The Comedy Theater of Budapest ( hu, Vígszínház) is a theater in
Budapest
Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...
. Starting in the turn of the 19th and 20th century as an opposition to the conservative
National Theater, it became a pioneer institution of
Hungarian drama, and one of the oldest theaters of the city still in operation.
The building
The Vígszínház was designed by architects
Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer who worked on over 47 state-of-the-art theater buildings around
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Its construction was financed by the tripartite ownership consisting of Count István
Keglevich, the writer
Ferenc Szécsi
Ferenc Szécsi (11 July 1913 – 1 March 1974) was a Hungarian stage and film actor with one directing credit at the end of a long career. In 1916, at the age of three and credited as Szécsi Ferkó, he appeared in the film ''Elnémult harangok' ...
, and local businessman
Gábor Faludi
Mr Gabor Faludi was the founder and manager of Vigszinhaz comedy theatre in Budapest. He passed on in May 1932 after sever illness.
Mr. Gábor Faludi (1 May 1846– 4 May 1932) was a theatre manager in Budapest, Hungary. He was the founder and m ...
. I The destined area was a swampland before, but in the next few years it developed into the bourgeois
Lipótváros
Lipótváros (, ) is a traditional neighbourhood in the city centre of Budapest, named after King Leopold II. It is one of the two neighbourhoods of District V, the other one being Inner City (Belváros), which is the old town of Pest. Lipótv ...
district. The construction started in 1895 and lasted for one year, finishing on 1 May 1896. With 3 main tracts: the stage, including the flies; the lower seating tract; and the entry hall; the building exemplifies late historicism, featuring large sizes, an elevated driveway and baroque decorations, often using golden coloring. As a distinct feature from contemporary theaters, the Vígszínház featured three rows of box seats, large corridors and public areas supported by several wide stairs to answer the call of rising social life in the rapidly developing Budapest.
History
![H budapest vigszinhaz 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/H_budapest_vigszinhaz_2.jpg)
Mór Ditrói was the first director, coming from
Kolozsvár
; hu, kincses város)
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, subdivision_type1 = County
, subdivision_name1 = Cluj County
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, subdivision_name2 = County seat
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(today Cluj-Napoca). He also brought his company of young actors, who were unknown to the Budapest audience at the time. They quickly created a unique and modern repertoire differing from the era's classical theater, that featured both French comedies, contemporary Hungarian (starting the career of
Ferenc Molnár
Ferenc Molnár ( , ; born Ferenc Neumann; 12 January 18781 April 1952), often anglicized as Franz Molnar, was a Hungarian-born author, stage-director, dramatist, and poet, widely regarded as Hungary’s most celebrated and controversial playw ...
,
Sándor Bródy, or
Jenő Heltai
Jenő Heltai (11 August 1871 – 3 September 1957), until 1913 Eugen Herzl, was a Hungarian author, poet, journalist and producer. He was of Jewish descent, though he later converted to Christianity. Several of his novels and plays have been ada ...
), and foreign (like from
Irwine Shaw,
Bertold Brecht
Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a pl ...
,
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...
) dramas. The Vígszínház provided starting ground and home for several of the biggest names of the theatrical world from the turn of the century, like
Gyula Csortos
Gyula József Csortos (3 March 1883 – 1 August 1945) was a Hungarian film and stage actor. He appeared in 80 films between 1912 and 1944. He was born in Munkács and died in Budapest.
Selected filmography
* '' A Vörös Sámson'' (1917) ...
,
Lili Darvas,
Lili Muráti
''Lili'' is a 1953 American film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, MGM. It stars Leslie Caron as a touchingly naïve French girl whose emotional relationship with a carnival puppeteer is conducted through the medium of four puppets. The film won t ...
,
Artur Somlay
Artur is a cognate to the common male given name Arthur, meaning "bear-like," which is believed to possibly be descended from the Roman surname Artorius or the Celtic bear-goddess Artio or more probably from the Celtic word ''artos'' ("bear"). O ...
,
Klári Tolnay
Klári Tolnay (born Rozália Klára Tolnay; 17 July 1914 – 27 October 1998) was a Hungarian actress. She received the Kossuth Prize in 1951 and 1952.
Life
Klári Tolnay (born Rózsi Tolnay) was born on 17 July 1914 in Budapest, as the da ...
or
Gyula Kabos
Gyula Kabos (19 March 1887, Budapest – 6 October 1941, New York) was a Hungarian actor and comedian, widely known for his comedic movie roles in the late 1930s.
Biography
Early years
Kabos was born on 19 March 1887, in Budapest as Gyul ...
.
In the last days of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, Jan 1 1945 the theater was hit by bombshells, so the company moved to the ''Radius Movie Theater'' in the Nagymező Street. The repairs began under the supervision of Oszkár Kaufmann. Along with other similar artistic institution, Vígszínház was nationalized in 1949 (before this time, it operated as a private theater). It reopened in 1951 under the name ''Theater of the People's Army''. Regaining its original name in 1960, Vígszínház became the main center of contemporary drama again, showing plays from Hungarian authors like Gábor Thurzó,
Gyula Illyés
Gyula Illyés born ''Gyula Illés'' (2 November 1902 – 15 April 1983) was a Hungarian poet and novelist. He was one of the so-called ''népi'' ("from the people") writers, named so because they aimed to show – propelled by strong so ...
,
István Örkény
István György Örkény (5 April 1912, Budapest – 24 June 1979, Budapest) was a Hungarian writer whose plays and novels often featured grotesque situations. He was a recipient of the Kossuth Prize in 1973.
Biography
He was born to a wealthy ...
, or classical 20th century authors like
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are '' All My Sons'' (1947), ''Death of a Salesman'' ( ...
or
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...
. In 1973 they premiered the popular ''Képzelt riport egy amerikai popfesztiválról'' (
An Imaginary Report on an American Rock Festival
''An Imaginary Report on an American Rock Festival'' ( hu, Képzelt riport egy amerikai popfesztiválról) is a Hungarian musical by composer Gábor Presser, lyricist Anna Adamis and book writer Sándor Pós based on the short novel of the same ...
), resulting in several other musical productions under the supervision of
Gábor Presser
Gábor Presser (born 27 May 1948) is a Kossuth Prize winning Hungarian musician, composer, singer. He was a band member in Locomotiv GT and Omega, and has been a prominent personality in Hungarian pop and rock music.
Biography
Childhood
Born ...
. The building underwent significant repairs in 1994.
With an average of 350.000 tickets sold each year, Vígszínház is still one of the most successful theatrical venues in Budapest.
Pesti Színház
Pesti Színház Theater, the chamber theater of
Vígszínház
The Comedy Theater of Budapest ( hu, Vígszínház) is a theater in Budapest. Starting in the turn of the 19th and 20th century as an opposition to the conservative National Theater, it became a pioneer institution of Hungarian drama, and one of ...
, is located in the 5th district. (address: Váci str. 9) Its auditorium's capacity is 538 persons.
Pesti Színház Theater was built in 1840, based on the plans of architect
József Hild
József Hild (born Josef Hild, 8 December 1789 – 6 March 1867) was a Hungarian-German architect.[Hild József ...](_blank)
. Now the building is protected by the law of National Monuments Inspectorate. Initially there was an elegant coffee house with marble columns in the tract opens to the Aranykéz street. The upper floors originally accommodated private apartments, but these were rebuilt for suites of Hotel National. In 1902 a new reconstruction program began and the premises of Cinema Corso occupied the ground floor.
In 1936–37 the building was reconstructed again and the auditorium of the Corso Cinema was expanded. In World War II almost the whole building was destroyed. The restoration started only in 1945 and some years later the cinema was renamed to Bartók Hall.
From 1967 Pesti Színház Theater is the chamber theater of Vígszínház with the same company. It's a venue for plays with a more intimate atmosphere. The Pesti Színház Theater also has several English and American successes, musicals and children-plays to its credit. The building was renovated in 2009 in a modern style.
Sources
– Comedy Theater in the Hungarian Theatrical Lexicon (György, Székely. ''Magyar Színházművészeti Lexikon''. Budapest: Akadémiai Kiadó, 1994. ), freely available on mek.oszk.hu
pestiszinhaz.hu article– History of the theater on the official page
External links
Official home page of the Comedy TheaterThe history of the theater by Emese Patkós (PDF file downloadable from the page)
{{Authority control
Buildings and structures in Budapest
Culture in Budapest
Theatres completed in 1896
Theatres in Budapest
Tourist attractions in Budapest
Fellner & Helmer buildings
Art Nouveau architecture in Budapest
Art Nouveau theatres