Zazerkalie (theatre)
The "Looking Glass" Children's Musical Theatre (Russian: Детский музыкальный театр «Зазеркалье») is a theatre in Saint Petersburg on 13 Rubinstein Street.
History of the name
The theatre appeared in August 1987 and was named after the Lewis Carroll's "Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There". Dir. A.V. Petrov and conductor P.A. Bubelnikov organized the theater which was opened on 27 December 1987 with the opera of L.A. Desyatnikov "Bravo-Bravissimo, pioneer Anisimov or no one wants to sing” The theatre gave start to many well-known actors and is well known for the production of fairytales.
Notable productions
Most of the titles are addressed to the repertoire of both audiences: adults and children. Over 10 years of its existence the theater produced 25 operas in various genres: mystery, singspiel, opera buffa, the Russian buff, folklore action, musical. In the current repertory there are 19 titles.
Awards
The performances "Love potion", "Kashtanka", "La Boheme" are marked with "Gold mask" and "Gold soffit" prizes.
Historical background
In the 1870s Petersburg Actor's Club was situated in the building on Troitskaya Street., 13. The first comedy by Alexander Ostrovsky "Ne vse kotu maslenitsa" (“Day is not Sunday”) was performed there. Since 1885 Pavlova became the owner of the theatre and that is why the main hall was named after her. In 1910 M. M. Fokine directed here the ballet "Carnival" to Schumann's music. After the revolution an actor's school was opened here. Restored after the war the building housed "The House of amateur performances" opened in 1951.
Children’s theatre
The Children's experimental theatre. Children's experimental theatre “Zazerkalie” appeared in 1992. In the experimental theatre you can study actor's skills, choreography and scenic speech as well as participate in theatre performances.
The most famous performances with children's participation are:
- "The Story of Jacob the dwarf and Mimi; the princess",
- " Ludvig and Tutta ",
- " Cricket on the Hearth ",
- "The Hobbit",
- "The tale of the Nightingale, the Emperor and the Death",
- " Through the Looking-Glass ".
Every year the children's experimental theatre takes part in festivals and actors competitions.