Ivan Vazov National Theater, Sofia

Overview

In 1904, the Minister of Education Prof. Ivan Shishmanov, a prominent Bulgarian, who studied in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland, transformed a privately-owned theatre company into a state-run institution named National Theatre. The construction of the new national theatre began right in the heart of Sofia.

The theater was designed by the famous Viennese architects Ferdinand Fellner and Hermann Helmer, who had already designed theaters in Vienna, Odessa, Zagreb, Prague, Wiesbaden, Bratislava, and other European cities.

At the end of 1906, the building was completed and cost BGN 1,500,000 at the time. The hall then accommodated 900 spectators. Everyone in Sofia was looking forward to the opening of the theater. The date of January 3, 1907, goes down in history as outraged students at Sofia University booed Knyaz Ferdinand, believing that the opening of the National Theater should be for all people, not just for his entourage. To punish the students, Ferdinand ordered Sofia University to be closed for 6 months.

On February 10, 1923, a fire broke out during a performance that destroyed the theater. The building was reconstructed in the period 1924 - 1928 by the German architect Martin Dulfer and the Bulgarian engineer, who graduated in Munich, Kiril Chaparov.

The last major reconstruction of the National Theater underwent from 1972 to 1976.

Today the Ivan Vazov National Theater is the most important Bulgarian theater institution. It has three stages, a permanent acting troupe starring some of the best Bulgarian actors of different generations. Each year, more than 600 spectacles are performed on the three stages of the theater and about 10 premiere performances are presented.

The theather has participated in the BITEF (Belgrade International Theatre Festival), the Bonn Biennale "New Plays from Europe", NET (Moscow), the European National Theater Festival in Warsaw, and many others.