Marjanishvili Theatre

Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre is the second state theatre in Tbilisi, Georgia. Originally founded in Kutaisi in 1928 by Kote Marjanishvili, the theatre moved to Tbilisi in 1930 to Brothers Zubalashvili Public House, the building it occupies up to date.The roots of Georgian theatre date back to the middle of the second millennium BC. The cult of Dionysius spread widely in ancient Georgia. The proof remains in Vani, Sarkineti and Dzalisi where Dionysius Temples have been discovered, also in Uplistsikhe, the city in rock (3-2 cc. BC) where a theatre building is surrounded with its own stage, orchestra pit and the audience hall. It is clear that antique, theatrical and performing culture was very well known in ancient Georgia.Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre was established in Kutaisi in 1928 year and very soon it was titled The Second State Georgian Drama Theatre. It was founded by a great theatre director and reformer of the Georgian theatre by the name of Kote Marjanishvili. He was invited from Russia to implement theatrical reform in Georgia. Marjanishvili played a crucial role in the development of Georgian theatrical life, and is generally credited with navigating a path for modern Georgian theatre. Using established Georgian theatrical traditions, Marjanishvili created a modern theatre in which antique, classical and modern drama existed harmoniously .

In that period, Tbilisi’s intellectual life was centered on the theatre. Writers such as Shalva Dadiani, Polikarpe Kakabadze, Karlo Kaladze, Simon Chikovani and artists such as Petre Otskeli, Davit Kakabadze, Lado Gudiashvili, Elene Akhvlediani and composers such as Kote Megvinetukhutsesi, Andria Balanchivadze have all been drawn to the Marjanishvili.

From the very beginning, the Marjanishvili theatre company has been first rate. Veriko Anjaparidze, Ushangi Chkheidze, Tamar Chavchavadze, Shalva Gambashidze, Vaso Godziashvili, Sesilia Takaishvili, Sandro Zhorzholiani, Akaki Kvantaliani, Giorgi Shavgulidze -these are the names of the legendary actors who created an entire epoch of Georgian theatre.Ushangi Chkheidze, an actor of great innate expressiveness and tragic force, was the most gifted exponent of Kote Marjanishvili’s artistic credo. The fresh, inimitable, dazzling scenic images of Uriel Acosta, Kvarkvare Tutaberi, Cenci, Iago created by him are exemplary scenic images.

In the characters created by Veriko Anjaparidze, one can feel the breath of Georgian poetry and music.She is romantically-minded, emotionally elevated as well as full of ardour and scenic charm. These qualities are prominent in the roles of Judit, Desdemona, Medea, grandmother, Fru Alving, Fati Gurieli, Otaraant’s widow etc. but Judit was one of the best roles from her repertoire so as “Uriel Akosta” one of the best plays staged by Kote Marjanishvili in 1929.The art of staging plays has attained a high level of success in Georgia. The names of many well-known stage directors are tightly linked with the Marjanishvili Theatre: Vaso Kushitashvili, Archil Chkhartishvili, Vakhtang Tabliashvili, Dodo Aleksidze, Lili Ioseliani, Giga Lortkifanidze, Temur Chkheidze. They are all vivid individualities, whose performances were always characterized by expressive diversity and the high quality of the directing. They have staged plays that have won wide recognition.

Vaso Kushitashvili worked in France as a producer for 15 years, at the “Antoine” and “Odeon” theatres. He also founded the “Atelier” theatre. He worked for a time in the United States, in theatres in New York and New Orleans. As a man possessing a high professional culture, deep education and exquisite taste, he had a gift for establishing creative, contacts and work with actors. The following are some of his noteworthy productions at the Marjanishvili theatre:The performance of Euripides’ “Medea” produced by A. Chkhartishvili at the Marjanishvili theatre in 1962 was another brilliant page in the history of the Georgian theatre. Medea was impersonated by the well-known tragic actress Aspasia Papatanassiu. She said in an interview for the press “I can’t help expressing my delight. The performance was most interesting. It is pleasant to see the great popularity of Euripides in Georgia. I think this is not a matter of chance.”

Lili Ioseliani’s individuality as a director is fully evident in his manner of working with actors. He has a fine pedagogical flair and a salutary influence on those he is educating.

Giga Lortkipanidze’s style is that of a master of colorful theatrical performances imbued with a national spirit, which is manifested predominantly in Georgian plays. He keenly feels the style and the genre of a play. “Me, Grandmother, Iliko and Ilarion” ,“See the Sun” by Nodar Dumbadze and “Kakhaber’s Sword“ by Polikarpe Kakabadze, all produced by him at the Marjanishvili theatre, are especially significant.

Dodo Antadze was director of the Marjanishvili theatre from 1934-1938 after its founder’s death. He staged a number of noteworthy productions.

Temur Chkheidze examines his characters very thoroughly as well as looks into the deep conflict of the human being and into the psychology of each hero. This is why his productions always reaches the most valuable thing in theatre they are convincing! The visual side of the production always reflects the essence of the original play in the most interesting way. He has been an artistic director of Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre from 1981 until 1988. Since then has worked at this theatre as a producer. Working at this theatre, he has directed performances which always played a distinguished role for the Georgian theatre: “Haki Atsba” by Leo Kiacheli, “Othello” by William Shakespeare, “Jako’s Refugees” by Michail Javakhishvili, “Perfidy and Love” by Friedrich Schiller, “The Crucible”, by Arthur Miller.Otar Megvinetukhutsesi, the famous Georgian theatre and film actor, was the artistic director of the company for ten years (1996-2005). After founding the Rustavi State Drama Theatre in 1967, he returned to the Marjanishili Theatre in the mids 70s and began a new era for the company with productions such as Oedipus in Sophocle’s tragedy “Oedipus the King” directed by Giga Lortkipanidze and Tamaz Meskhi.

Artistic relationship between Otar Megvinetukhutsesi and Temur Chkheidze appeared very important for the Georgian culture. They first met at “Haki Atsba” by Leo Kiacheli, where Otar played the role of Ujush Emba. Then the legend continued with “Othello”. In 1984 the performance was invited to Vaimar, Germany at the Shakespeare International Conference held at the Shakespeare birthday celebration.

The 2006 autumn theatre season began with Georgia’s dramatic elite gathering in the oldest and most venerable venue in the country - Kote Marjanishvili State Drama Theatre. This occasion was special for a number of reasons: it marked the unveiling of the newly renovated theatre building, and the birthday of the bright star of Otar Megvinetukhutsesi, along with the premiere of a Bertolt Brecht classic “The Three penny Opera” and the opening 76th theatrical season.

Even though the soviet system denied Georgian artists to represent their theatrical mastery abroad, Marjanishvili Theatre still managed to attend different art and theatre festivals, where critic and public alike have always been enchanted by Georgians passionate and innovate approach to the theatre and to the life.The theatre building was thoroughly renovated and reopened in 2006 with the premiere of Bertolt Brecht's The Threepenny Opera.

Georgian Actress Medea JaparidZe

Born February 20, 1923, in Tbilisi, Georgia.

The K. Marjanishvili Theatre actrees since 1942.

The People's Artist of Georgia (1960).

Actress - filmography: Bati Tasiko (1986) (voice) - Tasiko; Old Valtz (1984); Autumn Sun (1973) -Eka; Lived Once a Song (1970); Color of Pomegranates (Sayat Nova) (1968) - Poet's mother; Last Summer (1959) - Eliko; Song of Eteri (1956) - Nato; Keto and Kote (1948) - Keto; Cradle for Akaki (1947) - Young princess, Sister of Akaki; Shchit Dzhurgai (1944) - Eteri; George Saakadze (1942) - Princess Tinatin, later Queen of Iran; Bridge (1942) - Manana; The Girl from the Other Side (1941) - Nazime; Lights of Kolkheti (1940) - Dzabuli and etc.

Georgian Actress Sophiko Chiaureli

Sophiko Chiaureli  was a Georgian actress, thought to be the muse of filmmaker Sergei Parajanov. She played a wide variety of roles on stage of the Kote Marjanishvili Theatre (1960–1964, 1964–2008) and the Rustavelli Theatre (1964–1968).She played many films such as:

Sayat Nova, a 1968 film in which she played no less than six roles;
Don't Grieve, a popular Georgi Daneliya film;
Natvris khe;
Peristsvaleba;
Ambavi erti kalishvilisa;
Ambavi Suramis tsikhitsa;
Ashug-Karibi;
Khevsurian Ballad (Best Actress Award at the Locarno International Film Festival);
Alibaba Aur 40 Chor
Ischite zhenschinu;
Million v brachnoy korzine.

Gori!

Gori  is a city in eastern Georgia, which serves as the regional capital of Shida Kartli and the centre of the homonymous administrative district.Gori was an important military stronghold in the Middle Ages and maintains a strategic importance due to its location on the principal highway connecting eastern and western parts of Georgia. In the course of its history, Gori has been invaded by the armies of regional powers several times. The city was occupied by Russian troops during the 2008 South Ossetian War.

Gori is located 76 kilometres (47 mi) west of Georgia's capital Tbilisi, at the confluence of the rivers Mtkvari and Greater Liakhvi, 588 metres (1,929 ft) above sea level. The climate is transitional from moderately warm steppe to moderately humid. Summer is usually hot.The territory of Gori has been populated since the early Bronze Age. According to the medieval Georgian chronicles, the town of Gori was founded by King David IV (r. 1089-1125) who settled refugees from Armenia there. However, the fortress of Gori (Goris-Tsikhe), appears to have been in use already in the 7th century, and archaeological evidence indicates the existence of an urban community in Classical Antiquity.

With the downfall of the medieval Georgian kingdom, Gori – strategically located at the crossroads of major transit routes – was frequently targeted by foreign invaders, and changed its masters on several occasions. It was first taken and sacked by Uzun Hassan of the Ak Koyunlu in 1477, followed by Tahmasp I of Persia in the mid-16th century. By the end of that century, Gori passed to the Ottomans and became their major outpost in Georgia until being recovered by the Georgians under Simon I of Kartli after heavy fighting in 1599.Following successive occupations by the Ottomans (1723–35) and Persians (1735-40s), Gori returned to the Georgian control under the kings Teimuraz II and Erekle II whose efforts helped to advance economy and culture in the town. Following the Russian annexation of Georgia, Gori was granted the status of a town within the Tiflis Governorate in 1801.

In the 2008 South Ossetian War, the base came under aerial attack by the Russian Air Force from the outset of the conflict, and was abandoned between August 9 and August 12, 2008 due to the lack of effective anti aircraft defences. Residential districts of Gori were also hit by the airstrikes, resulting in civilian injuries and deaths.According to HRW, on August 12 Russian planes dropped cluster bombs in the center of Gori, killing 11 civilians and wounding dozens more. Russian military officials deny using cluster munitions in the conflict, calling the HRW assertion "slanderous" and questioning the HRW's objectivity.By August 11, Georgian military personnel and most residents had fled the city, which was then captured and occupied by the Russian military and South Ossetian separatist militia. HRW accused the militia of unleashing a campaign of looting, arson, kidnapping and other attacks against the remaining civilian population.

Gori and its environs house several notable cultural and historical landmarks. Although for many foreigners Gori is principally known as the birthplace of Joseph Stalin, in Georgian historical memory the city has long been associated with its citadel, the Gori Fortress, which is built on a cliffy hill overlooking the central part of the modern city. On another hill stands the 18th century St. George's church of Gorijvari, a popular place of pilgrimage. The ancient rock-hewn town of Uplistsikhe and the 7th century Ateni Sioni Church are located not far from Gori.Stalin's association with the city is emphasized by the Joseph Stalin Museum in downtown Gori and, until recently, the Stalin monument in front of the Gori City Hall, one of the few such monuments to survive Nikita Khrushchev's de-Stalinization program. The monument was a source of controversy in a newly independent Georgia in the 1990s, but for several years the post-communist government acceded to the Gori citizens' request and left the statue untouched.

Kakheti

Kakheti is a historical province in Eastern Georgia inhabited by Kakhetians who speak a local dialect of Georgian. It is bordered by the small mountainous province of Tusheti and the Greater Caucasus mountain range to the north, Russian Federation to the Northeast, Azerbaijan to the Southeast, and the Georgian province of Kartli to the west. Kakheti is geographically divided into the Inner Kakheti to the east of Tsiv-Gombori mountain range and the Outer Kakheti to the west of it.

Beyond the modern-day administrative subdivision into the districts, Kakheti has traditionally been subdivided into four parts: Inner Kakheti (შიგნით კახეთი, Shignit Kakheti) along the right bank of the Alazani River, Outer Kakheti  between the Alazani and the Iori, and Thither Area.

Kakheti was an independent feudal principality from the end of the eighth century. It was incorporated into the united Georgian Kingdom at the beginning of the eleventh century, but for less than a decade. Only in the beginning of the twelfth century did Georgian King David the Builder (1089–1125) incorporate Kakheti into his Kingdom successfully.After the disintegration of the Georgian Kingdom, Kakheti became an independent Kingdom in the 1460s. In 1762, the Kakhetian Kingdom was united with the neighboring Georgian Kingdom of Kartli, with the capital of the former, Telavi also capital of the Albanian Hereti, becoming the capital of the united Eastern-Georgian Kingdom of Kartl-Kakheti and assimilation of Albanians strengthened by church.

The travel infrastructure in Kakheti is fast developing, since it is the most visited region of Georgia. One can choose to stay in a guest house, in a small and comfortable hotel, or a beautiful boutique-style hotel while traveling in this Region. Telavi and Signagi are the most visited towns. Signagi was renovated three years ago.

Grigol Orbeliani

Grigol Orbeliani  was a Georgian Romanticist poet and soldier in the Imperial Russian service. One of the most colorful figures in the 19th-century Georgian culture, Orbeliani is noted for his patriotic poetry, lamenting Georgia's lost past and independent monarchy.
Grigol Orbeliani was born into a prominent aristocratic family in the Georgian capital of Tiflis (Tbilisi), three years after the Russian government deposed the Bagrationi dynasty of Georgia and annexed their kingdom. His father Dimitri (Zurab), a prince of the House of Orbeliani, served at the court of the last Georgian kings, while mother Khoreshan née Andronikashvili was a granddaughter, on her mother’s side, of Erekle II, the penultimate and popular king of Georgia, whose cult would later be introduced into Georgian literature by Grigol Orbeliani himself

Orbeliani had close family and friendly ties with the contemporary Georgian aristocratic and literary élite: Nikoloz Baratashvili, the most important poet of Georgian Romanticism, was his sisterly nephew; Orbeliani was in love with Griboyedov’s widow and Alexander Chavchavadze’s daughter, Nino, who inspired the poet with desperate, but courtly passion for nearly thirty years, although he had been betrothed in the cradle to Princess Sopio Orbeliani.
Orbeliani received his early education at local nobility gymnasium and artillery school. In the 1820s, he entered the Russian military service, and took part in a series of expeditions against the Dagestani tribes, and the wars with the Ottoman and Persian empires. In March 1833, he was arrested by the Russian police in Nizhny Novgorod for his involvement with the 1832 conspiracy of Georgian nobles who plotted to murder Russian officials and reestablish Georgia’s independence from the empire.

By virtue both of his aristocratic status and his abilities, Orbeliani was able to resume his military career and would rise to high positions in the Russian administration of the Caucasus. He, like many other Georgian nobles who years earlier had plotted to overthrow the Russian hegemony, would make peace with the imperial autocracy, a change aided by liberal policies of the Russian viceroy Mikhail Semyonovich Vorontsov. Orbeliani spent most of his military career in the Caucasus War against the rebellious mountaineers, with a brief spell in the Neva Infantry Regiment in Wilno (Vilnius, Lithuania) as a punishment for his participation in the 1832 conspiracy. On returning to the Caucasus in 1838, he mostly fought in Dagestan and was made colonel in 1846. Being in command of the Apsheron Infantry Regiment, Orbeliani played a decisive role in storming the Dagestani stronghold Gergebil in 1847/8 and was promoted to major general in 1848. In the following years, he governed the restive districts of Avaristan, and Tchar-Belakan, and oversaw the Lezgin line.
Although Orbeliani’s earliest writings are in prose dating to 1824, his prose pieces have fallen into oblivion. Most of his poetry is noted for patriotic motifs and extravagant praise of wine and women. Like his contemporary Georgian romanticists, Orbeliani’s lyrics are pervaded with laments over the lost past and the fall of the Georgian monarchy. A nostalgic memory of military glory, the poem begins by honoring all those who have fallen in defense of their homeland, then the poet travels through history, celebrating all Georgia’s tribes, kings, heroes, and martyrs. Finally, an elegiac mood replaces the exaltation, as the poet returns from his fantasy and memoirs to see just himself and one other link to that past still living.


Orbeliani’s mutual relations with the new generation of Georgian intellectuals were ambiguous. This new movement, dubbed as "the sons", spearheaded by Ilia Chavchavadze and Akaki Tsereteli, was critical of "fathers", old Georgian nobility who had pledged their allegiance to the Tsar. Orbeliani was praised by Chavchavadze as presiding over "the strength and wealth of our verse," but his 1871 jubilee was met by the younger generation in cold silence. In the 1860s, Orbeliani tried to stand aside from the quarrels between "the sons and the fathers", but he could not refrain from attacking the new generation in a caustic rhymed response published in 1874.

David the Builder

David IV "the Builder", also known as David I of the Bagrationi dynasty, was a king of Georgia from 1089 until his death in 1125.opularly considered to be the greatest and most successful Georgian ruler in history, he succeeded in driving the Seljuk Turks out of the country, winning the major Battle of Didgori in 1121. His reforms of the army and administration enabled him to reunite the country and bring most of the lands of the Caucasus under Georgia’s control.
The only son of King George II (1072–1089) by his wife Helena, he was born in Kutaisi, western Georgia in 1073. David was raised during one of the darkest chapters of Georgian history, amidst the strife of the so-called Great Turkish Onslaught (didi turkoba) when the Seljuk tribes began massive migrations to the southern Caucasus.
Despite his age, he was actively involved in Georgia’s political life. Backed by his tutor and an influential churchman George of Chqondidi, David IV pursued a purposeful policy, taking no unconsidered step. He was determined to bring order to the land, bridle the unsubmissive secular and ecclesiastic feudal lords, centralize the state administration, form a new type of army that would stand up better to the Seljuk Turkish military organization, and then go over to a methodical offensive with the aim of expelling the Seljuks first from Georgia and then from the whole Caucasus. Between 1089–1100, King David organized small detachments of his loyal troops to restore order and destroy isolated enemy troops.

In 1101, King David captured the fortress of Zedazeni, a strategic point in his struggle for Kakheti and Hereti, and within the next three years he liberated most of eastern Georgia.

In 1093, he arrested the powerful feudal lord Liparit Baghvashi, a long-time enemy of the Georgian crown, and expelled him from Georgia (1094). After the death of Liparit’s son Rati, David abolished their duchy of Kldekari in 1103.He slowly pushed the Seljuk Turks out of the country, recovering more and more land from them as they were now forced to focus not only on the Georgians but the newly begun Crusades in the eastern Mediterranean.Next year, David’s supporters in the eastern Georgian province of Kakheti captured the local king Aghsartan II (1102–1104), a loyal tributary of the Seljuk Sultan, and reunited the area with the rest of Georgia.

Following the annexation of Kakheti, in 1105, David routed a Seljuk punitive force at the Battle of Ertzukhi, leading to momentum that helped him to secure the key fortresses of Samshvilde, Rustavi, Gishi, and Lorri between 1110 and 1118.

Problems began to crop up for David now. His population, having been at war for the better part of twenty years, needed to be allowed to become productive again. Also, his nobles were still making problems for him, along with the city of Tbilisi which still could not be liberated from Arab grasp. Again David was forced to solve these problems before he could continue the reclamation of his nation and people. For this purpose, David IV radically reformed his military. He resettled a Kipchak tribe of 14.000 families from the Northern Caucasus in Georgia in 1118–1120.In 1120 David IV moved to western Georgia and, when the Turks began pillaging Georgian lands, he suddenly attacked them. Only an insignificant Seljuk force escaped. King David then entered the neighbouring Shirvan and took the town of Qabala.

In the winter of 1120–1121 the Georgian troops successfully attacked the Seljuk settlements on the eastern and southwestern approaches to the Transcaucasus.

, King David routed the enemy army on the fields of Didgori, achieving what is often considered the greatest military success in Georgian history. The victory at Didgori signaled the emergence of Georgia as a great military power and shifted the regional balance in favor of Georgian cultural and political supremacy.

David the Builder died on January 24, 1125, and upon his death, King David was, as he had ordered, buried under the stone inside the main gatehouse of the Gelati Monastery so that anyone coming to his beloved Gelati Academy stepped on his tomb first, a humble gesture for a great man. He had three children, the son Demetrius, who succeeded him and continued his father's victorious reign; and two daughters, Tamar, who was married to the Shirwan Shah Akhsitan (Aghsartan in Georgian), and Kata (Katai), married to Isaakios Comnenus, the son of the Byzantine Emperor Alexius I Comnenus.

King David the Builder gave close attention to the education of his people. The king selected children who were sent to the Byzantine Empire "so that they be taught languages and bring home translations made by them there". Many of them later became well-known scholars.