Perm Opera and Ballet Theatre
Encyclopedia
The Perm Tchaikovsky Opera and Ballet Theatre is an opera
and ballet
theatre in the city of Perm
in Russia
. It is one of the oldest theatres in the country, and it has remained a major musical centre during its history, in which many significant art events have taken place. Its ballet troupe is one of the most popular in Russia.
The theatre is often named "Tchaikovsky's House", and all stage works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
, who was born in the region, are presented in its repertoire: 10 operas and 3 ballets. Festivals of Tchaikovsky's works were notable cultural events of the country.
The theatre was inaugurated on 24 November 1870 with the premiere performance being Mikhail Glinka
's A Life for the Tsar
. The building was constructed from 1874 to 1879, after which the first performance took place in the winter of 1879/1880. At the time, the general manager was the later famous entrepreneur P.P. Medvedev.
A new epoch in the history of the theatre started in 1896. It received the patronage of the city parliament, which decided to finance the theatre and the opera troupe from the city budget. A board of directors was elected for managing the theatre and inviting the artists. Aida
was the first presentation with the assistance of the city.
The first season after the end of the Civil War
opened on 20 August 1921. Among the performances were Demon
, Faust
, Aida
, Eugine Onegin
, Boris Godunov
, Rigoletto
, Il Barbiere di Sevilla
. Perm had become one of the major operatic centers of Russia by the end of the 1920s.
During World War II, when the Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet
evacuated its personnel to the city, its performances were given in the Perm theatre. The artists from Leningrad
had worked in Perm for three winters and two summers.
In 1956, The Perm theatre was renamed in honor of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and given 'Academy' status in 1969.
's War and Peace
in 1984. Also, the artists of the theatre have got the Golden Mask
Award for many performances:
's The Foam of Days
, Jules Massenet
's Cléopâtre
, Claudio Monteverdi
's L'Orfeo, George Frideric Handel
's Alcina
, Antonín Dvořák
's Rusalka
, Rodion Shchedrin
's Lolita
, Anton Rubinstein
's Christ, Tchaikovsky's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. 5 operas based on Pushkin's works were presented during the 200th anniversary year of the poet.
The theatre held the first festival in the 20th Century of the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev
's work, where it opened with a two-evening version of the opera War and Peace and gave stage life to the opera The Fiery Angel.
Foundation and The Jerome Robbins
Foundation, the repertoire of the theatre gets many masterpieces of the most distinguished choreographers of the 20th Century.
For many decades the theatre has been the "launch site" for a good many artists, who are famous far away from Russia. Many stars of Moscow and Saint Petersburg
theatres and other famous theatres of the world have begun their careers in the Perm theatre. Among those artists are: Galina Ragozina-Panova, Lubov Kunakova, Nadegda Pavlova, Olga Chenchikova, Marat Daukaev, Yuri Petuhov, Galina Shalyapina and Svetlana Smirnova.
which has taken place in Perm since 1990. More than 650 young ballet artists from Russia, former republics of the USSR, Austria, Argentina, Bulgaria, Belarus, China, Croatia, Egypt, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Slovenia, South Korea, Turkey, United States and Venezuela have participated in it.
International festivals known as the "Diaghilev
Seasons: Perm-Petersburg-Paris" have become some of the most visible events in the cultural life of Russia. The festival has taken place in the theatre every two years since 2003. Georgy Isaakyan was an art director of the festival until 2010, but the new art director of the theatre Teodor Currentzis
will replace him on this position.
in Carnegie Hall
in January 2008 using the name, The Tchaikovsky Theatre.
There were many concet tours in Saint Petersburg and Moscow which alsways draw a wide response. The artists of the Perm theatre have participated in many festivals, such as White Nights Festival
on the stage of Mariinsky Theatre
, Baltic Seasons in Kaliningrad
, Panorama of Musical Theatres in Omsk
and Crescendo on the stage of Bolshoi Theatre
.
visited Perm
in February 1937 and went to a performance of Eugene Onegin
. The singer in the role of Tatyana bent forward towards a candle, and her wig caught fire. Then Chkalov, who was sitting in a side directorial box, jumped out onto the stage, plucked the wig from the actress, and extinguished it. Chkalov wrote in the guest book after the end of the performance: "Wonderful performance. Good voices. Excellent choir… I wish the delightful team of the theatre every success in subsequent work!"
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
and ballet
Ballet
Ballet is a type of performance dance, that originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th century, and which was further developed in France and Russia as a concert dance form. The early portions preceded the invention of the proscenium stage and were presented in large chambers with...
theatre in the city of Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
in Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. It is one of the oldest theatres in the country, and it has remained a major musical centre during its history, in which many significant art events have taken place. Its ballet troupe is one of the most popular in Russia.
The theatre is often named "Tchaikovsky's House", and all stage works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
, who was born in the region, are presented in its repertoire: 10 operas and 3 ballets. Festivals of Tchaikovsky's works were notable cultural events of the country.
History
Mikhail Glinka
Mikhail Ivanovich Glinka , was the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, and is often regarded as the father of Russian classical music...
's A Life for the Tsar
A Life for the Tsar
A Life for the Tsar , as it is known in English, although its original name was Ivan Susanin is a "patriotic-heroic tragic opera" in four acts with an epilogue by Mikhail Glinka. The original Russian libretto, based on historical events, was written by Nestor Kukolnik, Georgy Fyodorovich Rozen,...
. The building was constructed from 1874 to 1879, after which the first performance took place in the winter of 1879/1880. At the time, the general manager was the later famous entrepreneur P.P. Medvedev.
A new epoch in the history of the theatre started in 1896. It received the patronage of the city parliament, which decided to finance the theatre and the opera troupe from the city budget. A board of directors was elected for managing the theatre and inviting the artists. Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
was the first presentation with the assistance of the city.
The first season after the end of the Civil War
Russian Civil War
The Russian Civil War was a multi-party war that occurred within the former Russian Empire after the Russian provisional government collapsed to the Soviets, under the domination of the Bolshevik party. Soviet forces first assumed power in Petrograd The Russian Civil War (1917–1923) was a...
opened on 20 August 1921. Among the performances were Demon
The Demon (opera)
The Demon is an opera in three acts by Russian composer Anton Rubinstein. The work was composed in 1871. The libretto was by Pavel Viskovatov, based on the poem of the same name by Mikhail Lermontov.-Background:...
, Faust
Faust (opera)
Faust is a drame lyrique in five acts by Charles Gounod to a French libretto by Jules Barbier and Michel Carré from Carré's play Faust et Marguerite, in turn loosely based on Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, Part 1...
, Aida
Aida
Aida sometimes spelled Aïda, is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni, based on a scenario written by French Egyptologist Auguste Mariette...
, Eugine Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
, Boris Godunov
Boris Godunov (opera)
Boris Godunov is an opera by Modest Mussorgsky . The work was composed between 1868 and 1873 in Saint Petersburg, Russia. It is Mussorgsky's only completed opera and is considered his masterpiece. Its subjects are the Russian ruler Boris Godunov, who reigned as Tsar during the Time of Troubles,...
, Rigoletto
Rigoletto
Rigoletto is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi. The Italian libretto was written by Francesco Maria Piave based on the play Le roi s'amuse by Victor Hugo. It was first performed at La Fenice in Venice on March 11, 1851...
, Il Barbiere di Sevilla
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
. Perm had become one of the major operatic centers of Russia by the end of the 1920s.
During World War II, when the Leningrad State Academic Theatre of Opera and Ballet
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
evacuated its personnel to the city, its performances were given in the Perm theatre. The artists from Leningrad
Leningrad
Leningrad is the former name of Saint Petersburg, Russia.Leningrad may also refer to:- Places :* Leningrad Oblast, a federal subject of Russia, around Saint Petersburg* Leningrad, Tajikistan, capital of Muminobod district in Khatlon Province...
had worked in Perm for three winters and two summers.
In 1956, The Perm theatre was renamed in honor of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and given 'Academy' status in 1969.
Awards
The theatre was awarded the National Glinka Award for the performance of Sergei ProkofievSergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
's War and Peace
War and Peace (Prokofiev)
War and Peace is an opera in two parts , sometimes arranged as five acts, by Sergei Prokofiev to a Russian libretto by the composer and Mira Mendelson, based on the novel War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy...
in 1984. Also, the artists of the theatre have got the Golden Mask
Golden Mask
The Golden Mask is a Russian theatre festival and the National Theatre Award established in 1994 by the Theatre Union of Russia. The award is given to productions in all genres of theatre art: drama, opera, ballet, operetta and musical, and puppet theatre. It presents the most significant...
Award for many performances:
- 1996: Don PasqualeDon PasqualeDon Pasquale is an opera buffa, or comic opera, in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. The librettist Giovanni Ruffini wrote the Italian language libretto after Angelo Anelli's libretto for Stefano Pavesi's Ser Marcantonio ....
for Best Actor and Best Actress - 1998: The Queen of SpadesThe Queen of Spades (opera)The Queen of Spades, Op. 68 is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky to a Russian libretto by the composer's brother Modest Tchaikovsky, based on a short story of the same name by Alexander Pushkin. The premiere took place in 1890 in St...
for Best Set Design - 2004: Ballet ImperialTschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 (ballet)Tschaikovsky Piano Concerto No. 2 is a ballet made by New York City Ballet's co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine on his earlier company, American Ballet Caravan to eponymous music from 1879–80. The premiere took place on May 29, 1941, at Teatro Municipal, Rio de Janeiro,...
for Best Ballet - 2009: L'Orfeo for Best Set Design and Best Stage Direction
- 2010: One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich for Best Conductor's Work
Opera
Many opera premieres in Russia were given in this theatre: Edison DenisovEdison Denisov
Edison Vasilievich Denisov was a Russian composer of so called "Underground" — "Anti-Collectivist", "alternative" or "nonconformist" division in the Soviet music.-Biography:...
's The Foam of Days
L'écume des jours (opera)
L'écume des jours is an opera in three acts by the Russian composer Edison Denisov. The French text is by the composer based on the novel of the same title by Boris Vian...
, Jules Massenet
Jules Massenet
Jules Émile Frédéric Massenet was a French composer best known for his operas. His compositions were very popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and he ranks as one of the greatest melodists of his era. Soon after his death, Massenet's style went out of fashion, and many of his operas...
's Cléopâtre
Cléopâtre
Cléopâtre is an opera in four acts by Jules Massenet to a French libretto by Louis Payen. It was first performed in at the Opéra Monte-Carlo on February 23, 1914, nearly two years after Massenet's death....
, Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Monteverdi
Claudio Giovanni Antonio Monteverdi – 29 November 1643) was an Italian composer, gambist, and singer.Monteverdi's work, often regarded as revolutionary, marked the transition from the Renaissance style of music to that of the Baroque period. He developed two individual styles of composition – the...
's L'Orfeo, George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel was a German-British Baroque composer, famous for his operas, oratorios, anthems and organ concertos. Handel was born in 1685, in a family indifferent to music...
's Alcina
Alcina
Alcina is an opera seria by George Frideric Handel. Handel used the libretto of L'isola di Alcina, an opera that was set in 1728 in Rome by Riccardo Broschi, which he acquired the year after, during his travels in Italy...
, Antonín Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
's Rusalka
Rusalka (opera)
Rusalka is an opera by Antonín Dvořák. The Czech libretto was written by the poet Jaroslav Kvapil based on the fairy tales of Karel Jaromír Erben and Božena Němcová. Rusalka is one of the most successful Czech operas, and represents a cornerstone of the repertoire of Czech opera houses...
, Rodion Shchedrin
Rodion Shchedrin
Rodion Konstantinovich Shchedrin is a Russian composer. He was one оf the leading Soviet composers, and was the chairman of the Union of Russian Composers from 1973 until 1990.-Life and Works:...
's Lolita
Lolita (opera)
Lolita is an opera in two acts by composer Rodion Shchedrin. The opera was composed in 1992 and uses a Russian language libretto by the composer which is based on Vladimir Nabokov's 1955 novel of the same name, written in English...
, Anton Rubinstein
Anton Rubinstein
Anton Grigorevich Rubinstein was a Russian-Jewish pianist, composer and conductor. As a pianist he was regarded as a rival of Franz Liszt, and he ranks amongst the great keyboard virtuosos...
's Christ, Tchaikovsky's One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich. 5 operas based on Pushkin's works were presented during the 200th anniversary year of the poet.
The theatre held the first festival in the 20th Century of the Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...
's work, where it opened with a two-evening version of the opera War and Peace and gave stage life to the opera The Fiery Angel.
Ballet
There is a good tradition of collaboration with directors and choreographers from Germany, United States, Spain, and Switzerland on the Perm stage. Due to long-term projects between Russia and United States in collaboration with The George BalanchineGeorge Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
Foundation and The Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
Foundation, the repertoire of the theatre gets many masterpieces of the most distinguished choreographers of the 20th Century.
For many decades the theatre has been the "launch site" for a good many artists, who are famous far away from Russia. Many stars of Moscow and Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
theatres and other famous theatres of the world have begun their careers in the Perm theatre. Among those artists are: Galina Ragozina-Panova, Lubov Kunakova, Nadegda Pavlova, Olga Chenchikova, Marat Daukaev, Yuri Petuhov, Galina Shalyapina and Svetlana Smirnova.
Events
Arabesque is a ballet competition headed by Vladimir VasilievVladimir Vasiliev (ballet dancer)
Vladimir Viktorovich Vasiliev , a Russian ballet dancer, was principal dancer with the Bolshoi Ballet, and was best known for his role of Spartacus and his powerful leaps and turns.-Biography:Born in Moscow in 1940, the son of a truck driver, Vasiliev graduated from the Moscow Ballet School in 1958...
which has taken place in Perm since 1990. More than 650 young ballet artists from Russia, former republics of the USSR, Austria, Argentina, Bulgaria, Belarus, China, Croatia, Egypt, Ireland, Japan, Mexico, Mongolia, Slovenia, South Korea, Turkey, United States and Venezuela have participated in it.
International festivals known as the "Diaghilev
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev , usually referred to outside of Russia as Serge, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.-Early life and career:...
Seasons: Perm-Petersburg-Paris" have become some of the most visible events in the cultural life of Russia. The festival has taken place in the theatre every two years since 2003. Georgy Isaakyan was an art director of the festival until 2010, but the new art director of the theatre Teodor Currentzis
Teodor Currentzis
Teodor Currentzis is a Greek conductor, musician and actor, who works in Russia.-Biography:Currentzis was born in Athens, and at the age of 4 began to take piano lessons, after which, at the age 7, he began violin lessons. He entered the National Conservatory, Athens at the age of 12, in the...
will replace him on this position.
Concert tours
The ballet troupe successfully performs abroad under the name of The Tchaikovsky Ballet. Promotion of the opera troupe in the United States began with a performance of MazeppaMazeppa (opera)
Mazeppa, properly Mazepa , is an opera in 3 acts by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Victor Burenin and is based on Pushkin's poem Poltava....
in Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
in January 2008 using the name, The Tchaikovsky Theatre.
There were many concet tours in Saint Petersburg and Moscow which alsways draw a wide response. The artists of the Perm theatre have participated in many festivals, such as White Nights Festival
White Nights Festival
The White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia is an annual international arts festival during the season of the midnight sun. The White Nights Festival consists of a series of classical ballet, opera and music events and includes performances by Russian dancers, singers, musicians and actors,...
on the stage of Mariinsky Theatre
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre is a historic theatre of opera and ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces of Tchaikovsky, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov received their premieres. The...
, Baltic Seasons in Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad
Kaliningrad is a seaport and the administrative center of Kaliningrad Oblast, the Russian exclave between Poland and Lithuania on the Baltic Sea...
, Panorama of Musical Theatres in Omsk
Omsk
-History:The wooden fort of Omsk was erected in 1716 to protect the expanding Russian frontier along the Ishim and the Irtysh rivers against the Kyrgyz nomads of the Steppes...
and Crescendo on the stage of Bolshoi Theatre
Bolshoi Theatre
The Bolshoi Theatre is a historic theatre in Moscow, Russia, designed by architect Joseph Bové, which holds performances of ballet and opera. The Bolshoi Ballet and Bolshoi Opera are amongst the oldest and most renowned ballet and opera companies in the world...
.
Incidents
The famous pilot Valery ChkalovValery Chkalov
Valery Pavlovich Chkalov was a Russian aircraft test pilot and a Hero of the Soviet Union .-Early life:...
visited Perm
Perm
Perm is a city and the administrative center of Perm Krai, Russia, located on the banks of the Kama River, in the European part of Russia near the Ural Mountains. From 1940 to 1957 it was named Molotov ....
in February 1937 and went to a performance of Eugene Onegin
Eugene Onegin (opera)
Eugene Onegin, Op. 24, is an opera in 3 acts , by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. The libretto was written by Konstantin Shilovsky and the composer and his brother Modest, and is based on the novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin....
. The singer in the role of Tatyana bent forward towards a candle, and her wig caught fire. Then Chkalov, who was sitting in a side directorial box, jumped out onto the stage, plucked the wig from the actress, and extinguished it. Chkalov wrote in the guest book after the end of the performance: "Wonderful performance. Good voices. Excellent choir… I wish the delightful team of the theatre every success in subsequent work!"
Arts management
- Teodor CurrentzisTeodor CurrentzisTeodor Currentzis is a Greek conductor, musician and actor, who works in Russia.-Biography:Currentzis was born in Athens, and at the age of 4 began to take piano lessons, after which, at the age 7, he began violin lessons. He entered the National Conservatory, Athens at the age of 12, in the...
– art director - Anatoly Pichkalev – executive director
- Valery Platonov – general conductor
- Alexey Miroshnichenko – general ballet master
- Dmitry Batin – general choirmaster
Building
- AuditoriumAuditoriumAn auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances at venues such as theatres. For movie theaters, the number of auditoriums is expressed as the number of screens.- Etymology :...
: 972 seats - Orchestra pitOrchestra pitAn orchestra pit is the area in a theater in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music or in cases when incidental music is required...
: 50 seats - StageStage (theatre)In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
: height 21.5 m, width 18 m, depth 14 m - ProsceniumProsceniumA proscenium theatre is a theatre space whose primary feature is a large frame or arch , which is located at or near the front of the stage...
arch: height 8.5 m, width 12 m