From Ostrovsky to Stanislavsky: top exhibitions of the Bakhrushinsky Museum

In 2023, the large-scale projects of the museum will be dedicated to the legacy of Ostrovsky and Stanislavsky, Shchepkin and Chaliapin, the work of the Messerers – father and son, the Stars of the Moscow State Academy of Arts, sketches of the murals of the Kazansky railway station and other topics.

The project “Stars of the Moscow State Academy of Arts” is dedicated to the 250th anniversary of the Moscow State Academy of Choreography. The exhibition will show more than 350 authentic items from the museum’s collection, associated with the names of outstanding ballet dancers – Ekaterina Geltser, Vera Karalli, Maya Plisetskaya, Maris Liepa and others. in Kemerovo – in the Kuzbass Center for the Arts. Thanks to modern technologies, the unique archives of the Bakhrushin Museum and the Moscow State Academy of Arts will become available to every visitor.

The exhibition project “Messerer: Theater of Two Generations” is dedicated to the 120th anniversary of the famous Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and teacher Asaf Messerer and the 90th anniversary of his son, the outstanding theater designer Boris Messerer. In the halls of the House-Museum of Maria Yermolova, visitors will see rare photographs and posters of performances, sketches of scenery and costumes from the stock collection.

At the exhibition “Masterpieces of the Kazan Station. The project of Prince S. A. Shcherbatov, the museum for the first time will present sketches of the station murals by Shcherbatov, created by the artist together with members of the World of Art association. The true authorship was established by art historians of the Bakhrushinsky Museum.

An exclusive will be the creation of three new expositions at once in the museums of regional theaters for the anniversaries of Ostrovsky, Gamzatov and Shchepkin.

Kineshma Drama Theatre. A. N. Ostrovsky, an exposition will open that will reveal the connection of Ostrovsky with Kineshma, the history of the productions of plays by the famous playwright, which traditionally open each season of the theater. Rare materials collected by museum and theater staff will complement modern multimedia technologies. Visitors will get acquainted with rare recordings of performances of past years, attend master classes by researchers of Ostrovsky’s work.

The new exposition of the Museum of the History of Theaters of Dagestan will reflect the multinational theatrical art of Dagestan. The project is being prepared for the 100th anniversary of the Dagestan poet Rasul Gamzatov as part of the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation. The theater of the republic will appear in the original “polyphony” of twelve national theaters. A modern exposition based on a rich collection of museums will tell about the formation of the theater school of Dagestan and about its brightest representatives.

An exposition is also being created at the Kursk State Drama Theatre. A. S. Pushkin on the 235th anniversary of the birth of the great Russian actor Mikhail Shchepkin, a native of the Kursk province, who began his career on the stage of the local theater. Visitors will learn about the history of the theater, its connection with the name of the great actor and other famous theatrical figures. The design of the art space will make it possible to turn it into a multifunctional cultural and theatrical center. An art cafe, a discussion theater club, a space for master classes will be ready to receive the widest audience.

The museum also organizes an exhibition “Bulgarian theatrical poster” in the State Museum-Estate “Ostafyevo” – “Russian Parnassus”. This joint project of the Bakhrushin Museum and the Bulgarian Cultural Institute actualizes the theme of the modern life of the theatrical poster. The exposition features the best works of 23 authors – laureates of the International Stage Poster Triennial (Bulgaria), reflecting a retrospective of the Bulgarian theatrical poster over the past 40 years.

In addition, an exhibition project is being prepared for the 150th anniversary of the great Russian singer Fyodor Chaliapin – “Labor. Creation. Inspiration”. The exhibition will feature rare materials from the funds of the Bakhrushin Museum and the House-Museum of F. I. Chaliapin (Kazan), revealing the work of the great artist.

In February, an online project is launched to mark the 130th anniversary of the birth of the first people’s artist, Fyodor Chaliapin, in April, to the 200th anniversary of the great playwright Alexander Ostrovsky. In July, the online project “Yermolova: the Great Actress of the Russian Empire” will be released on the occasion of the 170th anniversary of the outstanding Russian actress of the Maly Theater, and in November – “Shchepkin: Reformer of the Russian Stage” on the 235th anniversary of the founder of the acting school in Russia.

The international projects of the museum will present the legacy of Stanislavsky, Grigorovich, Ulanova and Plisetskaya. From December 29, 2022 to January 15, 2023, the exhibition “Maya Plisetskaya. Arena of Life” as part of the 250th anniversary of the Moscow Academy of Choreography. Visitors will be presented with photographs depicting Plisetskaya in the ballets Carmen Suite, The Death of the Rose, Don Quixote, Bolero, Swan Lake and others, as well as fragments of rehearsals with outstanding choreographers of the 20th century. In September, with the support of the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation, the exhibition will be exhibited at the site of the Russian Spiritual and Cultural Orthodox Center in Paris. The project “Stanislavsky: in search of the Blue Bird” will go to Serbia, timed to coincide with the 160th anniversary of the genius theater reformer. The exhibition will open on January 17, the birthday of Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky. Visitors will see not only posters, programs, photographs, sketches of scenery and costumes from the museum’s funds, but also unique documentary footage of rehearsals, depicting the director and his students. In the spring, an exhibition about the legendary ballerina Galina Ulanova will open at the Russian House in Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, and at the Russian Spiritual and Cultural Orthodox Center in Paris, the museum will present the exhibition “Yuri Grigorovich’s Big Ballet”, dedicated to the work of the outstanding choreographer and teacher.

In addition, in 2023 the Bakhrushinsky Museum will become a participant in such exhibition projects as the large-scale exhibition “First Position: The History of Russian Ballet” in St. Petersburg at the Manege Central Exhibition Hall, and anniversary projects – “Theater of Life: A. N. Ostrovsky” in the halls of the All-Russian Historical and Ethnographic Museum in Torzhok, “To the 150th anniversary of F.I. Chaliapin” in the Alexander Solzhenitsyn House of Russian Abroad and “Brush and Cutter” in the F. I. Chaliapin Museum-Estate in Moscow on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the birth of two of the greatest creative personalities Sergei Rachmaninov and Fyodor Chaliapin.

Irina Shvedova.

Photos provided by the press service of the Theater Museum. A. A. Bakhrushina