Rustaveli National Theatre ( ka, შოთა რუსთაველის სახელობის აკადემიური თეატრი ) is the largest and one of the oldest theaters of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, located in its capital

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Kura River with a population of approximately 1.5 million pe ...

on Rustaveli Avenue. Housed in an ornate

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

-style edifice, the theatre was founded in 1887 and since 1921 has carried the name of Georgia's national poet Rustaveli.

History and architecture

The building was founded in 1887 as an "Artists' Society". Upon request of the Artists' Society, several celebrated artists were commissioned to paint

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plast ...

es on the walls and ceilings of the basement. These artists included prominent Georgian painters

Lado Gudiashvili Lado Gudiashvili ( ka, ლადო გუდიაშვილი; 30 March 1896 – 20 July 1980) was a Georgian artist of the 20th century. Gudiashvili was born into a family of a railroad employee. He studied in the Tbilisi school of scul ...

and

David Kakabadze Davit' Kakabadze ( ka, დავით კაკაბაძე) (August 20, 1889 – May 10, 1952) was a leading Georgian avant-garde painter, graphic artist and scenic designer. A multi-talent, he was also an art scholar and innovator in the fi ...

, as well as theatre set designer

Serge Sudeikin Sergey Yurievich Sudeikin, also known as Serge Soudeikine (19 March 1882 in Smolensk – 12 August 1946 in Nyack, New York), was a Russian artist and set-designer associated with the Ballets Russes and the Metropolitan Opera. Biography Havin ...

, who is known for his work for the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. ...

and the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera (commonly known as the Met) is an American opera company based in New York City, resident at the Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, currently situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. The company is opera ...

. Two other important Georgian painters, Mose and Iracly Toidze, eventually joined the project as well. The masterpieces that once adorned the lower level of the Rustaveli Theatre were whitewashed during the period of Soviet rule and only a small portion of the frescoes has been restored. In 1921 the building was renamed Rustaveli Theatre. Construction of the theatre was funded by

Alexander Mantashev Alexander Mantashev (, Aleksandr Mantashiants; , Aleksandr Ivanovich Mantashev; 3 March 1842 – 19 April 1911) was a prominent Russian oil magnate, industrialist, financier, and a philanthropist of the Armenian origin. By the end of his ...

and it was designed by Cornell K. Tatishchev and

Aleksander Szymkiewicz Aleksander Szymkiewicz (12 November 1858, in Saint Petersburg – 1908, in Tbilisi) was a Polish people, Polish architect who worked in Georgia (country), Georgia (primarily in Tbilisi) in the 1880s–1900s. He was a member of the City Counci ...

, Tbilisi's Municipal Architect. From 2002 to 2005 the theatre underwent a thorough renovation, which was largely funded by Georgian businessman Bidzina Ivanishvili.

Performance facilities

The theatre is home to three stages including, the main stage (about 800 seats), the small stage (283 seats) and a Black Box Theatre (182 seats) for experimental performances. The theatre is also available for conferences and events and houses a large ballroom, a small ballroom and a small foyer.

Photo gallery

File:59Rustavelis theatri.jpg, An early photo of Rustaveli Theatre. File:Rustaveli ceiling.jpg,

ceiling File:Rustaveli hall.jpg, Audience boxes in the main hall File:Web 2493.jpg, Audience boxes & decorative ceiling.

External links

Official site
Cultural venues in Tbilisi Rustaveli Avenue Theatres in Georgia (country) Tourist attractions in Tbilisi {{Georgia-struct-stub