Regional Drama Theater named after M.V. Lomonosov Moscow State
University is located on Lenin Square in the city of Arkhangelsk. At
the beginning of its existence, it was called the Arkhangelsk
Bolshoi Drama Theater. It was created on the site of the Holy
Trinity Cathedral in the former Cathedral Square in 1932. It was
built very quickly: in just 8 months. The first performance was the
staging of M. Gorky's play At the Bottom.
Ivan Alekseevich
Rostovtsev was the first theater director. In 1933, on his
initiative, a theater school was opened in Arkhangelsk, and it was
he who formed the first acting troupe of the theater. In the 30s of
the XX century, such artists as S.I. Bestuzhev, V.A. Sokolovsky,
N.F. Shelekhov, A.I. Svirsky and others. The repertoire of the first
theatrical seasons consisted of works of Russian and foreign
classics, Soviet drama.
In 1937, the Bolshoi Drama Theater took part in the republican
review of Gorky's performances in Moscow. The performances "The
Last" and "Summer Residents" brought great success to the
Arkhangelsk Theater and public recognition. And the actors S.I.
Bestuzhev, G.A. Belov and A.I. Svirsky received the title of Honored
Artists of the RSFSR.
During the Great Patriotic War, theater
artists worked in wartime conditions. Along with rehearsals and
performances, they gave concerts in military units and helped the
front: they collected warm clothes and funds for defense resources
and for the Soviet Artist aircraft unit. Many theater workers went
to the front, but at the same time new actors appeared in the
troupe: S. Lukyanov, S. Plotnikov and others. During these years,
the theater's repertoire was dominated by performances on historical
and patriotic themes. Military performances remained in the
theatrical repertoire for a long time (even after the war), but,
nevertheless, the classics were in the first place.
In 1945,
director N.K. Tepper. Later, in different years, this position was
occupied by N.A. Smirnov, V.S. Terentyev, directors V.P. Davydov,
V.P. Kupetsky, B.P. Second, E.S. Simonyan and others. In the 50s,
the creative staff of the theater was renewed, and the leading
actors were B. Gorshenin, S. Plotnikov, K. Kulagina, M. Kornilov and
others.
In 1960, the theater was renamed in honor of Mikhail
Vasilyevich Lomonosov. A year later, on the 250th anniversary of
Lomonosov, the theater staged a play by local author I. Chudinov
"The Son of the Pomor". The great scientist was played by two actors
S. Plotnikov and A. Serezhkin. In 1964, within three years, the
reconstruction of the theater was organized. They put in order the
theatrical facade (it was redone and made of glass and concrete),
the auditorium, the stage and backstage rooms.
In the 70s, a
great event took place in the life of the theater and Arkhangelsk:
the novels by F. Abramov "Pelageya" and "Alka" and the novel "Two
winters and three summers" were staged. And in the 80s the theater
staged other works of this author: the prose "House" and
"Ways-crossroads". The northern theme was very popular with the
audience. In the 80s, Eduard Simonyan was the theater director and
artistic director. This period is characterized by large-scale
performances of V. Rasputin's stories "Live and Remember" (directed
by V. Kazakov) and "Farewell to Matera" (directed by E. Simonyan).
Vladimir Kazakov played the main role in them. Also staged were the
modern novel by Y. Semyonov "TASS is authorized to declare", the
novel by A. Rybakov "Children of the Arbat", the comedy by A.
Ostrovsky "Truth is good, but happiness is better" and many others.
A strong and interesting work on stage was the acting of V. Kazakov,
L. Bynova, N. Voytyuk, B. Gorshenina, S. Nevostrueva, T. Goncharova,
K. Kulagina and others.
In the 90s, the theater's creative
troupe was replenished with young talented artists: S. Churkin, A.
Dunaev, E. Smorodinova, N. Latukhina, T. Bochenkova and many others.
In the early 2000s, the theater building was closed for
reconstruction. Its long-term implementation was explained by the
lack of financial resources. In 2007, the facade of the building was
fenced with scaffolding and financial investments increased. At this
time, the theater collective performs on the Small Stage of the
Drama Theater (formerly the Big Hall of the Pomor Philharmonic). In
the summer of 2009, reconstruction works were completed. Now the
Arkhangelsk Regional Drama Theater named after M.V. Lomonosov Moscow
State University is one of the most modern stage ensembles in Russia
and has the ability to host artists of any genre and level.