The State Hungarian Theatre of Cluj ( hu, Kolozsvári Állami Magyar Színház; ro, Teatrul Maghiar de Stat din Cluj) is a theatre in

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

. Performances are played in Hungarian, with simultaneous translation into

Romanian Romanian may refer to: *anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Romania ** Romanians, an ethnic group **Romanian language, a Romance language ***Romanian dialects, variants of the Romanian language **Romanian cuisine, traditiona ...

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

usually available. The structure, built during 1909-1910 and reconstructed in 1959-1961, can seat 862 people in the main auditorium. The building, which also houses the

Cluj-Napoca Hungarian Opera The Cluj-Napoca Hungarian Opera ( hu, Kolozsvári Állami Magyar Opera; ro, Opera Maghiară din Cluj) is an opera company in Cluj-Napoca, Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, an ...

, is listed in the National Register of Historic Monuments.

History

The Hungarian Theatre of Cluj was founded in 1792 and was the first Hungarian theatre company in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the A ...

, now a part of modern-day Romania. The Hungarian Theatre of Cluj functions as a repertory theatre, entirely subsidized by the Romanian Ministry of Culture. The defining periods of the theatre were shaped by directors of international fame who are considered key figures of Hungarian and European theatre, including Gyula E. Kovács, the initiator of the Shakespeare-series,

Jenő Janovics Jenő Janovics (8 December 1872 – 16 November 1945) was a Hungarian film director, screenwriter and actor of the silent era. He directed 33 films between 1913 and 1920. He also wrote for 30 films between 1913 and 1918. He was the founder ...

, founder of the first Hungarian film studio, and György Harag, a great Maestro of the theatre in Romania. In 1990

Gábor Tompa Gábor Tompa (born 8 August 1957 in Târgu Mureș) is an internationally renowned Hungarian theater and film director, poet, essayist and teacher. Between 2007 and 2016 he was the Head of Directing at the Theatre and Dance Department of the Univers ...

was appointed artistic director of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj. Under his leadership, the theatre has continued Harag's tradition of innovation, based on a repertoire that includes classic masterpieces as well as contemporary plays. During the last 18 years the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj has aligof contemporary theatre and taken its place in the circuit of European theatres. This has been largely due to international co-productions and collaborations with world-renowned professionals: directors such as Vlad Mugur, Silviu Purcărete,

Andrei Șerban Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian- American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at th ...

, Mihai Măniuţiu, Victor Ioan Frunză, Mathias Langhoff, David Zinder, Dragoş Galgoţiu, Patrick Le Mauff, Elie Malka, Dominique Serrand, Michal Docekal and Robert Woodruff; set and costume designers such as Andrei Both, Csaba Antal, Doina Levintza, Lia Manţoc, Martin Chocholousek, Dragos Buhagiar, and Helmut Stürmer; and composers such as Vasile Şirli and Iosif Herţea. Productions of the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj have received significant national and international recognition. In 1993,

Eugène Ionesco Eugène Ionesco (; born Eugen Ionescu, ; 26 November 1909 – 28 March 1994) was a Romanian-French playwright who wrote mostly in French, and was one of the foremost figures of the French avant-garde theatre in the 20th century. Ionesco inst ...

's ''

The Bald Prima Donna ''La Cantatrice chauve '' – translated from French as ''The Bald Soprano'' or ''The Bald Prima Donna'' – is the first play written by Romanian-French playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on 11 May 1950 at the ...

'', directed by

, won the Best Foreign Performance of the Year Award when it toured England; it also went to Finland, France, the Republic of Moldova and Hungary. In 2007, Tompa's production of András Visky's ''Long Friday'' was presented at the 16th Festival of the

Union of the Theatres of Europe The Union of European Theatres (UTE; french: Union des Théâtres de l'Europe) is an alliance of European public theatres. It serves to promote European integration through cultural interaction. It does intensive transnational theatre work compr ...

in Turin. And in 2008, UNITER, the Union of Romanian Theatres, gave three awards to the Hungarian Theatre's production of

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 ...

's ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the di ...

'', directed by Andrei Şerban. András Hatházi received the Award for Best Actor for his performance in the title role, and Andrei Şerban the Award for Best Director of the Year, while the production as a whole won the award for Best Performance of the Year. This was the fifth time the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj had won the UNITER Award for Best Performance of the Year. Previously, ''

Bus Stop A bus stop is a place where buses stop for passengers to get on and off the bus. The construction of bus stops tends to reflect the level of usage, where stops at busy locations may have shelters, seating, and possibly electronic passenger ...

'' in 1990, ''

The Venetian Twins ''The Venetian Twins'' ( it, I due gemelli veneziani, links=no, or "The two Venetian twins") is a 1747 play by Carlo Goldoni, based on Plautus's ''Menaechmi''. It was performed by Il Teatro Stabile of Genoa at the 1965 Edinburgh Internationa ...

'' in 1998, ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...

'' in 1999, and ''

Woyzeck ''Woyzeck'' () is a stage play written by Georg Büchner. Büchner wrote the play between July and October 1836, yet left it incomplete at his death in February 1837. The play first appeared in 1877 in a heavily edited version by Karl Emil Fr ...

'' in 2005, were all distinguished by this honor. Then in 2009 " Three Sisters" became the sixth performance to win the Best Performance Award and Gábor Tompa became for the fourth time the Best Director of the Year. " Victor or power to the Children" and Silviu Purcarete repeated the "double" in 2014. In 2007, on the 215th anniversary of its existence, the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj successfully hosted the 1st INTERFERENCES International Theatre Festival, with 12 productions from 7 countries. The following April, the theatre was accepted as a full member of the

and in the fall of 2008 the Hungarian Theatre of Cluj, together with the

Bulandra Theatre The Bulandra Theatre ( ro, Teatrul Bulandra) in Bucharest, Romania was founded in 1947 as Teatrul Municipal; its first director was Lucia Sturdza-Bulandra, one of the leading Romanian stage actresses of her generation. Liviu Ciulei was director b ...

of Bucharest, organized the 17th Festival of the Union of the Theatres of Europe.17th Festival of the Union of the Theatres of Europe
official website (English version available)

References

External links

Hungarian Theatre of Cluj official website
* {{coord, 46.772332, 23.583892, display=title 1792 establishments in Europe 18th-century establishments in Romania Buildings and structures in Cluj-Napoca Culture in Cluj-Napoca Hungarians in Romania Theatres in Cluj-Napoca Tourist attractions in Cluj-Napoca