Чернівецький академічний обласний український музично-драматичний театр імені Ольги Кобилянської | |
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 The Theater as seen from Teatralna Square | |
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| Former names | Czernowitz Stadttheater (1905–1922), Teatrul Naţional (1922–1940; 1941–1944) |
|---|---|
| Address | Teatralna Square 1 Chernivtsi Chernivtsi Oblast |
| Coordinates | 48°17′30.50″N 25°55′51.62″E / 48.2918056°N 25.9310056°E |
| Operator | Department of Culture of Chernivtsi Regional State Administration |
| Capacity | 742 |
| Construction | |
| Broke ground | 1 August 1904 |
| Opened | 3 October 1905 |
| Architect | Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer |
| Website | |
| http://www.dramtheater.cv.ua/ | |
Olga Kobylianska Chernivtsi Academic Regional Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater (Ukrainian: Чернівецький академічний обласний український музично-драматичний театр імені Ольги Кобилянської), also known as Kobylianska Drama Theater, is a drama and music theater located in Chernivtsi, Ukraine. The current building of the theater is a neobaroque architectural monument of national significance, built in 1905 by an Austrian architectural bureau Fellner & Helmer.[1]
In 1940, the theater received its first professional crew. In 1954, it was renamed after a Ukrainian writer and playwright Olha Kobylianska. In 2023, a new workshop chamber stage space of the theater was opened in the building of a historic electrical substation on Lesi Ukrainky Street.[2]
Chernivtsi Music and Drama Theater is a part of European Route of Historic Theaters.[3]
History
editTheater arts first appeared in Chernivtsi with the annexation of Bukovina by the Habsburg Monarchy at the end of the 18th century. The first theatrical production in the city took place in 1784, when an Italian shadow theater visited the city. At the time, there was no specialized theater space, so performances were held in public places. In 1876, first stationary, wooden theater was built in the city, which served its purpose until it was deemed unsafe in 1904.[4]
In 1897, a special commission tasked with organizing the construction of the theater was formed. Fellner & Helmer Architectural Bureau was commissioned to draft the project. In 1900, Ferdinand Fellner came to Chernivtsi to assist the planning process. Originally, Soborna (Austria) Square was chosen as a location for the theater, but was later changed to Teatralna (Elizabeth) Square. According to the agreement, the project was ready by May 1902. At the same time, the city was not ready, as it did not have the required amount of funds.
On 30 May 1904, Hermann Helmer arrived in Chernivtsi, from whom the final version of the project was purchased, with an estimated construction costs of 600,000 kronen. On 1 August 1904, the "first stone" was laid. The construction work was carried out by the Fellner & Helmer bureau, and the works were directly supervised by the vice burgomaster Joseph Gregor.
The grand opening of the new theater took place on 3 October 1905 with a performance of Franz Schöntan play "Maria Theresa".[5] In 1907, a monument to a German poet and playwright Friedrich Schiller was opened in front of the entrance to the building.
After the annexation of Northern Bukovina by Romania in 1918, a campaign against Austrian heritage began. In January 1922, organized by the local administration, a group of young Romanian chauvinists disrupted a performance of an Austrian actor Aleksandër Moisiu, who was touring in Chernivtsi. The youths tore down the German inscriptions, hung up the Romanian tricolor, and forced the actors and the audience to move into the building of the Chernivtsi Music Society. At the same time, the local authorities used the incident to take the building away from the city community. On 1 February 1922, the theater was transformed into "Teatrul Național". In addition, the local German community was forced to dismantle the Schiller monument, which was moved with a funeral procession to the territory of the German People's House.[4]
On 7 August 1940, the Chernivtsi Oblast of the Ukrainian SSR was formed. In December 1940, by the decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the Ukrainian SSR, the creative team of the Kharkiv State Theater of the Revolution was permanently relocated to Chernivtsi. On 14 January 1941, the theater premiered a play based on the drama The Forest Song by Lesya Ukrainka. The theater ended its first season in Chernivtsi on May 28 with the premiere of the play Stolen Happiness by Ivan Franko.
In 1954, the theater was named after a Ukrainian writer Olha Kobylianska and a monument to her was erected in front of the building. During 1977–1980, the building underwent renovation. On 2 August 1980, a new monument by sculptors Anatolii Skyba and Mykola Myroshnychenko was installed.[6]
References
edit- ^ Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR from September 6, 1979 No. 442
- ^ Sulikovska, Olena (2023-01-13). "«Щоб у березні там уже сиділи глядачі»: як муздрамтеатр облаштовує сцену-майстерню". Шпальта (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ "European Route of Historic Theatres - Black Sea". www.erht.eu. Retrieved 2024-07-03.
- ^ a b Chekhovskyi, Ihor (2008). Walking through Chernivtsi and Bukovyna (in Ukrainian). Kyiv: Baltia-Druk. pp. 180–184. ISBN 966-8137-38-8.
- ^ "Історія побудови Чернівецького театру". Archived from the original on 2013-11-13.
- ^ Митці Буковини (in Ukrainian). Vol. 1. Zoloti Lytavry. 1998. pp. 11, 101. ISBN 966-95431-9-3.