Despite the fact that cinema has existed for a long time, theaters are as popular as in the old days.
And can the picture be compared with the performance of an actor “live”, when the feeling of the spirit of the performance literally hovers in the hall?
And ballet, and opera, and comedy, and musical, any production can stir up all the senses.
So today we will talk about theaters, and although this rating is called the top of the best theaters, there are no best or worst here and the division is conditional.
Each theater is unique and unrepeatable, with its atmosphere, actors, history.
So if you don’t see one of the famous theaters here, don’t rush to conclusions, it’s impossible to tell about all of them, and the division, as mentioned above, is conditional.
La Scala
1. Let's start with Italy, because it can be called one of the cradles of the theater, because here, along with Greece and France, many theatrical traditions were born. There were theaters here during the time of Rome and the Renaissance, so the contribution of this country to the theatrical art is undeniable. La Scala in Milan is deservedly considered the best theater in Italy.
It was built in 1776-1778, and owes its name to the church "Santa Maria dela Scala", which was located on this site before the theater.
There is a legend that when laying the foundation, an ancient block with the image of the mime Pylades was found, as if the blessing of the ancient gods to the future theater. The theater hall can accommodate up to 2,800 people. By the way, it is customary to come here dressed in black.
At different times, the works of Bellini, Verdi and Puccini were very fond of here. Also in "La Scala" balls were held and even once there was a bullfight.
Grand Opera
2. In France, the Grand Opera is considered the most famous theater, although its official name is the National Academy of Music and Dance. Founded in 1669 by the poet Perrin and the composer Camber, signed by Louis XIV. This theater survived the centuries, the French Revolution, changed many names, but remained one of the best.
The building in which it is located today was built by the architect C. Garnier in 1875. The hall can accommodate 2,130 people. It is difficult to enumerate the performances staged on the stage of the Grand Opera for three and a half centuries.
Initially, these were works by French composers, then Italian and German. In the twentieth century, Stravinsky's opera "Mavra" was premiered here.
Vienna Opera
3. "Vienna Opera" is also impossible to ignore. Austria has always been proud of its composers, which is why Mozart's operas are so popular here. It also hosted the premiere of the entire Wagner cycle "Ring of the Nibelungen".
The Vienna Opera was built in 1869, the interior decoration is striking in luxury and majesty.
At the end of the 19th century, this place was the center of the cultural life of Europe. Until now, according to tradition, the world-famous “Opera Ball” is held here every year, where people from all over the world come together.
covent garden
4. The most famous theater in England is London's Covent Garden. It was founded in 1732. In the form in which it appears now, it has been preserved since the last restoration in 1856. It is distinguished by a high level of acting and the corresponding fees.
In the 19th century, the best performers of that time, such as Malibran, Tamburini, Giulia Grisi, sang here.
The building itself is shrouded in mystery and legends about ghosts, so suitable for "Foggy Albion". Designed for 2,250 seats.
Metropolitan Opera
5. The New York Metropolitan Opera is the most famous theater in the United States and at the same time the most modern of all listed here.
It was founded in 1883 and is distinguished by the absence of such luxurious decoration as in other theaters. But here many modern technologies are applied, such as, for example, a running line in the back of the chair.
Initially, the Metropolitan Opera liked to stage Wagner. As well as in England, operas are staged here in the original language. The fees for performers here are more modest than in other places, but singing on this stage is still very prestigious.
The hall is large and can accommodate 3,625 people. Interestingly, the theater is not state-owned and is funded by private individuals and donations from firms.
6. In Russia, the Bolshoi Theater can be put on a par with the above-mentioned theaters. It was founded in 1776, the building where it is now appeared in 1825.
Tchaikovsky's operas Mazepa, Voyevoda, Cherevichki and Rachmaninov's The Miserly Knight, Aleko and Francesca da Rimini were premiered here, with Rachmaninoff acting as a conductor.
On the stage of the Bolshoi Theater, performances are also given by visiting troupes from La Scala and the Vienna Opera. Designed for 2,155 seats.
7. "Sydney Opera" - a masterpiece more architectural than theatrical.
This place has become a symbol of Australia, both performances and various shows are held here, there is no usual theatrical design, and the repertoire is not classical. But maybe this is such an idea of the creators of the theater of the future, because the Sydney Opera House was built only 37 years ago. By the way, Queen Elizabeth herself opened it.
8. Another non-classical theater - "Broadway".
It's not a building, it's a tradition. Once “Broadway Theater” meant that it was one of the small theaters located on the corresponding street in New York, today this concept has a completely different meaning.
I invite actors to Broadway for one or several seasons, there is no permanent troupe, and the performance goes on as long as it is interesting to the public. That is why many are drawn here, because of the diversity. The traditions of the “Broadway theater” were formed about a century ago.
Arena di Verona
9. “Arena di Verona”, this theater has no analogues in the whole world, because it was built during the time of Emperor Augustus in the first century AD. This is an oval Roman amphitheater, and what is most interesting, it is functioning.
Arena di Verona. Photo – Ennevi For three hundred years, performances have been given on this stage, and in Roman times, gladiators died here and tournaments were held.
Since 1913, an opera festival has been held here every summer. They put on mainly spectacular productions, such as "Aida", which opened the first of these festivals, "Turandot", "Carmen". "Arena di Verona" can accommodate up to 16,000 spectators at the same time, which is beyond the power of any hall of classical theaters.
10. The largest theater in South America is the Colon Theatre. It was founded in 1857.
It is located in the city of Buenos Aires and can accommodate up to 2,478 people at a time. At the time of construction, the first building of the theater was the most advanced among operas, gas lighting and special effects devices were used here.
The modern building opened in 1908, in addition to seating, it is designed for 500-1000 standing people. Russian performances are often staged here, such as "Boris Godunov", "Sadko", "Eugene Onegin".
From the book Volume 3. Soviet and pre-revolutionary theater author
From the book Volume 6. Foreign Literature and Theater author Lunacharsky Anatoly VasilievichSoviet theater Communist performance* No matter how hard individual theaters try to select the best plays for festive performances, they will not find in the old treasury of mankind those that would fully meet our new requirements. Great, of course,
From the book Theory of Literature author Pavlychko SolomiyaTheater and Revolution* In bourgeois society, the situation with the theater has long been extremely unfavorable. Everything that Richard Wagner wrote about the theater in the era of the revolution of 1948 remains entirely true for our time1. The most terrible thing is precisely that the theater has become
From the book Pushkin Circle. Legends and myths author Sindalovsky Naum AlexandrovichTheater of the RSFSR * The proposal to write something like a summary review took me somewhat by surprise, which, of course, did not give me the opportunity to collect any documents, so that this article will be to some extent in the nature of personal reminiscences and
From the book Ostrich - Russian bird [collection] authorMeyerhold Theater* During my stay abroad, I had to talk several times about theatrical affairs, both German and Russian, with a wide variety of people, including the directors of large theaters, the chairman of the actors' trade union, etc. I
From the book Restless Immortality: 450th Anniversary of the Birth of William Shakespeare author Green GrahamNeapolitan theater* Naples is a very special city. Full of a peculiar mood. And this mood is not so much diffused in its blue air and blue sea, not so much expressed in the picturesque Vesuvius and the bright beauty of Nosili but in the psyche of the Neapolitan
From the book Everyone stand author Moskvina Tatyana VladimirovnaPiscator Theatre* Two years ago I met Piscator. The acquaintance took place at a rather stormy moment - the Volksbühne theater, which has a social democratic character, but at that time was the foremost theater in Berlin, wished to stage my play -
From the book Literature Grade 5. Textbook-reader for schools with in-depth study of literature. Part 2 author Team of authorsJapanese theater* The arrival of the Japanese Kabuki theater in Moscow and Leningrad is of exceptional interest.
From the author's bookTheater in the West and in our country* “There is no crisis in the theater in the West”1 - you hear this statement more and more often. I have just read it in an article by Giraudoux in the ultra-bourgeois newspaper Le Tan, in the issue of July 22. In proof of this position of his, Giraudoux declares:
From the author's book From the author's bookTheater A huge role in the life of Pushkin was played by the St. Petersburg theatrical environment, the young poet literally plunged into it after leaving the Lyceum. This topic, in the context of this chapter, seems to us especially important because in the last years of his life Pushkin's interest in
From the author's bookA theater without a theater The experience of lyrical and polemical theatrical prose The powerful force of inertia of authority and our unique ability to produce myths and legends dictated a completely romantic picture to the mind: it seemed that in the magnificent building of Rossi there were wonderful traditions
From the author's book1. Theater and "Theater" In 1576, in Shoreditch, on the northern outskirts of London, the first stationary theater for public performances in the history of modern Europe arose. Its founders: actor James Burbage and his son-in-law, greengrocer John Brain, gave their brainchild the name "Theater" ("Theatre").
From the author's book From the author's bookTheater and Drama Do you know that next to you is a magical world in which the laws of creative fantasy operate? No no! I'm not talking about books. This world can be seen, those who live in it can be heard without the help of imagination, which you need when reading books. For
Cultural exchange enriches artistic perception and plays an important role in creating mutual understanding and peaceful coexistence between different countries. An enthusiastic reception from foreign audiences in Europe, America, Asia and Africa is greeted by tours of Soviet theater groups. Spectators in Moscow, Leningrad and other Soviet cities applaud the best foreign theaters and talented actors who have often come to us in recent years to show their skills.
The best English theaters and actors still draw on the great realist tradition of Shakespeare. The first place among Shakespeare's theaters is occupied by London's Old Vic, founded in 1894 and called "The House of Shakespeare". This theatre, which has brought up many remarkable actors, has a permanent theatrical building and troupe. All of Shakespeare's plays ran there for more than 60 years.
Today, actors Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud and Michael Redgreve, who went through the Old Vic school and are well-known to the Soviet audience, enjoy well-deserved world fame. The best roles of the internally temperamental and always sincere Olivier are Hamlet, Othello, Richard III, Macbeth. We know Laurence Olivier well from cinema, in particular from his role as Admiral Nelson in the film Lady Hamilton. Michael Redgreve came to the USSR with Shakespeare's Memorial Theater in 1958 and performed the role of Hamlet with great success.
Shakespeare's "Memorial Theater" is located in the birthplace of the brilliant playwright - in Stratford-upon-Avon. Actors and directors are invited to this theater, which puts exclusively works of Shakespeare, for only one season. In 1959-1960. on the stage of the theater, the Negro singer and actor Paul Robeson, who enjoys exceptional love among us, played the role of Othello. The touring system of the "Memorial Theater" leads to the fact that there is no strong ensemble here, and Shakespeare's productions are very different in style - depending on which director is staging the play, a realist or a supporter of modern modernism.
Shakespeare's works are also staged in other English theaters. But these are, in essence, not theaters, but troupes that are recruited by an entrepreneur to show one play in a random theater room. Such a troupe, led by director Peter Brook, came to Moscow in 1956 with a performance of Hamlet with Paul Scofield in the title role. There are quite a lot of similar theatrical enterprises in England. The longevity of such troupes depends on the box office. If there are no fees, the troupe breaks up, the actors are left without work.
A special page of English theatrical life is folk theaters. Among them, the first place is occupied by the Unity Theater, founded in 1937. Unity serves the masses, travels with performances to factories and plants. Some major actors, such as Paul Robeson, have a strong creative friendship with the theatre. Only modern plays on acute socio-political topics are staged here. A few years ago, a political review “The Russians say: Yes” was on the stage of the theater, telling about the struggle of the Soviet Union for peace; recently there was a staging of A.S. Makarenko's Pedagogical Poem.
The theatrical life of France seems different. There are two state theaters here - the old "French Comedy" and the "People's National Theater", founded in Paris in the 20s. Both theaters toured the Soviet Union after World War II.
Theater "French Comedy" - the keeper of the classical traditions of France. His repertoire mainly includes plays by Corneille, Racine, Molière, Hugo, Beaumarchais and other famous French playwrights of the past. The professional skill of the actors of this theater Louis Seigner, Andre Falconi, Ani Ducos is manifested mainly in the virtuoso command of the word, in the unusually clear diction and temperament of the game.
If the "French Comedy" sees its main task in the preservation of old traditions, then the "People's National Theater" proceeds from other positions. He travels with his performances to the provinces, trying to make theatrical art accessible and understandable to his contemporaries. Even classical plays are staged here in modern staging techniques, which are distinguished by brevity and extreme expressiveness. Jean Vilar and Maria Cazares stand out among the best actors of this theater.
A special kind of theatrical spectacle in France is folk festivals that originated in this country during the years of the French Revolution. These are mass performances-spectacles on a revolutionary theme, in which orchestras, choirs, soloists-singers and dramatic actors participate.
Numerous supporters of modernism in the French theater in their productions pay attention not so much to the content as to the form of the performance. Such theaters, as well as all kinds of entertainment establishments - cabarets and music halls - cater mainly to the bourgeois audience.
The most striking commercial approach to theatrical business is manifested in the United States. There are no state theaters here, all entertainment enterprises are commercial, private capitalist. Many of these theaters are located on the main street of New York - Broadway. That is why they are called "Broadway theatres". There are no permanent theater premises and permanent troupes. Each theater building puts on only one play, which is shown every night, sometimes up to 1,500 nights in a row. The troupe is led by a leading actor or actress; they are called "stars" in the US. All other roles are played by secondary actors, who are always numerous at the "labor exchange". Success is determined by box office income. Entrepreneurs make some Broadway productions into big business.
In 1960, one of the Broadway troupes toured the USSR with the play "My Fair Lady" (an adaptation of B. Shaw's play "Pygmalion").
Due to the commercial system of most theaters, the work of American actors takes place in difficult conditions. Even the best actors in the United States have to perform every night in the same role. This inevitably leads to the mechanization of the creative process.
The best of the American repertory theaters was the "Group", which lasted only 10 years (1931-1941).
There are currently very few dedicated folk theaters in the US. Individual troupes perform with a progressive repertoire in front of a democratic audience, wandering from club to club, and in the summer they also perform in the open air.
Theatrical life in the people's democracies appears quite different. Here in each country there are only state theaters with permanent theater premises and troupes. Soviet theatrical culture has a beneficial effect on the theater of these countries.
The best Soviet plays here find a warm response from the audience, young writers learn from the best examples of Soviet drama. Repeatedly Soviet directors - people's artists A. D. Popov, Yu. A. Zavadsky and others - traveled to the countries of people's democracy to stage a number of plays.
Among the largest theaters in the countries of people's democracy, it is necessary to name the "German Theater" in the GDR (Berlin), headed by director W. Langhof. The theater "Berlin Ensemble", organized by the famous writer and playwright Bertolt Brecht, performed with great success in the USSR. There are many talented actors in the GDR: for example, Ernst Busch is an actor of unusually deep psychological play, known in our country as a performer of revolutionary songs; Helena Weigel is a characteristic performer of female images in B. Brecht's plays.
The Czech National Theater in Prague is also widely known. The actor of this theater J. Pruha remarkably played the role of V. I. Lenin in N. F. Pogodin's "Kremlin Chimes".
Theaters in Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Albania, and Poland are developing no less fruitfully.
It is difficult to find another country where theatrical art would enjoy such great popularity and love of the people as in China. In the young People's Republic of China, there is also the classical traditional Xiqu theater, which is 800 years old, and the theater of conversational drama that appeared at the beginning of the 20th century. The Communist Party of China has set a priority task for the theater of the country - to cleanse the repertoire and acting art of everything harmful and anti-people that was brought into it by the era of feudalism, to bring the theater closer to life, to create a full-fledged image of a contemporary.
Now on the stages of China, along with national and European classics, the plays of modern Chinese playwrights Guo Moruo, Tyash Han, Cao Soi and others are performing with great success.
Despite the great differences, the traditional theater and the theater of colloquial drama strive for creative commonwealth and mutually enrich each other.
If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.
The theater of the 20th century is a theater of searches and numerous experiments that gave it new forms and means of expression, a special artistic style. In the XX century. the leading directions - realism and romanticism - are being replaced by new, contradictory trends in the theater, which will be called modernist. The theatrical art of the 20th century was significantly influenced by the new drama, represented by such names as G. Ibsen (Norway), B. Shaw (Great Britain), G. Hauptmann (Germany), R. Rolland (France). The plays of these authors determined the nature and features of the development of theatrical art for several decades.
George Bernard Shaw (1856 -1950) British (Irish and English) writer, novelist, playwright, Nobel Prize in Literature. He laid the foundation for the formation of an intellectual theater that educates the consciousness and mind of the audience.
Shaw advocated a theater of lofty ideas, capable of teaching one to think and, therefore, to act. He created the theory of "superman", a man of the future, who has the ability to change for the better not only himself, but also the world around him. His hero is full of good, not evil thoughts, the main goal is creation, not destruction. Bernard Shaw used a special way of presenting problems - a paradox. That is why in his works there are simultaneously comic and tragic, sublime and base, fantasy and reality, eccentricity, buffoonery and grotesque. The essence and meaning of Shaw's work was in the words: "The funniest joke in the world is to tell people the truth"
Avant-garde in theatrical art. New, modernist trends in theatrical art of the 20th century are: expressionism in Germany; futurism in Italy; constructivism in Russia; surrealism in France.
Expressionism in Germany. At the end of the First World War in Germany, a new trend emerged that clearly expressed a desperate protest against Edvard Munch's "Scream" of a soulless attitude to human suffering (1895). The severe consequences of the war dictated to the theatrical stage new themes and forms capable of awakening the soul and consciousness of a person. This direction was expressionism (fr. "expression") Theatrical stage revealed to the audience all the nuances of the hero's consciousness: visions, dreams, forebodings, doubts and memories. The dramaturgy of German Expressionism was called the "drama of the scream". The heroes of theatrical plays saw the end of the world, the coming global catastrophe, the "last cataclysm" of nature. A small man, with eyes full of hopeless despair and screaming, appeared on the stage of the expressionist theater in Germany.
LEONHARD FRANK (1882-1961) The title of his first book - "A Good Man" (1917) - became the motto of the expressionists, the program slogan of their "revolution of love". Works: The novel "Gang of robbers" (1914); short story "In the last carriage", (1925); in the novel "On the Left Where the Heart Is" (1952), Frank's sympathies for socialism were expressed. Theatrical plays were staged in Switzerland, France, Great Britain, the USA, and the USSR.
Surrealism in France. (French “superrealism”, “standing above reality”) The followers of S. denied logic in art and suggested that artists turn to the spheres of the human subconscious (to dreams, hallucinations, delusional speeches), while retaining some features of reality. Jean Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980) - French philosopher and writer. In 1943 he staged a drama in occupied Paris - the parable "The Flies" based on the ancient myth of Orestes.
"Epic Theater" by Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956) - German playwright of the 20th century. He used in his productions commenting on events from the outside, puts the viewer in the position of an observer, included in the performances the performance of the choir, songs - zongs, insert numbers, most often not related to the plot of the play. Inscriptions and posters were widely used in performances. The “alienation effect” is a special technique when a singer or a narrator appeared before the audience, commenting on what was happening in a completely different way than the characters could do. (People and phenomena appeared before the audience from the most unexpected side)
"The Threepenny Opera" - written in 1928 in collaboration with E. Hauptman; in the genre of zong opera; composer Kurt Weil.
Brecht's legacy. The artistic principles of Brecht's epic theater were developed by many directors of the world. In Italy, they formed the basis for the unique direction of George Strehler (1921-1997) at the Piccolo Theater in Milan (1047). at the Taganka Theatre, 1964), The Caucasian Chalk Circle (Robert Sturua at the Sh. Rustaveli Theatre, 1975), The Threepenny Opera (Valentin Pluchek at the Satire Theater and Vladimir Mashkov at the Satyricon, 1996 - 1997)
The theater of the 20th century is a theater of searches and numerous experiments that gave it new forms and means of expression, a special artistic style.
In the XX century. the leading directions - realism and romanticism - are being replaced by new, contradictory trends in the theater, which will be called modernist.
The theatrical art of the 20th century was significantly influenced by the new drama, represented by such names as G. Ibsen (Norway), B. Shaw (Great Britain), G. Hauptmann (Germany), R. Rolland (France).
The plays of these authors determined the nature and features of the development of theatrical art for several decades.
George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950)
British (Irish and English) writer, novelist, playwright, Nobel Prize in Literature.
He laid the foundation for the formation of an intellectual theater that educates the consciousness and mind of the audience.
Shaw advocated a theater of lofty ideas, capable of teaching one to think and, therefore, to act.
He created the theory of "superman", a man of the future, who has the ability to change for the better not only himself, but also the world around him.
His hero is full of good, not evil thoughts, the main goal is creation, not destruction.
Bernard Shaw used a special way of presenting problems - a paradox.
That is why in his works there are simultaneously comic and tragic, sublime and base, fantasy and reality, eccentricity, buffoonery and grotesque.
The essence and meaning of Shaw's work was in the words: "The funniest joke in the world is to tell people the truth"
Plays by B. Shaw
"House where hearts break" (1913 -1919)
Avant-garde in theatrical art.
New, modernist currents
theatrical art of the 20th century is:
expressionism in Germany;
futurism in Italy;
constructivism in Russia;
surrealism in France.
Expressionism in Germany.
At the end of the First World War, a new trend emerged in Germany, clearly expressing a desperate protest against a callous attitude to human suffering.
The severe consequences of the war dictated to the theatrical stage new themes and forms capable of awakening the soul and consciousness of a person.
Expressionism became this trend.
(French "expression")
The theatrical stage revealed to the audience all the nuances of the hero's consciousness: visions, dreams, forebodings, doubts and memories.
The dramaturgy of German expressionism was called the "drama of the scream". The heroes of theatrical plays saw the end of the world, the coming global catastrophe, the "last cataclysm" of nature.
A small man, with eyes full of hopeless despair and screaming, appeared on the stage of the expressionist theater in Germany.
LEONHARD FRANK (1882-1961)
The title of his first book - "A Good Man" (1917) - became the motto of the expressionists, the program slogan of their "revolution of love".
Artworks:
The novel "Gang of robbers" (1914);
short story "In the last carriage", (1925);
in the novel "On the Left Where the Heart Is" (1952), Frank's sympathies for socialism were expressed.
Theatrical plays were staged in Switzerland, France, Great Britain, the USA, and the USSR.
Surrealism in France. (French "superrealism", "standing above reality")
The followers of S. denied logic in art and suggested that artists turn to the spheres of the human subconscious (to dreams, hallucinations, delusional speeches), while retaining some features of reality.
Jean Paul Sartre (1905 - 1980) - French philosopher and writer.
In 1943 he staged a drama in occupied Paris - the parable "The Flies" based on the ancient myth of Orestes.
"Epic Theater" by Bertolt Brecht (1898 - 1956) - German playwright of the 20th century.
He used in his productions commenting on events from the outside, puts the viewer in the position of an observer, included in the performances the performance of the choir, songs - zongs, insert numbers, most often not related to the plot of the play.
Inscriptions and posters were widely used in performances.
The “alienation effect” is a special technique when a singer or a narrator appeared before the audience, commenting on what was happening in a completely different way than the characters could do. (People and phenomena appeared before the audience from the most unexpected side)
"The Threepenny Opera" - written in 1928 in collaboration with E. Hauptman; in the genre of zong opera; composer Kurt Weil.
"Mother Courage and her children" (1939)
Brecht's legacy.
The artistic principles of Brecht's epic theater were developed by many directors of the world.
-
