National Theatre of Miskolc

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The National Theatre of Miskolc (Miskolci Nemzeti Színház) is a theatre in the city of Miskolc, Hungary. Its building stands in the downtown, on Széchenyi street. The theatre is the main organiser of the Miskolc Opera Festival, one of the important cultural events of Hungary.

[edit] History

The theatre

The National Theatre of Miskolc is generally known to be the first stone-built theatre in Hungary, although it is not quite true, since the original building (built between 1819 and 1823, opened on August 24, 1823) was destroyed by a fire on July 19, 1843; also, the very first stone-built theatre stood in the city of Kolozsvár, which, although doesn't belong to Hungary now, was a Hungarian city at that time.

The new building of the theatre was built between 1847 and 1857 in Classical and neo-Baroque style and was opened on September 3, 1857. The first director of the theatre was Endre Latabár, from the famous Latabár actor dynasty. The theatre opened with a play by Mihály Vörösmarty, and guests included the famous writer Mór Jókai and his wife, the actress Róza Laborfalvi, who was a native of Miskolc.

In 1880 the building was modernised and a tower was built to it. The tower functioned as a fire watch tower. In the 1990s the building was expanded, becoming twice its size.

Today the theatre complex has five stages. There is also a museum commemorating its history.