Timofey Aleksandrovich Kulyabin (; born 10 October 1984, Izhevsk) is a Russian theater and opera director.

Biography

Kulyabin was one of the most prominent young theatre directors in recent years in Russia. After graduating from the Russian Institute of Theatre Arts (course of Oleg Kudryashov) in 2007 he is successfully working in drama and opera theatres throughout the country and abroad. In his record are already 15 drama and 2 opera productions. Critics mark his ability to switch between large and chamber stages with equally strong and original concepts. All of his productions of the classic dramas and operas create a big resonance in the professional and non-professional theater communities. Kulyabin's ''Onegin'' in the Red Torch theatre has been awarded a special prize of the Russian Performing Arts Festival and National Theater Award Golden Mask. His production of Wagner's '' Tannhäuser'' in December 2014 was met by great critical acclaim in Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre. Its cast included Wagnerian Heldentenor Stig Fogh Andersen, Irina Churilova as Elisabeth, and as Landgrave. Some aspect of the production, notably the depiction of Tannhäuser in the Venusberg scene, led to criminal proceedings following a complaint by the Orthodox archbishop of Novosibirsk and Berdsk, Tikhon (Leonid Grigoryevich Yemelyanov). The accusation was supported before the court by the deputy prosecutor of Novosibirsk, Igor Stasyulis, who shared the fascist views of Aleksandr Dugin and had maintained close links with orthodox fundamentalists such as . A magistrate court later dismissed those allegations. Stasyulis appealed this decision but subsequently had to withdraw his appeal. Later, the Minister of Culture, Vladimir Medinsky, dismissed the theatre's director, Boris Mezdrich, and appointed Vladimir Kekhman as the new director, who then canceled all further performances. After the success of his ''Onegin'' and ''#shakespearsonnets'' in the

Theatre of Nations The Theatre of Nations, also known as the State Theatre of Nations (), is a theatre located in the heritage-listed building originally built in 1885 as the Korsh Theatre in central Moscow, Russia. The theatre has no resident theatre company, ...

in Moscow, he has been invited to the

Bolshoi Theatre The Bolshoi Theatre ( rus, Большо́й теа́тр, r=Bol'shoy teatr, p=bɐlʲˈʂoj tʲɪˈat(ə)r, t=Grand Theater) is a historic opera house in Moscow, Russia, originally designed by architect Joseph Bové. Before the October Revolutio ...

to create a new '' Don Pasquala'' production in April 2016. Recently Kulyabin took the position of artistic director of the Red Torch theatre in

Novosibirsk Novosibirsk is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and the Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the 2021 Russian census, 2021 census, it had a population of 1,633,595, making it the most populous city in Siber ...

. On May 2, 2022, the Bolshoi announced the cancellation of further performances of his adaptation of Don Pasquala. Kulyabin had left Russia due to his criticism of the

Russo-Ukrainian War The Russo-Ukrainian War began in February 2014 and is ongoing. Following Ukraine's Revolution of Dignity, Russia Russian occupation of Crimea, occupied and Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, annexed Crimea from Ukraine. It then ...

. Kulyabin is now believed to be based in Europe.

Productions

* 2006: ''Down the Nevsky Avenue'' after

Nikolai Gogol Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol; ; (; () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright of Ukrainian origin. Gogol used the Grotesque#In literature, grotesque in his writings, for example, in his works "The Nose (Gogol short story), ...

's short story " Nevsky Prospekt" (Academic Drama Theatre,

Omsk Omsk (; , ) is the administrative center and largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city of Omsk Oblast, Russia. It is situated in southwestern Siberia and has a population of over one million. Omsk is the third List of cities and tow ...

) * 2007: '' The Queen of Spades'' after

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin () was a Russian poet, playwright, and novelist of the Romantic era.Basker, Michael. Pushkin and Romanticism. In Ferber, Michael, ed., ''A Companion to European Romanticism''. Oxford: Blackwell, 2005. He is consid ...

's short story " The Queen of Spades" () * 2007: ''Livejournal'' (Russian Drama Theatre,

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

) * 2008: ''Death Defying Acts'' by Oleg Antonov (Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2008: ''Jolly Roger'' by Damir Salimzyanov (Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2008: ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 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 ...

(Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2009: '' Prince Igor'' by Alexander Borodin (Opera and Ballet Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2009: '' Masquerade'' by

Mikhail Lermontov Mikhail Yuryevich Lermontov ( , ; rus, Михаи́л Ю́рьевич Ле́рмонтов, , mʲɪxɐˈil ˈjʉrʲjɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲerməntəf, links=yes; – ) was a Russian Romanticism, Romantic writer, poet and painter, sometimes called ...

(Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2010: ''

Carmen ''Carmen'' () is an opera in four acts by the French composer Georges Bizet. The libretto was written by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée. The opera was first performed by the O ...

'' after Prosper Mérimée's novella ''

'' (Volkov Drama Theatre,

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

) * 2010: ''No Words'' (Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2012: ''Dress Code'' after

's short story "

The Overcoat "The Overcoat" (, translit. Shinyél’; sometimes translated as "The Cloak" or "The Mantle") is a short story by Nikolai Gogol, published in 1842. The story has had a great influence on Russian literature. Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé, ...

" (Comedian's Shelter Theatre, St. Petersburg) * 2012:
Onegin
' after

's novel ''

Eugene Onegin ''Eugene Onegin, A Novel in Verse'' (, Reforms of Russian orthography, pre-reform Russian: Евгеній Онѣгинъ, романъ въ стихахъ, ) is a novel in verse written by Alexander Pushkin. ''Onegin'' is considered a classic of ...

'' (Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2012: '' Hedda Gabler'' by

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

(Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2013:
Electra
' by

Euripides Euripides () was a Greek tragedy, tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars attributed ninety-five plays to ...

(State Theatre of Nations, Moscow) * 2013: ''Kill'' after

Friedrich Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright. He was born i ...

's ''

Intrigue and Love ''Intrigue and Love'', sometimes ''Love and Intrigue'', ''Love and Politics'', or ''Luise Miller'' (, ; literally "''Cabal and Love''") is a five-act Play (theatre), play written by the German dramatist Friedrich Schiller. His third play, it was ...

'', (Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2014:
#shakespearsonnets
' (State Theatre of Nations, Moscow) * 2014: '' Tannhäuser'' by

Richard Wagner Wilhelm Richard Wagner ( ; ; 22 May 181313 February 1883) was a German composer, theatre director, essayist, and conductor who is chiefly known for his operas (or, as some of his mature works were later known, "music dramas"). Unlike most o ...

(Opera and Ballet Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2015:
Three sisters
' by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

(Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2016: ''Don Pasquale'' by

Gaetano Donizetti Domenico Gaetano Maria Donizetti (29 November 1797 – 8 April 1848) was an Italian Romantic music, Romantic composer, best known for his almost 70 operas. Along with Gioachino Rossini and Vincenzo Bellini, he was a leading composer of the ''be ...

(Bolshoi Theatre, Moscow) * 2017: ''The Trial'' by

Franz Kafka Franz Kafka (3 July 1883 – 3 June 1924) was a novelist and writer from Prague who was Jewish, Austrian, and Czech and wrote in German. He is widely regarded as a major figure of 20th-century literature. His work fuses elements of Litera ...

(Red Torch Theatre, Novosibirsk) * 2017:
Rigoletto
' by

Giuseppe Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi ( ; ; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for List of compositions by Giuseppe Verdi, his operas. He was born near Busseto, a small town in the province of Parma ...

( Opernhaus Wuppertal) * 2022: '' In the Solitude of Cotton Fields'' by Bernard-Marie Koltès ( Dailes Theatre, Riga) * 2022: '' Nora'' by

( Ivan Vazov National Theatre, Sofia)

Awards

* 2007 ''«The Queen of Spades» after Alexander Pushkin'' All-Russian Festival «Volga Theatre Seasons» in Samara; award in «Best Director» nomination. Theatre Festival/Contest «Paradise» organized by Novosibirsk Branch of the Russian Theatre Association; award in «Best Director’s Debut» nomination. * 2008 ''«A Mortal Trick» by Oleg Antonov'' Theatre Festival «Siberian Transit» in Barnaul; an honorary diploma. * 2009 ''«Macbeth» by William Shakespeare'' Regional Theatre Festival «Paradise» in Novosibirsk; award in «The Best Staging Concept» nomination. * 2010 Award «A Person of the Year» of culture and art (Novosibirsk) * 2013 ''«Electra» by Euripides'' Theatre award of Moscow daily newspaper « Moskovskij Komsomolets», award in best small scale production nomination ''«Onegin» by Alexander Pushkin'' National Theatre Festival «Golden Mask», Drama and Puppet Theatre Jury's Special Award * 2014 ''«Kill»'' «Best production» award of Theatre Festival «New Siberian Transit» * 2015 Personal Grant of the Government of Russian Federation ''«#shakespearsonnets»'' Theatre award of Moscow daily newspaper « Moskovskij Komsomolets», award in best small scale production nomination * 2016 ''«Tannhäuser» by Richard Wagner'' «Production of the year» award by magazine «Muzykalnoye obozrenie» Audience сhoice award «Teatral», award in best musical production nomination ''«Three sisters» by Anton Chekhov '' «Production of the year» award by Theatre Critics Association * 2017 ''«The three sisters» by Anton Chekhov'' National Theatre Festival «Golden Mask», Drama and Puppet Theatre Jury's Special Award ''«''Ensemble in the play''»'' * 2017 Europe Theatre Prize Nomination for the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities

References

External links

Homepage

Theatre of Nations – official site

Golden Mask – official site

Red Torch Theatre – official site

International Theater Festival Acadameia: ''Onegin''

RIA Novosti. Preview of Theatre of Nations play ''Elektra'' (Photos)

International Festival-School Territoria: ''Elektra''

Theatre of Nations: #shakespearesonnets

''

The Moscow Times ''The Moscow Times'' (''MT'') is an Amsterdam-based independent English-language and Russian-language online newspaper. It was in print in Russia from 1992 until 2017 and was distributed free of charge at places frequented by English-speaking to ...

'' (on #shakespearesonnets * * * * * * * * *
''Tannhäuser'', gallery
*
Wiener Festwochen: ''Three Sisters''
* *
Sueddeutsche: ''Groll und Gesten''

Der standard: ''Drei Schwestern''

Die Presse: ''Drei Schwestern: Bei Tschechow ist das Dunkel licht genug''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kulyabin, Timofey 1984 births Living people People from Izhevsk Russian opera directors Russian theatre directors Novosibirsk Opera and Ballet Theatre