The October Revolution radically changed all spheres of the country's life - social, political, economic, cultural. The first Soviet government attached great importance to the development of a multinational culture. In 1918, the theatrical department of the People's Commissariat of Education, headed by A. V. Lunacharsky, issued an appeal "To all the nationalities of Russia"; under the People's Commissariat of Education of the republics, theater departments were created, whose activities were aimed at reviving and developing the theatrical art of the peoples of the country (see Theater of the Peoples of Russia in the pre-revolutionary period). In 1919, V. I. Lenin signed a decree "On the unification of theatrical business." The government, despite the difficult economic situation, the civil war and military intervention, took the theaters for state support. The theater became one of the active forms of education, agitation, aesthetic education of the people.
"Jubilee" by A.P. Chekhov directed by V.E. Meyerhold. 1935
A scene from the play "Running" based on the play by M. A. Bulgakov. Leningrad Academic Drama Theater named after A. S. Pushkin. In the role of Khludov - N.K. Cherkasov. 1958
A scene from the play "Cavalry" by I. E. Babel. Theater named after Evg. Vakhtangov. Moscow. 1966
Traveling actors - buffoons - funny characters of folk fair theaters.
A. M. Buchma in the play "Makar Dubrava" by A. E. Korneichuk. Kiev Ukrainian Drama Theater named after I. Franko. 1948
L. S. Kurbas.
V. K. Papazyan as Othello in the tragedy of the same name by W. Shakespeare. Armenian Drama Theater named after G. Sundukyan. Yerevan.
Actress of the Kyiv Russian Drama Theater named after Lesya Ukrainka A. N. Rogovtseva.
V. I. Anjaparidze in the play "The Exile" by V. Pshavela. Georgian Drama Theater named after K. A. Marjanishvili.
A scene from the play "I played, I danced" by J. Rainis. J. Rainis Latvian Art Theatre. Riga.
A scene from the tragedy "King Lear" by W. Shakespeare staged by the Tbilisi Theater named after Shota Rustaveli. Directed by R. R. Sturua. Cast: Lear - R. Chkhikvadze, Jester - Zh. Lolashvili, Goneril - T. Dolidze.
A scene from the play "And the day lasts longer than a century" by Ch. Aitmatov. Vilnius Youth Theatre.
Tour in Moscow of the State Republican Uighur Theater of the Kazakh SSR. A scene from the play "The Wrath of Odysseus".
A scene from the play "The Star of Ulugbek" by M. Sheikhzade. Uzbek Academic Drama Theater named after Khamza. Tashkent.
The theatrical life of the first post-revolutionary years was formed in several directions: traditional, i.e. professional, theaters of the pre-revolutionary formation; studio groups adjoining traditional theaters; left theaters that were looking for forms of consonance of the revolution in a break with the traditions of the past; propaganda theaters (most often of the Red Army amateur performance) and mass festivals that arose during this period as one of the most common forms of propaganda theater (see Mass theatrical performances). All of them existed in the capital cities, and in the provinces, and in the national republics, where agitation theaters relied on the traditions of square shows.
The process of restructuring in traditional theaters was difficult. The autonomy granted in 1918 by the government to traditional theaters gave them the right to independently solve their creative problems, provided that their activities were not of a counter-revolutionary or anti-state character. Theater figures got the opportunity to reflect on the great events, realize their significance and find their place in the cultural life of revolutionary Russia. V. I. Lenin emphasized that “hurriedness and sweeping in matters of culture is the most harmful thing”; he considered the main task in the field of theater to be the need to preserve traditions, "so that the main pillars of our culture do not fall."
Of particular importance are the new spectacular forms characteristic of the era of the civil war, reflecting the turbulent times of rallies, open agitation, and class battles. An important role in the formation and practical implementation of them was played by the Proletkult (Proletarian cultural and educational organization, established in September 1917). Many agitation plays were staged on the stage of Proletkult's theaters, for example: "Red Truth" by A. A. Vermishev, "Maryana" by A. S. Serafimovich. In the activities of the Proletcult, fruitful methods were combined with extreme leftist theoretical views that denied the heritage of the past as a product of the bourgeois era. These mistakes were justly criticized by V. I. Lenin.
The first years of the revolution were the time when "the whole of Russia played." The spontaneous creative energy of the masses was looking for an outlet. In mass festivities, or mass actions in which a huge number of people took part, the events of world history, the October Revolution, were reflected in allegorical form. Thus, in Petrograd, "The Taking of the Bastille", "The Taking of the Winter Palace", "Pantomime of the Great Revolution", "Action about the Third International", "The Mystery of Emancipated Labor", "Toward a World Commune" were played out; in Voronezh - "Praise of the Revolution"; in Irkutsk - "The struggle of labor and capital." In this production, N. P. Okhlopkov (1900-1967) declared himself as an actor and director. Mass actions are spreading in Kharkov, Kyiv, Tbilisi; one of the forms of front-line amateur performances was theatrical courts. Satirical theaters of miniatures, "live newspaper", TRAMs (theaters of working youth), "Blue Blouse" arose throughout Russia, in Central Asia, in the Caucasus, in Karelia.
In the first years of Soviet power, the old theaters took the first steps towards rapprochement with the people's audience. They turned to classic romantic plays, in which motives sounded close in spirit to the revolutionary moods of the time. These performances were called "consonant with the revolution." Among them - "Fuente Ovehuna" by Lope de Vega, staged by K. A. Mardzhanishvili in Kyiv in 1919; "Posadnik" by A. K. Tolstoy - at the Maly Theater (director A. A. Sanin, 1918); "Don Carlos" by F. Schiller - at the Bolshoi Drama Theater in Petrograd (founded in 1919; see the Bolshoi Drama Theater named after G. A. Tovstonogov). Not successful in everything, these performances were important as a search for a philosophical understanding of modernity, new ways, new means of expression, contacts with a new audience.
The studio movement, which began in the 1910s, acquired a new meaning and significance after the revolution (see Theater Studios, Moscow Art Academic Theater). The 1st Studio of the Moscow Art Theater (since 1924 - the Moscow Art Theater 2nd) produces "Eric XIV" by A. Strindberg with M. A. Chekhov in the title role. The anti-monarchist pathos of the performance, staged by E. B. Vakhtangov in a vivid theatrical form, was in tune with the times. The 2nd Studio of the Moscow Art Theater continued to educate the actor, not attaching much importance to the completeness and alignment of the performance. The 3rd Studio (since 1926 - the Vakhtangov Theatre), directed by Vakhtangov, shows "Princess Turandot" by K. Gozzi (1922). Vakhtangov turned Gozzi's fairy tale into a festive performance that is deeply modern in its attitude, imbued with bright cheerfulness, poetry and humor. He was highly appreciated by K.S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. Newly emerging studios are looking for new theatrical forms, staging performances that reflect the time. Their repertoire was based mainly on world classics.
In parallel, the genre of musical performance, traditional in the Tatar theater, is developing. The representative of the romantic trend in acting was M. Mutin, the creator of the images of Othello, Hamlet, Karl Moor. The strong tragic talent of M. Sh. Absalyamov was revealed in the images of Grozny (“The Death of Ivan the Terrible” by A. K. Tolstoy), Gaypetdin (“Resettlement” by N. Isanbet).
In the 1920s professional theaters are being created among peoples who previously did not have national stages. These are the Kazakh Theater in Kzyl-Orda, the Uzbek Theater named after Khamza in Tashkent, the Tajik Theater in Dushanbe, the Turkmen Theater in Ashgabat, the Bashkir Theater in Ufa, the Chuvash Theater in Cheboksary, the Mordovian Theater in Saransk, the Udmurt Theater in Izhevsk, the Mari Theater in Yoshkar- Ole, Yakutsky - in Yakutsk. A huge role in the formation of these young teams was played by Russian actors and directors who taught national personnel the basics of theatrical professions. An all-Union system of theater education is also taking shape. Entire national studios are being prepared in Moscow and Leningrad; they will then become the core of many young theatres. Theater schools and studios are being created in the republics.
If the first post-revolutionary years were a time of searching for the art of agitation, propaganda, politically sharpened in relation to the heritage of the past, then already in the first half of the 20s. there is an urgent need for a return to traditional theatrical forms. In 1923, A. V. Lunacharsky put forward the slogan "Back to Ostrovsky." Plays by A. N. Ostrovsky, which were rejected by representatives of the left front as sharply inappropriate to the era, become the basis of the repertoire: "Hot Heart" - in the Moscow Art Theater, "Profitable Place" - in the Theater of the Revolution, "Thunderstorm" - in the Chamber Theater, "Sage" - in the Proletkult studio staged by S. M. Eisenstein. The Soviet dramaturgy also declares itself. The plays are becoming much more diverse in terms of themes and aesthetic searches: "Days of the Turbins" and "Zoykin's apartment" by M. A. Bulgakov, "Mandate" by N. R. Erdman, "Lake Lyul" and "Teacher Bubus" by A. M. Faiko, "Bedbug" and "Bath" by V. V. Mayakovsky.
In the late 1920s N. F. Pogodin comes to the theater. His plays Tempo, Poem about the Axe, My Friend, After the Ball open up a new direction in the Soviet "industrial" drama, where modernity was comprehended in new aesthetic forms. Pogodin's meeting with A. D. Popov (1892-1961), who at that time headed the Theater of the Revolution (now the Vl. Mayakovsky Theater), led to the creation of vivid performances that marked a significant stage in the development of the Soviet theater. The unexpectedness of the dramatic construction led to a change in directing techniques, the system of acting existence. The dynamic picture of modern life was embodied in reliable and convincing characters: M. I. Babanova - Anka, D. N. Orlov - Stepan in "The Poem of the Ax", M. F. Astangov - Guy in "My Friend".
In the 20-30s. there is a wide network of children's theaters. The Soviet Union was the only country where such great attention was paid to art for children. The Leningrad Youth Theater under the direction of A. A. Bryantsev, the Moscow Theater for Children under the direction of N. I. Sats, created in 1921 and then becoming the Central Children's Theater, the Moscow Theater of Young Spectators, the Saratov Theater of Young Spectators named after Lenin Komsomol played a huge role in education of many generations of children and youth (see Children's theater and dramaturgy).
The 1930s was a time of active development of Soviet drama, which is extremely important for the theater as a whole, since only an artistically complete play provided material for creating bright and aesthetically harmonious performances. It is no coincidence that in the 1930s there is a controversy between playwrights of different directions, such as Vs. V. Vishnevsky, N. F. Pogodin, V. M. Kirshon, A. N. Afinogenov. The problem of the hero-personality and the hero-mass, the need to depict the era through "domain processes" or the psychology of a typical character come to the fore.
A significant phenomenon in the history of the Soviet theater was the dramatic and stage Leniniana. In 1937, the performances “Pravda” by A.E. Korneichuk appeared at the Theater of the Revolution with M. M. Strauch in the role of V.I. Lenin, “The Man with a Gun” by Pogodin at the Theater named after Evg. Vakhtangov, where the role of V. I. Lenin was played with great vitality by B. V. Shchukin. The image of the leader was created by A. M. Buchma and M. M. Krushelnitsky in Ukraine, V. B. Vagarshyan in Armenia, P. S. Molchanov in Belarus (see Leninian in the theater).
The Moscow Art Theatre, continuing its tradition of staging works of Russian classical prose. An interesting experience was the stage implementation of the works of L. N. Tolstoy "Resurrection" and "Anna Karenina", undertaken by Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko. The drama of Anna's fate was conveyed by A. K. Tarasova with great tragic force. In 1935, Nemirovich-Danchenko staged Gorky's Enemies. Magnificent MAT actors performed brilliantly in this performance: N. P. Khmelev, V. I. Kachalov, O. L. Knipper-Chekhova, M. M. Tarkhanov, A. N. Gribov.
In general, the dramaturgy of M. Gorky is experiencing a rebirth in the Soviet theater. The question of "summer residents" and "philistines", "enemies" is filled with a new political meaning. Gorky's plays revealed the creative individualities of many masters: A. M. Buchma, V. I. Vladomirsky, S. G. Birman, Hasmik, V. B. Vagarshyan.
Meyerhold, after N. V. Gogol's "Inspector General" and A. S. Griboedov's "Woe from Wit", turns to Soviet drama in search of forms of tragic performance: "Commander 2" by I. L. Selvinsky, "The Last Resolute" Vishnevsky, "Introduction" Yu. P. German, "List of good deeds" by Olesha and others.
In the early 30s. the creative direction of many republican theaters was determined, the flourishing of acting schools and directorial searches is associated with them. Plays by M. Gorky, world and national classics were successfully staged on the Armenian, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Tatar stages. Of particular importance in the Georgian, Armenian, Uzbek, Tajik and Ossetian theaters is the work on Shakespeare's tragedies, the performances of which are full of humanistic pathos. They permeate the image of Othello performed by the Armenian actor V. K. Papazyan (1888-1968), the Ossetian actor V. V. Tkhapsaev (1910-1981).
Early 30s. distinguishes the active and creative interaction of national theaters. The practice of international tours was expanding, in 1930 the Olympics of national theaters were held in Moscow for the first time. From now on, reviews of republican theaters at the decades of national arts in the capital are becoming traditional. New theaters are being opened: in 1939 there were 900 theaters in our country that played in 50 languages of the peoples of the USSR. In the late 30s - early 40s. groups from the Baltic States, Moldova, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus are joining the family of the Soviet multinational theater. The network of theater education is expanding.
However, the authoritarian methods of art management and the distortion of the Leninist principles of national policy have a detrimental effect on the development of theater and drama. The most daring artistic pursuits of theatrical figures provoke accusations of nationalism and formalism. As a result, such major artists as Meyerhold, Kurbas, Akhmeteli, Kulish and many others are subjected to unjustified repression, which undermines the further development of the Soviet theater.
The Great Patriotic War tragically disrupted the peaceful life of the Soviet people. "Everything for the front, everything for victory" - the theater also worked under this slogan. Front-line brigades (there were about 4,000 of them), which included the best actors, traveled to the front with concert programs (see Front-line theaters). About 700 one-act plays were written for them. Stable front-line theaters arose in the front line. Theaters continued to operate in besieged Leningrad - the theater of the people's militia, the city ("besieged") theater.
The Leninist theme sounded especially powerful in the difficult years of the war. In 1942, in Saratov, the Moscow Art Theater showed Pogodin's play "Kremlin Chimes" staged by Nemirovich-Danchenko. The role of Lenin was played by A.N. Gribov.
The tragic events of the war contributed to the strengthening of even closer creative ties that already existed in the Soviet multinational theater. The troupes evacuated from Belarus and Ukraine, together with the teams of Moscow, Leningrad and other Russian theaters, worked in the rear cities. "Front" by A. E. Korneichuk, "Russian people" by K. M. Simonov, "Invasion" by L. M. Leonov were on the stages of the Ukrainian theaters named after I. Franko and named after T. G. Shevchenko, the Belarusian Theater named after Y. Kupala , the Armenian Theater named after G. Sundukyan, the Bashkir Drama Theater, embodying the international essence of Soviet patriotism. Plays and performances devoted to military events were created on the basis of national material: “Guard of Honor” by A. Auezov in Kazakhstan, “Mother” by Uygun in Uzbekistan, “Deer Gorge” by S. D. Kldiashvili in Georgia, etc.
The joy of Victory, the pathos of peaceful construction are reflected in the dramaturgy. However, optimism often turned out to be too straightforward, and the difficulties of the post-war period were artificially ignored. Many plays were written at a very low artistic level. All this reflected the social processes taking place throughout the country. This period is again characterized by violations of the Leninist principles of party life and democracy. In a number of documents, unfair and unjustifiably harsh assessments of the work of a number of talented artists appear. The “theory” of non-conflict is gaining ground, containing the assertion that in a socialist society there can only be a struggle between the “good” and the “excellent”. There is a process of embellishment, "lacquering" of reality. Art ceases to reflect true life processes. In addition, the trend of leveling all theaters under the Moscow Art Theater, leveling artistic trends and creative individuals was harmful. All this sharply slowed down the natural logic of the development of culture and art, led to their impoverishment. So, in 1949, A. Ya. Tairov (Chamber Theater) and N. P. Akimov (Leningrad Comedy Theater) were removed from their posts as theater directors, in 1950 the Jewish and Chamber Theaters were closed.
Since the mid 50s. processes of internal improvement begin in the country. The 20th Congress of the CPSU, held in 1956, restored social justice and realistically assessed the historical situation. There is also an update in the field of culture. The theater strives to bridge the gap between life and the stage, truthful reflection of the phenomena of reality, the height and diversity of aesthetic searches. A new stage begins in the development of the heritage of the luminaries of the Soviet theater. Dogmatism and canonization are being cleared, the traditions of Stanislavsky, Nemirovich-Danchenko, Vakhtangov, Tairov, Meyerhold, Kurbas, Akhmeteli are being rethought.
Directing becomes an active effective force. The theater is fruitful. three generations of directors work. Wonderful performances are created by masters whose work began in the late 20s - 30s: N. P. Okhlopkov, N. P. Akimov, A. D. Popov, V. N. Pluchek, V. M. Adzhemyan, K. K. Ird, E. Ya. Smilgis, Yu. I. Miltinis. Next to them are directors who began their journey in the late 30s - early 40s: L. V. Varpakhovsky, A. A. Goncharov, B. I. Ravenskikh, G. A. Tovstonogov, A. F. Amtman - Briedith, G. Vancevicius. Young directors declare themselves: O. N. Efremov, A. V. Efros, V. Kh. Panso, M. I. Tumanishvili, T. Kyazimov, A. M. Mambetov, R. N. Kaplanyan.
New theater groups strive to update the expressive means of performance in acting. The core of the troupe of the Sovremennik Theater (1957) was made up of graduates of the Moscow Art Theater School (headed by O. N. Efremov). The main task of the theater, which opened with the play "Forever Alive" by V. S. Rozov, is the development of a modern theme. The team was united by the unity of aesthetic preferences, high ethical principles. In 1964, the Taganka Drama and Comedy Theater was opened (headed by Yu. P. Lyubimov), which included graduates of the B. V. Shchukin School.
One of the leading theaters in the country is the Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theater named after M. Gorky. In the performances of G. A. Tovstonogov, the traditions of psychological realism were organically combined with vivid forms of theatrical expressiveness. The productions of The Idiot by F. M. Dostoevsky and Gorky's Barbarians have become an example of a deep, innovative reading of the classics. In Prince Myshkin (“Idiot”) performed by I. M. Smoktunovsky, the audience felt the “spring of light”, eternally alive, human in a person.
In 1963, A. V. Efros headed the Moscow Theater named after Lenin Komsomol, where he staged a series of performances marked by intense spiritual search: “104 pages about love” and “A movie is being made” by E. S. Radzinsky, “My poor Marat” by A. N. Arbuzova, "On the wedding day" by V. S. Rozov, "The Seagull" by A. P. Chekhov, "Molière" by M. A. Bulgakov and others. In 1967, together with a group of like-minded actors (O. M. Yakovleva , A. A. Shirvindt, L. K. Durov, A. I. Dmitrieva and others), he moves to the Moscow Drama Theater on Malaya Bronnaya.
In the 60s. the range of interaction between national cultures is expanding. Translations and staging of plays by authors from the Union and Autonomous Republics, All-Union reviews of national dramaturgy are included in everyday practice. Plays by A. E. Korneichuk, A. E. Makayonok, M. Karim, I. P. Druta, N. V. Dumbadze, Yu. Aitmatov.
Interest in the contemporary theme, characteristic of this period, is combined with close attention to the history of our country. For the first time, M. F. Shatrov's play "The Sixth of July" is staged, continuing the traditions of Soviet Leniniana. In 1965, the Taganka Theater hosted the premiere of the play "Ten Days That Shook the World" based on the book by D. Reed, who resurrected the elements of the post-revolutionary propaganda theater. A powerful epic narrative about the difficult times of collectivization was the staging of “Virgin Soil Upturned” by M. A. Sholokhov on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater named after M. Gorky in 1965, carried out by G. A. Tovstonogov. At the Maly Theatre, L. V. Varpakhovsky staged The Optimistic Tragedy with a brilliant duet duel between the Commissar (R. D. Nifontov) and the Leader (M. I. Tsarev). The Sovremennik Theater spoke about the most important stages of our revolutionary history in the stage trilogy: “The Decembrists” by L. G. Zorin, “People’s Volunteers” by A. M. Svobodin and “Bolsheviks” by M. F. Shatrov, staged by O. N. Efremov in the style documentary publicistic storytelling. The jubilee poster of the multinational theater in the year of the 50th anniversary of October again presented the audience with “Days of the Turbins” and “Running” by M. A. Bulgakov, “Love Yarovaya” by K. A. Trenev, “Storm” by V. N. Bill-Belotserkovsky, “Breaking " B. A. Lavreneva, "Armored train 14-69" Sun. V. Ivanova.
The 60s became a time of cleansing the classics from common stage clichés. The directors were looking for a modern sound, a living breath of the past in the classical heritage. The innovative reading of the classics was sometimes marked by the frank polemicism of the director's interpretation and sometimes the artistic costs associated with it. However, in the best productions, the theater rose to genuine stage discoveries. The performances "Masquerade" by M. Yu. Lermontov and "Petersburg Dreams" (after F. M. Dostoevsky) by Yu. A. Zavadsky on the stage of the Mossovet Theater; "Woe from Wit" by Griboyedov, "Three Sisters" by Chekhov and "Petty Bourgeois" by Gorky staged by G. A. Tovstonogov at the Bolshoi Theater named after M. Gorky; The Death of Ivan the Terrible by A. K. Tolstoy directed by L. E. Kheifits on the stage of the Central Theater of the Soviet Army in Moscow; “Profitable Place” by A. N. Ostrovsky directed by M. A. Zakharov; Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro by P. Beaumarchais, directed by V. N. Pluchek at the Satire Theater; Gorky's "Summer Residents" on the stage of the Maly Theater directed by B. A. Babochkin; "Three Sisters" by A. V. Efros at the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya; “An Ordinary Story” by I. A. Goncharov (a play by V. S. Rozov) and “At the Bottom” by Gorky, staged by G. B. Volchek in Sovremennik, are far from a complete list of classical drama productions on stage.
Russian, Soviet and foreign classics are widely played on the stages of Ukrainian theaters. Among the numerous Shakespearean performances, the production of King Lear at the I. Franko Theater (1959, director V. Ogloblin) stands out. M. Krushelnitsky superbly played the sharp, impetuous, intelligent Lear. Of fundamental importance for the further development of the Ukrainian theater was the play Antigone by Sophocles (1965), performed by a Georgian production group: director D. Aleksidze, artist P. Lapiashvili, composer O. Taktakishvili. Here, the high traditions of the romantic scale of vision, inherent in these two rational cultures, merged together.
A milestone in the history of Georgian theater was the production of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex (1956) on the stage of the Sh. Rustaveli Theatre. A. A. Khorava played Oedipus as a truly perfect, deep and wise man. Other leading Georgian actors also played this role: A. A. Vasadze, S. A. Zakariadze, who offered a deep and original interpretation of the image. The folk choir, echoing Oedipus, was along with him the hero of the play. Its organic existence was reminiscent of the solution of mass scenes by A. V. Akhmeteli. In contrast to the monumental productions of the classics that were characteristic of the Georgian stage at that time, the play “The Spanish Priest” by J. Fletcher directed by M. I. Tumanishvili was cheerful, dynamic, sparkling with amusing improvisations.
A significant event in the life of the Azerbaijani theater was the performance of the Theater named after M. Azizbekov "Vassa Zheleznova" (1954) staged by T. Kazimov. Actress M. Davudova played Vassa, enslaved by a passion for profit, but smart and strong. Innovative, although not indisputable, was the directorial decision by T. Kazimov of the play "Antony and Cleopatra" by Shakespeare (1964), where the right to love, free from cynicism and calculation, was affirmed.
In V. M. Adzhemyan’s directorial works on the stage of the G. Sundukyan Theater, the theme “Man and Society” was especially prominent. It was traced in the productions of national classics, individual plays by foreign authors. R. N. Kaplanyan discovered the maturity of the director's style in Shakespeare's productions. Artists Kh. Abrahamyan and S. Sargsyan became worthy heirs of the masters of the older generation.
Leading director of the Latvian theater of the 60s. remained E. Ya. Smilgis (1886-1966). Clarity and philosophical depth of conception, expressiveness of stage form are inherent in his works on the stage of the J. Rainis Theater - "Ilya Muromets", "I Played, Danced" by J. Rainis, "Hamlet" by Shakespeare, "Mary Stuart" by Schiller. Smilgis brought up a galaxy of wonderful actors, among them - L. Priede-Berzin, V. Artmane. The innovative development of directorial principles of Smilgis was continued by A. Liensh. The process of updating traditions was also going on in the A. Upita Drama Theater, where the directors A. F. Amtman-Briedit and A. I. Jaunushan worked.
The Vanemuine Theater in Tartu showed the audience both dramatic and musical performances. Its leader K. K. Ird (1909-1989) combined national identity with the experience of world culture. In the performances “The Life of Galileo” by B. Brecht, “Coriolanus” by Shakespeare, “The Tailor Ykh and His Happy Lot” by A. Kitsberg, “Yegor Bulychov and Others” by Gorky, he revealed the most important social processes through the fate of people, human characters. In the V. Kingisepp Tallinn Drama Theatre, director V. H. Panso sought to comprehend the philosophical essence of human character by means of metaphorical stage language (Brecht's "Mr. Puntilla and his servant Matti", dramatizations of A. Tammsaare's novels). On the stage of this theater, the versatile talent of the remarkable Soviet actor Yu. E. Yarvet was revealed.
The Lithuanian theater gravitated toward poetry and subtle psychologism. Yu. I. Miltinis (1907–1994), who directed the Panevėžys Theater, built its work on the principles of studio work. "Macbeth" by Shakespeare, "Death of a Salesman" by A. Miller, "Dance of Death" by A. Strindberg were distinguished by high directorial culture, freedom of figurative thinking, and the accuracy of the ratio of idea and embodiment. Miltinis paid great attention to the education of the actor. Under his leadership, such remarkable masters as D. Banionis (in 1981-1988 the artistic director of the Panevezys Theater), B. Babkauskas and others began their creative path. G. Vancevicius, who directed the Kaunas and then Vilnius Drama Theatre, affirmed the principles of philosophical poetic tragedy in the production of J. Marcinkevičius's trilogy "Mindaugas", "Cathedral", "Mažvydas". R. Adomaitis played the roles of Mindaugas and Mažvydas with dramatic power and heightened psychologism.
The art of directing in Moldova, in the republics of Central Asia, is undergoing a period of formation, national schools continue to take shape.
The 70s, marked by the undeniable creative growth of the Soviet theater, were meanwhile quite contradictory. The stagnant phenomena affected the direction of art, so it was difficult for new dramaturgy to find its way onto the stage, and the director's experiment was also infringed. The urgent need to update the techniques of actor's stage realism gave rise to such a phenomenon as small scenes. The interest of young playwrights in the inner world of an ordinary person in everyday life, the problems of true and imaginary spirituality are reflected in such productions of small scenes as N.A. Corners” by S. B. Kokovkin, “Premier” by L. G. Roseba at the Mossovet Theatre.
There was a complex process of the birth of a new director's generation. A. A. Vasiliev, L. A. Dodin, Yu. I. Eremin, K. M. Ginkas, G. D. Chernyakhovsky, R. G. Viktyuk, R. R. Sturua, T. N. Chkheidze, J. Vaitkus, D. Tamulyavichute, M. Mikkiver, K. Komissarov, J. Tooming, E. Nyakroshyus, I. Ryskulov, A. Khandikyan.
The dynamics of the theatrical process of the 70s. determined primarily by the work of directors of the older generation. The renewal of the Moscow Art Theater is connected with the arrival of O. N. Efremov, who revived the traditions of Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko that had died out in this team. He staged a cycle of Chekhov’s performances (“Ivanov”, “The Seagull”, “Uncle Vanya”), returned to the Moscow Art Theater stage an acutely social vision of modernity in the performances “Meeting of the Party Committee”, “Feedback”, “We, the undersigned ...”, “Alone with everyone” by A. I. Gelman and “Steelworkers” by G. K. Bokarev; continued to work on the stage Leniniana, staging a play by M. F. Shatrov “So we will win!”, Where the image of V. I. Lenin was created by A. A. Kalyagin.
Still organic and alive was the art of the Leningrad BDT named after M. Gorky, led by G. A. Tovstonogov. His performances, whether they are performances of the classics (The Inspector General by N. V. Gogol, The History of the Horse by L. N. Tolstoy, Khanuma by A. Tsagareli) or modern drama (Last Summer in Chulimsk by A. V. Vampilov ) or an appeal to Leniniana (the composition “Rereading Again”), were distinguished by the depth of psychological analysis, the scale of historical vision and indisputable artistic merit. The success of the performances among the audience was facilitated by a wonderful creative team - E. A. Lebedev, K. Yu. Lavrov, E. Z. Kopelyan, O. V. Basilashvili and others.
Thanks to talented directing (A. Yu. Khaikin, P. L. Monastyrsky, N. Yu. Orlov) and original artists, productions of drama theaters in Omsk, Kuibyshev, and Chelyabinsk enjoyed steady audience interest.
Unusually fruitful and mature precisely in the 70s. became the directorial activity of A. V. Efros. One of the most impressive "production" performances was "A Man from the Outside" based on the play by I. M. Dvoretsky. However, by the middle of the decade, Efros moves away from modern themes and focuses on the interpretation of the classics (“Three Sisters” by Chekhov, “Romeo and Juliet” by Shakespeare, “A Month in the Country” by I. S. Turgenev, “Don Giovanni” by J. B. Molière).
In 1973, the Moscow Theater named after Lenin Komsomol was headed by M. A. Zakharov (see Lenin Komsomol theaters). Performances filled with music, dances, complex directorial constructions appeared in the repertoire. But along with spectacular performances (“Til”, “Juno” and “Avos”), the theater offered the youth audience a serious reading of the classics (“Ivanov”, “Optimistic Tragedy”), introduced them to the new dramaturgy (“Cruel Intentions” by A. N. Arbuzova, “Three Girls in Blue” by L. S. Petrushevskaya), turned to the Leninist theme (“Blue horses on red grass”, “Dictatorship of conscience”). The Leningrad Theater named after Lenin Komsomol rather gravitated towards psychological drama. Director G. Oporkov worked on the dramaturgy of Chekhov, Volodin, Vampilov, introducing young people to the comprehension of acute social conflicts.
In the productions of the Sovremennik Theater (it was headed by G. B. Volchek in 1972), the audience was attracted by an interesting ensemble of actors. The young director V. Fokin began his work here. The Drama and Comedy Theater on Taganka turned to the best works of modern prose and classics. The audience fell in love with the art of V. Vysotsky, A. Demidova, Z. Slavina, V. Zolotukhin, L. Filatov and his other actors (since 1987 the artistic director of the theater is N. N. Gubenko). The diversity of the repertoire and the attraction to a bright stage form distinguished the performances of the Theater named after Vl. Mayakovsky, headed by A. A. Goncharov. The names of the theater actors - B. M. Tenin, L. P. Sukharevskaya, V. Ya. Samoilov, A. B. Dzhigarkhanyan, S. V. Nemolyaeva and others are well known to the audience. Among the productions of recent years are “The Fruits of Enlightenment” (1984) by L. N. Tolstoy, “Sunset” (1987) based on I. E. Babel and others.
In the best productions of the Satire Theater (headed by V. N. Pluchek), the audience was attracted by the skill of the artists A. D. Papanov, G. P. Menglet, A. A. Mironov, O. A. Aroseva and others. Creative search marked the work of the Mossovet Theatre, known for the names of remarkable actors - V.P. Maretskaya, F.G. Ranevskaya, R.Ya. Plyatt and others.
Moscow theaters of plastic drama, facial expressions and gestures, shadow theater, etc., also work interestingly.
The Leningrad Maly Drama Theater attracts attention, the troupe of which, led by the chief director L. A. Dodin, staged such productions as “The House” (1980) and “Brothers and Sisters” (1985) based on F. A. Abramov, “Stars in the morning sky” (1987) A. I. Galina and others.
At the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, despite a number of difficulties and contradictions, creative interaction and mutual influence of national theatrical cultures intensified. Numerous tours, festivals introduced the audience to the achievements of theatrical groups of the RSFSR, the Baltic states, and Transcaucasia. The performances staged by R. Sturua on the stage of the Sh. Rustaveli Theater - Brecht's "Caucasian Chalk Circle", Shakespeare's "Richard III", "King Lear" have gained world fame due to the sharpness of the director's thought, vivid theatricality, areal grotesque and the brilliant play of the performer of the main roles R. Chkhikvadze. T. Chkheidze's productions at the K. Mardzhanishvili Theater - "Othello", "Collapse" and others - are saturated with subtle psychologism, deep metaphor. The productions of E. Nyakroshyus "The Square", "And the Day Lasts Longer than a Century", "Pirosmani", "Uncle Vanya" at the Lithuanian Youth Theater became a new word in theatrical art.
The mid-1980s marked the beginning of a process of broad democratization of the entire life of Soviet society. Freedom in solving creative problems, choosing a repertoire, rejecting administrative methods of leadership have already yielded results. "Silver Wedding" at the Moscow Art Theater, "Wall" in "Sovremennik", "Article" in TsATSA, "Speak!" in the Theater named after M. N. Yermolova, "Quote" and "Braking in Heaven" in the Theater named after the Moscow City Council, etc. - these acutely social performances reflected the changes in the life of the country. A serious fact of enriching the repertoire of theaters was the return to the stage of the works of Soviet classics withdrawn from the cultural heritage of the country. Many theaters staged The Suicide by N. R. Erdman, The Heart of a Dog after Bulgakov; A.P. Platonov’s play “14 Red Huts” received a stage birth on the stage of the Saratov Drama Theater named after K. Marx. The desire to restore unfairly forgotten names, to return to the viewer the values that make up the golden fund of our culture, is the most important feature of theatrical life in the 80s.
Masters of the Soviet multinational stage united in unions of theatrical figures (see Creative unions of theatrical figures). A theatrical experiment was widely carried out, designed to renew the outdated system of organizational and creative forms of our theater for its fruitful development. Conditions were created for a broad studio movement that covered many regions of the Soviet Union. The Friendship of Peoples Theater organized in Moscow (artistic director E. R. Simonov) regularly introduces the audience to the best performances of the Soviet multinational theater. So, during the festival "Theater 88", organized by the USSR Union of Theater Workers, performances were shown: the Moscow Drama and Comedy Theater on Taganka ("Boris Godunov" by A. S. Pushkin), the Lithuanian Youth Theater ("Square" by V. Eliseeva), Saratov Drama Theater named after K. Marx (“Crimson Island” by Bulgakov), Kaunas Drama Theater (“Golgotha” according to Aitmatov), Estonian Puppet Theater (“A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by Shakespeare), Kiev Theater named after I. Franko (“Visit of the Old Lady » F. Durrenmatt), the Uzbek Drama Theater "Yesh Guard" ("Tricks of Maysara" by Khamza), etc.
The Soviet multinational theater played a significant role in the spiritual life of society, developing the humanistic traditions of culture, bringing together the creativity of nations and nationalities.
The decree “On the unification of theatrical business”, approved in 1919, streamlined the structure of state management of the theater. The Theater Department (TEO) of the People's Commissariat of Education was formed, headed by V.E. Meyerhold (the director's section was led by E.B. Vakhtangov). The decree established that theaters "recognized as useful and artistic" are a national treasure and are subsidized by the state.
Former imperial theaters - the Art Theater, the Chamber Theater, etc. were taken out of the leadership of the TEO and merged into the Office of State Academic Theaters (UGAT). Introduced in 1919, the honorary title "Academic Theatre" was then awarded to the six oldest theaters in the country: the Bolshoi, the Maly and the Art Theater in Moscow; Alexandrinsky, Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky in Petrograd. (http://teatr-lib.ru/Library/Zolotnitsky/Aki/)
In the pre-revolutionary theater, both officials and private individuals could act as producers. The directors of the imperial and state theaters were delegated the powers and functions of production by the supreme power - the court or the government; to heads of city theaters - theatrical commissions of city dumas; entrepreneurs and elected leaders of acting associations - the professional community and, finally, the leaders of folk theaters - the general public inclined towards stage creativity. Thus, different social groups chose producers according to their interests and needs.
After the revolution, the situation changed radically. A new, "primitive in relation to art" (K. Stanislavsky) spectator came to the theater.
During the years of war communism, artistic life focuses on theatrical art. This was noted by H. G. Wells during his first trip to Russia in 1920: "The theater turned out to be the most stable element of Russian cultural life." The number of theaters in these years is growing like an avalanche. In the same 1920, the journal The Theater Bulletin wrote: “And not only every city, but it seems that already every quarter, every plant, factory, hospital, worker and Red Army club, village, and even village have their own theater". This, as Meyerhold said, "the psychosis of theatricalization" led to the fact that in 1920, 1,547 theaters and studios were already under the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat for Education. According to the Political Directorate (PUR), there were 1,800 clubs in the Red Army at the same time, they had 1,210 professional theaters and 911 drama clubs, and there were 3,000 peasant theaters. In 1920, the budget allocated to the theater was 10% (!) from the general budget of the country. The state, which had already partially assumed the functions of a producer, was still guided not by selfish, but by romantic goals of "cultivating" the country. However, the collapse of the economy made the task of funding art for the Bolsheviks impossible.
It is always difficult for a culture to survive in the years of social change. The social and economic devastation led to the fact that people were simply not up to theaters. The new government easily and quickly dealt with its enemies or with those who could only seem to it as such, not fitting into its new ideology. Many cultural figures, including composers, writers, artists, vocalists, left the country, turning into emigrants. But the spectators also left - the Russian intelligentsia.
Nevertheless, the theater was looking for ways to survive in the new conditions. The NEP years helped. Russian art began to revive little by little - but in new conditions. The rollicking years of the NEP for the first time in Russia brought the lowest strata of society out of the backyard - the new "masters of life", small private merchants and artisans, were sometimes illiterate, they could not rise to the high spheres of musical and dramatic performances, their lot was restaurant cabarets, where they they easily left their first-earned "millions", and by art they understood cheerful light songs, many of which were frankly vulgar, but among which the undoubtedly talented "Bublichki", "Lemonchiki", "Murka" (author of poems Yakov Yadov) have survived to this day . It was a time of prosperity for cabaret theatres.
However, drama theaters, attracting the newly-minted "businessmen" (then this word did not yet exist, but the word "Nepman" was born) to the auditoriums, were looking for light genres for staging a play: fairy tales and vaudeville - so on the stage of the then recently appeared Vakhtangov's studio was born who became immortal performance based on the fairy tale by Gozzi "Princess Turandot", behind the light genre of which was a sharp social satire. But such performances were, perhaps, an exception. Basically, the new Soviet plays were proclamations and slogans of the new government, usually propagandizing and falsifying historical plots, leading the audience away from serious social reflections.
New theaters appeared with new stage aesthetics - for example, on the Arbat in 1920, Nikolai Foregger opened his Mastfor theater studio - it was there that Sergei Eisenstein, Sergei Yutkevich, Sergei Gerasimov, Tamara Makarova, Boris Barnet, Vladimir Mass and many more future outstanding figures of Soviet art.
At the same time, the theatrical movement "Blue Blouse" arose. At the same time, the former private nationalized Moscow Art Theater, the Chamber Theater, the Zimin Opera, the former imperial and also nationalized Bolshoi and Maly Theaters continued to work.
After a break, the world's only Animal Theater of trainer and natural scientist Vladimir Leonidovich Durov continued its work in the new Soviet conditions. Durov and his family were even allowed to live for some time in the former, but nationalized theater building, which at first was primarily the home of a famous trainer.
From the 20s. Sergei Vladimirovich Obraztsov, a former member of the Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater of the Moscow Art Theater, begins his performances with puppets.
For the 1920s characterized by the struggle of theatrical trends, each of which stood for major artistic achievements. Heading the "left front" of art, Meyerhold put forward the program of "Theatrical October". These ideas received stage expression in the activities of the Theater of the RSFSR 1st, founded and headed by Meyerhold. This theater staged not only new plays, performances-rallies ("The Dawns" by E. Verharn, 1920), but also sought to saturate the works of classical dramaturgy with actual political, including topical, themes. The performances used a variety of expressive means, stage conventions, grotesques and eccentrics. Often the action was transferred to the auditorium, could be supplemented by film frames on the back of the stage: Meyerhold was an opponent of the traditional "box scene".
By the mid-20s, the emergence of Soviet dramaturgy, which had a huge impact on the development of theatrical art, dates back. The major events of the theatrical seasons of 1925-27. steel "Storm" V. Bill-Belotserkovsky in the theater. MGSPS, "Love Yarovaya" by K. Trenev at the Maly Theater, "Breaking" by B. Lavrenev at the Theater. E. Vakhtangov and at the Bolshoi Drama Theatre, "Armored Train 14-69" by V. Ivanov at the Moscow Art Theater. The classics occupied a strong place in the theater repertoire. Attempts to read it again were made both by academic theaters (A. Ostrovsky's Hot Heart at the Moscow Art Theater) and by the "leftists" ("Forest" by A. Ostrovsky and N. Gogol's "Inspector General" at the V. Meyerhold Theater).
In contrast to him, A.Ya. Tairov defended the possibilities of modern productions exclusively on the theatrical stage. Alien to the politicization of art, the director succeeded both in creating a tragic performance, breaking through Racine's play to the foundations of the ancient myth (Phaedra, 1922), and in harlequinade (Girofle-Girofle by Ch. Lecoq, 1922). Tairov strove for a "synthetic theatre", striving to combine all the elements of stage art - the word, music, pantomime and dance. Tairov contrasted his artistic program with both the naturalistic theater and the principles of "conditional theater" (whose founder was Meyerhold).
The efforts of radical stage direction were resisted by attempts to preserve the classical heritage in the situation of the "collapse of humanism", to establish the romantic tradition. One of the characteristic phenomena was the Bolshoi Drama Theater (BDT), opened in Petrograd (1919) with the participation of A.A. Blok, M. Gorky, M.F. Andreeva.
By the mid-1920s, the Moscow Art Theater became the most influential theater with its psychologism of the stage play ("Hot Heart" by A.N. Ostrovsky, "Days of the Turbins" by M.A. Bulgakov, 1926, "Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro" by Beaumarchais, 1927) . The second generation of actors of the Moscow Art Theater announced itself loudly: A.K. Tarasova, O.N. Androvskaya, K.N. Elanskaya, A.P. Zueva, N.P. Batalov, N.P. Khmelev, B.G. Dobronravov, B.N. Livanov, A.N. Gribov, M.M. Yashin and others. At the same time, the "Sovietization" of theaters began, primarily associated with the approval of Soviet drama, which developed the canon of the "correct" reflection of the revolutionary transformation of the country.
Since 1922, the country has been moving towards the New Economic Policy, all sectors of the national economy, including culture and art, have been transferred to self-financing. Not only do theaters not receive state subsidies, they also suffocate from exorbitant taxes and fees. As Lunacharsky wrote, in aggregate "taxes reached 70-130% of the gross collection." Only state theaters were exempted from paying taxes, the number of which varied from 14 to 17 in different years. Without state and public support, theaters are closed everywhere: in 1928 there were already 320 of them in the USSR, more than half of which were private.
In the 1920s–30s. many new theatres. The Soviet government saw the theater as an instrument of education, agitation and propaganda, and the meaning of its activity was to serve the cultural needs of the population, which led to the division of the audience according to social, age, regional, departmental, and other characteristics and to the corresponding specialization of theater troupes. The time of the NEP did not last long, ending tragically very quickly and giving way to the terrible Stalinist years, but the NEP trace in art, and primarily theatrical, remained forever in the history of Russian theatrical culture.
theater history
Theater of the 30s of the XIX century
Introduction
The same one thousand eight hundred and twenty-five. He abruptly turned the epoch.
The era itself was dual, it contained two eras: the exaltation of the throne and the revolution; Decembrism and the strengthening of lawlessness as a system; the awakening of the personality, but also the growth of arbitrariness of power that knew no limits.
That was the era of prophecy and dumbness, the search for Heaven, as Chaadaev wrote this word, with a capital letter, and moral surrender. The era of the executed and the hangers, voluntary informers and dreamers, Glinka's music and the chilling drum roll, under which soldiers and demoted poets were driven through the ranks.
The era was the era of Pushkin and the era of the well-bred gendarme on the throne, Emperor of All Russia Nicholas I, who managed to outlive him for two decades. Lermontov, whose lives and ranks he ordered, not taking into account only that immortality is not in his power.
One of the most typical representatives of stage romanticism on the Russian stage was Vasily Andreevich Karatygin, a talented representative of a large acting family, for many contemporaries - the first actor of the St. Petersburg stage. Tall, with noble manners, with a strong, even thunderous voice, Karatygin, as if by nature he was destined for majestic monologues. No one knew how to wear magnificent historical costumes made of silk and brocade, shining with gold and silver embroidery, fight with swords, and take picturesque poses better than him.
Already at the very beginning of his stage activity, V.A. Karatygin won the attention of the public and theater critics. A. Bestuzhev, who negatively assessed the state of the Russian theater of that period, singled out the "strong play of Karatygin." Some of the stage images created by Karatygin impressed the future participants in the events of December 14, 1825 with a social orientation - this is the image of the thinker Hamlet ("Hamlet" by Shakespeare), the rebellious Don Pedro ("Inessa de Castro" de Lamotta). Sympathy for progressive ideas brought the younger generation of the Karatygin family closer to progressive-minded writers. V.A. Karatygin and his brother P.A. Karatygin met A.S. Pushkin, A.S. Griboyedov, A.N. Odoevsky, V.K. Kuchelbeker, A.A. and N.A. Bestuzhev. However, after the events of December 14, 1825, V.A. Karatygin moves away from literary circles, focusing his interests on theatrical activities. Gradually, he becomes one of the first actors of the Alexandria Theater, enjoys the favor of the court and Nicholas I himself.
Karatygin's favorite roles were the roles of historical characters, legendary heroes, people of predominantly high origin or status - kings, generals, nobles. At the same time, he most of all strove for external historical plausibility.
If Karatygin was considered the premiere of the capital's stage, then P.S. reigned on the stage of the Moscow Drama Theater of these years. Mochalov. One of the outstanding actors of the first half of the 19th century, he began his stage career as an actor in classical tragedy. However, due to his passion for melodrama and romantic drama, his talent is being improved in this area, and he gained popularity as a romantic actor. In his work, he sought to create the image of a heroic personality.
In the performance of Mochalov, even the stilted heroes of the plays by Kukolnik or Polevoy acquired the spirituality of genuine human experiences, personified the high ideals of honor, justice, and kindness. During the years of political reaction that followed the defeat of the Decembrist uprising, Mochalov's work reflected progressive public sentiments.
There were two epochs, and they combined in a strange way.
Which of them was attributed to the actor Mochalov? Was he at all? Maybe he is the hero of the legend?
Not like a real person, a giant, a sorcerer with a "phosphoric dazzling look", who "created worlds around him with one word, one breath." And isn’t it strange that his contemporaries, sometimes mercilessly unfair in their assessments, called the dramatic artist “the great educator of our entire generation”, “a short, pale man, with such a noble and beautiful face, overshadowed by black curls.”
Can you trust this? After all, Mochalov did not have black curls or coal-black eyes, so unanimously described by eyewitnesses. As evidenced by the most legitimate document, neatly drawn up by state officials on a sheet of government official paper, the eyes of Pavel Mochalov, Stepanov's son, are “light brown”, and his hair is “dark blond with gray hair”.
It was not the audience who saw the actor on this side of the curtain, from the audience, who wrote about black curls, but people who knew him closely and outside the stage, who have been associated with him for years. They also wrote about how his figure sometimes mysteriously transformed. How “ordinary growth” disappeared before our eyes, and instead a phenomenon called Belinsky “terrible” appeared. *1 “With the fantastic brilliance of the theatrical lighting”, it “separated from the ground, grew and stretched out into the entire space between the floor and the ceiling of the stage and fluctuated on it like an ominous ghost.”
Real people do not grow to the gigantic size of a ghost, like the heroes of legends and myths. In fact, it is not the volume of a person that changes, but the volume of vision. The awakened imagination of the viewer itself creates these giants. No wonder Mochalov's art "burned with the fire of lightning" and struck with "galvanic shocks."
The stigma of death was burned on the heroes of Mochalov. The fatal markedness of destinies fascinated people, whose dreams usually were crowned not with the Golden Fleece and not with laurels, but with hard labor and Siberia. It was not for nothing that their pathos looked for exaggerations and created myths.
The smoke of legends dissipated, and its recent hero, the Russian tragedian Mochalov, remained a lifeless shadow of the century.
Some eras overthrew him altogether. Others resurrected with energy, but painting on the features of their time.
He was turned into a hero from folk tales and into a Byronic figure of a disappointed dreamer; into a consistent seeker of truth and into Pechorin. From the ashes, he rose as a sacred avenger, but a vigilant fighter for the truth who did not know retreat.
He was neither one nor the other. He himself was a part of history, an intimate part of Russia. He was a Russian artist, unable to distort himself either for the sake of government favors, or out of fear of falling behind the era, of being overtaken by it, bypassed. The era threw him, broke, crushed, in the end, under the pressure of the ruthless whirlwinds of time, he fell, but remained the actor of the century, the rebellious genius of the century with its hidden abyss.
“The desert sower of freedom, he went out early, before the star…”.
1. Pavel Stepanovich Mochalov (1800-1848)
The parents of the great Russian tragic actor Pavel Stepanovich Mochalov were serf actors. Mother - Avdotya Ivanovna - played the role of young girls, most often servants. Father - Stepan Fedorovich - heroes. The Mochalovs lived in poverty. Pavel Mochalov recalled: “I have seen so much grief in my life! When we were kids, our father couldn't buy us warm clothes, and we didn't go out for walks and sleigh rides for two winters."
In 1803, Stepan Mochalov became an actor in the Petrovsky Theater in Moscow. In 1806, the Mochalov family received "freedom". The documents of the theater directorate say that Mochalov “was recorded according to the 5th revision of the Moscow province of the Bogorodny district, near the village of Sergievsky, and was set free forever. He has a wife Avdotya Ivanovna and children: sons Pavel 14 years old, Plato 13 years old, Vasily 8 years old and daughter Maria 17 years old.
S.P. Zhikharev wrote in 1805, "Mochalov plays in tragedies, comedies and operas, and nowhere, at least, does not spoil." Mochalov Sr. deserved a higher appreciation from other contemporaries. For example, in Vestnik Evropy, a correspondent who signed N.D.-v wrote in the article The Russian Theater (1807, No. 10): he is gradually, hour by hour, more deserving of her attention. But introducing Mechtalin (in the play Colin d Arvilia "Castles in the Air") suddenly discovered an art for which it was fair to give him excellent approval. This is done. At the end of the comedy, Mr. Mochalov was called to the stage.
The personality of S.F. Mochalova attracted the attention of many admirers of his talent. Of great interest for understanding the environment in which the performing art of Stepan Fedorovich grew and strengthened is the story of one of the contemporary writers: “During the intermission, the theater-goers gathered around Zhikharev ...
Well, how is Mochalov? asked theater director Kokoshkin.
Zhikharev shrugged. His cunning, unclean face with a hooked nose assumed a disgusted expression.
Well, - he said - a prominent fellow, plays everywhere and nowhere, at least does not spoil.
The mill, - said Shchegolin, who occasionally published reviews in the Dramatic Journal, - does not pause between long monologues. There are good moments, but there is no diligence in handling the role.
But is he talented? asked Kokoshkin anxiously.
Talent peeps through, - said Aksakov, - but art, art is not enough!
Believe me, - Kokoshkin said contritely, - in order to acquire liberties in circulation and skills in aristocratic manners, I forced him to serve at my balls and dinner parties with plates in his hands behind the chairs of the most honored guests. Takes nothing!
And the upset director swore that he would knock out ignorance from Mochalov ... ”
It is unlikely that Kokoshkin forced Mochalov to act as a lackey; in this passage, much deliberately reduces the dignity of Mochalov the father.
True, S.T. Aksakov wrote that S.F. Mochalov was good: especially in the plays The Guadalupe Resident and The Tone of Human Light, but in all other dramas and comedies he was a weak actor, mainly because of any understanding of the role. And yet S.F. Mochalov was talented, according to the same S.T. Aksakov, "in his soul he had an abyss of fire and feelings." He became the teacher of his son, Pavel Stepanovich Mochalov, and his daughter, actress Maria Stepanovna Mochalova, Frantseva.
In Moscow, Mochalov Jr. was sent to the boarding school of the Tekrlikov Brothers. They had not yet managed to open a noble university boarding school, which later built bridges to higher education. It was a decent establishment. Pavel Mochalov carefully performed his duties: he studied mathematics with the younger Terlikov and showed success in it. At the senior - comprehended literature. The mainstay of education, however, was revered by Master Ivan Davydov. He had no complaints about the boy. Pavel was faithful to the disciplines, mastered French with sin in half and learned something from world history and rhetoric. He completed the course successfully.
But it was inertia, a tribute to duty, habitual obedience that had not yet had time to rebel. In fact, he lived in anticipation. The rebellious alliance with the stage was already made in the imagination. Inside, he heard the distant call of new life. Towards him was the future in the form of Polyneices.
Young Pavel Stepanovich Mochalov made his brilliant debut on the Moscow stage in the tragedy by V.A. Ozerov "Oedipus in Athens", where he played the role of Polynices on September 4, 1817. This performance was given as a benefit to his father.
The tragedy "Oedipus in Athens" combined elements of the dramaturgy of classicism (the theme of public debt, the three unities, the development of the monologue element, the rhetoric of the language) and sentimental content.
The young actor brilliantly coped with his role. “The enthusiastic father of Mochalov,” wrote the biographer, “could understand his talent better than others, could comprehend the power of talent, which gave his son the opportunity to achieve what many actors fought in vain.” The father was ready to bow before his son, and in his enthusiastic nature demanded the same bow from his mother. Returning home, S. Mochalov shouted to his wife, pointing to his son:
Take off his boots!
The wife, surprised by the unusual requirement, asked why this should be done.
Your son is a genius, answered Mochalov the father, and it’s not a shame to take off your boots from a genius. In a feudal society, it was believed that serving a talent was not humiliating, but honorable.
The Russian theater was at that time at an important historical stage: there was a departure from the traditional recitation of classicism to the disclosure of the inner world of man.
Pavel Mochalov turned out to be an incomparable master of this psychological disclosure of the stage image. He had a good voice, faithfully conveying all the experiences of the characters, he had an exceptionally developed imagination.
On the stage, Mochalov could see not canvas backstage, but the real Theseus' palace in Oedipus in Athens or the Doge's Palace from Othello. The power of imagination communicated truthfulness and concreteness to the feelings of the actor, and this captured the audience.
There were times when Mochalov was so carried away by the role, so heated himself up that at the end of the performance he fainted.
P.S. Mochalov strove to naturally and freely express feelings. He created images of fiery rebels entering into an uncompromising struggle with the world of evil, vulgarity and lawlessness around them. The tragic artist called for a feat, infected the audience with optimism and faith in the future.
Its novelty riveted, but it was difficult to determine. His magnetism fascinated, but did not give in to a solution. Formally, the methods of the game did not repeat the game of its predecessors. On stage, he was more relaxed than in life. The constraint, so characteristic of him, he threw off along with the usual dress in his dressing room. He went on stage clean.
The heavy attire of a warrior, knightly armor, uncomfortable horned helmets, rigid shields, swords that hit the knees, wands and spears - all this at first supported, liberated, freed from the burden, turned into his reliable and facilitating shelter. He shielded himself from frankness with props, but it was through it that he exposed the essential. He hid in the texts of the role, as a child hides, closing his eyes, considering himself inaccessible to the world. But the texts just revealed its depths, led to unknown to them - they even less than others - bends of feelings. Other people's texts betrayed him.
No, I'm not a barbarian, I'm not born a monster:
By vice I could be instantly defeated
And become like a terrible villain ...
His Polyneices spoke feverishly, with bitter credulity and such horror, as if he were looking for salvation by the hall. He abruptly rushed to the ramp, away from the evil that had already been done and threatened him, and, stopping suddenly, as if on the wrong edge of a collapse, stretching out his hands for help, in a drooping and questioning tone - he did not recognize, he confessed:
But I have an ardent, sensitive soul,
And you gave me a tender heart.
Hands joined carefully, as if Polynices now had a heart in his hands.
You gave me life, give it to me again
Give silence to the heart and return love!
No, the guilty son Polynices did not ask Oedipus about this, but one of them turned to the audience for understanding. It was the voice from the choir that embodied their thoughts, the messenger of their time. There was a request in the magical voice, but along with it imperativeness, it was useless to resist it. He begged for love, but reminding that there is no, and there can be no peace if there is injustice nearby.
Already noisy, anticipating the sacrifice, the Athenian people at the temple. Already reconciled with the fate of Antigonus and King Oedipus, ready for death, when their static-ceremonial group was suddenly cut through by the springy-daring jump of Polyneices. Awakening from his already chilling weakness, he swept the stage in one motion. Some imperious force gave him supernatural swiftness, almost the tension of flight. He was ready to fight with the whole world, he went to single combat. And the voice instilled a spell:
It will not happen, no, this plan is terrible,
As long as I breathe...
A powerful faith in the need to save the innocent and thereby atone for guilt before them made Polynices not defeated, but a winner.
In the 1920s, Mochalov performed in romantic dramas. Such, for example, is his role of Cain in the work of A. Dumas père “Kin or Genius and Debauchery”, Georges de Germany in the melodrama “Thirty Years, or the Life of a Gambler” by V. Ducange; Meinau in the play "Hatred of People and Repentance" by A. Kotzebue.
Mochalov did not elevate his heroes above life, did not preen their appearance and inner essence. For the first time, he introduced simple conversation into the tragic scene.
The talent of the great artist was brilliantly manifested in the performance of the main roles in the works of Shakespeare: Othello, King Lear, Richard III, Romeo and Juliet; Schiller: "Robbers", "Cunning and Love", "Don Carlos", "Mary Stuart".
In the drama "Deceit and Love" Mochalov played the role of Ferdinand. In his interpretation, the hero of Schiller's drama had neither "secularity" nor beauty; Ferdinand looked like an ordinary army lieutenant in a shabby uniform, with "plebeian manners."
January 1837 Mochalov played the role of Hamlet on the stage of the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater for his benefit performance. For the Shakespearean image, he found brighter colors that reveal the depth of character. Belinsky attended this performance with the participation of Mochalov ten times. The critic wrote after the second performance: *6 “We saw a miracle - Mochalov in the role of Hamlet, which he performed excellently. The audience was delighted: twice the theater was full, and after each performance Mochalov was called twice.*6 Previously, Hamlet's spiritual weakness was considered as a property of his nature: the hero is aware of his duty, but cannot fulfill it. Belinsky argued that Mochalov gave this image more energy than a weak person who is in a struggle with himself and crushed by the weight of an unbearable disaster for her can have.
He gave him less sadness and melancholy than her Shakespearean Hamlet should have. In the interpretation of Mochalov, Hamlet is a humanist fighter, his weakness is not an innate character trait, but a consequence of disappointment in people, in the surrounding reality, a violation of the harmonious unity of the world ...
Such an interpretation of the image of Hamlet as a person whose spiritual impulses cannot manifest themselves because of the vulgarity of the surrounding life was close to the progressive Russian intelligentsia of the 1830s-1840s. In the image and fate of Hamlet played by Mochalov, Belinsky, Herzen, Ogarev, Botkin and other contemporaries saw the tragedy of the generation of the Russian intelligentsia after the Decembrist uprising.
Mochalov's interpretation of the image of Othello also had a deep social resonance. Othello - a hero, a warrior, a great man who rendered enormous services to the state, is faced with the arrogance and arrogance of the aristocracy. He dies because of treacherous betrayal.
In Richard III, Mochalov creates a gloomy image of a power-hungry villain who commits crimes in the name of his personal goals, doomed to loneliness and death.
P.S. Mochalov wanted to stage a drama by M.Yu. Lermontov "Masquerade" and play the role of Arbenin. This would allow him to show on stage the conflict of a noble hero with a hypocritical and cruel society, to show the tragedy of a thinking person, suffocating in the closed, suffocating environment of Nikolaev. The censorship did not allow this drama to be staged.
In comedy A.S. Griboyedov's "Woe from Wit", played for the first time in Moscow on November 27, 1831, Mochalov played the role of Chatsky.
Contemporaries unanimously characterize Mochalov as an artist "by the grace of God." He grew up and worked without any school. Hard, systematic work, constant study of the roles that his rival did so much. on stage V.A. Karatygin, were alien to him. He was a slave to his inspiration, artistic impulse, creative inspiration. When the mood left him, he was a mediocre artist, with the manner of a provincial tragedian; his game was uneven, he could not be "relied upon"; often in the whole play he was good only in one scene, in one monologue, even in one phrase.
The genius of Mochalov did not rely, as with Karatygin, on education. All attempts by the artist's friends, for example, S.T. Aksakov, to promote the development of Mochalov, to introduce him into literary circles, did not lead to anything. Closed, shy, a failure in family life, Mochalov ran away from his aristocratic, educated admirers in a student company or washed down his grief in a tavern, with random drinking companions. All his life he lived "an idle reveler", did not create a school and was laid in a grave with an epitaph: "Shakespeare's mad friend."
2. Vasily Andreevich Karatygin (1802-1853)
Vasily Andreevich Karatygin is the son of Andrei Vasilyevich Karatygin. He studied at the Mining Cadet Corps, served in the Department of Foreign Trade. He studied acting with A.A. Shakhovsky and P.A. Katenin - a prominent propagandist and theorist of classic tragedy. In 1820 he made his debut at the St. Petersburg Bolshoi Theater in the role of Fingal (the tragedy of the same name by V.A. Ozerov). Close to the circles of progressive noble youth (he was familiar with A.S. Pushkin, A.S. Griboyedov, K.F. Ryleev, V.K. Kuchelbeker), Karatygin, after the suppression of the Decembrist uprising, joined the conservative camp.
At an early stage of creativity was associated with the traditions of classicism. Already in the 1920s, the characteristic features of his acting style were determined - elevated heroism, monumental splendor, melodious recitation, picturesqueness, sculptural poses. He played the roles of Dmitry Donskoy, Sid (Dimitri Donskoy by Ozerov, Sid by Corneille), Hippolyte (Phaedra by Racine). He enjoyed great success in the roles of the romantic repertoire and in translated melodramas.
Since the opening of the St. Petersburg Alexandrinsky Theater (1832), Karatygin has been the leading tragedian of this theater. He played the main roles in pseudo-patriotic plays: Pozharsky, Lyapunov (“The Hand of the Almighty Saved the Fatherland”, “Prince Mikhail Vasilyevich Skopin-Shuisky” by Kukolnik), Igolkin (“Igolkin, the Merchant Novgorodsky” by Polevoy), etc. Based on classicist aesthetics, Karatygin emphasized one the main, as he believed, trait of the hero - the jealousy of Othello, the desire to seize the throne - in Hamlet ("Othello" and "Hamlet" by Shakespeare, 1836 and 1837). Lively discussions were caused by the artist's tour in Moscow (1833, 1835).
Critics V.G. Belinsky, N.I. Nadezhdin (“P.Shch.”) negatively assessed the ceremonial and decorative art of Karatygin, contrasting him with the rebellious work of P.S., beloved by the democratic audience. Mochalova. * 7 "Looking at his game," Belinsky wrote in the article "And my opinion about Mr. Karatygin's game," you are constantly surprised, but never touched, never excited ... ". The general process of the development of realism, Belinsky's articles, trips to Moscow, joint performances with many masters of the realistic school influenced Karatygin. The art of the artist has acquired the features of naturalness, psychological depths. "... His game is becoming simpler and closer to nature ..." Belinsky noted in an article on Karatygin's performance of the main role in the drama Belisarius by Shenk (1839). Belinsky highly appreciated the psychologically complex disclosure by Karatygin of the image of the decrepit, cowardly and cruel Louis XI (“The Enchanted House” by Aufenberg, 1836). The work of Vasily Karatygin, who carefully finished each role, studied many literary sources and iconographic materials while working on it, had a positive impact on the development of acting.
Karatygin was the first performer of the roles of Chatsky (“Woe from Wit” by Griboedov, 1831), Don Juan, Baron (“The Stone Guest”, 1847, and “The Miserly Knight”, 1852, Pushkin), Arbenin (“Masquerade” by Lermontov, separate scenes, 1852). He translated and remade more than 40 plays for staging on the Russian stage (including "Kin, or Genius and Debauchery" by Dumas père, "King Lear", "Coriolanus" by Shakespeare, etc.).
Creativity Mochalov Karatygin Theater
3. Comparison of the work of P. Mochalov and V. Karatygin
The aristocratic public treated P. Mochalov with biased hostility. She found his acting unnecessarily "natural, suffering from simplicity and triviality". Conservative criticism opposed the play of Mochalov to the play of the St. Petersburg tragic actor V.A. Karatygin.
In 1828, Aksakov noted in the Moskovsky Vestnik that Mochalov and Karatygin “are not only two styles of acting, but two eras in the history of the Russian theater. Being a very good actor, Karatygin was entirely at the mercy of the traditions of the game of the 18th century - he recited in a singsong voice, but he had little inspiration, passion, and, most importantly, simplicity, humanity.
Karatygin, according to Aksakov, really surpassed Mochalov in professional training and experience, but Mochalov was more talented than him. Mochalov's game embodied simplicity and humanity, deep life truth. These qualities were brought up by the common people from which he came.
On April 8, the Moscow magazine Molva informed readers "of the arrival of Mr. Karatygin with his wife" and that "these famous artists will stay here until May 5 and present the public with twelve performances."
Karatygin himself hesitated to leave. He conquered the Moscow public gradually, starting with the performances of his wife, Karatygina, an actress who possessed the skill of finishing, the distinctness of stage design and verified brilliant technology, borrowed with skill in Paris, from the best stars of the European stage.
Her performances, met with a standing ovation, advanced the success of her husband. He chose for the first appearance the role, as if cut out according to his data, Dimitri Donskoy. And he chose right.
Two days later, a certain reviewer of Molva, who chose the initials P.Shch. for his signature, wrote: “I have never seen an artist happier created for the stage ... This colossal growth, this solemn, truly regal posture, movement, combining amazing grandeur with charming harmony ... ”Everything is just what Mochalov was denied even by critics who sympathize with him.
Such a reliable witness as Schepkin wrote to Sosnitsky shortly after the start of the tour: “Vasily Andreevich Karatygin delighted Moscow with his high talent. In all the performances in which he plays, there are not enough seats. Our old Moscow knows how to appreciate!
The audience, greedy for sensation, almost choked with delight. The sensation consisted both in the novelty of the artist for Moscow, and in the loudness of his fame, and in the fact that he played all the roles of Mochalov, and in the fact that the Mochalovites tried to obstruct, for which they were publicly shamed by Mochalov himself, who managed to see one performance before his departure, and, finally, that now Mochalov plays on the St. Petersburg stage and there he single-handedly affirms the banner of the Moscow school.
And in St. Petersburg, Mochalov lives outside the battle of critics. Performances were liberated, performances were his salvation. He heard the echo of hundreds of pulses. The closed soul of the hall awakened this time. He felt it.
Conclusion
The significance of Pavel Mochalov in his era went far beyond the usual limits of art. Mochalov was a phenomenon of the time and its sign.
Yes, he lived and played unevenly, aimlessly, for minutes. But these minutes included centuries, the course of history, moral upheavals. He fell, but rose at such heights, which were the result of the spiritual quest of his contemporaries Gogol, Lermontov, Turgenev, Ostrovsky.
Mochalov created large, romantically generalized characters. He did not attach importance to the petty, concrete, private, he concentrated all his efforts on revealing the main thing, on the dialectically contradictory inner world of the characters. The artist was especially good at scenes depicting turning points in the inner life of people, their rise, when the factors gradually accumulated in the mind lead to the adoption of a new decision. Mochalov's game was not only stormy, contained rapid transitions from calmness to excitement, but also included many subtle and deep psychological shades.
Really, what do you need on stage? Suicide of the individual or personality? Majestic movements that appeal to Karatygin or the excessive simplicity of Mochalov?
The argument about the actors was not about technology, the argument was put forward by history. The theater was a crossroads of opinions, where questions of life collided. The theater has become a point of reference for views, a spiritual barometer of time.
Five years before the discussion, after Mochalov's first tour in St. Petersburg, Aksakov wrote with insight: *12 “I now vividly feel how our artist Mochalov, who does not sing, does not recite in tragedies, but does not even read in tragedies, should have disliked but says.
It's just that the goals of these two great actors were different. Mochalov "offered for himself to act through sight and hearing on the soul."
Karatygin had other goals. As Stankevich wrote about him: "grimaces, makes farces, roars, but still he has a rare talent." And further: "a very good actor, but far from an artist ..."; "he has rare virtues, but the imperfection in his room vouches for the imperfection on stage."
indicating the topic right now to find out about the possibility of obtaining a consultation.1. Theater of Proletkult 1917-1922. A setting was made for the art of the masses - the theater was mass, and the actors were not professionals. It was precisely the rejection of professionalism that was important. They abandoned psychology - one demonstration. They resisted the aesthetics of the Bolshoi Theater and even closed it for 2 years. The Bolshoi Theater was called the nest of "psychology". They staged Eisenstein's "The Overthrow of the Autocracy", "The Capture of the Winter Palace", "From the Power of Darkness to the Sun", "Towards a World Commune", etc. The idea of an all-conquering world revolution, which takes place according to the will of time. A special attitude to history, historical characters also participate in the plays. In general, the whole history is perceived as a chain of events leading to one goal - the October Revolution. The conflict in the plays is obvious.
2. Meyerhold started as an actor at the Moscow Art Theater and was a student of Stanislavsky, but then he abandoned the principles of Stanislavsky. Author of many articles "Notes on the Theatre". He created a new theatre, without the real experience of the actor. The experience must be conveyed by special actions. The individualism of the actor must be overcome. Performances turned into stages of propaganda theater. The leading actress was Zinaida Reich. There was a period when Meyerhold collaborated with Komissarzhevskaya.
3. Alexander Tairov Chamber Theater. He had his own doctrine "From the few to the public." Vulgarity was declared the main enemy. Music and lighting played a special role. The leading actress was Alisa Koonen, Tairov's wife.
4. Free Theater of Konstantin Mordzhanov. It was an experiment, a fight against cliches and stereotypes, an attempt to try on the truth of art and the truth of life. Pantomime was actively used. Gogol's "Sarochinskaya Fair" was considered the best production.
5. Vakhtangov's studio. An attempt to connect the theater of Meyerhold and Stanislavsky. It was believed that the actor should play three roles: 1. Man of the 20th century. 2. Role in the play. 3. The role of the actor in the medieval theater. There was a moment of stylization in the productions. It is necessary to make up not the body, but the soul. Marina Tsvetaeva staged 6 plays here, including Jack of Diamonds. Here they played the play by Seyfulina "Vereneya" and "The Rupture" by Lavrenev.
There was also the Art Theatre, the Maly Theater and the Moscow City Council Theatre.
There are three trends in the development of dramaturgy:
Heroic Revolutionary Theatre. Psychological theatre. Modernist theatre.
Boris Lavrenev "Defeat" 1927 The real situation is based on a failed attempt to blow up the Aurora cruiser. The author was interested in the process of changing worldview positions. According to the plot, the play belongs to the traditional family drama. The action takes place in the house of Captain Bersenev with his daughters and son-in-law. The most significant change is on the captain himself and his son-in-law, Stube. They are both career officers, both swore allegiance, both are in a situation of choice. B. sees in the people a moral and historical force, and S. remains faithful to the oath. The captain's eldest daughter Tatyana turns out to be on the side of her father, and the family is relegated to the background. The main thing in the play is the socio-historical conflict, which does not leave the characters within the framework of their personal destiny.
Konstantin Terenev "Spring Love" 1926 The focus is on family conflict, the revolution uncompromisingly divides people into friends and foes. In the play, 3 storylines are intertwined and the unity of action is not preserved, and the psychological complexity of the characters is also suppressed. The first storyline is formed by the Yarovs, the second by people from the crowd - Shvandya, Pikalov, Dunka - they are united only by belonging to the crowd. The third line is peripheral characters who must find a place for themselves in the family rift. Yarovye are very tragic characters. Lyubov is a Bolshevik, and Mikhail is their ideological opponent. The disintegration of the Yarovy family does not occur for family reasons. They love each other, but the matter is more important for each. The tragedy of Yarovoy is that he gave himself to the service of the wrong path. Yarovaya chooses m / y with her husband's life and loyalty to the revolution.
According to the well-known science fiction writer H. G. Wells, during his first trip to devastation-ridden Russia in 1920, immediately after the end of the Civil War, "the theater turned out to be the most stable element of Russian cultural life." In the 1920s, a real theatrical boom began in the country: theaters were created not only in every city, but also at every factory, at every Red Army and rural club, even very often at hospitals. In 1920, the People's Commissariat for Education had 1,547 theaters and studios, and the Red Army had 1,800 clubs, including 1,210 professional theaters and 911 drama clubs; There were 3,000 peasant theaters.
Russian theatrical art began to revive little by little, but under new conditions. During the years of the NEP, cabaret theaters flourished with a very mediocre level of performances. At the end of the 1920s, TRAMs (theaters of working youth) began to appear in many regions of the country. At the same time, the former Moscow Art Theater, the Chamber Theater, the Zimin Opera, the Bolshoi and Maly Theaters, the Theater of Animals of the trainer and natural scientist V.L. Durov - which from private or imperial became state.
However, at the same time, theaters appeared with a new aesthetic, interesting, revolutionary-sounding stage productions. These are: the Mastfor studio by Nikolai Foregger, in which Sergei Eisenstein, Sergei Yutkevich, Sergei A. Gerasimov, Tamara Makarova and other future prominent figures of Soviet art made their debuts; the Vakhtangov Studio, whose performance “Princess Turandot” is still loved by the audience; theatrical movement "Blue Blouse"; Sergey Obraztsov begins performances with puppets.
A new phenomenon in the stage life of the country was the emergence of theaters for the young spectator, which reflected the tasks of the new government to introduce the younger generation to high culture. The first "Free for the children of the proletariat and peasants, the Lenin Soviet Drama School Theater" opened in Saratov in October 1918 with a production of "The Blue Bird" by the Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck. In 1921, the Children's Musical Theater of Natalia Sats opened in Moscow.
At the same time, high Soviet drama was born, which influenced the development of theatrical art. In the Maly Theater staged "Love Yarovaya" by Konstantin Trenev, in the theater. E. Vakhtangov - "Rift" by Boris Lavrenev, in the Moscow Art Theater - "Armored Train 14-69" by Vsevolod Vyach. Ivanova. And classical works receive a new reading: in the Moscow Art Theater - “Hot Heart” by A.N. Ostrovsky, in the Meyerhold Theater - "The Forest" by Ostrovsky and "The Government Inspector" by Gogol.
Theatrical life was seething and seething, enticing ordinary Soviet workers into their sphere, who could afford to attend any theater without much strain on their budget.
In the 1920s, a stormy and interesting struggle took place in the theatrical world between two trends, later schools in art. One of them was headed by the brilliant director Vsevolod Meyerhold with his program of "Theatrical October", which fully met the guidelines of the "left front" of art. The platform for the popularization of his innovative, experimental ideas was the Theater of the RSFSR 1st, headed by him, then GITIS, and after TIM (Meyerhold Theater) and since 1926 - GosTiM.
In Meyerhold's eccentric productions, there was a lot of stage convention, grotesque, there was no line between the stage and the auditorium, the viewer became a participant in the action. Meyerhold was opposed to the traditional "box scene". He created his own school of acting, having developed the concept of "biomechanics", according to which the actor must hone control over his physical and mental actions, rationally build a stage image based on the technical mastery of various elements of the game. The Meyerhod school was attended by such brilliant and beloved by the Soviet, and today by the Russian audience, actors such as Maria Babanova, Mikhail Zharov, Igor Ilyinsky, Erast Garin and many others.
The founder and artistic director of the Chamber Theater Alexander Tairov countered the principles of Meyerhold's "conditional theater" with his own "synthetic theater", which combined all the elements of stage art, including pantomime and dance. Tairov's productions did not go beyond the theater stage. Unlike the politically pointed productions of Meyerhold, Tairov's performances were classically oriented. In 1922, he staged Racine's Phaedra and Lecoq's Giroflet-Girofly, and in 1929 he staged The Threepenny Opera, a play by Bertolt Brecht brought from Germany, which the author himself handed over to him.
Romantic traditions were continued by the Bolshoi Drama Theater (BDT), opened in Petrograd (1919) with the participation of Blok and Gorky. He continued the traditions of the “school of experiencing” by Konstantin Stanislavsky of the Moscow Art Theater. In the 1920s, a new generation of bright and talented actors loudly declared itself here: Alla Tarasova, Olga Androvskaya, Klavdia Elanskaya, Anastasia Zueva, Nikolai Batalov, Nikolai Khmelev, Boris Dobronravov, Boris Livanov, Alexei Gribov, Mikhail Yashin and others.
The establishment of social realism as the dominant method in the art of the USSR contributed to the active development of Soviet drama, the emergence of new striking theatrical productions. The problems of the new hero-personality and the hero-mass, the themes of the era of "blast furnaces" or the psychology of a typical character, were brought to the fore. This caused a surge of interest in Gorky's dramaturgy. . Among the premieres of the 1930s, the history of the Soviet theater included: “The Optimistic Tragedy” by Vsevolod Vishnevsky, staged at the Chamber Theater under the direction of A.Ya. Tairov; Anna Karenina (staged by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko and Vasily Sakhnovsky) at the Moscow Art Theater; performances of the Leningrad Comedy Theater (staged by Nikolai Akimov); "Romeo and Juliet" (stage director Alexei D. Popov) at the Theater of Revolution, etc.
A special page in the history of the Soviet theater was "Leniniana", which was based on the performances: "Pravda" by Alexander Korneichuk at the Revolution Theater and "A Man with a Gun" by Nikolai Pogodin at the Vakhtangov Theater.
The Soviet leadership, headed by Stalin, paid great attention to the classical repertoire. In this regard, theaters of conservative aesthetics enjoyed special patronage, especially the Moscow Art Theater with its productions of works of Russian classical prose. In the 30s, already outstanding masters of that time played on its stage: A.K. Tarasova, N.P. Khmelev, A.N. Mushrooms, and from the old and well-deserved - Vasily Kachalov and others.
In the 1930s, the number of Youth Youth Theaters increased, the tasks of which were given high importance in the moral and social education of children and adolescents. For schoolchildren, a special genre of modernized theatrical fairy tale was developed, in which fantasy is intertwined with reality, and the educational moment, based on the formation in children of a sense of responsibility, mutual assistance, solidarity, love for animals, respect for elders, was intensified. There are special children's plays by Kataev (“The lonely sail turns white”), A.N. Tolstoy ("Golden Key"), Alexander S. Yakovlev ("Pioneer Pavlik Morozov") and others.
In 1931, the State Central Puppet Theater of Sergei Obraztsov was opened, which became an example for puppet theaters not only throughout the country, but also abroad.
In the 30s. the creative interaction of national theaters expanded, the practice of international tours actively developed. In 1930, the Olympics of National Theaters was held in Moscow for the first time. New theaters are being opened: in 1939 there were 900 theaters in our country that played in 50 languages of the peoples of the USSR. In the late 30s - early 40s. groups from the Baltic States, Moldova, Western Ukraine and Western Belarus are joining the family of the Soviet multinational theater.
At the same time, the bold artistic pursuits of theatrical figures are met with accusations of nationalism and formalism. As a result, such great masters as Meyerhold, Les Kurbas, Sandro Akhmeteli and many others were subjected to repression. In 1935, Shostakovich's opera Lady Macbeth of the Mtsensk District was smashed in the article "Confusion Instead of Music".
