Description of the attraction
The Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army is located on Suvorovskaya Square. The building in which the theater is located is grandiose: it was built in the shape of a five-pointed star and is a unique example of architecture in the Stalinist Empire style. The building was built from 1934 to 1940. The authors of the project were K. Alabyan and V. Simbirtsev. The theater building is ten-story on the surface. Six of them are occupied by the Big Stage, and two floors by the Small Stage. The same number of floors (10) near the building in its underground part.
The theater has a long history. It was founded in 1929 and was called the "Theater of the Red Army". His assignment was to serve the troops in the Far East. His first performance was called "K. V. Zh. D." In fact, it was a political review. It was dedicated to the events of that time that took place on the border with China. In 1930, the theater returned to Moscow and presented its first performance to the audience.
The theater received the project of the original building as a gift for its fifth anniversary, in February 1934. According to the results of the competition for the best project, the project of Alabyan and Simbirtsev won. The best artists of that time took part in the decoration of the theater's interiors. The frescoes on the ceiling were made by Lev Bruni. The stage portal was made according to the sketches of the graphic artist Vladimir Favorsky, his sons Ivan and Nikita. Plafonds in the amphitheater and above the buffets were created by I. Feinberg and A. Deineka. The picturesque panels decorating the marble front staircases were made by Alexander Gerasimov and Pavel Sokolov-Skalya. Furniture, chandeliers and plafonds were made specially for the theater, according to special sketches. The mechanics of the theater stage were designed by engineer I. Maltsin. It works to this day. There are two rotating circles and twelve lifting platforms on the stage. They easily transform a flat scene into a mountainous landscape.
The opening of the new theater building took place in September 1940. The premiere of the play "Commander Suvorov" (Bakhterev and Razumovsky) took place on the Bolshoi stage of the theater. A couple of weeks later, on the Small Stage, the audience could see the premiere of the play "The Bourgeoisie" based on M. Gorky. The artistic director of the theater from 1935 to 1958 was A. D. Popov. The performances staged by him "A long time ago", "Commander Suvorov", "Stalingraders", "Front", "Admiral's flag", "Wide steppe" entered the history of the Russian theater. The main directors over the years of the theater's existence were: Y. Zavadsky, R. Goryaev, A. Dunaev, Y. Eremin, L. Kheifits.
In today's theater troupe, actors from different generations. Artists of the Russian Army Theater are well known on television and in cinema - Vladimir Zeldin, Nikolai Pastukhov, Lyudmila Chursina, Alexander Petrov, Alina Pokrovskaya, Olga Bogdanova, Larisa Golubkina and many others. Today, the chief director of TSATRA is People's Artist of Russia Andrei Badulin.
