The Slovak National Theatre (in Slovak Slovenské národné divadlo ) denotes:

• a) the oldest Slovak professional theatre consisting of 3 ensembles
• b) a Neo-Renaissance theatre building in the Old Town of Bratislava, Slovakia, housing two ensembles of a)
• c) a modern huge theatre building in Bratislava at the Danube planned to house a); due to lack of money the building has been under construction for years now

Professional theatre

The Slovak National Theatre is the oldest Slovak professional theatre. It has 3 ensembles (drama, opera and ballet). It was founded in 1920 after the creation of Czechoslovakia as a cooperative and turned into a state-run company in 1945. Between 1920 and 1945 there was also a musicale ensemble. The Slovak National Theatre has been representing Slovak culture on its numerous tours abroad.

It was created and in the 1920s also run by Czech artists (e.g. Oskar Nedbal was the director in 1923-1930). The first performance was the Czech opera Hubička by Bedřich Smetana on March 1, 1920. The ensembles were slovakized only gradually. In 1932, the drama ensemble split into the Slovak Drama Company of the SNT led by Janko Borodáč, and into the Czech Slovak Drama Company of the SNT, led by V. Šulc. The Czech Drama Company ceased when it was forced to leave Slovakia in 1938. Since 1938, the drama has performed in Slovak only, but in the opera ensemble there were Czech artists even after 1945. In recent years, operas have been presented in their original languages.

Initially, all 3 ensembles were active in the Slovak National Theatre building, but since 1955, the drama company performs in the P. O. Hviezdoslav Theatre and since 1962 also in a chamber theatre called the Malá scéna SND (Small Stage of the SNT).

The drama company was shaped by the directors Janko Borodáč, F. Hoffman, J. Jamnický, J.Budský, T. Rakovský, K. I. Zachar, P. Haspra, M. Pietor and the current one – Dušan Jamrich .

The opera ensemble was led by conductors like Oskar Nedbal , K. Nedbal, J. Vincourek and T. Frešo and the directors V. Šulc and M. Wasserbauer. The opera became known abroad under the leadership of the Czech conductor Oskar Nedbal, who also introduced the first Slovak operas of Jozef Levoslav Bella and V. Figuš Bystrý, and of K. Nedbal, who improved the dramma programme. A great boom was reached after WWII. The SNT witnessed the rise of modern Slovak opera by Eugen Suchoň, Ján Cikker, A. Moyzes, T. Andrašovan, T. Frešo, and many others. Many singers from the SNT are famous abroad, e.g. Edita Grúberová, Lucia Poppová , Peter Dvorský , R. Petrák, S. Kopčák, M. Hajóssyová, E. Jenisová, J. Galla, J. Kundlák, and many others.

The ballet ensemble has grown from a small group in 1920 to a huge ensemble today.

The old building

The Neo-Renaissance Slovak National Theatre, standing at the end of the long Hviezdoslav Square (Hviezdoslavovo námestie), was built in 1885-1886 at the time of Austria-Hungary based on a design by the Viennese architects R. Fellner and H. Helmer, who are the authors of theatre buildings in 10 European countries. It was opened as the City Theatreon September 22 1886 by the opera Bánk Bán of F. Erkel. The original building was designed for 1000 spectators and was illuminated using 800 gas lamps, while the auditorium had a lustre with 64 lights. The interior was decorated, among others, by frescos of the Bratislava native painter Kornel Špánik and by paintings of the Munich artist Leo Lüttgendorf-Leinburg. The City Theatre was hired by German and Hungarian professional theatre companies, but since 1919 (creation of Czechoslovakia) it was used by Czech and later also Slovak ensembles (see above) and in 1920 turned into the Slovak Nationa Theatre.

The new building was built on the place of a previous Classic style theatre built in 1776, which was the first permanent theatre building in Slovakia and which was demolished in 1884.

Bratislava native sculptor Victor Tilgner crafted the famous Ganymede's Fountain in 1888, now located immediately in front of the theatre.

The building has been housing the Slovak National Theatre ensembles since 1920, today only the opera and ballet ensembles. It was restored between 1969 and 1972, when a new modern technical building was added behind the old building. It features a unique lustre (a special ball ) with 2532 bulbs enabling to create millions of combinations of light pirctures based on a selected programme.