was organized on the initiative of the writer Maxim Gorky, actress and commissioner of theaters and shows Maria Andreeva and poet Alexander Blok in 1918. The special aesthetics and style of the BDT were formed under the influence of the architect Vladimir Shchuko and artists from the World of Art association Alexander Benois, Mstislav Dobuzhinsky, Boris Kustodiev - the first stage designers of the theater. The repertoire policy was determined by the first artistic director, Alexander Blok: "The Bolshoi Drama Theater is, according to its design, a theater of high drama: high tragedy and high comedy." The ideas of the founders of the BDT were embodied in the works of Andrei Lavrentyev, Boris Babochkin, Grigory Kozintsev, Georgy Tovstonogov - outstanding directors who worked in the theater in different years. The BDT became the most famous stage in the USSR under the direction of Georgy Tovstonogov, who was the chief director of the theater from 1956 to 1989.
In 2013, director Andrei Moguchy, one of the leaders of the modern theatrical avant-garde, became the artistic director of the BDT. For the theater, modern history began, filled not only with performances, but also with socially significant projects. Maintaining its credo for a century, the Bolshoi Drama Theater conducts an open dialogue on topics of concern to modern society, raising the problems of a person of his time. Each season, the performances of the BDT become laureates of the country's main theater awards, including the national theater prize "Golden Mask".
At the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G.A. Tovstonogov three scenes. The main stage (750 seats) and the Small stage (120 seats) are located in a historic building at 65 Fontanka embankment. The second stage of the Bolshoi Theater (300 seats) is located at 13 Old Theater Square, in the building of the Kamennoostrovsky Theater. Each season, at least 5 premieres and more than 350 performances are released at these three venues, social and educational projects are being implemented, exhibitions, round tables, concerts and lectures by leading figures of contemporary art are held.

In fact, these three milestones mark the most significant periods in the life of the theater, born of the revolution. Since 1920 it has occupied the building of the former Suvorin Theater on the Fontanka. Before the revolution, the St. Petersburg Maly Theater was located here, in which the troupe of the Literary and Artistic Society worked at the turn of the century. Since the main shareholder, unofficial artistic director, as well as its ideologist was the publisher of the newspaper Novoye Vremya, A.S. Suvorin, Petersburgers called the theater Suvorin's. From time to time, the life of the theater, not rich in artistic events, was illuminated by creative discoveries. Thus, E. Karpov was staged for the first premiere of the theater. Reign of darkness Leo Tolstoy, with P. Strepetova in the role of Matryona. The performances with the participation of P. Orlenev, an actor who created a new role of a "neurasthenic", became an equally important phenomenon. M. Chekhov studied at the theater school; G.A. Tovstonogov was appointed T.N. Chkheidze.

THEATER BORN OF REVOLUTION

Actually, the real history of the BDT begins after the October Revolution. The new theater opened on February 15, 1919 with a performance Don Carlos F. Schiller in the Great Hall of the Conservatory. The first theater of Soviet dramatic art was conceived as a theater of heroic repertoire, large-scale images, "great tears and great laughter" (Blok). Born of a heroic era, he had to convey its special greatness. It was to be a theater of "heroic tragedy, romantic drama and high comedy." The main ideological inspirer of the new theater was M. Gorky. In the early years, mainly classical plays were staged, in which tyrannical, freedom-loving motives were accentuated. Major actors NF Monakhov, VV Maksimov entered the troupe, Yury Yuryev, the main romantic premier of the Alexandrinsky stage, moved from the Petrograd State Drama Theater (Akdram) for several years. The main director was A.M. Lavrentyev, who made the productions: Don Carlos (1919), Othello and King Lear W. Shakespeare (1920). The performances were also staged by N.V. Petrov ( twelfth Night Shakespeare, 1921; Ruy Blaz Hugo, 1921), B.M. Sushkevich ( Robbers Schiller, 1919), A.M. Benois ( Servant of two masters K. Goldoni and Reluctant healer Moliere, 1921), R.V. Boleslavsky ( Torn cloak S. Benelli, 1919). Artists A.N.Benois, M.V.Dobuzhinsky, V.A.Shchuko and composers B.V.Asafiev, Yu.A. Shaporin, in close contact with directors, strove to adhere to the traditions of stage romanticism. In the early 1920s, dramas of German expressionists appeared in the repertoire of the BDT, which were embodied by K.P. Khokhlov in an urban spirit, in a constructivist design - Gas G. Kaiser (1922, artist Yu.P. Annenkov), Virgin forest E. Toller (1924, artist N.P. Akimov). Aesthetically, these productions were joined by the performance Riot of machines A.N. Tolstoy (adaptation of the play by K.Chapek R.U.R., 1924, artist Annenkov).

The attraction of the poet A.A. Blok to the post of chairman of the BDT Directory was of great importance for the fate of the theater.

But along with the heroic-romantic productions of Schiller, Shakespeare, as well as experimental works, the theater focused on box-office performances, and often staged "lightweight" historical melodramas. One of them - Empress conspiracy A.M. Tolstoy and P.E. Shchegolev (1925, director Lavrentyev, artist Shchuko) - enjoyed a resounding success.

THEATER APPROACHES TO MODERNITY

The most serious performances of that period are associated with the work of K.K. Tverskoy, who usually worked with the artist M.Z. Levin; among them, plays by contemporary authors became important - Mutiny(1925) and Fault B.A. Lavreneva (1927), Man with a briefcase A.M. Faiko (1928), City of winds V.M.Kirshona (1929), My friend N.F. Pogodin (1932). Since the mid-1920s, Soviet plays began to define the repertoire of the BDT. Following the time, the theater for the first time tried to bring Romance closer to reality, to combine heroic pathos with a specific living environment. In the troupe of the theater, strong acting personalities were formed: O. G. Kaziko, V. T. Kibardina, A. I. Larikov, V. P. Poliseimako, K. V. Skorobogatov, V. Y. Sofronov.

In the year of production Break During his Leningrad tour of the Moscow Art Theater, KS Stanislavsky wrote on a portrait presented to the BDT: "Your theater is one of those few who know that the revolution in art is not only in its outer form, but in its inner essence ...".

For many actors, participation in Gorky's plays became a turning point. Gorky's plays had significant success Egor Bulychev and others(1932, directed by K.K. Tverskoy and V.V. Lutse) and Dostigaev and other(1933, directed by Luce). The name of Gorky was given to the theater for a reason. Departure from Gorky's laws of drama, which always presupposed clarity of thought, clarity of ideological position, brightness of characters, irreconcilable conflict and special theatricality, almost every time led the theater to failures.

G.A. TOVSTONOGOV COMES TO THEATER

After Tverskoy left the theater, a difficult time began. Artistic directors changed frequently: 1934 - V.F. Fedorov, 1936-1937 - A.D. Dikiy, 1939-1940 - B.A.Babochkin, 1940-1944 - L.S.Rudnik. In an atmosphere of aesthetic simplicity, multidirectional searches, only a few performances have become notable events in the performing arts: Bourgeoisie Gorky (1937, director Dikiy); Summer residents Gorky (1939) and Tsar Potap A.A. Kopkova (1940 - both directed by Babochkin); King Lear Shakespeare (1941, directed by G.M. Kozintsev). In the first years of the Great Patriotic War, the theater worked in Kirov, in 1943 it returned to Leningrad and continued to work under the blockade, serving the troops of the Leningrad Front and hospitals.

The creative crisis of the BTC, which became apparent in the mid-1930s, worsened in the post-war years. Artistic directors stayed in the theater only for a short time: 1946-1950 - N.S. Rashevskaya, 1951-1952 - I.S.Efremov, 1952-1954 - O.G. Kaziko, 1954-1955 - K.P. Khokhlov. The introduction into the repertoire of numerous thematically relevant, but craft, and sometimes frankly fake plays, led to a decrease in the artistic level of performances, acting skills, and the loss of the audience. In 1956, G.A. Tovstonogov became the chief director of the theater, having 25 years of experience of fruitful work in various theaters (Tbilisi, Moscow, Leningrad). His arrival coincided with the "thaw" - the revitalization of the country's public life after the 20th Congress of the CPSU. In a short time, Tovstonogov brought the theater out of the crisis, turned the disorganized troupe into a close-knit team, capable of successfully solving the most complex creative problems. The decisive factor in the theatrical policy of the chief director was the renewal of the troupe and the choice of the repertoire. To regain the viewer's trust, Tovstonogov begins with unassuming, but lively and recognizable plays ( Sixth floor A. Gerry, When acacia blooms N. Vinnikova). Talented youth are actively involved in these performances, which soon became the basis of the renewed team (K. Lavrov, L. Makarova, T. Doronina, Z. Sharko). They brought to the stage a living breath of truth, open lyrical hearts, genuinely sincere voices of our time. Liberated by the spiritual atmosphere of their time, the young actors, together with the director, approved a new hero - outwardly not at all heroic, but close to everyone in the hall, glowing with inner beauty and talent of humanity. Staging works of modern drama - Five evenings(1959, in the center of which an unusually delicate duet of E. Kopelyan and Z. Sharko), My older sister(1961 with the brilliant T. Doronina and E. Lebedev) A. M. Volodin, and Irkutsk history A.N. Arbuzov (1960) - went in parallel with careful work on the Russian classics, in which the director heard, first of all, the nerve of today. Performances Moron after F.M. Dostoevsky (1957 and 1966), Barbarians Gorky (1959), Woe from Wit A.S. Griboyedov (1962), Three sisters A.P. Chekhova (1965), Bourgeoisie Gorky (1966, USSR State Prize, 1970) became major events in the spiritual life of society and determined the leading position of the BDT in the national performing arts. Of particular interest was the form of the “novel-play” that developed in the BDT, which is characterized by the thoroughness and subtlety of the psychological analysis of the characters' behavior, the enlargement of images, and close attention to the inner life of all the characters.

Barbarians A.M. Gorky turned out to be the first performance that until recently turned the diverse troupe of the BDT into a powerful and rich ensemble, where the director prepared and ensured the great acting victories of P. Luspekaev-Cherkun, V. Strzhelchik-Tsyganov, V. Policemako-Redozubov, O. Kaziko-Bogaevskaya, Z. Sharko-Katya, T. Doronina- Nadezhda, E. Lebedev-Monakhova, her husband.

An event in the theatrical life of the country was the production of Idiot with I. Smoktunovsky in the title role. A performance in which the director's innovative style was especially clearly manifested: elusive in its many-sidedness on the one hand, and external inconspicuousness on the other. The director creates through the actor, together with the actor and reveals their individualities often unexpectedly for themselves (O. Basilashvili, V. Strzhelchik, O. Borisov).

No idea exists for Tovstonogov outside of the artist. But the director does not "die in the actor." The critic K. Rudnitsky wrote: "... the director comes to life in the actors, the art of each of the artists reveals one of the many facets of the director's own art ...". Therefore, the main work in the theater is working with the author and the artist. The main result of the work is the creation of an ensemble of the highest culture, which can solve the most complex creative tasks, achieve stylistic integrity in any performance.

Contact with the audience in BDT performances is always heightened. But there were performances where this condition became paramount. This is how the play was staged Woe from Wit(1964) with the tragic and at the same time eccentric Chatsky-S. Yursky, who was looking for companions in the hall, addressing the audience, with a lively youthful spontaneity, hoping for understanding.

Each performance of Tovstonogov has its own way of communicating with the audience, be it Horse history(1975) with E. Lebedev as Kholstomer, Chekhov, Gorky or Gogol ( The auditor, 1972), where the director poses the toughest questions to his characters, and therefore to the audience. At the same time, the novelty of the director's reading arises from the depth of the read text, those layers of it that have not yet been seen and studied.

The revolutionary theme of the performances is read and understood in a new way The death of the squadron A.Korneichuk, Optimistic tragedy Vishnevsky, staged repeatedly, at different times, as well as Re-reading M. Shatrova (1980), where a simple person, who finds himself in the face of History, is examined intently, without false pathos.

The characteristic slow development of Tovstonogov's “performances-novels” ( Barbarians and Bourgeoisie; Virgin Soil Upturned according to M.A.Sholokhov, 1964, etc.) gradually brought the actors and spectators to the stormy, "explosive" climaxes.

In the 1970s, the director will continue his theatrical searches, staging an epic novel in the field of big prose Quiet Don with O. Borisov in the role of Grigory - the central figure of the performance, overshadowing all other persons who have lost their scale in this system. The epic performance viewed Gregory as a tragic hero who has no personal guilt before the fate of History. The director's "novel" productions have always been accompanied by such a quality as polyphony.

But the BDT was no stranger to the funny, mischievous comedy. Spectators of the 1970s will remember for a long time the festive, light-winged Khanuma A. Tsagareli (1972), staged with special lyricism, grace and brilliant acting works by L. Makarova, V. Strzhelchik, N. Trofimov. The experience of a special "Vakhtangov" reading, with its open play in the theater, was successfully mastered by the director in Wolves and sheep A.N. Ostrovsky (1980), A. N. Kolker's farce opera sounded with sharp tragicomic grotesque Death of Tarelkin according to A.V. Sukhovo-Kobylin (1982), which revealed the great possibilities of the BDT actors in the field of open theatricality (acting by E. Lebedev, V. Kovel, S. Kryuchkova, etc.). The artists' comedic skills were honed as on the material of a modern play ( Energetic people according to V. Shukshin, 1974), and in staging Pickwick Club according to Charles Dickens, 1978).

In the troupe, in addition to the already mentioned artists, E.A. Popova, M.A. Prizvan-Sokolova, O.V. Volkova, L.I. Malevannaya, Yu.A. Demich, A.Yu. Tolubeev, S.N. . Kryuchkov. In 1983 the troupe of the BDT was replenished with another unique master of the stage - A.B. Freundlich, who played and continues to play the most diverse roles - from three women, opposite in style in comedy This ardent lover(N. Simon, 1983) to the tragic images of Lady Macbeth and Nastya ( At the bottom A.M. Gorky, 1987), and others.

THEATER NAMED AFTER G. A. TOVSTONOGOV

After the death of G.A. Tovstonogov in 1989, K.Yu. Lavrov became the artistic director of the BDT. In 1993, the theater was rightfully named after its former chief director, who became a whole theater era, not only for his theater, but also for his country.

A valuable contribution to the life of this theater was made by the performances of the director T. Chkheidze, which largely coincided with Tovstonogov's requirements for the performance. The depth and scale of the director's intention of T. Chkheidze was embodied by him through a carefully selected ensemble of actors. The most interesting are his performances: Cunning and love F. Schiller (1990), Macbeth Have . Shakespeare, (1995), Antigone J. Anuya (1996), Boris Godunov A.A. Pushkin (1998).

In the modern BDT, many performances by G.A. Tovstonogov continue to run, which are not just preserved, but live a full-blooded life.

In 2007, after the death of K. Lavrov, Temur Chkheidze was appointed artistic director, who had worked with the BDT since 1991, and in 2004 agreed to become the chief director. In February 2013, Chkheidze resigned and resigned as artistic director.

Ekaterina Yudina

Dear viewers, we draw your attention:
the section "About the theater" on the BDT website is currently being updated and supplemented.

History of the Bolshoi Drama Theater

The Bolshoi Drama Theater was opened on February 15, 1919 with the tragedy of F. Schiller "Don Carlos", starting its performances at the Opera Studio of the Conservatory.

In 1964 he was awarded the title of Academic, in 1970 the Small Stage was opened, since 1992 it has been named after G.A. Tovstonogov.

In the fall of 1918, the commissioner for theaters M.F. Andreeva signed a decree on the creation of a Special Drama Troupe in Petrograd - this was the original name of the theater, which is now famous all over the world under the abbreviation BDT. Its formation was entrusted to the famous actor N.F. Monakhov, and the origins were two theater groups: the Theater of Tragedy, organized in 1918, under the leadership of

Yu.M. Yuriev and the Art Drama Theater, which was headed by A.N. Lavrentiev.

A.A. was appointed chairman of the Bolshoi Drama Directory. Blok, who essentially became the first artistic director of the BDT. M. Gorky became the main ideological inspirer of the new theater. He wrote at that time: "The audience needs to show the man about whom he himself - and we all - have long dreamed of, a hero-man, chivalrously selfless, passionately in love with his idea ... a man of honest deed, great deed ..." Maxim Gorky slogan "Heroic people - heroic theater!" was embodied in the repertoire of the BDT.

The heroes of W. Shakespeare, F. Schiller, V. Hugo appeared on the stage of the BDT. They affirmed the ideas of nobility, opposing honor and dignity to the chaos and cruelty of the world around them. In the first years of the BDT's life, artists played an essential role in defining its artistic appearance. Each of them: and A.N. Benois and M.V. Dobuzhinsky, and the monumental architect V.A. Shuko did it in their own way. But it was they who formed the solemn, truly magnificent style of the early BDT.

The onset of a new era coincided with difficult and sometimes tragic changes within the theater itself. In 1921 M.F. Andreev and M. Gorky, A.A. died in the same year. Blok, returned to the Academic Drama Theater of Yu.M. Yuriev, A.N. Benois, left the BDT and became the chief director A.N. Lavrentiev. New directors came to the theater: N.V. Petrov, K.P. Khokhlov, P.K. Weisbram, K.K. Tverskoy; they brought along new artists - Yu.P. Annenkova, M.Z. Levin, N.P. Akimova, V.M. Khodasevich, V.V. Dmitrieva. Having accepted from A.A. Blok symbolic relay race, in 1923 the literary part was headed by A.I. Piotrovsky.

In the new search for the theater, the directorial activity of V.E. Meyerhold K.K. Tverskoy (1929-1934). In the mid-twenties, the BDT repertoire is primarily determined by the plays of contemporary playwrights such as B.A. Lavrenev, A. Faiko, Yu.K. Olesha, N.N. Nikitin, N.A. Zarkhi, V.M. Kirshon, N.F. Pogodin. The troupe is also renewed,

A.I. Larikov, V.P. Policemako, N.P. Korn, L.A. Krovitsky; EAT. Granovskaya, O. G. Kaziko, V.T. Kibardina, E.V. Alexandrovskaya, A.B. Nikritin.

From the day the theater was founded, directors worked at the BDT: 1919-1921 and 1923-1929 - A.N. Lavrentiev; 1921-1922 - N.V. Petrov; 1929-1934 - K.K. Tverskoy; 1934-1936 - V.F. Fedorov; 1936-1937 - A.D. Wild; 1938-1940 - B.A. Butchkin; 1940-1946 -
L.S. Mine; 1946-1949 - N.S. Rashevskaya; 1950-1952 - I.S. Efremov; 1922-1923 and 1954-1955 - K.L. Khokhlov.

Thirty steps in length. Twenty deep. Up - to the height of the curtain. The stage space isn't that big. This space could accommodate a modern apartment - it will not turn out to be so unnaturally spacious. A garden can be placed here. Perhaps a corner of the garden, no more. The world can be created here. The world of high human passions, opposing baseness, the world of deeds and the world of doubt, the world of discoveries and the high order of feelings that lead the audience behind them.

From the book "Mirror of the Stage"

In early 1956, the Bolshoi Drama Theater was preparing to celebrate its thirty-seventh birthday.

On the very eve of the holiday, a new, eleventh, main director was introduced to the troupe.

This is how the era began in the BDT, whose name is Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov.

G.A. Tovstonogov created the theater, which for decades has invariably remained the leader of the domestic theatrical process. The performances he created: "The Fox and the Grapes" by G. Figeyredo, "The Idiot" by F.M. Dostoevsky, "Five Evenings" by A. Volodin, "Barbarians" by M. Gorky, "Woe from Wit" by A.S. Griboyedov, "The Bourgeoisie" M. Gorky, "The Inspector General" N.V. Gogol, "Three Sisters" by A.P. Chekhov, “Last Summer in Chulimsk” by A. Vampilov, “Energetic People” by V. Shukshin, “Three Sacks of Weed Wheat” by V. Tendryakov, “History of a Horse” by L.N. Tolstoy, "Enough simplicity for every wise man" by A. Ostrovsky, "At the bottom" by M. Gorky ... became events

in the theatrical life not only of Leningrad, but of the whole country, striking with the novelty of the interpretation, the originality of the director's view.

Bit by bit, personality to personality, G.A. Tovstonogov has assembled an ensemble of unique actors' personalities that make up the best drama troupe in the country. The roles played on the stage of the BDT brought fame to I.M. Smoktunovsky, O. I. Borisov, revealed the bright talents of T.V. Doronina, E.A. Lebedeva, S.Yu. Yursky, E.Z. Kopelyan, P.B. Luspekaev, P.P. Pankova, E.A. Popova,

IN AND. Strzhelchik, V.P. Kovel, V.A. Medvedeva, M.V. Danilova, Yu.A. Demicha, I.Z. Zabludovsky, N. N. Trofimov, K. Yu. Lavrov,

A.Yu. Tolubeeva, L.I. Malevannaya. A.B. Freundlikh, O. V. Basilashvili, Z.M. Sharko, V.M. Ivchenko, N.N. Usatova, E.K. Popova, L.V. Nevedomsky, G.P. Bogachev, G.A. Calm.

On May 23, 1989, returning from the theater, Georgy Aleksandrovich Tovstonogov suddenly died while driving his car.

In the days when the theater had not yet recovered from the shock, by secret ballot of the collective, the People's Artist of the USSR, laureate of State Prizes K.Yu. Lavrov.

On April 27, 2007 the theater said goodbye to K.Yu. Lavrov. In June, by unanimous decision of the troupe, the artistic director of the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G.A. Tovstonogov, People's Artist of Russia and Georgia T.N. Chkheidze, who served in this post until March 2013.