The Radziwills' Nesvizh Theater, which existed for almost 50 years, is a significant page in the history of the theatrical art of Belarus.
It was built in 1570. Nesvizh was one of the largest cultural centres in Europe. In the first half of the 18th century, the theater also joined numerous holidays, banquets, hunts, picturesque processions, military parades, games, without which it is impossible to imagine the life of the Radziwill magnate family.
A keen interest of the then owner of the city, Prince Michal Kazimir Radziwill Rybonka and his wife Francesca Ursula, in this art began in 1740, when a foreign troupe staged the first performance in the castle. Then the performances were staged by the locals: on holidays, in honor of important guests, during various family celebrations.
Michal Kazimir Radziwill Rybonka
The theatre reached its greatest prosperity after 1746, when it was headed by Francesca Ursula Radziwill - "Nesvizh Sappho", as literary critics called her for her bright poetic talents. The Princess herself wrote plays and staged performances. Almost every year, several new educative dramatic works were penned by her. Also the repertoire included translated and revised by Francesca Ursula Radziwill works by Moliere, Voltaire, ballets, pantomimes. The performances were staged in Polish, Italian, German, French.
The collection of the National Library of Belarus contains a copy of the original edition of 1754, in which all the pieces were collected after the writer's death. There are also several modern editions, including "Comedy and Tragedy" by F.U. Radziwill, presented in the electronic edition "Radziviliana: Radziviliana: materials from the NLB’s collections". You can also learn about these documents through the e-catalogue of the NLB.
In 1747–1748. architect K. Zhdanovich built a special building ("comedyenhaus") to show the performances. It stood behind the castle on the bank of an artificial reservoir. The shows took place not only in the summer, but also during the winter holidays. The premises of the theater had rich interiors; a lot of attention was also paid to original decorations and costumes. In 1753, the troupe grew. Radziwills hired qualified performers, music (from 1751), vocal (from 1751) and ballet (from 1758) schools, and an orchestra of folk instruments were created. During this period, the theater gained wide popularity in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and often traveled with its performances outside Nesvizh.
The next rise of the Nesvizh Theater began in 1777, when King Stanislav Radziwill, the son of Francesca Ursula and Rybonka, returned from emigration. The theater has become one of his main hobbies. There was a reorientation towards the Western European repertoire and the professionalism of foreign performers. The Nesvizh troupe significantly grew and included Italian singers, Belarusian serf musicians and dancers. From 1786 the theater began to work irregularly and after a few years it was suspended.
Over the years of its existence, the Radziwills' Theater in Nesvizh has confidently declared the high level of its own art, created its own original repertoire, and became the first professional theater in the history of Belarus..
Factual information both about the theater itself and about the representatives of the Radziwill family who were related to it are presented in the database “Belarus in Persons and Events” and the National database of authoritative / normative records.
Bibliology Research Department
