The Hermitage Municipal Theatre (russian: Муниципальный театр «Эрмитаж») is the only Municipal Theatre in

Tula, Russia Tula ( rus, Тула, p=ˈtulə) is the largest city and the administrative center of Tula Oblast in Russia, located south of Moscow. Tula is located in the northern Central Russian Upland on the banks of the Upa River, a tributary of the Oka. ...

History and overview

The Hermitage Municipal Theatre was opened in 1972 under the name of "Near

Tolstoy Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...

's Outpost", and it was not until 1992 that it was given its

Municipal A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

status. Until then it existed on a

voluntary Voluntary may refer to: * Voluntary (music) * Voluntary or volunteer, person participating via volunteering/volunteerism * Voluntary muscle contraction See also * Voluntary action * Voluntariness, in law and philosophy * Voluntaryism Volunt ...

basis and was treated like an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

studio. Spectators called it "Belov's Studio", after the name of its first leader Alexander Belov, whose outstanding personality and creativity made the theatre enormously famous among the citizens of Tula. The 'Near Tolstoy's Outpost' theatre troop consisted mainly of young energetic people, who acted brilliantly in such challenging productions as

Shakespeare's William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', and Rostand's ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

''. In 1998 the theatre faced dramatic changes. Its old building was lost in a fire, after which Belov left his post and many of the actors moved away from Tula to perform in the theatres of

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Saint-Petersburg and

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. In 2006 the theatre was granted a new building by the Culture Department of Tula. Though it is now situated far away from the

city centre A city centre is the commercial, cultural and often the historical, political, and geographic heart of a city. The term "city centre" is primarily used in British English, and closely equivalent terms exist in other languages, such as "" in Fren ...

, numerous opening nights,

festivals A festival is an event ordinarily celebrated by a community and centering on some characteristic aspect or aspects of that community and its religion or cultures. It is often marked as a local or national holiday, mela, or eid. A festival co ...

, events and other special occasions gather a wide audience. In 2010 the theatre was renamed The Hermitage (from the French ''hermitage'', a distant chapel) partly because of its far-away location. The Hermitage Municipal theatre is now reviving its fame by staging unusual plays and performances, including festivals and

carnivals Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival typi ...

on the Tula city streets and central squares, as well as exhibitions, competitions and charitable shows for children and adults. The Hermitage Municipal Theatre has toured in

Novorossiysk Novorossiysk ( rus, Новоросси́йск, p=nəvərɐˈsʲijsk; ady, ЦIэмэз, translit=Chəməz, p=t͡sʼɜmɜz) is a city in Krasnodar Krai, Russia. It is one of the largest ports on the Black Sea. It is one of the few cities hono ...

Ekaterinburg Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administrat ...

Lipetsk Lipetsk ( rus, links=no, Липецк, p=ˈlʲipʲɪtsk), also romanized as Lipeck, is a city and the administrative center of Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, located on the banks of the Voronezh River in the Don basin, southeast of Moscow. Populatio ...

, Saint Petersburg and Moscow.

Special occasions and performances

* 'Theatre Patio' International Street Theatre Festival * House concerts * 'Pictures of Peace' art exhibition * 'Silver Rain' music and dramatic performance * 'Theatre in Your Life' photo contest * 'Welcome to the Hermitage' Youth Theatre Festival * 'The Theatre Goes to the City' Project * Charitable New Year celebrations for children * 'Granny's fairy-tales' performance * Annual performances within Tula City Celebrations

References

External links

Official website, Contacts

'Culture Revolution at the Hermitage' article in the 'Molodoy Kommunar' newspaper
{{coord, 54.2189, 37.6990, type:landmark_region:RU, display=title Theatres in Tula Buildings and structures in Tula Oblast