On September 26, the curtain of the 32nd "Theatrical Lori" International Festival opened in Alaverdi, dedicated to the 170th anniversary of the first Armenian professional state dramatic theater — the Tbilisi Petros Adamyan State Drama Theater.

The opening was heralded with motifs from Hovhannes Tumanyan by the Alaverdi Drama Theater, followed by a welcoming speech by the head of the Alaverdi community, Davit Ghumashyan. In his speech, the community head emphasized that throughout the festival days, Alaverdi truly experiences a celebration, and the heavy flow of people rushing to the theater every evening not only makes Alaverdi cultural, but each time proves that the financial resources allocated by the municipality for the festival are put to good use, and that the 47-year-old festival has long since become an inseparable part of Alaverdi's identity.

Next, Hakob Ghazanchyan, President of the Union of Theatrical Figures of Armenia (ASTD), spoke, welcoming the residents of Alaverdi and the participating theater troupes: "Theatrical Lori is our country's oldest festival, the most long-standing one. Founded in 1976, it has gone through a difficult yet developmental path. Starting as a festival of folk theaters, it has evolved into a festival of professional theaters, transforming into an international one, and all this in a small town through the efforts of the festival's tireless director Hrachya Papinyan, who has been the director and organizer for 37 years of the festival's 47-year history." The role of the Alaverdi municipality is unquestionable. All community development, asphalt paving, and landscaping programs are important, but the Alaverdi municipality equally values the holding of this very theatrical festival, allocating significant funds for its organization, which is a rare and highly commendable phenomenon. In this way, Alaverdi stands out among other communities.

Since 2012, the festival program has hosted the "Russian Theater Days" sub-program, featuring Russian-language theaters operating in the Russian Federation, various countries around the world, and Armenia. This festival program is supported by the "Russkiy Mir" Foundation. Vadim Fefilov, Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Yerevan office, attended the opening of the festival. He welcomed those present, all participating troupes, and the audience, highlighting in particular the international nature of the festival, which brings together theater figures from different countries and gives them the opportunity to interact with one another. Vadim Fefilov then read out the congratulatory message from Tatyana Shlychkova, Director of the "Russkiy Mir" Foundation, on the occasion of the festival's opening, and presented a souvenir to the festival director. Armen Bayanduryan, Artistic Director of the Tbilisi Petros Adamyan Armenian State Theater, also spoke, expressing gratitude for dedicating the 32nd edition of the longstanding festival to the anniversary of their theater—the first Armenian professional theater. Back in the Tsarist Empire and then during the Soviet years, Lori and particularly Alaverdi were included in the annual tour schedule of the Tbilisi Armenian Theater; directors of the Adamyan Theater (then named after Stepan Shahumyan) staged productions in Alaverdi, and it is wonderful that this connection is expressed in this exact way this year. Armen Bayanduryan noted that the opening of their newly constructed theater building will take place in December, which is a major event in the theater's 170th anniversary year.

The festival was opened with the physical theater performance "How to Draw a Bird" by the Yerevan State Pantomime Theater, whose artistic director, Zhirayr Dadasyan, emphasized in his speech the importance of capital city theaters visiting the regions, which makes it possible to include the regions in Yerevan's cultural sphere.

"Theatrical Lori" is the oldest festival in our country, founded in 1976 in the village of Akner, Alaverdi community, on the initiative of distinguished cultural figures Kolya Koninyan, Ruben Hakobyan, and Ruslan Sadagyan. Since 1983, on the initiative of Valeri Paranyan, it has been held in the city of Alaverdi, and since 2006, in five cities of the Lori Region and the city of Noyemberyan in the Tavush Region. The festival's roots also trace back to USSR People's Artist Hrachya Kaplanyan and RA People's Artist Yervand Ghazanchyan.

This year, 35 theaters applied to participate in "Theatrical Lori," and 20 were selected from the capital, Gyumri, Hrazdan, Dagestan, Serbia, Uzbekistan, and elsewhere. The festival will conclude on October 15. In total, 25 performances will be staged in the cities of Alaverdi and Vanadzor.

Information Center of the "Theatrical Lori" International Festival.