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

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

, located in its capital

Tbilisi Tbilisi ( ; ka, თბილისი, ), in some languages still known by its pre-1936 name Tiflis ( ), ( ka, ტფილისი, tr ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Georgia (country), largest city of Georgia ( ...

Rustaveli Avenue Rustaveli Avenue ( ka, რუსთაველის გამზირი, Rust'avelis Gamziri), formerly known as Golovin Street, is the central avenue in Tbilisi named after the medieval Georgian poet, Shota Rustaveli. The avenue starts at ...

. Housed in an ornate

Rococo Rococo, less commonly Roccoco ( , ; or ), also known as Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and dramatic style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpte ...

-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 ( 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 plaster, the painting become ...

es on the walls and ceilings of the basement. These artists included prominent Georgian painters Lado Gudiashvili and David Kakabadze, as well as theatre set designer Serge Sudeikin, 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 Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

and the

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

. 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 and it was designed by Cornell K. Tatishchev and Aleksander Szymkiewicz, 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 A black box theater is a performance space, typically a square or rectangular room, with black walls and a black, flat floor. The simplicity of the space allows it to be used to create a variety of configurations of stage and audience interact ...

(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

Sources

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