Difference between revisions of "Slovene National Theatre Maribor"

Revision as of 17:28, 19 March 2010

One of three state-owned theatres in Slovenia, the Slovene National Theatre (SNG) Maribor was established in 1919. It is organised into five units: Drama, Opera, Ballet, Symphony orchestra, and the annual theatre festival Borštnik Theatre Festival.

History

In over 90 years-long history, SNG Maribor presented over 900 premières of dramatic works, over 450 operas, and 100 ballets, the programme was realised by over 700 authors and collaborators.

Drama

Theatre activity in Maribor began in 1785, when the first theatre hall was organised, which mainly presented works by travelling theatre groups. The building was enlarged in 1864 and remained practically the same since then. Until 1919, the building was the home of the German professional drama and opera theatre, when the Dramatic Society, established in 1909, moved to the existing theatre building and formed the first Slovene professional theatre with a permanent drama ensemble. The opening première was Josip Jurčič's Tugomer directed by the first director of SNG Maribor Hinko Nučič. In the period before World War II, the theatre focused on Slovene playwrighting, but also staged some world classics, mainly expressionist. After the war and simultaneous with the city's industrialisation, the programme took on more socially critical emphases, staging mainly Russian socialist realist plays. During the following decades the programme consisted of contemporary authors (Osborne, Camus, Brecht) and a number of new Slovene playwrighting. In 1989 Tomaž Pandur, who brought the name of SNG Maribor Drama to the theatre world, became director and created a number of visually distinctive performances (La Divina Commedia, Carmen, Faust, Hamlet). His poetics was widely praised, the performances toured extensively across the world (Vienna, Dresdden, Sankt Petersburg, Brussels, Cuidad de Mexico, Caracas, etc.)

In 1966, Week of Slovene Theatres festival was organised for the first time and was in 1971 renamed to Borštnik Theatre Festival festival, the central Slovene theatre festival in which all Slovene drama theatres compete for different awards. Each year, the highest award for acting achievement, Borštnik Ring is awarded.

Opera

Ballet

The first ballet staging Možiček took place in 1926. However, the first evening-length ballet performance premièred only in 1949, when Leo Delibes' Coppelia was choreographed by Maks Kirbos. The ensemble included around 20 dancers. The programme included new foreign as well as home ballet works.

In 1978, 25 years-long renovations of the SNG Maribor building started, which were realised in several stages. In 1994 the Grand Hall was added to the existing building, in 2003 the Old Hall was renovated.

Drama

The programme of the SNG Maribor Drama presents both classical and contemporary dramatic texts, including works by Slovene dramatists (Ivan Cankar, Slavko Grum, A. T. Linhart, Dominik Smole, Tone Partljič, Drago Jančar, Rudi Šeligo) as well as international playwrights. Many original Slovene texts staged at SNG Maribor are national premières. At present the ensemble comprises 27 permanent members. The theatre continually collaborates with established Slovene directors of a younger and middle generation

The stagings of SNG Maribor Drama comprise elements of traditional dramatic theatre with contemporary postdramatic approaches. Although the programme is oriented toward unconventionality and radicality, the majority of selected texts and staging concepts however remain within communicative, popular genres, such as spectacle, comedy, performans art.

The emphasis of the programme for 2009/2010 season of SNG Maribor Drama is placed on the re-examination of the traditions of 20th century historical avant-gardes. The texts selected for the repertoire originate from the periods of symbolism (Maeterlinck's Blue Bird), futurism (the project with the working title Futurism based on texts by Marinetti and his contemporaries), and surrealism (a love comedy with songs Bepop based on Boris Vian's play Head of Medusa and That Obscure Object of Desire based on Luis Bunuel's film of the same title). The programme also includes Patrick Marber's play Closer [Od blizu] and Dominik Smole's Antigone [Antigona], the restaging of which will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first institutional staging of this very important Slovene play.

Opera

The history of the SNG Maribor Opera Company goes back to 1919 when a small company staged mostly operettas. Today it presents a diversified programme featuring its own orchestra and regular appearances by visiting international guest performers, while its productions also go on regular tours (Croatia, Austria, Italy, Luxemburg, Taiwan, etc) - see also SNG Maribor Symphony Orchestra.

Ballet

The SNG Maribor Ballet ensemble co-operates with Opera and Drama ensembles in its productions and produces around two ballet performances per year. The ensemble, led by the Romanian dancer and choreographer Edward Clug, hosts many guest dancers and choreographers from other countries. During the last decade, Edward Clug put SNG Maribor Ballet on the international map of ballet companies with his stagings of innovative and highly expressive ballet performances, which are nevertheless firmly rooted in ballet tradition, among others, a highly successful Tango (1998), Lacrimas (2002), Radio and Juliet (2005), featuring the music of the British rock band Radiohead, which appeared in numerous festivals in Europe and America (Le temps d'aimer in Biarritz, France, Dance Festival Tel Aviv, Arts Festival Singapore, Festival of Firsts and Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (USA)), and Prêt-à-porter (2008). Edward Clug received the Prešeren Foundation Award in 2005 and the Glazer Award in 2008 for achievements in the area of contemporary dance.

In 2006, Architecture of Silence [Arhitektura tišine], a dance-music performance directed by Clug and accompanied with the music by the Slovene composer Milko Lazar, was realised in co-production with SNG Ljubljana Opera and Ballet and Festival Ljubljana. The performance brought together ballet and opera ensembles as well as the symphonic orchestras of the two major national ballet and opera houses in Slovenia. Another co-production between the two houses took place in November 2009, when La Bayadère [Bajadera], choreographed by Rafael Avnikjan following the original choreography by Marius Petipa and directed by Aleksej Baklan, premièred in the Grand Hall of SNG Maribor.

Venues

Grand Hall
Old Stage
Small Stage
Chamber Stage
Casino Hall

External links

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Difference between revisions of "Slovene National Theatre Maribor"

Revision as of 17:28, 19 March 2010

Contents

History

Drama

Opera

Ballet

Drama

Opera

Ballet

Venues

See also

External links

Operated by

Financed by