29 October, 2019
100th anniversary of the assignment of the status of "Academic" to the National Drama Theater
On October 29, 2019, the Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Azerbaijan, the Union of Theater Workers of Azerbaijan, the State Academic National Drama Theater and the State Theater Museum held a celebrational event dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the assignment of the “Academic” status to the National Drama Theater.
The event was attended by representatives of the government and the public, cultural figures of Azerbaijan, Russia and Georgia, representatives of the intelligentsia and media.
A photo exhibition dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the theater and costumes of our outstanding actors, whose roles went down in history, were presented to the guests in the lobby.
The event began with a speech by Azer Pasha Nematov - professor, people's artist, artistic director, director of the State Academic National Drama Theater. He spoke about the activity and achievements of the theater. Noting that the 100th anniversary of the State Academic National Drama Theater is an event of great importance, Azer Pasha Nematov said that the first national theater was created as a result of the union of several small acting troupes in 1919. He also mentioned how thorny and long the path of the theater was since the very beginning and that the first play shown on its stage was “Azer and Baijan”. In his speech, Azer Pasha Nematov noted that the tragic events that took place in the history of Azerbaijan did not pass without a trace for the theater - for example, among the victims of the bloody repressions of 1937 there were also actors of the National Drama Theater. A.Nematov also noted the courage and resilience of theater actors in the times World War II.
Noting the enormous contribution of outstanding theater figures to the theater’s current success, A. Nematov noted: “Heydar Aliyev has always been very supportive of the theater since the start of his governance in 1969. Each time he came to our premiere, he met with actors behind the scenes and talked to each of them individually. As a result of his care, our actors were awarded with honors and honorary titles and received housing. We are happy to know that President Ilham Aliyev has successfully continued his journey. The head of state was never indifferent to the theater. I am very glad that on July 24, President Ilham Aliyev signed a decree in honor of the 100th anniversary of the Azerbaijan State Academic National Drama Theater. This proves once again that the head of state does not forget about the theater, helps it to live on and prosper. ”
During the event videos were shown on the topics of “The Great Leader Heydar Aliyev and the Theater” and “President Ilham Aliyev and the Theater”.
Congratulating the theater staff, the Minister of Culture Abulfas Garayev said that the ancient and rich history of Azerbaijani theater art has come a long way and has been a source of moral growth of our people for the past 147 years.
Stressing that the National Drama Theater, which is the embodiment of the Republic of Azerbaijan, received its status on October 24, 1919, the minister said that a new era of the Azerbaijani theater had already begun. It is very important for independent Azerbaijan to preserve this history and pass it on to future generations.
Garayev said that in recent years a new stage has begun in the development of the Azerbaijani theater with its deep, glorious history. This development is primarily aimed at enriching the material and technical base of the theaters in accordance with world standards, developing interesting new performances as a product of the work of creative teams, expanding work and sharing experience with influential Western and European theaters.
Noting the 10-year prospects for the development of the Azerbaijani theater, the Minister mentioned that the state program of "Azerbaijan Theater 2009-2019" will be completed this year.
The Minister emphasized that our theaters have entered a new stage of development thanks to the attention of President Ilham Aliyev and President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Mehriban Aliyeva.
Then he read out the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on rewarding theater workers on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Academic National Drama Theater.
That evening, videos about theatrical art were filmed. Many foreign cultural figures such as Marius Donkin, Director of the Bulgarian National Theater, Alexander Kalyagin, Chairman of the Union of Theater Workers of the Russian Federation, Valery Fokin, Artistic Director of the Alexandrinsky Theater, Alexander Shirvint, Artistic Director of the Moscow Satire Theater, Lev Dodin, Artistic Director and Director of the St. Petersburg Drama Theater congratulated the theater staff.
Speaking at the event, Georgy Gegechkori, Chairman of the Georgian Society of Theater Workers and Konstantin Abashidze, artistic director of the Kutaisi State Professional Drama Theater named after Lado Meskhishvili, Valery Shadvin, director general of the Chekhov International Theater Festival, chairman of the International Confederation of Theater Unions, Robert Sturua, artistic director of the Georgian Chateau Rustaveli State Academic Theater and other guests of the event congratulated the theater staff.
Badri Maysuradze (First Deputy Minister of Education, Science, Culture and Sports of Georgia), Irina Troitskaya (Executive Secretary of the Confederation of International Theater Unions), George Tevzadze (Director of the State Academic Theater of Georgia named after S. Rustaveli), Leyla Aliyeva also attended the anniversary event Director of the Museum of Azerbaijani Culture named after M.F. Akhundzade).
At the ceremony, the book-album "State Academic National Drama Theater - 100", dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the theater was presented. The event ended with the performance of the anthem of the State Academic National Drama Theater.
