Operetta in Moscow

Operetta in the 1870s

In the 1870s , the operetta begins to gain popularity in Moscow. Satirical hints bring the French and Austrian operettas closer to Russian reality. But if at first satirical intonations were present in the performances of the Russian operetta, especially thanks to the efforts of the translator of the French operettas, the satirist poet V.S. Kurochkin , then in the future the operetta more and more takes on the character of a frivolous farce . His fans, mainly from among the nobility and merchants , perceived the operetta as a piquant genre, a means of relaxation and entertainment. Therefore, in the controversy surrounding operetta, many progressive figures of Russian culture opposed this genre (in particular, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin ).

Mikhail Lentovsky

In the development and strengthening of the operetta genre on the Russian stage, the merits of Mikhail Lentovsky are especially significant. Having been educated at the Moscow Theater School, he was accepted into the troupe of the Maly Theater with the title of artist of the Imperial Theater. The Maly Theater’s repertoire also included operettas, since at that time it was not yet a purely dramatic theater and differed from the Bolshoi only in size.

Lentovsky, like other young artists of that time, gained skill and stage experience in the province, where he also proved to be a director, after which he returned to Moscow and continued to work at the Maly Theater in 1871 - 1878 . His beautiful appearance and pleasant voice, stage temperament and innate musicality ensured him success in opera roles and vaudeville singing. Among his roles: Paris in "Beautiful Elena" and Pikillo in "Singing Birds" (" Perikola ") by Jacques Offenbach , as well as roles in dramatic performances. ^[one]

On August 15, 1873, Mikhail Lentovsky entered into an agreement with the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters on the performance of opera roles on the stage of the Maly Theater. However, the operetta repertoire gradually left the stage, more and more giving way to the dramatic one. Among his productions on the stage of the Maly Theater is Orpheus in Hell by Jacques Offenbach . ^[2]

In 1876, Mikhail Lentovsky was involved in the activities of the Artistic Circle , and in the spring of 1877 he headed his summer theater, located in the Family Garden (Botanical Department of the Zoological Garden). The first performance took place on May 5, 1877 - it was the operetta of Charles Lecock, “Daughter of Madame Argo,” which was given under the name “Daughter of the Market”.

Lentovsky Troupe

Lentovsky’s seething energy was especially pronounced in his entrepreneurial activity. In the summer of 1878, Lentovsky rented a theater for his troupe in the Hermitage Garden. In this theater, he gathered a large orchestra, choir and ballet, and invited the decorator of the Paris Grand Opera Theater - Levato. This operetta theater, with an inscription above the entrance: “Satire and Morality,” opened with “Singing Birds” (“ Perikola ”) by Jacques Offenbach , then the “Camargo” and “Swallow” by Charles Lecock , “Madame Favard” and “The Rich Bakery Woman” were staged "Jacques Offenbach," The Bat "by Johann Strauss and others.

The very first performances impressed the audience with vivid entertainment and performing skills. Nicknamed the “theater magician and wizard”, Lentovsky struck the audience’s imagination with the grandiose staging, novelty, unusual effects, rich decoration and costumes, picturesque mass scenes. Fascinated by the splendor of design, he at the same time achieved the realism of the actors' play, ensemble of performance, high vocal and musical culture. A. N. Pleshcheyev , V. A. Gilyarovsky , etc. ^[1] spoke positively of his productions.

Lentovsky's staging style influenced Konstantin Stanislavsky at the time of his fascination with the operetta.

Young Stanislavsky was engaged in plastics and vocals with the best teachers, studied on the examples of actors of the Maly Theater , and also played operettas: “Countess de la Frontier” by Lecock (ataman of the robbers), “Mademoiselle Nitouche” by Herve (Floridor), as well as in the comic opera “ Mikado » Sullivan (Nanki Pu). ^[four]

Over the years, Lentovsky’s troupe included such actors as Olga Sadovskaya , Vera Zorina , as well as A. Aristova, S. Belskaya and A. Davydov. In addition to the Moscow operetta, he organized several opera theaters in St. Petersburg and Nizhny Novgorod .

Operetta in 1880-1919

In 1885 , in a rented and rebuilt house of Princess E.F. Shakhovskaya-Glebova-Streshneva, George Paradise opened his Paradise Theater , which the people also began to be called along the street - Nikitsky, as well as International. ^[5] In addition to the Paradise troupe, various Russian and foreign troupes performed in the theater, including the Moscow Comic Opera and the Vienna Operetta. ^[6] Since 1893, the building was rented by Yakov Schukin , who continued the traditions of Paradise.

In 1910, impresario Boris Evelinov and his wife, Yevgeny Potopchin, founded an operetta troupe. Since 1911, for this troupe Evelinov rents the building of the former Paradise Theater and opens its own theater, known as the Operetta Potopchina or the Nikitsky Theater E.V. Potopchina. Young talented actors worked in this theater, including baritones Nikolai Bravin and Konstantin Grekov. Tenor Mikhail Ivanovich Dmitriev and Tatyana Bach joined the troupe. Natural musicality, a highly developed sense of rhythm, temperament and choreographic giftedness determined Potopchina's success in operetta. ^[7]

In 1912, Ignatius Zon opened an operetta theater with a cafe "Hell at the Zone". Tatyana Bach began her career as an operetta artist in this theater, and then she joined the troupe of Operetta Potopchina, and then - the Moscow Operetta Theater .

Until 1917, Moscow had two operetta theaters. The Ignatius Zon Theater ceased to exist after the Zone emigrated to France in 1917 , and the Nikitsky Theater began to be called the “Fellowship on Stamps” in 1918 , but the theater was closed by a resolution of the Council of People 's Commissars in 1919 . In 1921, the troupe temporarily performed in the premises of the Slavyansky Bazar restaurant (Nikolskaya 17).

Soviet period, 1922-1991

In 1922, in the building of the former Dmitrovsky Theater on Bolshaya Dmitrovka Street, 17, a private Moscow Operetta Theater was opened. Among the premieres of this theater is the first Russian production of the operetta “ Countess Maritz ” by Imre Kalman (1924) ^[8] . Now on this place is the building of the Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Musical Theater .

In 1925, the theater was renamed the Moscow Theater of Musical Comedy. After its closure in 1926, the “Work collective of operetta artists” was created under the direction of N. M. Bravin , who performed one season 1926/27 in the premises of the Alcazar Variety Theater .

Post-Soviet period

List of Moscow contemporary addresses associated with operetta productions:

• Street Bolshaya Dmitrovka
  • house 17 - private Moscow Operetta Theater, Moscow Musical Comedy Theater - the building has not been preserved,
    now the Musical Theater. Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko .
  • house 6/2 - Solodovnikov Theater - now the Moscow Operetta Theater .
• B. Nikitskaya St. , 19 - Paradise Theater , International, Nikitsky Theaters, Operetta Potopchina -
  now the Theater. Mayakovsky .
• Bolshaya Sadovaya st.
  • Building 16 - Theater "Aquarium", the first building of the State Moscow Operetta Theater -
    the building has not been preserved, now the Mossovet Theater .
  • house 18 - theater variety show "Alcazar", "The labor collective of operetta artists" -
    the building has not been preserved, now the Satire Theater .
• Nikolskaya street , 17 - hotel and restaurant " Slavic Bazaar ".
• Triumphal Square , 4/31 - operetta theater Ignatius Zone and cafesantan “Hell at the Zone” -
  the building has not been preserved, now the Concert Hall. Tchaikovsky .

List of Moscow theaters, which currently have an operetta in their repertoire:

• Moscow State Academic Operetta Theater
• Moscow Academic Musical Theater named after K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko
• Helikon-Opera
• New Opera
• Moscow State Musical Theater under the direction of Gennady Chikhachev

• Operetta
• Operetta and musical comedy theaters in Russia