Theater named after E. B. Vakhtangov

Evgeny Vakhtangov's leadership

The First and Second Studios of the Moscow Art Theater

The founder of the theater, Yevgeny Vakhtangov, was born in 1883 in Vladikavkaz . Since studying at the gymnasium, he has participated in amateur and home performances. His father Bagration was a manufacturer and did not approve of such a hobby, considering the theater a frivolous affair. In his opinion, the son was supposed to enter the Riga technical school and later become the head of the factory. Evgeny Vakhtangov initially enrolled in physics and mathematics at Moscow University , but continued to play in amateur theaters. He later moved to law school . At the same time he made his debut as a director , and because of a serious passion for the theater, he quarreled with his father for many years. In 1909, Eugene Vakhtangov entered the theater school and became a student of Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko ^{[3] [4]} .

Already in 1913, a group of students organized the Student Drama Studio , headed by Vakhtangov, a former director of the Moscow Art Theater . Classes were held according to the then fashionable Stanislavsky system . Vakhtangov used the idea of ​​moral improvement, which he adopted from the teacher Leopold Sulerzhitsky ^[2] . At first, the theater did not have its own premises and for rehearsals the group gathered in rented apartments. The first performance was staged by Boris Zaitsev ’s play “The Lanin Estate” and was shown on March 26, 1914 at the Hunting Club, the scenery for it was made from painted burlap. Actors played more for themselves than for the public, and after the performance they went to celebrate the premiere in a restaurant, and in the morning they had fun over devastating newspaper articles. However, the Directorate of the Art Theater prohibited Evgeni Vakhtangov from working on the side. The studio went underground and seriously began to study acting, becoming an example of a theater school, which appeared before the theater itself ^[1] .

In the fall of 1914, the studio rented an apartment in Mansurovsky Lane on Ostozhenka , arranged a dormitory, stage and auditorium for 35 people in it. Evgeny Vakhtangov insisted that for the actors the studio became the main place in their life. He introduced the concepts of "studio" and "non-studio" man and a similar act. In 1917, the studio announced itself publicly under the name Vakhtangov Moscow Drama Studio . A year later, for the first time, a performance based on the play by Maurice Meterlink “The Miracle of St. Anthony ” was shown. Vakhtangov himself considered the studio his home; in 1919, 12 actors left the studio, who were offended by the director because he was not interested in performances staged without his participation. Later, some actors returned to the studio, some wrote Vakhtangov letters of apology ^{[1] [5]} .

The second troupe was assembled with great difficulty from other studios. An admission to the first year of school was announced, so Boris Schukin and Cecilia Vollerstein appeared in the theater, who took the stage name for the lane - Cecilia Mansurova , the first performer of the role of Princess Turandot ^[6] . This group includes Ruben Simonov , Maria Sinelnikova , Elizaveta Alekseeva . At the same time, Evgeni Vakhtangov did not recognize his new studio for a long time and called it by location - Mansurovskaya. The new cast restored the 1918 performance and staged the Chekhov 's The Seagull . The audience noted that the first performances were charming and good-natured, but after some time Vakhtangov completely redid them. The theater developed rapidly: critics said that the naturalistic and psychologically naked Peace Festival and the Flood were replaced by self-denial and asceticism in the play Rosmersholm, sarcastic grotesque in the performances Miracle and Wedding, expressionism in Eric XIV , mysticism in “Gadibuk” and ease in “Princess Turandot”, as if the terminally ill Evgeni Vakhtangov sought to create a new theater in every performance ^{[1] [4]} .

Moscow Art Theater Third Studio

In the summer of 1920, the studio occupied Berg's former mansion on Arbat, 26. Overhaul began on the premises. On September 13 of the same year, Vakhtangov’s studio was accepted into the Art Theater, it became known as the 3rd Moscow Art Theater Studio . On January 29, 1921, the premiere of the updated play “The Miracle of St. Anthony” took place, in which a tragic farce appeared instead of everyday comedy. The production was directed by Evgeny Vakhtangov, and Yuri Zavadsky acted as the artist. In addition to Zavadsky, Osip Basov , Oswald Glazunov , Boris Zakhava , Boris Schukin, Ruben Simonov, Maria Nekrasova , Alexandra Remizova , Vera Lvova , Ksenia Kotlubay and others played in the play. The performance was successful, on December 11, 1921 in the magazine "Theater Review" was published a positive review by Lyubov Gurevich . Critics attributed the new performances to neorealism and naturalism , Yevgeny Vakhtangov himself believed that he works in the genre of fantastic realism . The theater moved to the renovated building in the autumn of 1921, its opening took place on November 13 with the screening of “The Miracle of St. Anthony” - this day is considered the official birth date of the Vakhtangov Theater ^{[1] [7] [5] [4] [2]} .

At the beginning of the NEP , plays of light genres became fashionable, and the theater decided to stage a performance based on the tale of Carlo Gozzi “ Princess Turandot ”. The artists joked a lot during the discussion, it was decided to make these jokes in the play. To create the play, they invited Nikolai Erdman . Ailing Evgeny Vakhtangov worked until the last - he installed the light, rehearsed with the actors. The last rehearsal of the play was held on February 23, 1922 at 4 am, after which the weakened director lay down. Actors handed over the work to the Art Theater on February 27 without him. The play “Princess Turandot” was a resounding success, it was popular among various segments of the population and for a long time became the hallmark of the theater. Evgeni Vakhtangov died on May 29, and on May 31 friends and students carried the coffin with his body from the studio to the Novodevichy cemetery ^{[1] [5] [4] [2]} . From the book "Theater named after Evgeny Vakhtangov":

At intermission, Stanislavsky took the cab and went to congratulate Vakhtangov (he, sending his people to the play, lay alone in an empty dark apartment). The second act was delayed pending the return of Stanislavsky. After the performance, he again called Vakhtangov to convey his admiration. It was not just success: furor, glee, endless applause. Mikhail Chekhov , jumping onto a chair, proclaimed: “Bravo to Vakhtangov!” - causing a storm of delight in the hall.

The success of “Princess Turandot” was universal: among the intelligent Arbat public and student youth, among workers and smartly dressed Nepmans , everyone turned around and made a simple fairy-tale motive short-lived. Later, the spirits of “Prince Calaf” came out, at parties everywhere they danced to the waltz “Turandot” - everyone knew the performance.

Dying, he created a spectacle of such an incredible vitality, such a happy victory that death seemed to never happen. Vakhtangov overcame it in art ^[8] .

Theater Art Council

On September 3, 1922, the artistic council of the theater was elected, which included Yuri Zavadsky, Boris Zakhava, Nathan Turaev, Ksenia Kotlubay, Anna Orochko , Joseph Tolchanov , Elizaveta Liaudanskaya , Elena Elagina, Oswald Glazunov, Osip Basov, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. The Council wanted to continue the Vakhtangov line of theater development, however, the participants had disagreements in the presentation of this line, the debate dragged on. The first performance after the death of Vakhtangov was the directorial debut of Boris Zakhava. On March 8, 1923, the premiere of the performance “ Truth is good, but happiness is better !” Was unsuccessful, which further intensified the atmosphere in the theater. To remedy the situation, Nemirovich-Danchenko appointed Yuri Zavadsky as director of the 3rd studio, under his leadership the second premiere was the performance “Marriage”, which the audience also did not accept, considering it an eccentric and fantastic grotesque. After that, Yuri Zavadsky moved to the Art Theater and started creating his own studio, and the actor Osvald Glazunov ^{[1] [5] [9] [2]} became the new director for a short time.

Alexey Popov Guide

In 1924, Alexei Popov , a friend of Evgeny Vakhtangov in the 1st studio, was invited to the post of director of the theater. At the same time, the People's Commissariat for Education decided to merge the Moscow Art Theater Studios into one laboratory. The independence of the 3rd studio managed to be defended with great difficulty, but it lost several actors. The first performance of the new director was “Comedies of Merime”, consisting of four parody plays of the series “Clara Gazul Theater”: “Paradise and Hell”, “African Love”, “Carriage of Holy Gifts” and “Devil Woman”. The audience accepted them as cheerful and optimistic. In December 1924, the premiere of the vaudeville performance “ Lev Gurych Sinichkin ” took place, with rehearsals of which the actors often helped Vsevolod Meyerhold . This performance also brought success ^[1] .

The XII Congress of the RCP (B.) Demanded a revolutionary repertoire from the theaters, and Aleksey Popov decided to stage a play based on the novel Virinei, which tells about the life of a shy peasant woman in an Orenburg village who fell in love with a widowed Bolshevik soldier . The most famous scene of the play - the elections in the village - was included in the direction books. After the play, Alexei Popov was considered the best director of mass scenes. Joseph Stalin, who was present at one of the shows, left an entry in the review book ^[1] :

The performance was included in the repertoire for many years, the success of the performance brought the state subsidies to the theater, thanks to which the theater was first completed in the summer of 1926: the number of seats was doubled, the stage was expanded, and utility rooms were built. The production itself remained in the repertoire for many years. Later, “Virinea” was included in the list of first achievements in the genre of socialist realism . On November 13, 1926, the studio was renamed the Vakhtangov State Academic Theater ^[1] .

In 1926, the premiere of the play “ Zoykina Apartment ” based on the play by Mikhail Bulgakov took place . The production was praised, but the director was accused of "dramatic small-scale involvement and emptiness." Despite the success of the play, two years later the collegium of the People's Commissariat of Education of the RSFSR banned Zoykin’s apartment, Run and Days of the Turbins because of “distortion of social reality and suspicious sympathy for the socially rejected”, as well as other plays by Mikhail Bulgakov. In May 1927, the party resolution demanded a repertoire of the "relevant and outlook of the proletariat." As a result, the theater staged the performances "Badgers" - about the stratification of the village during the Civil War, and "Rift" - about the events on the cruiser "Aurora" ^[1] .

In 1928, the Vakhtangov Theater was invited to the International Theater Festival in Paris . The performances “Turandot” and “Virinea” were chosen for the show. In March 1930, the play "Vanguard" was released, which became a complete failure and the last production of Alexei Popov in this theater. Popov left May 12 of the same year “due to the discrepancy on the issues of artistic and ideological leadership” ^[1] .

Director's Board

The production of "Temp" - the first performance with the main theme of work - was carried out by a director's board from Osip Basov, Konstantin Mironov , Anna Orochko, Boris Schukin and artist S. Isakov. The leader of the group gradually became the stage designer of the theater Nikolai Akimov , in 1932 he staged the play " Hamlet ", which critics accused of formalism. Akimov left the theater and subsequently returned for a short time ^[1] .

November 13, 1931 the theater celebrated its tenth anniversary, despite the lack of major successes, it remained loved by the public ^[1] . In the same year, at the initiative of the troupe, a theater museum was created ^[2] . In 1933, the premiere of the play based on the play “ Yegor Bulychov and Others ” was held, which was recognized as one of the best performances of the troupe - it determined the style and genre direction of the theater. In 1934, the introduction of “socialist realism” began in the form of performances about the re-education of prisoners and the lives of people who changed the world. The performances of that time touched on the theme of Leniniana - Lenin was often played by Boris Schukin. At the same time, the theater did not forget about other topics: in the late 1930s, the light and fun performance “The Straw Hat ” was put on, which the audience liked. In the same years, the country began a struggle with the enemies of the people, from which several theater employees suffered. So, the theater musician, husband of Cecilia Mansurova, Count Nikolai Sheremetev, was arrested. The theater staff managed to free him, but not defend him - he was arrested again, and then actress Valentina Vagrina and actor Oswald Glazunov were taken ^[1] .

Ruben Simonov's Guide

The period of collective leadership of the theater ended in 1939, when Ruben Simonov was appointed artistic director. The leader’s personality, as before, began to determine a lot in the future of the theater. Colleagues noted Simonov’s giftedness, his musicality, a rare sense of rhythm, delicate manners, but at the same time complex, “with oriental overtones” character. His first performance was The Inspector General , and subsequently the drama Field Marshal Kutuzov with guest director Nikolai Okhlopkov was staged. The premiere of the last performance " Masquerade " directed by Andrei Tutyshkin was held on June 21, 1941 - on the eve of the start of World War II . During one of the first bombing of Moscow , on the night of July 23-24, at 2 hours 10 minutes, a bomb fell into the theater building, from which several people died, including actor Vasily Kuza . The theater building was badly damaged, scenery ^{[1] [2] [8]} was destroyed.

During the war, the theater formed and sent to the front a team of artists, which included Anna Orochko, Alexandra Remizova, Alexander Gabovich , Aleksey Kotrelev, Isai Spektor , Anna Danilovich, Valentina Dancheva, Alexander Lebedev, Ivan Solovyov, Alexander Grave , Nikolai Yanovsky, Nikolai Morozkin , Tatyana Blazhina, Veronika Vasilyeva , Alexander Golubev and others. The brigade marched with the army to Berlin and returned to Moscow in June 1945 ^[1] .

Three months after the start of the war, on October 14, 1941, the theater was evacuated to Omsk ; it was located in the building of the Omsk Drama Theater . From November 1941 to August 1943, the Omsk Drama Theater performed three times a week, and four more - the Moscow Vakhtangov Theater. During this period, the actor and director Alexey Dikiy briefly joined the troupe. On February 22, 1942, the performance "Oleko Dundich" about the selfless defender of the homeland was shown, followed by "Russian People" and " Cyrano de Bergerac ". During the evacuation, several actors died of typhoid and anthrax . Artists had to sell their things in order to survive, but at the same time they did not stop working in the theater. In the spring of 1943, The Servant of Two Masters and The Blue Handkerchief came out. In the summer of that year, the theater returned to Moscow and before the restoration of the building on the Arbat played in the premises of the Youth Theater ^{[1] [12]} .

In August 1946, a decree “On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it” was issued: theaters obliged every year to stage performances on contemporary Soviet themes and on themes debunking the Western way of life, therefore the main lyrical and comedy repertoire was banned. In 1948, the production of The Young Guard was presented, in 1950 the anti-American pamphlet Missouri Waltz, and in 1951, The Mid-Century on the criminal activities of American war heaters ^[1] .

In 1952, at the XIX CPSU Congress, Georgy Malenkov officially authorized satire. In the spring of 1954, the theater’s repertoire appeared the “happiest” production: the director Yevgeny Simonov staged a play based on Samuel Marshak ’s fairy tale “ Fearing Fear - You Won't See Happiness . In the 1950s, the second generation of actors appeared in the troupe, among whom were Yuri Lyubimov , Antonina Gunchenko , Alla Parfanyak , Vladimir Etush , Evgeny Simonov, Mikhail Ulyanov , Yuri Yakovlev , Vasily Lanovoi , Lyudmila Maksakova , Anatoly Katsynsky , Grigory Abrikosov , Elena Dobronravova , Nina Nekhlopochenko, Vyacheslav Shalevich , Ekaterina Raikina , Yuri Volintsev ^[1] .

In 1956, the theater was awarded the title of academic ^[2] . Until the end of the 1950s, the confrontation between Ruben Simonov and Boris Zakhava was aggravated in the leadership, the position of which weakened due to the long absence of successful productions, so in 1959 he left the theater. In 1963, the show of “Princess Turandot” was resumed, a year later Yuri Lyubimov resigned as a director at the new Taganka Theater . Ruben Simonov died on December 5, 1968, passed to the leadership of the theater to his son ^{[1] [13]} .

Evgeny Simonov's leadership

Evgeny Simonov headed the theater in January 1969. By that time, the main place in the country's culture was occupied by communist ideology and propaganda . Evgeny Simonov tried to stage large and important performances, but did not achieve significant success. He tried to preserve the traditions of the theater and at the same time comply with the new theater policy: with the beginning of perestroika in 1986, thematic performances appeared in many theaters, and Yevgeny Simonov staged a “morally obsolete” performance about Komsomol members at a construction site. The level of the theater continued to plummet, discontent grew in the troupe, many actors went to the cinema and on the radio. On September 25, 1987, a meeting was held, after which Simonov left the theater ^{[1] [2]} .

Mikhail Ulyanov's Guide

The new director of the theater, Mikhail Ulyanov , who remained in office until his death in 2007, announced three conditions of work with the arrival: he will not stage performances, he will not reduce the group, and he will invite directors and playwrights from the outside. The first performance under him was The Hog, in which critics noted a cruel and harsh talk about life for the theater. The second - “Brest Peace” - a tough and ascetic performance about the loneliness of Vladimir Lenin among his associates and an attempt to stop the war. In the 1980s, Sergey Makovetsky , Olga Chipovskaya, Alexander Ryschenkov , Vladimir Simonov , Mikhail Semakov, Evgeny Knyazev , Elena Sotnikova , Mikhail Vaskov , Olga Gavrilyuk, Maxim Sukhanov , Julia Rutberg , Marina Esipenko , Lidia Velezheva , Natalya Moleva, came to the theater Nonna Grishaeva . Since 1989, Roman Viktyuk has long remained a significant director of the theater, before his departure he staged the most democratic theater performance - the Italian comedy “I Don't Know You Any More, Dear” ^{[1] [2]} .

Rimas Tuminas Guide

Since 2007, the theater has been led by Rimas Tuminas . With him, in 2015, a new stage was opened in the theater on Arbat Street, 24 - the room adjoins the theater building. In 2016, the "Art Cafe" began to work - a platform for creative evenings, readings and concerts. At present, the theater operates the Boris Schukin Theater School, and the repertoire of the Vakhtangov Theater has more than 40 performances ^[2] .

After the death of Yevgeny Vakhtangov, theater staff began to collect an archive of documents about the work of the institution. Based on it, a museum was created at the initiative of employees. It opened in December 1931 with an exhibition in honor of the tenth anniversary of the theater, the exposition also covered the period of Vakhtangov’s work in Money Lane from 1918 to 1922. At different times, the museum was managed by the wife of the director Nadezhda Vakhtangova, theater critic L. Vendrovskaya. В настоящее время в нём хранятся личные вещи режиссёра, библиотека и мебель из кабинета. Всего в фонде более 80 тысяч экспонатов: афиши, программы, фотографии, макеты, эскизы декораций и костюмов, архивные документы, печатные материалы, живопись, графика, мемориальные предметы. В 2010 году в доме № 12 по Денежному переулку в квартире № 1 открылся филиал музея — Мемориальная комната Евгения Вахтангова, где находятся ранее не выставлявшиеся артефакты. При участии сотрудников музея издаются книги о театре, его режиссёрах и актёрах, подбирается материал к спектаклям, проходят учебные лекции для студентов Театрального училища имени Щукина ^[14] .

Экспозиция, посвященная спектаклю «Пристань» открылась в сентябре 2019 года в одном из помещений бельетажа. Спектакль, созданный в 2011 году к 90-летнему юбилею театра, планировалось играть в течение одного года, но, завоевав любовь зрителей, он оставался в репертуаре театра и в последующие годы. 14 июня 2018 года «Пристань» была представлена зрителю в последний раз в связи с уходом из жизни замечательных актеров, для которых были поставлены отдельные фрагменты спектакля. Как дань спектаклю и в честь блиставших в нем мастеров, таких как: Юлия Борисова , Галина Коновалова , Юрий Яковлев , Владимир Этуш , Вячеслав Шалевич , и открыто новое музейное пространство ^[15] .

Актёры и режиссёры, которые работали в театре в разное время ^{[1] [5] [4] [2]} :

• The official website of the theater