Большой драматический театр имени Георгия Товстоногова | |
BDT (БДТ) | |
 The Bolshoi Drama Historic Stage, Fontanka Embankment, St. Petersburg | |
 Interactive map of Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater | |
| Address | Fontanka Embankment, 65 Saint Petersburg Russia |
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| Opened | 1919 |
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| bdt | |
Tovstonogov Bolshoi Drama Theater (Russian:Большой драматический театр имени Г. А. Товстоногова; literallyTovstonogov Great Drama Theater), formerly known asGorky Bolshoi Drama Theater (Russian:Большой Драматический Театр имени Горького) (1931–1992), often referred to as theBolshoi Drama Theater and by theacronymBDT (Russian:БДТ), is a theater inSaint Petersburg, that is considered one of the best Russian theaters.[1] The theater is named after its long-time directorGeorgy Tovstonogov.Andrey Moguchy was the artistic director of the theater in 2013–2023 years.
The theater is also encountered in literature as theGreat Drama Theater orGreat Dramatic Theater of Leningrad.
The main people behind the establishment of the theater wereMaxim Gorky,Maria Andreyeva,Alexander Blok andAnatoly Lunacharsky.[2]
Already by 1914, before theOctober Revolution, actress Maria Andreeva—common law wife of Gorky from 1903 and Commissar for Theaters and Public Spectacles in Petrograd from 1918 to 1921—had participated in a theater initiative, including actorYury Yuryev, with the aim of returning to the "classics". In 1918 Yuryev staged some works in Leningrad.
Gorky, Blok, Adreeva and Lunacharsky—who was People's Commissar of Enlightenment after the revolution—had similarly worked towards the aim of staging the classics for the masses. Eventually they merged with Andreeva's other endeavor.
In January 1919, the government sponsored the staging ofNikolai Gogol'sThe Government Inspector.
The theater was organized in 1918 by the order of Maria Andreeva. The original name of the theater was Osobaya Drammaticheskaya Truppa (Special Drama Company). The theater was organized by merging the Theater of Tragedy led by Yury Yuryev and the Theater of Art Drama led byAndrey Lavrentyev.
During the first year of its operation the theater performed on the stage of the Great Hall of thePetrograd Conservatory. The chief director of the theater was Andrey Lavrentyev and the chairman was Alexander Blok. The first performance of the new theater wasFriedrich Schiller'sDon Carlos on 15 February 1919.[3] In 1920 the theater moved to the building, at 65Fontanka Embankment, of the formerSuvorin Theatre also known as Maly Imperial Drama Theater.[1]
The main actors of that period were Yury Yuryev andNikolay Monakhov. Many brilliant painters worked for the theater includingAlexandre Benois,Mstislav Dobuzhinsky,Vladimir Shuko,Nikolay Akimov; among the composers working with the theater wereBoris Asafiev andYuri Shaporin. The theater produced mostly classicalromantic dramas likeDon Carlos (1919),Othello (1920),King Lear (1920),Twelfth Night (1921),Ruy Blas (1921),The Robbers (1919), andLe Médecin malgré lui (1921).[3] Since the mid-1920s the theater added to its repertoire plays of Germanexpressionists includingGas byGeorg Kaiser,Virgin Forest byErnst Toller, and, influenced by expressionism,Machine Mutiny (Bunt Mashin) byAlexey Tolstoy.[3]
The main director of that period wasKonstantin Tverskoy (real name Konstantin Konstantinovich Kuzmin-Karavayev; officially the artistic director in 1929–1935[4]). The theater was producing mainly spectacles of Soviet dramaturges, includingBoris Lavrenev (Razlom, 1927),Vladimir Kirshon (Gorod Vetrov, 1928);Yury Olesha (Zagovor chuvstv, 1929),Nikolai Pogodin (Moy drug, 1932).[5]
Very important were performances ofMaxim Gorky plays includingYegor Bulychev and the others (1932) andDostigaeyev and others (1933).[3] In 1932 the theater was named in honor of Maxim Gorky. The theater was known as Gorky Bolshoi Drama Theater (Bolshoi Dramaticheskiy Teatr imeni Gor'kogo) until 1992, when it was renamed afterGeorgy Tovstonogov.
The years after Tverskoy are considered to be a crisis for the theater. The leaders of the theater frequently changed, the level of performances lowered and the numbers of theater-goes dramatically decreased.[3]
The artistic directors (khudozhetvenniy rukovoditel) of that period were:
DuringWorld War II the theater was evacuated toKirov, Kirov Oblast. In 1943 in the last days of theSiege of Leningrad the theater returned to serve the troops ofLeningrad Front and the military hospitals.[3]
Georgy Tovstonogov was the artistic director of the theater since 1956 until his death in 1989. During his prime Tovstonogov was considered one of the best theater directors of Europe and the theater was one of the best in theSoviet Union.
Tovstonogov was the first who returnedFyodor Dostoyevsky into Soviet theater, by his productions ofThe Idiot (1957).
Among other famous performances are:
The prominent members of his troupe includedAlisa Freindlich,Zinaida Sharko,Lyudmila Makarova,Tatiana Doronina,Svetlana Kryuchkova,Kirill Lavrov,Innokenty Smoktunovsky,Pavel Luspekaev,Yefim Kopelyan,Sergey Yursky,Vladislav Strzhelchik,Evgeny Lebedev, andOleg Basilashvili.
In 1989, a prominent actor of the theater,Kirill Lavrov was unanimously elected the artistic director. He managed to preserve the artistic tradition established by Tovstonogov, and to rename BDT after Tovstonogov in 1993.[3]
Lavrov did not act as a theatrical director. Many spectacles of the period were directed byTemur Chkheidze. Among them wereIntrigue and Love byFriedrich Schiller (1990),Macbeth byWilliam Shakespeare (1995),Antigone byJean Anouilh (1996), andBoris Godunov byAlexander Pushkin (1998).[3]
In 2005,Kamenny Island Theatre became a new stage of the Bolshoi Drama.[6]
On 27 April 2007, Kirill Lavrov died andTemur Chkheidze was elected as the artistic director of BDT.[7] Under Chkheidze, the theatre continued its classical tradition, while some observers noted signs of artistic stagnation, as the theatre was trying to prolong Tovstonogov aesthetics, while the master has long died. Temur Chkheidze has announced that his resignation 'opens the door for a change at the theatre' he does not feel capable of introducing himself.[8]
On 29 March 2013,Andrey Moguchy was appointed artistic director. Moguchy has indicated that his intention is to revitalize the theatre's creative energy, and to attract younger audience. New artistic direction has enabled the theatre to double its attendance figures in 2016 as compared to 2013.[9]
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59°55′38″N30°19′52″E / 59.9273°N 30.3310°E /59.9273; 30.3310
