Puppet Theater Obraztsova: an extraordinary concert

The Central Academic Puppet Theater Obraztsova, which has no analogues in the world, is the largest representative of the theatrical puppet art, located in Moscow, on Sadovaya-Samotechnaya Street, at No. 3, near the Tsvetnoy Bulvar metro station.

The founder of the Moscow Puppet Theater is Sergei Vladimirovich Obraztsov - a graduate of the art college VHUTEMAS.

Creating a puppet theater

In 1920 Sergei Obraztsov started the theatrical puppet shows, gathering around him a group of like-minded people and masters who can create puppet characters at a high artistic level. Thus, the puppet theater of Sergei Obraztsov appeared. The first performances were of the nature of children's productions on a fairy-tale theme. Then the repertoire of puppet shows expanded, the variety became possible with the advent of new dolls created by Obraztsov with his assistants. Sometimes self-made heroes of productions brought Muscovites, and it happened that they brought from abroad the friends who came on tour in the USSR. Puppet theater Obraztsova was known all over the world, he had many friends and admirers.

The creative group of the master tried to get people of different professions. The specifics of the work of the puppet theater require also technicians to develop kinematic schemes, according to which puppets should move, and professional artists of theater costumes, since "actors" must be dressed in the outfits of their time. Painters-portraitists also had a place in the creative team of the Obraztsov Theater. Many performances required puppets with a characteristic expression, and the challenge was to give the face of the character an optimal facial mask, suitable for all cases, for all episodes.

Parodies

By 1930, Sergei Obraztsov gained unprecedented popularity, became famous in Moscow as a variety artist, he managed to create programs in the parody genre, which were called "Romances with dolls," and later staged several vaudeville performances. Performances were held on random sites, nevertheless the popularity of the puppet master Obraztsov and his performances grew at a rapid pace.

Theater and professorship

In 1931, on the wave of universal interest in puppetry, Sergei Obraztsov created in Moscow the Central Puppet Theater, which already works on an ongoing basis. Sergey Vladimirovich was the director of the plays and the artistic director of the theater. In 1949, Obraztsov became director of the Moscow CTC and remained in office for 43 years, until his death in 1992.

Puppet Theater. Obraztsova is a unique structure that requires constant creative renewal, which is an endless process. Despite the fact that Sergei Obraztsov devoted all his time to the theater, he also managed to work in the cinema, was a screenwriter and director of documentary films. In addition, Sergei Vladimirovich was engaged in teaching activities. In 1973 he became a professor at GITIS and taught theater for many years.

Achievements of the master

In 1976, Sergei Obraztsov was elected president of the International Union of Puppeteers, and in 1984 became his honorary president. Since 1955, Obraztsov was a corresponding member of the Academy of Arts in Berlin.

Among other things, Sergei Vladimirovich for his fruitful life gathered a unique collection of exotic dolls, which he found in different corners of the globe.

Moving in

In 1970, Obraztsov's puppet theater received a new room on Sadovo-Samotechnaya Street. The new house was well chosen - a spacious foyer and a large auditorium for the restless children's audience came along as well as possible. The facade of the theater housed the clock of Obraztsov's puppet theater, they are considered one of the most important sights of Moscow. On the perimeter of the dial there are 12 houses, their doors alternately open every hour, and behind them come true fairy-tale characters. Puppet theater Obraztsova (photo is presented in the article) is a diverse children's world, every visit of which for the child is an unforgettable holiday.

Children's repertoire

Children's plays puppet theater Obraztsova created more than one hundred and twenty. And how many times they were played in 80 years, it is impossible to calculate. In the repertoire there are performances for the youngest spectators - these are funny good fairy tales, in which there is nothing intimidating. There are performances for older children, mostly these are entertaining stories, but with meaning.

Employees

Currently, the troupe of the Puppet Theater consists of 57 actors, three of them are People's Artists of the Russian Federation, seventeen - Honored. 37 years - from 1945 to 1982 - the theater's popular theater and film actor Gerd Zinovy Efimovich (who does not know Panikovsky from the movie "The Golden Calf", filmed in 1968 on the novel of the same name by Ilf and Petrov) worked in the theater. Zinovy Gerdt played a lot of roles in the CTC named after Obraztsov, but his most celebrated character was entertainer Eduard Apollov from the play "An Extraordinary Concert."

In the theater's repertoire are five performances for adults:

• In 1941, the play "The Night Before Christmas" was staged according to E.V. Speransky.
• In 1946 - "An Extraordinary Concert" based on Alexander Vvedensky's script.
• In 1961 - "Divine Comedy" based on the play by Isidor Shtok.
• In 1976 - two performances: "Don Juan" - production of VB. Livanov, G.Ya. Bardeen, Z.E. Gerdt, as well as "Noah's Ark" according to the scenario of I.V. Stock.

Performances for adults

The most popular performance for an old-fashioned audience is the "Unusual Concert". The puppet theater Obraztsova first introduced him to the audience in 1946. This is one of the five performances of the repertoire for adults, based on Alexander Vvedensky 's play "Concert-Variety." Initially, the play was adapted to the play for children, the characters in it were animals. Then the play was staged as a satirical parody for adults, mocking the stereotypes of the stage. This work was very popular. Glory about her went not only around the capital, but also in many other cities of the Union.

In 1968, the "Extraordinary Concert" in the new edition was even more successful, was recognized as the best puppet show on a world scale, played about 10 thousand times, thanks to which it entered the Guinness Book of Records.

In the play "Divine Comedy", staged in 1961, Zinovy Gerdt played Adam. The author of the play was the dramatist Isidor Stock. To the "Divine Comedy" of Dante, the performance of the Obraztsov Puppet Theater has nothing to do with it. The script of the production was written based on Jean Effel's drawings Creation of the World, where God tries to restore order in paradise, but it does not work well for him. Eve and Adam became bored in paradise, they decided to go down to earth. "Let there, below, there will be nothing to eat, but you can do whatever you want," they thought.

Another performance for adults - "Don Giovanni" - was staged in 1976 as a satirical version of a foreign musical. The authors of the play are the animator-animator G.Ya. Bardin and famous actor VB. Livanov. Few people know that Vasily Livanov - everyone's favorite Sherlock Holmes - is also a talented director-animator. The production of "Don Giovanni" is aimed at ridiculing theatrical fashion in art. Sergei Obraztsov always believed that true art can not follow fashion.

How to understand the incomprehensible

It is characteristic that the play "Don Juan" is played in the language of "gibberish", when the words are mixed in a chaotic sequence, they sound ironic and unpredictable. However, the viewer in some incomprehensible way easily recognizes the meaning of all this gibberish. Create a dialogue of characters in an incomprehensible language - this is also a kind of art. The author of the texts for the play "Don Juan" was Zinoviy Gerdt.

Simultaneously with "Don Juan" was staged the play "Noah's Ark" according to the scenario of Isidor Shtok. Archangel Michael several times reported to God about the atrocities committed by people on earth. God created the World Flood, which lasted forty days and forty nights, in order to restore order, but before that he gathered in the wooden ark the beasts of "all things in the pair," the righteous Noah, his wife and three sons and wives. What of all this happened, tells the play.

"Moscow, puppet theater Obraztsova" - this phrase is familiar to everyone who is interested in theatrical art. The founder still lives in his unforgettable performances for children and adults.