City of culture and art: Cinema, music and theater
City of culture and art: Cinema, music and theater
For individuals for whom spiritual enrichment is vital and most of their travels are purposed towards this end, art is a medium to practically express cultural beliefs. Art mirrors people's essence through their drawings, paintings, stone carvings, body adornments, and folklore. It can aid an individual in understanding a culture that might otherwise be challenging to resonate with, as it taps into people's fundamental emotional levels. Although art can vary significantly across cultures, it can also be a bridge connecting them. If you belong to this category and are planning a visit to Adjara, you've indeed made an excellent choice.
For centuries, Ajara has actively contributed to the shaping of the culture and education of the Georgian nation. The remnants of monuments of ancient Georgian material culture that have been preserved to this day and the unique instances of the folk oral tradition bequeathed by our ancestors attest to this. Ajara has been the cradle of Georgian culture, art, and education for a very long time.
Musical art in Ajara began to show an interest in global classical music from the second half of the 19th century. Noteworthy are the tours of Shaliapin, Figner, Koridze, and Giraldon in the "Iron Theater" of Batumi. In 1889, a circle of musicians was established in Batumi, the purpose of which was to popularize Georgian, European, and Russian music. In the 1920s, several chamber groups were formed in Batumi. This society fostered the development of musical culture, stage art, artistic self-activity in Ajara, formation of choirs of Georgian singers, and study of folk songs and dances. Ajarian musical folklore is remarkable in terms of melodic and harmonious, polyphonic arrangement of songs, polyphony, intonation, and musical thinking. Ajarian song examples are characterized by rich themes. Among the musical instruments, Chonguri, Chibon, Gudi Chibon, and big drum deserve mention. A distinctive example is the four-part Naduri, performed by a "Gadhakni" or two-piece choir. Among the three-voice songs, "Old Abadelia", "Tbeturi", "Zhamieli", "Makruli", "Saferkhulo", "Chaghma Chakhrilo Venakho", Gurul-Ajarian masterpieces such as "Shavi Shashvi", "Shvidkatsa", "Khasanbegura", and "Ali-Pasha" stand out.
Today, the musical traditions of Ajara are perpetuated by the Symphony Orchestra and Capella of the Batumi State Music Center.
Singing is closely intertwined with dance. "Khorumi" and "Gandagana" dances are notable examples of dance art in Ajara. "Khorumi" falls under the category of war dances. It primarily portrays a battle, however, one variant of this dance known as the "twisted khorumi" symbolizes the celebration of victorious warriors. A unique manifestation of Adjarian dance art is the "Gandagana" dance, where elements of dances performed to the accompaniment of Chiboni and Kafia-Shairi songs are combined.
Theater - the first Georgian theatrical performance in Batumi took place on July 8, 1879. Local theater enthusiasts presented Z. Antonov's comedy "Did Uncle Get Married?". This set the groundwork for the Georgian theater in Ajara. The instigator of the play was Ketevan Zhuruli, the wife of Batumi's police chief. Under her initiative, a circle of stage enthusiasts was formed in Batumi in 1882, which was later morphed into a drama theater under the initiative of the renowned Georgian writer and public figure, Davit Kldiashvili, who was serving in the military in Batumi.
Initially, a small wooden building was constructed for the theater in 1884, with a capacity to house up to 450 spectators. It was located on what is now K. Gamsakhurdia Street. Later, the theater was moved to the so-called "Iron Theater", which was located where the current circus building stands, had a capacity for 900 spectators, and was appropriately equipped for the time. In the 1920s, under A. Shmaevsky's initiative, the theater building was erected on the site of the current Ilia Chavchavadze Drama Theater. In 1933, this building was demolished and the current drama theater building was constructed in its place, which was designed by architect L. S. Teplitzky and was opened on March 19, 1952.
On July 27, 1946, Batumi Theater presented to its audience Sophocles' "Oedipus the King". The play was tremendously successful. The renowned playwright L. Maliugin wrote, "A few months ago, I saw a brilliant production of 'Oedipus the King' in the Georgian Theater in Batumi. Alongside me, the American writer Steinbeck was enraptured by the performance, and I took pride in the fact that the American writer had not witnessed Sophocles in his own country or in the homeland of the great playwright - Greece, but saw it with us, not just on the stage of the Vakhtangov Theater in the capital, but also in a small port city, which according to American standards, should have been known not for its theater, but for its dances and pubs."
Cinema in Batumi - the first cinema appeared in Batumi in the 1910s, although the first movie was screened even earlier, in 1907. In 2011, Batumi's oldest cinema - "Apollo" celebrated its hundredth anniversary..
As previously mentioned, the first movie screening in Batumi occurred in 1907 at the then Dondukov-Korsakov Street, in the "Illusion" cinema. As it happens, they showed a propaganda film with socialist ideas, which, to put it mildly, unnerved the existing government. Cinematography was a new fruit and was often associated with calls against the government. There are letters addressed to Andronikashvili, the then mayor of Batumi, where the mayor is reassured that cinematography does not pose a threat to the authorities and a request for permission to open a cinema is made. "Apollo" does not appear until 1911, and in the photos taken by Mikhail Glaudan in January 1911, we can see the cinema "Apollo" and movie posters start appearing in the local press. Thus, over a century has passed since Batumi has had its own cinema, with a centuries-old history, and there are not many cinemas worldwide that have remained a cinema since its construction and not changed its purpose for a hundred years. In "Apollo", movies were screened daily, which we glean from the posters, where it is written: "Today and every day"!
Between 1911 and 1921, there were seven cinemas in Batumi. These included "Apollo", owned by Broval, "Illusion", "Lira", owned by the Swedish Jacobson brothers, "Palace", "Pikalidis" (later renamed "October"), "Triumph" situated at the intersection of Mazniashvili and Akhmeteli streets and owned by a German woman, Maria Jung, and "Religion" which stood opposite the present Drama Theater, where the statue of Neptune stands today. "Religion" had two halls, indoor and summer, which could accommodate more than 400 spectators.
Even if there were movie screenings once a week in some cinemas, having seven cinemas in a city with a population not exceeding 30-40 thousand people is not a small feat.
All cinemas were privately owned, which implies that these cinemas had sufficient audiences, for they could not have survived otherwise.
