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Petőfi Theatre in Veszprém

alias Town Theatre, Veszprém 1918 k. -1922, Veszprém County Petőfi Theatre 1961-1963, Veszprém National Theatre 1908-1918 k.
history of the theatresupplementtechnical dataHistoric equipment

Important events

(detail)09.17.1908 | Megnyitás

A színházat 1908. szeptember 17-én nyitotta meg Csiky Gergely: Nagymama című vígjátékával Nádasy József színtársulata, de az igazi, hivatalos felavatás 1909. január 10-én volt, amikor a helyi dalegyesület fellépése, versek és az alkalomra írt dalok és zenedarabok elhangzása után, s zárásképpen a Szózat közös eléneklése előtt dr. Óvári Ferenc mondott beszédet: "Egyszerre oldottuk meg állandó színházunk, vigadónk, múzeumunk és nemzeti kaszinónk végleges és megfelelő elhelyezésének bizony nem könnyű kérdéseit." - mondta.


(detail)1953 | Felújítás
Az első jelentős felújítás 1953-ban volt, amikor kijavították a háborús sérüléseket, s a keleti oldalra építették az új kazánházat, az utcai főhomlokzaton kialakított bejáratokat befalazták, s a nyugati oldalra, a Püspökkert felé került a főbejárat.

People

(detail)Sándor Nagy |painter

(Németbánya, 1868. máj. 18. – Gödöllő, 1950. szept. 14.)

 

 

 

Művészeti pályafutását Székely Bertalan tanítványaként kezdte a Mintarajziskolában, majd évekig Párizsban élt. Már párizsi évei alatt felfigyeltek grafikai tehetségére. Részt vett az 1900-as párizsi világkiállítás előkészítésében, s szőnyegeivel bronzérmet nyert. 1901-ben barátjával, Körösfői Kriesch Aladárral megalapították a gödöllői művésztelepet, ahová 1907-ben költözött feleségével, Kriesch Laurával.

 

 

Több műfajban is alkotott: bőr-, hímzés-, faliszőnyeg-, üveg-, festmény- és bútorterveket is készített. Témái gyakran bensőségesek, líraiak, misztikusak. Stílusa a naturalizmus és az erős stilizáltság között mozog. Komjáthy Jenő és Ady Endre versesköteteihez készített illusztrációkat. A gyermekkönyv-illusztráció szecessziós megújítója volt. Készített gobelint, szőnyeget, díszpárnákat, tervezett ruhákat. Körösfőivel együtt készítették a Nemzeti Szalon üvegfestményeit és falképét. Üvegfestményei nemzetközi hírnevet szereztek számára. Munkái a marosvásárhelyi Kultúrpalotában, a lipótmezei elmegyógyintézetben, a pesterzsébeti Szt. Erzsébet templomban láthatók. A Magyar-Holland Társaság felkérésére elkészítette a Vilma királynő c. freskóját a hágai királyi palota fogadástermébe. 1934-től 10 évig tanította a freskó- és mozaiktechnikát a Képzőművészeti Főiskolán.

 

 

 

 

History

Architectural description

Architect István Medgyaszay was interested in representing the architectural roots and culture of the Hungarian folk and culture. This ambition can be observed in his theatre buildings in  Veszprém and Sopron.

The streets surrounding the theatre are on a much higher level. From the columned vestibule of the theatre we can get into the foyer where the wardrobes can also be found. From the direction of former town hall adequate number of entrances have been formed, but in 1953 they were walled up and the only access was from the West side from the Bishop’s Garden, where the main entrance is situated.

The concept of connecting the former Crown Hotel and Restaurant with the auditorium, as functional solution, was the demand of the builders. Thus a passage was planned towards the restaurant which lays on the same level as the auditorium. This passage was to be 4.4 metres high above the foyer, however, this possibility was abandoned  at the reconstruction in 1977. At that time the studio stage was formed and the environs of the theatre were redesigned as well.

 

History

The first theatre in Europe made of reinforced concrete was built in Veszprém, designed by István (Benkó) Medgyaszay. The 30-year-old architect, barely known back than in Hungary, received the commission in 1907 by the parliamentary representative of Veszprém County, Dr. Ferenc Óvári, who was an enthusiastic promoter of the theatre construction in the town. The commissioners wanted a building which would could host theatre performances but also concerts, balls or town assemblies. It was also a need for the new building to be connected to the neighbouring Korona Hotel, which also had to be modernized to some extent. On the other hand the new theatre also had to open towards the Bishop’s Garden (Püspökkert), a popular park in the town centre with was furnished with pavilions and a variety of colourful flowers at the beginning of the 20th century. Thus a modern, multifunctional cultural complex was envisaged in the municipality, which would provide space for the social life of the town and, in the mean time, initiate an urbanistically new town unit, situated as a self-standing complex in the vicinity of the historical town centre.   

This complex architectural task was solved by Medgyaszay with the use of a revolutionary technology at the beginning of the century: reinforced concrete. He had learned the properties and architectural possibilities of this new material in the Paris studio of François Hennebique, right at the time of receiving the commission in Veszprém. By this time he had already been considering to merge the technological possibilities conveyed by the reinforced concrete with the Hungarian tradition of folk architecture and decorative art.

Due to the requirements of theatre architecture typology, the designer could not defer from placing the main façade towards the town centre and the main entrance to the principal road crossing the town. Yet, considering the inner division of the building block, he did not place the four entrance doors at the centre of the risalit,  but rather split them into two pairs on the two sides of the façade. The arched, monolithic block of the central risalit is broken with an oval stained-glass window enclosing Sándor Nagy’s artwork: The magic of folklore. This window also becomes the central formal element of the building, the round and oval shape being echoed in all the windows and doors of the theatre. The large oval openings did not cause static difficulties, again due to the rigidity of the reinforced concrete. These decorative windows cannot be opened and are ornamented with stylized art-nouveau motives of folk art.

Medgyaszay apparently placed the main entrance facing the main street yet the actual entrance was still the one towards the Bishop’s Garden. Entering the theatre from the park, the visitor finds himself in a 300 m2 large open interior space, which serves as the foyer. This is the place where Medgyaszay shows in the clearest way the wonders of  reinforced concrete: smooth pillars with minimal bottoms hold the extremely widely spanning ceiling elements, made of concrete, which are also left bare without any decorative surface. The only decoration was the special lighting system, Medgyaszay’s own invention, which he later patented, consisting of Wolfram light bulbs hanging on thin chords from the ceiling, placed in a rhythmical pattern, giving the impression of a very delicate lace.

The proportions of the stage complied with the requirements of the age: its length was 20 m, its width 16 m. The auditorium could also be used as a ballroom. The maximal capacity of the auditorium used as a theatre was of one thousand: 448 of these were sitting places, 430 in the stalls, 52 in the boxes and 120 on the gallery, plus an extra 500 standing places. The shaping of the boxes also diverges from the usual typology, as Medgyaszay here too uses the possibilities of reinforced concrete to the fullest, by building a row of boxes which did not need to be supported from under, therefore the space under the boxes could also be made useful.

The air conditioning of the theatre was also very efficient and novel: he designed a central heating and airing system which circulated the air trough the decorated orifices on the ceiling and floor, with the possibility to selectively define the temperature in each individual room.

The theatre was opened on 17th September 1908 with The Grandmother by Gergely Csiky.       

The first significant renovation was carried out in 1953, when the war damages were repaired and a new boiler-house was built in the eastern wing of the theatre. The entrances from the main street were closed and bricked up, while the gate to the Bishop’s Garden finally became the one and only entrance.

In 1977 the national organ for public constructions, KÖZTI, made a study about the restoration needs of the building and the works started in two phases. Between 1982–1984 a new service building was erected, which was a new wing attached to the theatre with an enclosed inner courtyard, attached to the side of the theatre. The new wing was entirely wrapped with a plant cover so that it could not be seen from outside. The direct architectural connection between the hotel and the theatre was broken, yet the original concrete consoles were partially restored. In the second phase the theatre itself was renovated, with the leadership of Péter Szendrő.

By today the theatre shows an entirely different picture than at the time of its birth. The radically changed atmosphere of the interior space is especially striking, with ‘modern’ lamps, textiles and a ceramic decoration covering almost all the wall surfaces of the interior, in dissonance with Medgyaszay’s original concept.

The theatre, originally named National Theatre of Veszprém and later Town Theatre, was renamed after Sándor Petőfi in 1922. The famous Hungarian poet had spent a couple of days in Veszprém with his wife during the revolutionary month of March 1848, also attending a couple of theatre performances. In 1961 the town founded an on own theatre company, which started to work under the name of Veszprém County Petőfi Theatre, under the leadership of Albert Szilágyi.  

 

 

 

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