National Theater of the Republic of Karelia

Finnish Theater in Petrozavodsk is the national theater in the capital of Karelia, which is very popular with Petrozavodsk residents and tourists. The uniqueness of Petrozavodsk theater is that only here you can see performances in Russian, Karelian, Vepsian and Finnish languages. A visit to the National Theater allows you to touch the culture of Karelia, listen to Karelian and Finnish speech, as well as to see the famous epic “Kalevala.”

. Contents

Visitor Information

Tickets to the Finnish Theater in Petrozavodsk can be purchased at the box office, which is located in the foyer of the theater. They are open on Mondays and Tuesdays from 10.00 to 16.00, from Wednesday to Friday from 10.00 to 20.00, on weekends from 12.00 to 18.00. Tickets for evening performances cost 500 rubles.

.

The performances take place from Tuesday through Sunday. Daytime performances begin at 12.00 and 14.30, and evening performances begin at 19.00. All productions have simultaneous translation into Russian. It is noteworthy that the tradition of simultaneous translation in headphones, which existed in the Soviet Union, originated in this very theater.

.

Tourists who came to Petrozavodsk, can visit the theater building not only at performances. On the Finnish theater conduct excursions designed for both children and adults. Tickets for excursions are also purchased at the theater box office.

.

History of the National Theater of Karelia

In 1921, a troupe of actors performing plays in Finnish and Karelian languages appeared in the city. The backbone of the national studio at the People’s Drama Theater was made up of Finns-emigrants, and the actors were led by Viktor Linden, who had previously worked as a director in amateur theaters.

.

Gradually, the small studio grew into a theater called “Karelian Stage”, and 10 years later the National Drama Theater was formed. At this time, the theater troupe was supplemented by actors who had come to the USSR from Finland and North America.

The opening of the Finnish theater in Petrozavodsk occurred in 1932. Its appearance was approved by the government of Karelia, as the local authorities believed that through exposure to drama could contribute to the growth of the cultural level of the population. In those days, the basis of the theater repertoire were plays written by Soviet classics – Maxim Gorky, Alexander Korneichuk and Boris Lavrenev.

.

Then came the times of repression in the USSR. The authorities decided to get rid of the influence of “Finnish bourgeois culture”, most of the male actors were imprisoned, and the theater was closed. At the beginning of the war between the Soviet Union and Finland, the troupe was transferred to Leningrad, and the actors performed for the wounded in hospitals and performed plays in military units.

.

When World War II broke out, the troupe evacuated inland and continued to put on plays for audiences in towns and villages in Siberia and the Arkhangelsk region. At this time the territory of Karelia was under Nazi occupation. After the war, the actors were able to return to their hometown, and the Finnish theater in Petrozavodsk began to actively develop. In the 1970s, directors working here began staging plays by playwrights from Finland on the Petrozavodsk stage.

.

History of the theater building

The building that houses the Finnish Theater of Petrozavodsk was erected in 1913 by Petrozavodsk engineer Vyacheslav Lyadinsky. It housed the Triumph movie theater and was a gathering place for officials dealing with the problems of the charitable society.

.

With the advent of Soviet power, the building was given to the headquarters of the Red Guard. In 1920, a congress was held here, at which the creation of the Karelian Labor Commune was announced. From 1929 to 1955, the Russian Drama Theater was housed inside the building, and then worked as a cinema.

.

In the mid-1960s, the building was thoroughly reconstructed under the direction of architect Savva Brodsky, and the Finnish Drama Theater moved here from Gogol Street. By the end of the 1990s, the theater building had become very dilapidated, and the city authorities organized its new reconstruction. The large-scale reconstruction took several no and was completed in 2003.

.

Plays

The performances in the Finnish theater in Petrozavodsk are held on two stages. The big one is designed for 300 seats, and the small one – for 50 seats. The theater repertoire is very diverse. On its stages you can see performances based on classical plays – “King Lear” and “Twelfth Night” by William Shakespeare, “The Physician at Will” by Jean-Baptiste Moliere, “The Venetian Twins” by Carlo Goldoni and “Turandot” by Carlo Gozzi. In addition, Russian-language performances of Anton Chekhov’s “Three Sisters”, Boris Vasilyev’s “The Dawns are Quiet Here…” and “Doro Doro” are also being staged in Russian Boris Vasilyev, “The Road to Nebyvan” by Irina Komissarova, “Trouble from a Tender Heart” by Vladimir Sologub, “Farewell in June” by Alexander Vampilov and “Valentine’s Day” by Ivan Vyrypayev. Ivan Vyrypayev.

.

In Finnish, productions based on plays by August Strindber’s “Freuken Julie v3.0”, Alexis Kivi and Maria Jotuni’s “When Feelings Are…”, Seppo Kantervo’s “Sheets of Stone Paper”, “Lembo” and “Songs of the Blue Sky” are shown. In the Karelian language one can watch the famous folk epic “Kalevala”, performances based on the plays “The Sacred Cause” by Florid Bulyakov, “The House” by Seppo Kantervo, “The Karelian Land” by Antti Timonen and “The She-Wolf” by Jana Zhemoitelite.”

.

Children come to the National Theater of Karelia for performances based on Sergei Aksakov’s fairy tale “The Scarlet Flower”, Ksenia Dragunskaya’s play “Upside Down”, productions based on James Barrie’s “Peter Pan”, Dmitry Golubetsky’s fairy tale “The Magic Staff”, Olga Portretova’s fairy tale “The Troll’s Crown” and Thorbjørn Egner’s “Adventures in the Forest of Yelki-na Gorka”. In addition, for young spectators, the theater shows performances based on the fairy tales of Hans Christian Andersen “The Merry Chimney Sweeper”, the works of Semyon Golubchin “The Magic Tassel”, a theatricalized game program “Visiting Joulupukki” and the fairy tale play “Son-Bear.”

.

How to get there

The Finnish Theater in Petrozavodsk is located in the city center, at 19 Marx Avenue. It is located 2 km east of the city railway station. You can get to the theater building by buses № 5, 8, 12, 17, 19, 20, 26 and 29, as well as trolleybuses № 1, 2, 4 and 6. Get off at the stop “Kirov Square.”

.