Astrakhan Drama Theater
Astrakhan Drama Theater is one of the oldest provincial Russian theaters, founded in 1810. For more than a century of history, its stage has hosted such famous artists as Fyodor Chaliapin, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Maria Ermolova, Glikeria Fedotova, Ivan Lavrov and Nikolai Sobolshchikov-Samarin. Theater scaffolding in Astrakhan opened the way to great art to Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Emmanuel Vitorgan, Maria Maksakova, Ivan Lyubeznov, Tamara Milashina and Boris Nevzorov.
Video: Astrakhan Drama Theater, “Anna Karenina”
Highlights
The building of the theater appeared in 1883, and 125 years later it was extensively reconstructed. Nowadays, the Astrakhan Drama Theater is one of the cultural centers of the city, and many Astrakhans and tourists prefer to spend time here. In addition, there are routes of sightseeing and thematic excursions around the Volga city past the ancient building.
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In the modern repertoire of the Astrakhan Drama Theater you can see plays based on Russian and foreign classics, as well as popular box-office comedies. The theater shows plays by N. Gogol, B. Shaw, A. Ostrovsky, M. Lermontov, V. Nabokov, M. Gorky, F. Dostoevsky, C. Goldoni, E. Scribe, R. Cooney and M. Camoletti. There are 7-8 premieres per season at the theater.
.The theater occupies a two-story classical mansion. Its company consists of 20 actors who perform plays on one stage. The theater box office is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
.History of the theater
The organizer of the theater troupe was a retired lieutenant and a great lover of theatrical art Andrei Gruzinov. In December 1810, in the building that belonged to the merchant Tokarev, he staged the first performance. During the first year of the theater’s existence, the audience was able to see 46 productions. Gruzinov selected popular plays by Beaumarchais, Knyazhninin, Fonvizin and Moliere for the repertoire.
.The Astrakhan Drama Theater was immediately noticed and received the approval of the city authorities and the public. In the 1830s, cholera and smallpox epidemics broke out in Astrakhan, during which many public institutions were closed. However, the theater continued to give performance after performance. The theater troupe had special favor with the governor, who personally appointed directors and approved the lists of trustees.
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Gradually, the old theater building became unsuitable, so in 1877, a wealthy merchant Nikolai Ivanovich Plotnikov, who had visited the best theaters in Europe, offered to build a new theater at his own expense. The project of the theater building was prepared by the academician of architecture Ernst Ivanovich Folrath. The construction of the building began in 1878, and in the fall of 1883 the theater received its first audience.
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After the 1917 revolution, the theater, like many private institutions and businesses in the city, was nationalized. In 1940 it was named after S. M. Kirov, and in 1986 the theater was awarded the Order of the Badge of Honor.
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How to get there
The Astrakhan Drama Theater is located in the historical center of the city, in the house number 28 on Sovetskaya Street. It is easy to walk to the theater building from the public transport stops “Sea Garden”, “Museum of Regional Studies” and “Central Pharmacy”.
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