Soviet Army Theater diagram of a large hall. Russian Army Theater

The Russian Army Theater in Moscow is a unique academic theater institution under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense and has no analogues in the global “theater space”. This refers to the history and organization of the theater, as well as the enormous size of the magnificent building and stage area, which is considered the largest in Europe.

Story

The birth of the theater itself, which was called the Central Theater of the Red Army, dates back to 1929, when the very first performance was staged, dedicated to the military conflict in Manchuria on the border with China.

And only in 1934 did they begin to erect a building, the construction of which was completed 6 years later - in 1940. Based on the results of a competition, a project developed by the chief architect of Moscow Karo Alabyan in collaboration with V.N. was chosen. Simbirtsev.

The majestic, three-tier, compositionally complex building in the shape of a five-pointed star is considered a monumental architectural masterpiece of the “Stalians” style - the “Stalinist Empire”, which combined elements of classicism, baroque, Napoleonic empire and neo-Gothic. The Theater building has ten floors. Six of them occupy the Great Hall for 1900 seats and the Small Hall for 400 spectators.

The unique feature of the Theater is the scale of the stage size and the power of the stage mechanisms, the designs of which, including the complex lifting and turning structures of twelve platforms, were developed by engineer Ivan Maltsin. Thanks to the commissioning of such serious design developments, the stage area can be transformed into any complex spaces. It became possible to implement the plans of theater artists for the scenographic design of performances with the reproduction of mass battles, medieval interiors and mountain landscapes. The unique scene made it possible to create a world of reality with the participation of cars, tanks, military units and cavalry.

The design and fresco painting of the theater was carried out by the most talented painters, monumentalists and graphic artists: Alexander Deineka, Lev Bruni, Alexander Gerasimov, Ilya Feinberg, Vladimir Favorsky with his sons, Sokolov-Skalya. Lamps and interior items were made to special order.

In 1951, the theater venue was renamed the Central Theater of the Soviet Army, which in 1975 received the title of academic. In 1993, the famous theater became the Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army.

Productions and team

The theater's debut repertoire consisted mainly of patriotic plays by brilliant writers and playwrights - Konstantin Simonov, Viktor Astafiev, Yuri Bondarev, Vasily Bykov, Victor Grossman, and later Bulat Okudzhava and Vladimir Motyl.

The play “A Long Time Ago” by Alexander Gladkov was staged most often (more than 1200 times) in the history of the theater, on the basis of which Eldar Ryazanov made the famous film “The Hussar Ballad”.

Gradually the repertoire expanded to include classical works of world drama. During its operation, the theater staged numerous performances that earned the love of the audience and prestigious awards. Musical concerts, 3-D musicals, performances - dramas, tragedies and comedies, musicals for children and adults, solo concerts, creative evenings, children's festivals are held on two stages.

Among the performances are famous plays by Alexander Ostrovsky, Chekhov, Alexei Tolstoy, European classics - Shakespeare, Goldoni, Lope de Vega, works by Bulgakov, Jean Sarman, Bronislav Nusic, James Goldman, comedies by Eduardo De Filippo, grotesque realism by Yuri Polyakov, dramas by Alexei Arbuzov.

The Army Theater is a team of talented and multifaceted artists. At first, the stage was the place where the best graduates of theater schools and young actors completed their military service. Later, the leading actors of the Russian Army Theater were Vladimir Zeldin, Nina Sazonova, Fyodor Chenkhankov, Larisa Golubkina, Lyudmila Chursina, Evgeny Steblov, Lyudmila Kasatkina, Boris Plotnikov, and other stage and film stars. Alexander Domogarov, Yuri Komissarov, Olga Kabo worked here.

Today, both experienced artists and actors of the younger generation adorn the theater stage with their creativity. Talented directors strive to update the repertoire, make creative changes to productions, and delight the viewer with interesting new products. This is where amateurs and experts come to experience the highest professionalism of the Russian theater school, known throughout the world.

Video from Moscow 24 TV channel about the Russian Army Theater:

In the history of world stage culture, the Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army occupies a unique place. Created in 1930, the theater has become a shining example of Russian stage art, as well as an initiator of projects on an international scale.
More than 70 years of its existence are decades of work on the stage by outstanding personalities, true devotees of the theatrical business. The theater troupe featured such stellar names as Faina Ranevskaya and Lyubov Dobrzhanskaya, Viktor Pestovsky and Mark Pertsovsky, Mikhail Mayorov and Nikolai Konovalov, Lyudmila Fetisova and Nina Sazonova, as well as People's Artists of the USSR Lyudmila Kasatkina, Lyudmila Chursina, Vladimir Zeldin, People's Artists of Russia Olga Bogdanova, Larisa Golubkina, Alexander Dick, Yuri Komissarov, Gennady Krynkin, Alexander Mikhailushkin, Nikolai Pastukhov, Alexander Petrov, Alina Pokrovskaya, Vladimir Soshalsky, Fyodor Chekhankov.
In the 1930s, the Red Army Theater (as it was called at that time) was headed by Vladimir Meskheteli. It was he who managed to attract Yuri Aleksandrovich Zavadsky, one of the best directors of that time, to the artistic direction of the theater. Since then, the Theater of the Red (since 1951 - Soviet, since 1993 - Russian) Army has invariably surprised all fans of theatrical art with the high artistic level of its stage productions. From 1935 to 1958, the artistic director of the theater was Alexey Dmitrievich Popov, an outstanding Russian director, theater theorist and teacher. And in 1963, director and teacher, People's Artist of the USSR Andrei Alekseevich Popov took control of the theater.
Since the late 80s, the main director of the theater has been People's Artist of Russia Boris Afanasyevich Morozov. Student A.A. Popova, Boris Afanasyevich, over many years of his creative life in the theater, created many performances remarkable in their artistic strength, in which Russian and foreign classics are organically intertwined with modern drama.

The best muralists took part in the design of the theater: the frescoes of the acoustic ceiling were painted by Lev Bruni, the reinforced concrete curtain-portal was made according to the sketches of Vladimir Favorsky, the lampshades over the buffets in the amphitheater were created by Alexander Deineka and Ilya Feinberg, the picturesque panels of Pavel Sokolov-Skal and Alexander Gerasimov decorated the front doors marble stairs. Furniture, lampshades and chandeliers were made to special orders, and the columns around the building have a star-shaped cross-section.

Moscow was decorated with a new wonderful structure: the Central Theater of the Red Army was built. The grandiose, monumental theater building rises on Place de la Commune, one of the most spacious squares in the capital. It pleases the eye with its wonderful architectural appearance, harmonious harmony of forms, unusual volumes, and height. In addition to its main purpose - to be the center of theatrical culture of the Red Army, the theater should also serve as a great architectural monument to the heroic army of the country of socialism, a monument that will exist for many, many centuries. Therefore, the theater building was given the shape of a five-pointed Red Army star in its plan. This emblem is the main, leading motif in the entire architecture of the building.

But the shape of the building played a cruel joke on it: during the Great Patriotic War, German pilots used the Soviet Army Theater as a landmark, because 4 of its rays pointed to the Moscow railway stations, and the fifth to. Therefore, the architects were almost accused of treason, and the building was disguised: villages, churches, and groves appeared on the site of the theater.

The Theater of the Red (since 1951 - Soviet, since 1993 - Russian) Army has the largest stage in Europe.

The building occupies 10 floors on the surface (of which 6 are the Large Stage with 1,520 seats, 2 floors are the Small Stage with 450 seats) and 10 underground floors. The theater stage is adapted to show massive battle scenes with the participation of real tanks.

The stage mechanics were designed by engineer Ivan Maltsin. It works almost without repair even now: 2 huge circles rotate, 12 lifting platforms can turn the stage from a stadium into a mountain landscape.

TSATRA is a departmental theater of the Russian Army, and therefore many famous actors “did their military service” on its stage. And instead of the theater director, there is a boss. There are military barracks here, and halls with strange names: “Cabbage”, where sauerkraut was kept during the war, “zoo”, where all sorts of artificial horses are kept. At the same time, the TsATRA troupe is considered one of the best in Moscow. Also in the theater building are held festive events of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and films are shot. For example, an episode of the film “Kin-Dza-Dza” was filmed here.

They say that......the building of the Russian Army Theater was not completed: they planned to place a statue of a Red Army soldier on the top tower, a sculpture of October above the central pediment, and the five corners of the building were to be decorated with statues of various branches of the military and fountains. It was planned to arrange a summer garden on the roof for spectators to walk around during intermission. In this designed form, the CATRA building appeared on the bas-relief of the Northern River Station.
...Faina Ranevskaya left the theater with the words: “I don’t play at airfields.”
...from the building of the Russian Army Theater in

There is a wonderful picture in the magazine “Technology of Youth” (1940. No. 2) - the Central Theater of the Red Army from the inside:

I especially liked the tank entrance.
The text commentary explains:
“The works of the greatest masters of world drama and plays by Soviet playwrights will be heard in full voice in the theater.
The height of the stage box, counting from the stage floor to the grate, from where the decorations suspended on cables descend, is 34 meters. A large, eight-story building could easily fit in such a box.
There are spacious side rooms on both sides of the stage. The area of ​​each of them is 350 square meters. These are the so-called pockets. They are used to prepare three-dimensional decorations. Here you can prepare a “battleship”, “armored train”, etc. for going on stage. The back stage can also be used for the same purpose. Thus, it is possible to prepare design for three different actions at once. And in the corner rooms located between the pockets and the back stage, you can store the design for 3-4 performances of the current repertoire."
The Soviet Army Theater is one of the characteristic monuments of Stalinist architecture.

Some art critics and historians consider this building to be iconic, seeing it as a departure from the “style of the 1930s.” and the beginning of the Stalinist Empire style. In any case, the idea was grandiose, carried out, moreover, by far from the last architects in the hierarchy of that time (deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, academician of architecture K.S. Alabyan, who was assisted by V.N. Simbnrtsev). Traditionally - as happens with iconic buildings - the construction of the theater reflected several aspects characteristic of the essentially imperial Stalinist state.
1. “The army is the eternal love of the empire, it is an instrument of conquest, it is also a model for society” (this is a phrase from an article by Evgeniy Anisimov).
Empires were created through overwhelming militarization.
It is no coincidence, writes a Soviet magazine, that “the inspirer of the entire construction project was the Red Army and its glorious commander, Marshal of the Soviet Union K.E. Voroshilov. Comrade Voroshilov personally reviewed the sketches of artistic painting, fittings, furniture and made very significant specific amendments. Nothing escaped "The attention of the People's Commissar. Throughout the entire period of construction, he tirelessly ensured that the theater was beautiful, comfortable, simple, that the theater was worthy of the Soviet people and their great Red Army."

"You involuntarily raise your eyes upward to see aviation. Over the heads of the spectators, in the expanses of the clear, blue sky, proud Stalinist falcons fly. This magnificent artistic painting of the ceiling gives a feeling of freedom, expanse. The most important artistic works - the painting of the ceiling of the large auditorium and foyer - have been completed professors of painting L. A. Bruni and V. L. Favorsky."

2. Art is a tool of propaganda.
The theater of unprecedented size was supposed to show “pictures of the glorious military past of the Russian people. Mass heroic performances will reflect the bright pages of the history, life and way of life of the Red Army, which won its fading glory in the battles for the homeland, for socialism.”
“The revolution put art at the service of the people,” is a typical mantra of the Soviet press when it comes to culture.
3. Theatricality is generally a characteristic feature of that time.
Let us recall the construction of main highways with decorative houses (the magnificent front façade and the rest unprocessed), physical education and military parades, etc.
Therefore, the new empire could not help but create its own large theater. And having created it, she made sure that it was the very best. This leads to another principle.
4. Gigantomania.
It is no coincidence that sources from the Stalin era constantly mention the competitive nature of Soviet construction: more beautiful than in the rest of the world, more beautiful than before the revolution.
"The theater stage is adapted for a wide variety of performances and productions. Its width reaches almost 40 meters, and its depth, counting from the portal, is 30 meters. But this is only the main stage area. Behind it there is an extensive back stage (backstage), which can also be used for theatrical action. If we add to this the front part of the stage (proscenum), extending beyond the boundaries of the portal, then the total depth of the entire stage will be 62 meters. In area, it significantly exceeds the auditorium. It can host a mass action with the participation of more than a thousand Here you can show on a grand scale the capture of the Winter Palace and the storming of Perekop. An infantry battalion, cavalry, or tanks can “operate” on such a stage. The theater has a special tank entrance through which these formidable combat vehicles will get onto the stage."

“In the theaters that were built by the bourgeoisie, concern for the viewer did not rise above the stalls and boxes. It was a concern for the wealthy visitor. Comfortable, soft chairs, the chic and luxury of the so-called “expensive seats” were intended for him. But about the comfort of the spectators of the balcony and especially the galleries were not very worried. There were common wooden benches, almost nothing could be seen from here, the actor’s voice was barely audible.
In the new Soviet theater, in the Central Theater of the Red Army, all seats are equally comfortable and good. Here, each spectator has twice as much space and air as in other theaters. The auditorium seats almost 2 thousand. This is a record figure for a drama theater. Despite such a large capacity, the farthest seats in the balcony are only 28 meters away from the stage."
5. The city is a sacred place with its own symbolism.
In the very center is the leader’s mausoleum, the central squares are places for ceremonies in honor of great events.
The Place de la Commune, where the theater is located, also played an important role. A whole memorial of the military glory of the Red Army was to be formed here.

“In the near future, Commune Square will be transformed, the compositional center of which is the new theater. Now to the left of it is the vast building of the Central House of the Red Army named after M. V. Frunze. On the other side of the square, to the right of the theater, the same vast building of the Central Museum will rise "Red Army. Tram traffic will go to neighboring streets and alleys. Surrounded by forest, this square will be an amazingly beautiful corner of Moscow, personifying the formidable strength and greatest culture of the Red Army, its unfading glory, which will live for centuries and reach our distant descendants."
6. The architecture of the Stalin era, of course, had its own language of symbols, which, without a doubt, included the Red Army Theater.
In fact, it became a true hymn to the Soviet five-pointed star, probably the most important symbol.
Probably everyone knows the legend that Army Commander Voroshilov traced his marshal’s ashtray with a pencil and suggested that Alabyan build a theater in a similar form.

Whether this is true or fiction, I personally don’t know. However, in addition to the fact that several tiers of the building in the plan turned out to be five-pointed stars, the columns framing them also have a star-shaped cross-section.
Inside, stars decorate the stairs, ceilings, balconies, and lamps.

What else can you add?
“The best, qualified forces of the country took part in the construction of the theater. The theater project was developed by architects, Deputy of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, Academician of Architecture K.S. Alabyan and V.N. Simbnrtsev.
A remarkable stage device, the only one in the world, was developed by engineer P. E. Maltsin. His work was influenced by a careful study of the richest evidence of the work of the stage of the Moscow Art Academic Theater of the USSR. A. M. Gorky." [Which was built by the damned capitalists led by the Bolshevik sponsor industrialist S.T. Morozov]

“It goes without saying that the complex and varied technical equipment of the theater, as well as the lighting of the auditorium, stage, foyer and other premises require a colossal amount of electricity. The total installed power throughout the theater exceeds 4 thousand kilowatts. This means that if you turn on everything at the same time stage mechanisms, all lighting devices, then exactly such enormous power will be required, which would be enough to illuminate a large city with a population of several tens of thousands of inhabitants. The theater is equipped with its own electrical substation, the power of which is 2400 kilowatts. More than 10 thousand are installed throughout the building. light points and about 50 kilometers of multi-core cable were laid. If all these cores, all the electrical and telephone wires were pulled into one line, it would stretch from Moscow to Kyiv, a distance of 800 kilometers."

“Above the large auditorium there is a concert hall with a capacity of almost 500 seats. The Red Banner Song and Dance Ensemble and the best artistic forces of the capital will perform here. Ordinary theater performances can also take place here. In addition, this hall will serve as a rehearsal room for the theater, In this respect it is of great convenience, because the stage here is as wide as the one below.
Above the concert hall there is a spacious art workshop. Large picturesque decorations are being prepared here."

In addition, the theater was never fully realized as planned - the war probably got in the way:
“The architectural design of the theater has not yet been fully completed. A giant figure of a Red Army soldier has yet to be erected on the upper tower of the building. A grandiose sculpture “October” must also be placed above the central pediment of the theater. The five upper corners of the building will be decorated with sculptures that depict various branches of the Red Army troops, in Powerful fountains will be installed in the lower corners."

A striking architectural design, the grandiose dimensions of the building and the main hall, impressive stage capabilities and a special organization of events - under the control of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation. All voiced - Central in Moscow.

About the theater

The theater of the then Red Army began its glorious activity in 1930. It was decided to make its home a striking masterpiece of the Stalinist Empire style - a building in the shape of a huge five-pointed star, designed by V. N. Simbirtsev and K. S. Alabyan. It was put into operation ten years later - in 1940.

If you look at the diagram of the Great Hall of the Russian Army Theater, you will have no doubt that it is recognized as the largest among all the halls of the world's drama theaters. 6 floors high, designed for more than 1.5 thousand spectators, it is remembered by everyone who has been here. The stage, recognized as the largest in Europe, also deserves special attention; here it is possible to unfold a natural battle scene, and for an entire military unit to line up, and even to drive a car freely.

You can buy tickets for performances, performances, concerts and other events both at the theater box office and online on its official website and at virtual ticket offices.

The layout of the Great Hall of the Russian Army Theater further demonstrates its scale and grandeur. But the greatest pride is the troupe, the team of stage directors.