Description of the attraction
The Yanka Kupala National Academic Theater was built by the architect Karl Kozlovsky in 1890. Its original name was Minsk Provincial Theater. Touring troupes from other cities and countries performed at the theater. On this stage Vsevolod Meyerhold staged Blok's "Balaganchik" in 1908. Komissarzhevskaya, Davydov, Varlamov, Savina performed here.
After the Revolution, on September 14, 1920, the theater was solemnly reopened as the Belarusian State Theater. Immediately, a pronounced national theme was outlined in the repertoire. In the first season, the performances "The Ruined Nest" by Yanka Kupala, "On Kupala" by M. Charot, "Pavlinka" by Yanka Kupala were staged. Under the leadership of F. Zhdanovich, ethnographic expeditions were organized to collect Belarusian folk art.
During the Great Patriotic War, the theater performed not only in the rear, but also went to the front, to hospitals.
In 1944 the theater was awarded the title of Yanka Kupala. In 1948 the theater received the USSR State Prize for the performance "Konstantin Zaslonov" by A. Movzon.
In 1956, the theater building was reconstructed under the direction of the architect A. Dukhan. The building was significantly enlarged, the auditorium became more comfortable, but it completely lost its original architectural appearance.
In the 1960s, during the Khrushchev Thaw, the performances of the Yanka Kupala Theater became a nationwide and all-Union event. The theater was attended by innovative directors Boris Lutsenko and Valery Raevsky, as well as a young generation of actors, whose art combined high classical skill and modern theatrical trends. The performances "Lyavonikha in Orbit" by A. Makaenko, "Chudak" by N. Hikmet, "People in the Swamp" by I. Melezh became a real sensation.
Currently, the Kupalovsky Theater is a bright individual with its own classical traditions and modern theatrical experiments. This is a favorite theater not only of Minsk residents, but also of spectators from all over the world. Quite recently, the performance of the Yanka Kupala Theater "The Abduction of Europe, or the Urshuli Radziwill Theater" made a splash in London.
