(1823-1886)
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was born in 1823 in Moscow: in Zamoskvorechye, in an old merchant and bureaucratic district. The father of the future playwright, an educated and skilled court official, and then a well-known lawyer in Moscow commercial circles, amassed a fair amount of wealth; rising through the ranks, he received the rights of a hereditary nobleman, became a landowner; it is clear that he wanted to let his son go on the legal side as well.
Alexander Ostrovsky received a good home education- from childhood he was addicted to literature, spoke German and French, knew Latin well, willingly studied music. He successfully graduated from the gymnasium and in 1840 entered the Faculty of Law Moscow University. But Ostrovsky did not like the career of a lawyer, he was irresistibly attracted to art. He tried not to miss a single performance: he read a lot and argued about literature, passionately fell in love with music. At the same time he tried to write poems and stories.
Having cooled off to study at the university, Ostrovsky left the teaching. For several years, at the insistence of his father, he served as a minor official in court. Here the future playwright saw enough human comedies and tragedies. Finally disillusioned with judicial activities, Ostrovsky dreams of becoming a writer.
During Ostrovsky's youth, peasants and merchants dressed, ate, drank and had fun differently than people of the enlightened classes. Even the general Orthodox faith did not fully unite them with the educated. In the Russian land, it was as if there were two different, little connected, little understood worlds for each other. But in the middle of the 19th century, the boundaries of these worlds began to gradually collapse. Educated people began to look for ways to overcome the gap, to restore not so much the state - it was! - how much spiritual and cultural unity of the Russian people. And simple people, faithful to the old way of life, with the development of business life, are increasingly forced to face the modern state. I had to apply to the courts to resolve property and inheritance disputes, to obtain permits for fishing and trade in various institutions. Officials deceived them, intimidated and robbed them. Therefore, the smartest began to teach their children, began to adapt to the "Europeanized" life. But at first, only various outer sides upper classes.
Wealthy, but only yesterday living in the old fashioned way and the new demands that powerfully imposes on them modern life, - this is the basis of the comedy conflicts of the young Ostrovsky, and even those where the funny is intertwined with the sad: after all, the quirks of those in power are not only funny, but also dangerous for the poor: dependent and oppressed.
His all-Russian fame began with the second comedy - “Let's get our people together!” (or "Bankrupt" 1849) The play was a huge success with readers after being published in the magazine "Moskovityanin". However, its production was banned at the direction of Tsar Nicholas 1 himself. The censorship ban lasted eleven years.
Already in the comedy “Own people - let's settle!” the main features of Ostrovsky's dramaturgy appeared: the ability to show important all-Russian problems through family conflict, to create vivid and recognizable characters not only of the main ones, but also minor characters. His plays sound juicy, lively vernacular. And each of them - not a simple, thought-provoking ending.
After: as in the comedy “Own people - let's settle!” such a bleak picture was created, Ostrovsky wanted to show positive heroes, capable of resisting immorality and cruelty modern relations. He was afraid to instill a sense of hopelessness in his spectacles. It is these characters, calling for sympathy, that appear in the comedy “Don’t Sit on Your Sleigh” (1853) (the first of Ostrovsky’s plays that went on stage) and “Poverty is not a vice” (1954).
In 1956, Ostrovsky traveled along the Volga: from the source of the river to Nizhny Novgorod. The impressions received have nourished his work for many years. They were also reflected in The Thunderstorm (1959), one of his most famous plays. The action of the play takes place in the fictional remote town of Kalinovo. Ostrovsky showed in the play not only the external circumstances of the tragedy: the severity of the mother-in-law, the lack of will of the husband and his commitment to wine; the indifferent formal attitude of the Kalinovites to the faith; not only imperious rudeness of rich merchants, poverty and superstition of the inhabitants. The main thing in the play inner life heroine, the emergence in her of something new, still unclear to herself. Drama Ostrovsky, as it were, captured people's Russia at a turning point, on the threshold of a new historical era.
In the 60s. in the work of Ostrovsky, the hero of the nobleman also appears. But one who is not engaged in truth-seeking, but successful career. For example, in the comedy “Enough Stupidity for Every Wise Man” there is a whole gallery of noble types who experience the abolition of serfdom in different ways. The main characters of "The Forest" are two of noble family Gurmyzhskikh: a rich and middle-aged landowner who squanders her estate with her lovers, and her nephew is an actor.
IN latest works Ostrovsky, a woman is increasingly at the center of events. The writer seems to be disappointed in the moral virtues of the active hero, business man”, interests and vitality who is too often completely absorbed in the struggle for material success. At the end of his creative way he wrote the drama “Rich Brides” But Ostrovsky’s most famous play is about fate: as they said then, “girls of marriageable age” - “Dowry” (1878)
IN recent decades life Ostrovsky creates a kind of artistic monument national theatre. In 1972 he wrote verse comedy“Comedian of the 17th century” about the birth of the first Russian theater. But Ostrovsky's plays about contemporary theater are much more famous - "Talents and Admirers" (1981) and "Guilty Without Guilt" (1983). Here he showed how tempting and difficult the life of actors.
Having worked for the Russian stage for almost forty years, Ostrovsky created a whole repertoire - about fifty plays. The works of Ostrovsky still remain on the stage. And after a hundred and fifty years it is not difficult to see the heroes of his plays nearby.
Ostrovsky died in 1886 in his beloved Trans-Volga estate Shchelykovo, which is in the dense forests of Kostroma: on the hilly banks of small winding rivers. For the most part, the life of the writer proceeded in these core places of Russia: where from a young age he could observe the primordial customs and mores, still little affected by contemporary urban civilization, and hear the native Russian speech.
Alexander Ostrovsky is a Russian playwright who made a huge contribution to the development of the Russian theater. He managed to masterfully work in any genre, skillfully conveying the fate of his heroes.
Most famous plays in it were “Dowry” and “Thunderstorm”, which are still successfully staged on stages.
We bring to your attention short biography Ostrovsky.
Childhood and youth
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was born on March 31, 1823 in. The father of the future playwright, Nikolai Fedorovich, grew up in a family of a priest. However, he did not follow in his father's footsteps.
Instead, Ostrovsky's father began working in judicial institutions, as a result of which he rose to the rank of titular adviser. Alexander's mother, Lyubov Ivanovna, died when he was only 7 years old.
Even in early childhood, the boy loved to spend time reading. He read Russian literature with interest, and dreamed of becoming a writer in the future. However, the father did not share the views of the young Ostrovsky, because he wanted him to be a lawyer.
Education
In 1835, Alexander Ostrovsky entered the Moscow gymnasium, where he studied for 5 years. After that, he continued his studies at Moscow University at the Faculty of Law, where he entered in 1940.
However, he could not finish it due to a serious conflict with the teacher. Having failed the exam in Roman law, Ostrovsky wrote a letter of resignation after studying for only 3 years.
Ultimately, the father employed his son in court, where the future playwright would begin writing his first works.
Creativity Ostrovsky
The first play in Ostrovsky's biography was called "Own people - let's settle!" (1850). After reading it and leaving positive feedback about it.
However, not everyone liked her. When Moscow officials saw themselves in the play, exposed in a negative light, they complained to the sovereign.
As a result, Emperor Nicholas 1 dismissed Alexander Ostrovsky from service and placed him under police supervision. Only 11 years later, the play will be staged again in theaters.
When Alexander 2 was on the throne, he removed supervision from the playwright, after which he was free to engage in writing.
In 1856, constant literary employment appeared in Ostrovsky's biography: he began to collaborate with the Sovremennik publication, founded by .
33-year-old Ostrovsky, 1856 After 3 years, Ostrovsky publishes the first collection of works in his biography in 2 volumes.
In 1865 he wrote the play "Thunderstorm", which literary critic Nikolai Dobrolyubov called it "a ray of light in a dark kingdom."
Dobrolyubov made such a comparison because, before the release of this play, he called Ostrovsky the representative of the "dark kingdom". It is worth noting that in The Thunderstorm there were many episodes from Ostrovsky's biography.
An interesting fact is that today Ostrovsky is one of the three best playwrights, according to the audience:
- Alexander Ostrovsky
If you have been to at least one Ostrovsky performance, then you will surely agree with this statement.
Cradle of Talents
Every year Alexander Nikolayevich became more and more popular writer, and in 1863 he was awarded the Uvarov Prize. Soon he was accepted into the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg.
In 1865, he created the Artistic Circle, which later became the cradle of many talents. Dostoevsky, Turgenev, and other writers often visited his house.
In 1874 Ostrovsky formed the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and opera composers by becoming its chairman. In this position, he carried out a number of major reforms, thanks to which artists improved their position and received more rights.
In 1881, Ostrovsky managed to visit the opera The Snow Maiden. He was especially delighted musical accompaniment. Later, the writer admitted that the music for his "Snow Maiden" was surprisingly lively and emotional.
Personal life
The first love in Ostrovsky's biography was the actress Lyubov Kositskaya, who also treated him with indifference. However, since they were both married, the lovers did not dare to start a family.
For 20 years, the playwright cohabited with Agafya Ivanovna, who was a simple and poorly educated girl. Despite this, she understood Ostrovsky perfectly and was a reliable support in his life.
They had children, but they all died in infancy. Then Agafya Ivanovna herself died.
In 1869, another woman appeared in Ostrovsky's biography. He married Maria Bakhmetyeva, with whom he will live until the end of his life. They had 4 boys and 2 girls.
Last years
In 1885, Alexander Ostrovsky directed the repertoire of Moscow theaters, and also headed the theater school.
At the same time, it is worth noting one interesting facts from the biography of Ostrovsky. Despite the fact that he had great fame and was in high positions, he constantly faced financial difficulties.
This was largely due to the fact that the playwright invested a lot in creative projects, because he was completely absorbed in literary and.
He worked day and night without rest, which subsequently had a negative impact on his health.
Ostrovsky's death
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky died on June 2, 1886 at the age of 63, in the Shchelykovo estate. Today this estate is a museum of Ostrovsky.
For his burial, the Russian Emperor Alexander 3 allocated 3,000 rubles from the state treasury. In addition, he made sure that the widow and children of the playwright were paid a pension.
Films and television plays based on Ostrovsky's works are still being made. IN Soviet time Eldar Ryazanov was filmed great picture « Cruel romance based on the play "Dowry".
IN total, after the death of Alexander Ostrovsky, more than 40 of his works were filmed.
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Theater as a serious business
We also started recently
began in a real way with Ostrovsky.
A.A. Grigoriev
Childhood and youth
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (1823-1886) was born in the old merchant and bureaucratic district - Zamoskvorechye. In Moscow, on Malaya Ordynka is still preserved two-storey house, in which on April 12 (March 31), 1823, the future great playwright. Here, in Zamoskvorechye - on Malaya Ordynka, Pyatnitskaya, Zhitnaya streets - he spent his childhood and youth.
The writer's father, Nikolai Fedorovich Ostrovsky, was the son of a priest, but after graduating from the theological academy he chose a secular profession - he became a judicial officer. From among the clergy came the mother of the future writer, Lyubov Ivanovna. She died when the boy was 8 years old. After 5 years, my father married a second time, this time to a noblewoman. Successfully advancing in the service, Nikolai Fedorovich received a noble title in 1839, and in 1842 he retired and began to engage in private legal practice. With income from clients - mostly wealthy merchants - he acquired several estates and in 1848, having retired, he moved to the village of Shchelykovo in the Kostroma province and became a landowner.
In 1835, Alexander Nikolaevich entered the 1st Moscow gymnasium, graduating from it in 1840. Even in his gymnasium years, Ostrovsky was attracted by literature and theater. By the will of his father, the young man entered the law faculty of Moscow University, but the Maly Theater, in which the great Russian actors Shchepkin and Mochalov played, attracts him like a magnet. This was not an empty attraction of a rich varmint who sees pleasant entertainment in the theater: for Ostrovsky, the stage became life. These interests forced him to leave the university in the spring of 1843. “From my youth I gave up everything and devoted myself entirely to art,” he later recalled.
His father still hoped that his son would become an official, and appointed him as a scribe to the Moscow conscientious court, which dealt mainly with family property disputes. In 1845, Alexander Nikolaevich transferred to the office of the Moscow Commercial Court as an official on the "verbal table", i.e. accepting oral requests from petitioners.
His father's legal practice, life in Zamoskvorechye and court service, which lasted almost eight years, gave Ostrovsky many plots for his works.
1847–1851 - early period
Ostrovsky began to write in student years. His literary views formed under the influence of Belinsky and Gogol: a young man from the very beginning literary path declared himself an adherent of the realist school. In Gogol's manner, the first essays were written and dramatic studies Ostrovsky.
In 1847, the Moscow City Leaf newspaper published two scenes from the comedy The Insolvent Debtor - the first version of the comedy Let's Settle Our Own People - the comedy Picture of Family Happiness and the essay Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky Resident.
In 1849, Ostrovsky finished work on the first big comedy "Our people - let's settle!".
The comedy ridicules the rude and greedy tyrant merchant Samson Silych Bolshov. His tyranny knows no bounds, as long as he feels solid ground under him - wealth. But greed destroys him. Wanting to get richer even more, Bolshov, on the advice of the clever and cunning clerk Podkhalyuzin, transfers all his property to his name and declares himself an insolvent debtor. Podkhalyuzin, having married Bolshov's daughter, appropriates his father-in-law's property and, refusing to pay even a small part of the debts, leaves Bolshov in a debtor's prison. Lipochka, Bolshov's daughter, who became Podkhalyuzin's wife, does not feel any pity for her father either.
In the play "Our People - Let's Settle" the main features of Ostrovsky's dramaturgy have already appeared: the ability to show important all-Russian problems through family conflict, to create vivid and recognizable characters not only of the main, but also of secondary characters. Juicy, lively, folk speech sounds in his plays. And each of them has a difficult, thought-provoking ending. Then nothing found in the first experiments will disappear, but only new features will "grow".
The position of the "unreliable" writer complicated the already difficult living conditions of Ostrovsky. In the summer of 1849, against the will of his father and without a church wedding, he married a simple bourgeois Agafya Ivanovna. The angry father refused his son further financial support. The young family was in dire need. Despite his unsecured position, Ostrovsky in January 1851 refuses to serve and devotes himself entirely to literary activity.
1852–1855 - "Moscow period"
The first plays allowed to be staged were "Do not sit in your sleigh" and "Poverty is not a vice." Their appearance was the beginning of a revolution in all theatrical art. For the first time on stage, the viewer saw a simple everyday life. It required a new style acting: the truth of life began to supplant the pompous recitation and the "theatricality" of gestures.
In 1850, Ostrovsky became a member of the so-called "young editorial board" of the Slavophile magazine Moskvityanin. But relations with the editor-in-chief Pogodin are not easy. Despite the enormous work performed, Ostrovsky remained indebted to the magazine all the time. Pogodin paid sparingly.
1855–1860 - pre-reform period
At this time there is a rapprochement between the playwright and the revolutionary-democratic camp. The outlook of Ostrovsky is finally determined. In 1856, he became close to the Sovremennik magazine and became its permanent collaborator. Friendly relations were established between him and I.S. Turgenev and L.N. Tolstoy, who collaborated in Sovremennik.
In 1856, together with other Russian writers, Ostrovsky took part in a well-known literary and ethnographic expedition organized by the Naval Ministry to "describe the life, life and crafts of the population living along the shores of the seas, lakes and rivers European Russia". Ostrovsky was entrusted with the survey of the upper reaches of the Volga. He visited Tver, Gorodnya, Torzhok, Ostashkov, Rzhev, etc. All observations were used by Ostrovsky in his works.
1860–1886 - post-reform period
In 1862 Ostrovsky visited Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy, France and England.
In 1865 he founded an artistic circle in Moscow. Ostrovsky was one of its leaders. The artistic circle has become a school for talented amateurs - future wonderful Russian artists: O.O. Sadovskaya, M.P. Sadovsky, P.A. Strepetova, M.I. Pisarev and many others. In 1870, on the initiative of the playwright, the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers was created in Moscow, from 1874 until the end of his life Ostrovsky was its permanent chairman.
Having worked for the Russian stage for almost forty years, Ostrovsky created a whole repertoire - fifty-four plays. "He wrote down the whole Russian life" - from prehistoric, fairy-tale times ("The Snow Maiden"), and the events of the past (the chronicle "Kozma Zakharyich Minin, Sukhoruk") to topical reality. The works of Ostrovsky remain on stage at the end of the 20th century. His dramas often sound so modern that they make those who recognize themselves on stage angry.
In addition, Ostrovsky wrote numerous translations from Cervantes, Shakespeare, Goldoni, etc. His work covers a huge period: from the 40s. - the times of serfdom and until the mid-80s, marked by the rapid development of capitalism and the growth of the labor movement.
In the last decades of his life, Ostrovsky created a kind of artistic monument to the national theater. In 1872 he wrote the verse comedy The Comedian XVII century"about the birth of the first Russian theater at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, father of Peter I. But Ostrovsky's plays about his contemporary theater are much more famous - "Talents and Admirers" (1881) and "Guilty Without Guilt" (18983). Here he showed how tempting and difficult the life of an actress.
In a sense, we can say that Ostrovsky loved the theater just as he loved Russia: he did not turn a blind eye to the bad and did not lose sight of the most precious and important.
On June 14, 1886, Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky died in his beloved Zavolzhsky estate Shchelykovo, in the dense forests of Kostroma, on the hilly banks of small winding rivers.
On the occasion of the thirty-fifth anniversary dramaturgical activity A.N. Ostrovsky Ivan Aleksandrovich Goncharov wrote:
"To literature, you brought a whole library as a gift works of art, created their own special world for the stage. You alone completed the building, at the foundation of which you laid cornerstones Fonvizin, Griboyedov, Gogol. But only after you, we Russians can proudly say: "We have our own Russian, national theater", He, in fairness, should be called: "The Ostrovsky Theater".
Literature
Based on materials from the Encyclopedia for Children. Literature part I, Avanta +, M., 1999
It is hardly possible to briefly describe the work of Alexander Ostrovsky, since this person left a great contribution to the development of literature.
He wrote about many things, but most of all in the history of literature he is remembered as a good playwright.
Popularity and features of creativity
The popularity of A.N. Ostrovsky was brought the work "Our people - we will settle down." After it was published, his work was appreciated by many writers of that time.
This gave confidence and inspiration to Alexander Nikolayevich himself.
After such a successful debut, he wrote many works that played significant role in his work. Among them are the following:
- "Forest"
- "Talents and Admirers"
- "Dowry".
All his plays can be called psychological dramas, because in order to understand what the writer wrote about, you need to delve deeply into his work. The characters in his plays were versatile personalities that not everyone could understand. In his works, he considered how the values of the country were collapsing.
Each of his plays has a realistic ending, the author did not try to end everything with a positive ending, like many writers, it was more important for him to show real, not fictional life in his works. In his works, Ostrovsky tried to reflect the life of the Russian people, and, moreover, he did not embellish it at all - but wrote what he saw around him.
Childhood memories also served as plots for his works. Distinctive feature his work can be called the fact that his works were not entirely censored, but despite this, they remained popular. Perhaps the reason for his popularity was that the playwright tried to present Russia to readers for what it is. Nationality and realism are the main criteria that Ostrovsky adhered to when writing his works.
Work in recent years
A.N. Ostrovsky was especially engaged in creativity in last years of his life, it was then that he wrote the most significant dramas and comedies for his work. All of them were written for a reason, mainly his works describe tragic fates women who have to deal with their problems alone. Ostrovsky was a playwright from God, it would seem that he managed to write very easily, thoughts themselves came to his head. But he also wrote such works where he had to work hard.
In recent works, the playwright developed new methods of presenting the text and expressiveness - which became distinctive in his work. Chekhov highly appreciated his writing style, which for Alexander Nikolaevich is beyond praise. He tried in his work to show the inner struggle of the characters.
Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky is rightfully considered one of the most famous playwrights in Russia. This great person not only stood at the origins of the formation of the Russian drama school, but was also a teacher of the famous K.S. Stanislavsky and M.A. Bulgakov. Biography of A.N. Ostrovsky is interesting to the same extent as his creative activity.
Alexander Nikolayevich was born into a wealthy Moscow merchant family on April 12, 1823. His mother died when the boy was barely 7 years old. His stepmother, the notorious Baroness Emilia Andreevna von Tessin, invested with full dedication in upbringing and education. young Alexander and his brothers. Few people know that Alexander Nikolaevich with early childhood knew German, French and even Greek. As an adult, he additionally learned English, Spanish and Italian. Indeed, talented person talented in every way!
At the age of 17, Ostrovsky enters Moscow University, but due to a conflict with a teacher, he drops out of his studies in his third year at the university. Perhaps this decisive step influenced the future professional development Alexander Nikolaevich.
In 1850, "Own people - we'll settle!" - Ostrovsky's first play, which brought him fame and fame in the open spaces Russian Empire. Despite the tremendous success, the release of the play almost put an end to further career great Russian playwright. Having caused a stormy resonance among bureaucrats who were dissatisfied with the accusatory nature of the play, Ostrovsky was removed from public service, was declared unreliable and was under strict police supervision for 5 years. It is interesting that one more well-known work of the playwright could have been expected to take into account the same. It's about O great play"Thunderstorm", which in general could not have come out and enriched the cultural baggage of Russia, if not for the Empress, who favorably reacted to the work. The will of the queen determined the fate of both the work and its author.
Being a representative of the upper class, A.N. Ostrovsky unusually clearly described the customs and mores ordinary people. Not in last turn this was played by his first wife, who comes from a simple family. Ostrovsky's father and stepmother, considering such a union to be erroneous, were against the son's marriage to a woman from a lower class, so the playwright and Agafya Ivanovna (that was the name of the writer's first wife) lived in an unofficial marriage for 20 years. The couple had 5 children, none of whom lived to adulthood. The playwright married his second wife 2 years after the death of Agafya Ivanovna. From this marriage he had six children - two daughters and four sons.
Few people know that the opera "The Snow Maiden", one of the most famous works P.I. Tchaikovsky, is the result joint activities great composer with a famous playwright. The opera "The Snow Maiden" is based on legends, customs and folk tales.
Being the ancestor contemporary theater the playwright played big role in the formation of Stanislavsky. In fact, he is the founder contemporary art acting game. Alexander Nikolaevich founded his own school, where he taught actors to play, living emotions: expressively, emotionally and reliably. His method gained immense popularity, although there were opponents of this technique. So, the famous M.S. Shchepkin was one of the main critics of this playing technique.
Ostrovsky was a unique person. By now, he would be recognized as a genius. Judge for yourself, polyglot, playwright and founder of modern theatrical art. Yes, as they say, "they don't make them like that anymore."
Ostrovsky biography interesting information briefly.
