Kharkov Musical Comedy Theater is one of the most famous cultural institutions of the second most populated city of Ukraine.
Base
In 1929, the government of the Ukrainian USSR issued a decree on the establishment of the Ukrainian State Musical Comedy Theater in Kharkov .
The basis of the troupe was made by the students of the famous director Les Kurbas Boris Balaban, Bogdan Kryzhanovsky and Yanuari Bortnik. These actors laid the tradition of operetta in Kharkov.
The first chief director of the theater was Boris Balaban, who created the premiere performance based on the plot and music of “Orpheus in Hell” by Jacques Offenbach. The new libretto was written by Ostap Cherry, and composers A. Ryabov and Yu. Matus supplemented it with new dance numbers and melodies. Design for the performance was created by artists S. Ioffe, P. Pogorely, A. Scheglov, N. Petrenko and B. Chernyshov.
The festival on the occasion of the opening of the theater and the premiere of the operetta “Orpheus in hell” took place on November 1, 1929.
The history of the theater before the Second World War
In the 30s, the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov) was engaged in the “modernization” of classical plays, such as “Zaporozhets beyond the Danube”, “Roz Marie” and others, and the performance of the traditional repertoire repertoire (works by Kalman, Lehar, Strauss, etc.) , as well as the creation of completely new performances.
The government’s decree depriving Les Kurbas of the title of People’s Artist of the Ukrainian SSR was a real blow to the theater. In addition, all of his students were removed from leading posts, and the “struggle against formalism” began.
Repertoire Formation
After the removal of Les Kurbas, Mikhail Avakh, who, among other things, had to fight against bourgeois nationalism, was appointed the main director of musical comedy.
Contrary to expectations of those in power, he began his career as head of the theater with productions of "Neo-Viennese classics." The performances “Silva”, “Maritsa”, “Merry Widow” and “Bayadera” were created by Avach. He recruited his more experienced colleagues D. Giusto and V. Rapoport.
The collaboration of Avakh with the main conductor of musical comedy composer Alexei Ryabov was also fruitful. In 1935, they began work on a play based on the Sorochinskaya Fair, in which Gogol himself was brought onto the stage as a character. The production was a huge success and forever entered the history of Ukrainian theater art.
The Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkiv) expected yet another resounding success in 1937, when the production of the play “May Night” was presented to the audience.
However, the premiere of the performance “The Wedding in the Robin”, which for more than 70 years did not leave the stages of musical theaters throughout the Soviet Union, became a real triumph.
During the war
Shortly before the occupation of the city, the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov) was evacuated to Central Asia. Thanks to the dedication of Les Ivashutich, Isaac Radomysky, Semyon Ioffe, Naum Sobol, Savva Solyashchansky and other members of the troupe, he continued to give performances to refugees and the military who are being treated in hospitals.
In Uzbekistan, based on local folklore, the play "Khoja Nasreddin" was created. The theater performed in Bukhara, Ashgabat, Termez, Ferghana and Frunze. However, the most fruitful were the tour in Samarkand, where they were visited by about 100 thousand spectators. Despite this, the team was looking forward to returning to their hometown. And it was triumphant!
After the war
In the 1950s, the performances “Field Marshal's Daughter”, “Girl's Trouble”, “Wii”, “May Night”, “Sorochinsky Fair”, “Svatannya na Goncharіvtsі”, etc. were performed.
The premiere of V. Mayakovsky’s comedy “Bedbug” to the music of G. Yudin, to which the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov) became famous in 1964, thundered throughout the Soviet Union.
The production of Raymond Pauls' musical "Sister Carrie", which was directed by Alexander Barseghyan in the early 80s, was also of great interest. Critics noted the innovation of the play, in which tragic features first appeared in the "frivolous" genre.
Among the undoubted achievements of the theater of the 8090s are the productions of Rhythm Ballet, Bambi, Juno and Avos, Jesus Christ the Superstar, Monarch, the Harlot and the Monk, etc.
Repertoire of the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov) in the XXI century
The beginning of the new millennium was marked by the production of the cult musical “My Fair Lady”, directed by Arkady Klein. But he breathed new life into the comedy “Sorochinsky Fairs” by A. Ryabov, returning it to the collective repertoire on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of the birth of N. V. Gogol.
The Kharkov audience enthusiastically greeted the performances in the format of gala concerts “Vivat, Kalman!” and “All the secrets of the operetta”, as well as the children's review “Visiting a fairy tale” by Alexander Drachev.
The Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov), whose poster is always of interest to operetta lovers, is proud of its talented soloists and vocalists Inga Vasilyeva, Natalya Koval, Tatyana Tsygansky, Eleonora Dzhulik, Alexei Andrenko, Irina Potolova and many others.
Today, viewers are invited to watch performances with their participation:
- "Merry Widow";
- "Beautiful Galatea";
- "The Secret House of Juan";
- "Tricks of the khanuma";
- "Adventurers";
- “Matchmaking on Goncharovka”;
- "Princess of the circus" and others.
Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov): address
To see operettas and musicals, the list of which is presented above, you should buy tickets at the box office. It is located in the theater building, located at Blagoveshchenskaya street (formerly Karl Marx), 32. You can get there, for example, by metro, reaching the station on Privokzalnaya Square.
Now you know what is known and where is the Musical Comedy Theater (Kharkov). Tickets for its premiere shows are recommended to be booked in advance, as in such cases there is always a full house.