The Russian Drama Theater in the city of Ufa was founded in the second half of the 19th century. His repertoire is extensive, the troupe consists of talented artists. The performances have repeatedly become winners of festivals and competitions.
Theater Creation
In 1861, the first theater in the city was opened, this is the year the Russian Drama Theater (Ufa) was born. The history of the development of theatrical art of the city began in 1772. There was still no building, there was only an impromptu scene in the governor’s apartment, on which Polish exiles played a play about Pan Bronislaw. A professional troupe appeared only in 1841, but it did not have its own building. In 1861, a wooden theater building was built, the auditorium was designed for 400 seats. Soon, a summer theater was built in the city. In the winter of 1890-1891 the theater hosted on its stage the opera troupe of Semenov-Samarsky, among whose choristers the seventeen-year-old and still unknown F. Chaliapin performed. Soon, both theatrical premises - winter and then summer - burned down, and in 1894 the merchant V.A. Videneev built a summer theater in which there was wonderful acoustics. The Russian Drama Theater (Ufa), built by Videneev, was one of the best theater rooms, but, unfortunately, was demolished in 1991.
Soviet period
In 1919, the Soviet government established the Russian Drama Theater (Ufa), the base for which was determined in the Aksakov People’s House. Only then did its name sound different - it was the “Ufa State Demonstration Theater”. Two productions were shown in honor of the opening: “King Harlequin” and the apotheosis called “Freedom” (on the occasion of the second anniversary of the revolution).
In 1920-1930, the theater did not have its own troupe, it appeared only in 1930, and during this period the actors were invited from other cities and worked temporarily on a contractual basis. Over 10 years (from 31 to 41 years), about 150 pieces were played. In the 39th year of the 20th century, the Russian Drama Theater (Ufa) received its building along Gogol Street, where it lived until 82, and now there is a philharmonic society. During the war years, the repertoire was patriotic, the actors played not only permanently in their premises, front-line brigades were organized from them, which went to the front lines and showed fragments of their performances to the defenders of the Motherland in order to raise their fighting spirit. After the war, a new stage in the creative development of the theater began, it receives urban status, but the second half of the 50s was marked by the return of the republican status to it. New actors and directors came to the troupe. The repertoire has changed, now the focus was on such topics as human conscience, good and evil, the tragedy of war, understanding of the Victory of the Soviet people in World War II. The following productions were especially popular:
- "Tsar Fedor Ivanovich" by A. Tolstoy.
- "Forgive me!" - The plot is based on the story of V. Astafyev.
- "Mother Courage and Her Children" by Brecht.
Since 1970, the creative crisis of the theater lasted 10 years, since the methodology of art was unstable, there were constant changes in the skill levels of directors and performers. The most famous productions of that period were: “Tomorrow was the war” by B. Vasiliev, “Family portrait with an outsider” by S. Lobozerov, a collage from the plays of M. Bulgakov, “Echelon” by M. Roshchin, “The Suicide” by N. Erdman and others.
In 1981, the theater received the Order of the Red Banner of Labor, and in 1982, the new building, which is located to this day. In 1984, a new chief director appeared in the theater, who later became also the artistic director - Honored Art Worker of Russia and the Republic of Bashkortostan M. I. Rabinovich.
Our days
From the end of the 90s and until now, the theater has successfully toured Russia and the countries of the former Union Republics. The Russian Drama Theater (Ufa) in 1998 received the title of Academic for its great contribution to the development of culture and art. December 23, 2005 is a significant date, from this day the Ufa theater is called the State Academic Russian Drama Theater of the Republic of Bashkortostan.
Repertoire and troupe
The troupe of the theater consists of 49 talented actors, of which three are Honored Artists of Russia and seven are People's. The repertoire is very diverse.
The Russian Drama Theater (Ufa) offers productions based on both classical works and contemporary authors, as well as performances for children: Masquerade by M. Lermontov, Fathers and Children I. Turgenev, The Little Humpbacked Horse P.P. Ershova, “Exhibits” by V. Durnenkov, Kim Breitburg's musicals: “Blue Cameo” for adults and “Snow Queen” for children.
About the theater
Today, still at Prospekt Oktyabrya, house number 79 is the Russian Drama Theater (Ufa). The spectators leave very warm reviews about the performances, admire the performances and say that this is the best theater in the city, and the main director M.I. Rabinovich - great and brilliant.