An idea. A cherished, audacious and crazy one: to create a theatre, one's own theatre, a musical theatre. One with like-minded actors, with an interesting repertoire, with its own audience and in its own building. When a dream is born in a heart that is ardent and restless, that dream is bound to gradually come true.
The Musical Chikhachev Theatre (the Theatre or the Chikhachev Theatre, for short) is an inexhaustible source of creative energy; the Theatre is headed by the art director Gennady Chikhachev, the chief dreamer, fantasiser and tale-teller. Created by him in 1987, his studio theatre from the beginning attracted everybody's attention with unusual titles: "Intergirl", a show that quickly became a bestseller; "Only Hussars Love Like That!", a vaudeville (based on Fyodor Koni's "The Young Lady Hussar") that is still occupying a place of honour in the Theatre's repertoire; as well as with naive and kind tales written by Chikhachev himself (featuring the Slavic folklore and modern Russian children's literature charcters that are well-known in Russia): "Baba-Yaga's Evil Design", "Intrigues of Koshchey the Immortal", "Dunno in the Land of Thorns" and many others.
Having no building of its own, the Theatre went on tours all around the former Soviet Union: from the western city of Brest, Belarus, to the eastern city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, and from the northern city of Tambov, Russia, to the southern city of Almaty, Kazakhstan. Everywhere the Theatre obtained great multitudes of admirers with its sincerity, youthful enthusiasm and optimism. It was during this time that the Theatre's core started to take shape: people that were talented, obsessed and faithful. And it was Tatyana Petrova and Vladlen Mikhalkov, both holding the titles of Russia's Meritorious Artist, who were at the origins of the Theatre; and today's audience knowns and loves them. At that time, the Theatre's repertoire started rapidly enlarging with new and interesting productions. The Theatre staged such productions for children as the musical tale "Well, Wolf, Just You Wait!" (its title alluding to an animated cartoon series that is extremely famous in Russia) and the musical "The Golden Chicken" (based on the play by Vladimir Orlov); it also staged such productions for parents as The Great Love of Catherine the Great and "Mirandolina" (an operetta based on Carlo Goldoni's play "The Mistress of the Inn") and others.
It seemed as if the dream started coming true. However, as is well known, a dream must be managed, or it will fly away immediately and will never come back. In the firm hands of the head art director Chikhachev, a stage director, Russia's meritorious artist and a professor, the Theatre has been steadily growing and evolving.
In 1994, the Theatre received the status of a state theatre. When the Theatre obtained its own orchestra, another dream, that of a musical theatre, was made possible to realise. It was then that the talent of the stage director and his assistants started to sparkle in every possible way!
In the endless ocean of music, an entire archipelago of wonderful islands appeared: the musicals "The Stone Flower" (based on Pavel Bazhov's tale), "Don Cesar de Bazan" (based on the comedy by Philippe-Francois Dumanoir and Adolphe d'Ennery) and "Cinderella" (based on Yevgeny Schwartz's reworking of the tale by Charles Perrault) as well as the concert-like production "Love Only!" (loosely based on classical operettas) and others. A wonderful company was shaped at the Theatre; the company included such vocalists and drama actors as Natalya Zamniborshch, Yevgeniya Korneva, Kirill Khmelevsky, Yevgeny Bashlykov, Lyudmila Polyanskaya, Vyacheslav Amosov, Russia's Meritorious Worker of Culture Oksana Kuchmenko, Denis Kovalenko and others.
The Theatre's main creative principles were conceived and later became its credo: every performer of a musical theatre is not just a first-class vocalist, but also a profound drama actor. A psychological musical theatre was formed; this is a relatively rare phenomenon in the world of contemporary music. New creative forces headed for the Theatre like ships for a lighthouse.
After Vladimir Yankovsky had become the head conductor of the Theatre, new pearls started shining in its music box: the show "We Want Operetta!" (based on Soviet operettas); the children's opera "The Teremok" (based on Samuil Marshak's tale) that received a diploma of an international festival, "The Tale That Came to Life"; the first Russia's production of Franz Lehar's work for children (his operetta "Peter und Paul im Schlaraffenland" staged as "An Escape to the Land of Idlers"); and the sparkling musical comedy "Balzaminov's Wedding" by A. Kulygin (loosely based on the play by Aleksandr Ostrovsky). A so-called small symphony orchestra was formed; it consisted of 36 graduates from Moscow Conservatory and other Moscow musical higher educational institutions.
Thus, it became possible to realise the cherished plans of the stage director. The recent premieres of the Theatre, Kulygin's operetta "They Are Guilty Though Guiltless" (loosely based on the play by Ostrovsky) and Aleksandr Zhurbin's "Russian musical" "Humiliated and Insulted" (loosely based on the novel by Fyodor Dostoyevsky). The success of these productions was reinforced by the fact that new and talented actors had joined the Theatre: Russia's Meritorious Artist Vasily Ovcharov; Yelena Sokolova, an award winner at an international competition for operetta singers; Lyudmila Gorodetskaya; Aleksey Gorodetsky; Dmitry Pivovarov and others.
Of course, a bit of jealousy and bitterness crept in at times. Fortunately, by now the time when the Theatre was "homeless" has long passed as has the terrible fire that erupted in the building that was finally obtained by the Theatre. Now, one understands that this must have been a test for the dream or even for its mere right to exist.
At present, the Theatre has its own home, sweat and cosy.
In 2003, the Theatre became a member of Russia's Association of the Music Theatres, which, in turn, joined the International Theatre Institute. Today, the Theatre, which is situated on outskirts of Moscow, attracts spectators from every corner of the city. The Chikhachev Theatre has become a frequent and welcomed guest of festivals and many theatre events. The Theatre enjoys attention of the major Moscow mass media, and many talented actors dream of being accepted to its company.
So, has the dream come true? Not at all! The road of Creation is endless, and a realisation of a dream leads to another one, even more desired and unrealisable. In 2007, the Theatre turned 20! It is absolutely clear that for the Theatre the best lies ahead!
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