Description of the attraction
The history of the Vladimir Academic Regional Drama Theater begins from the moment when the provincial actor I. Lavrov stopped passing by in Vladimir. The quick-witted Lavrov learned that the governor Vladimir loves "everything elegant and useful." And then he went to her reception with a request to convince the governor to allocate money for the construction of the theater building and to agree with the Vologda governor so that he would send an entrepreneur with his troupe to Vladimir.
It is not known why, but Lavrov's request was granted, and the theater was built very quickly. In the fall of 1848, the Vologda entrepreneur Boris Solovyov gave the first performances in the theater (naturally with the participation of Lavrov). Solovyov's troupe finished performances in the spring of 1849, but part of it remained in Vladimir. I. Lavrov became the owner of the theater.
The wooden building of the theater was hastily built and already in 1850 was close to destruction, and in order to prevent accidents that could occur from its destruction, it was ordered to break it. But during this time, the inhabitants of Vladimir got used to the theater and the city council allowed the merchant of the 3rd guild I. I. Barsukov to build a theater building near the Golden Gate.
The most remarkable period in the life of the theater was the 1860s. At this time, a new leader of the nobility appeared in the city - MI Ogarev with his wife. His wife A. M. Chitau was a talented actress at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg. The spouses were perplexed by the level of theatrical business in the city. They themselves decided to take on this business. With their help, the theater troupe was soon full of graduates of the Petersburg theater school. The artistic level of theatrical performances has grown significantly. And in 1864 the theater already toured on the stage of the St. Petersburg Alexandrinsky Theater.
The theater also had a resounding success in the early 1890s thanks to the performances of the Maly Theater actors on the Vladimir stage. For the audience, Vladimir was played by A. P. Lensky, M. N. Ermolova, G. N. Fedotova, O. A. Pravdin and other luminaries of the theater. In the last years of the 19th century, the theater fell into decay, passing from the hands of one mediocre entrepreneur to another.
Theatrical life has noticeably intensified since 1905. In addition to entertaining performances, performances based on the plays of A. N. Ostrovsky, L. N. Tolstoy, F. Schiller, M. Gorky, the novels of F. M. Dostoevsky. After the outbreak of the First World War, the theater was closed - the premises were occupied by the military.
The revolution in the life of the theater has made its own adjustments. The theater's repertoire in the post-revolutionary years consisted of the following plays: Avdotya's Life, The Miroed, The Insurgents, The Death of a Red Army Soldier, People of Fire and Iron, Saboteurs, Zarevo.
In 1925 the theater received the status of the Provincial Drama Theater. Performances appeared in his repertoire, which later became Soviet stage classics. Among them: "Love Yarovaya" by K. Trenev, "Storm" by Bill-Belotserkovsky, "Viriney" by L. Seifullina, "Mutiny" by E. Verharne, "Rift" by Lavrenev.
From 1934-1935 the theater began to bear the name of A. V. Lunacharsky. The theater's repertoire of the 1930s included plays by N. Pogodin, M. Gorky, A. Arbuzov, A. Korneichuk, foreign and Russian classics. During the war, many actors went to the front, and the theater itself was actively involved in military patronage.
In the postwar years, the most significant event in theatrical life was the production of "The Story of a Real Man". In the 1950s, Yevgeny Evstigneev, a graduate of the Gorky Theater School, made his debut on the Vladimir stage, and then realized his talent for 4 seasons.
The directors: Shakhbazidi, Danilov, Fedorenko, Elshankin, actors: D. Losik, A. Bokova, B. Solomonov, L. Stepanova, O. Denisova, N. Tengaev and others left a significant mark on the history of the theater in the 1950s-1960s. I. Tuymetov devoted more than 40 years to the Vladimir scene. In 1971 the theater moved to a new building. The new stage was opened with the play "Andrey Bogolyubsky".
The 1970-1980s were marked by the work of such directors as O. Soloviev, Y. Pogrebnichko, V. Pazi, M. Moreido, K. Baranov, Y. Kopylov, Y. Galin. Yuri Galin was the first to bring the theater to the open air, staging the play "The Great Reign". The theater played this performance in Suzdal for three years, where the stage was the territory of the Museum of Wooden Architecture.
In 1991 Alexey Burkov became the chief director of the theater. Many of the theater's creative achievements, which were highly appreciated by both spectators and theater critics, are associated with his name. In 2003, the theater became a theater complex, which, in addition to the theater, included a studio theater under the direction of N. Gorokhov. Boris Gunin became the director of the Theater Complex.
