Krasnodar Theater

(full name, M. Gorky Krasnodar Theater of Drama). Founded soon after the establishment of Soviet power in Ekaterinodar (Krasnodar since 1920), the theater opened on Apr. 29, 1920, with a production of Gorky’s Smug Citizens. Among the actors and directors associated with the theater at various times were N. N. Sinel’nikov, V. K. Tatishchev, I. A. Rostovtsev, N. M. Radin, E. M. Shatrova, D. E. Zerkalova, N. A. Svetlovidov, V. N. Ratomskii, G. E. Leondor, and A. A. Nikitin.

The theater was named after Gorky in 1931. Its most significant productions include Trenev’s Liubov’ larovaia (1937 and 1958), Gorky’s The Last Ones (1950), Stepanov and Popov’s Port Arthur (1954), Shtein’s The Ocean (1960), Arbuzov’s Irkutsk Story (1962), and a dramatic adaptation of Sholokhov’s novel Virgin Soil Upturned (1963). The Krasnodar Theater has also staged Shakespeare’s King Lear, Lermontov’s Masquerade, and Lavrenev’s The Breakup (all in 1964), as well as a dramatic adaptation of Kramarenko’s novel Floodlands (1967), Lavrent’-ev’s The Man and the Globe (1968), Gorky’s Vassa Zheleznova (1968), and Sofronov’s Tsemes Bay (1970). On the 100th anniversary of V. I. Lenin’s birth the theater presented the composition Unforgettable Years (1969), which included scenes from N. F. Pogodin’s trilogy The Man With a Rifle, Kremlin Chimes, and The Third Pathétique.

In 1973 the members of the Krasnodar Theater troupe included People’s Artist of the RSFSR N. S. Provotorov; Honored Artists of the RSFSR E. M. Afanas’eva, A. M. Bozdarenko, I. G. Makarevich, S. S. Mikhalev, M. I. Moshchenskii, M. P. Poletaeva, and S. I. Shmakov; Honored Artist of the Severnaia Osetiia ASSR I. L. Dubrovina; and Honored Artist of the Tatar ASSR L. A. Tiurina. E. I. Lifson and Honored Artist of the RSFSR M. V. Nagli are the theater’s directors. Since 1959, People’s Artist of the RSFSR M. A. Kulikovskii has been chief director. Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR A. F. Fokin is chief set designer.