Theater of the 19th century general characteristics. Theatrical life in Russia in the 19th century

The origin and formation of the Russian theater.

Little information about primitive Russian culture has been preserved in history: Christianity, which became the main religion in Russia, fought against paganism, destroying its cultural monuments. Nevertheless, paganism has retained its rudimentary manifestations in many areas of culture and art, incl. and adapting to the Orthodox religion and gaining a foothold in it in the form of symbols that have become canonically Christian.

From such ritual actions, a line was born for the development of the Russian theater as a folklore, folk theater, presented in a variety of forms - puppet theater (Petrushka, nativity scene, etc.), booth (rayek, bear fun, etc.), wandering actors (gusliers, singers, storytellers , acrobats, etc.), etc. Until the 17th century the theater in Russia developed only as a folklore one, there were no other theatrical forms, unlike in Europe. Until the 10th–11th centuries Russian theater developed along the path characteristic of the traditional theater of the East or Africa - ritual-folklore, sacred, built on original mythology. Such a theater is a dialogue with the gods, and as a ritual it enters the life of the people. From about the 11th century the situation is changing, at first - gradually, then - more strongly, which led to a fundamental change in the development of the Russian theater and its further formation under the influence of European culture.

The first representatives of the professional theater were buffoons, working in almost all genres of street performances. The first evidence of buffoons dates back to the 11th century, which makes it possible to make sure that buffoon art was a phenomenon that had long been formed and entered into the life of all layers of the then society. The formation of Russian original buffoon art, coming from rites and rituals, was also affected by the "tour" of wandering European and Byzantine comedians - histrions, troubadours, vagantes. There was a process of mutual enrichment of cultural traditions. Buffoons - both individual actors and those united in the so-called. "troops" (the prototype of the entreprise troupe) took part in village holidays and city fairs, lived as jesters and mercenaries in boyar and royal mansions. Ivan the Terrible at feasts liked to dress up as a buffoon and dance with them. Interest in the buffoon art of noble people led to the emergence of the beginnings of a secular theater, as evidenced by the amateur singers Sadko, Dobrynya Nikitich and others mentioned in the epics. Buffoons at that time in Rus' were quite respected people.

The first mention of buffoons coincided with an event that became key for the entire history of Russia - the baptism of Rus' and the adoption of Christianity ( Cm. RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH). This had a cardinal impact on all spheres of life, and on the theater. But back in the 9th c. Christian ministers condemned masks (masks), which were one of the most common means of expressiveness of the folk theater. The social status of buffoons was declining. The development of buffoon art - especially the satirical direction - and the tightening of its persecution went in parallel. The resolution of the Stoglavy Cathedral in 1551 actually made the buffoons outcasts. The reflection of the change of buffoon status in the vocabulary is interesting. The theater of buffoons was called "disgrace" (the word did not have a negative meaning, coming from the old Russian "behold" - to see; the term persisted until the 17th century). However, the persecution of buffoons led to the emergence of a negative connotation of the term (hence in modern Russian - “shame”). In the 18th century, when the theater re-entered the context of the cultural life of Russia, the terms "theater" and "drama" were established, and the former "disgrace" was transformed into a "spectacle".

By the 16th century in Russia, the church forms the state ideology (in particular, the clergy were given the duty to create educational institutions). And, of course, she could not pass by the theater, which is a powerful means of influence.

The path of the Russian church theater was different than in Europe: it bypassed the liturgical drama, the mystery play and the miracle. This is due not only to the later Christianization of Rus', but also to the difference between Orthodox traditions and Catholicism, which is prone to pomp and theatricality of its services. Despite the fact that in Orthodoxy such rituals as “washing the feet”, “procession on a donkey” were arranged quite effectively (and in the so-called. Cave action even included some techniques of buffoonish "amusing dialogue"), the church theater in Russia did not take shape in an aesthetic system. Therefore, the main role in the development of theatrical art of the 17-18 centuries. played theater school-church.

School and Church Theatre.

The "Stoglavy" Cathedral of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1551 played a decisive role in establishing the idea of ​​religious-state unity and entrusted the clergy with the duty to create spiritual educational institutions. During this period, school drama and school-church performances appeared, which were staged in theaters at these educational institutions (colleges, academies). Figures personifying the state, the church, the ancient Olympus, wisdom, faith, hope, love, etc., appeared on the stage, transferred from the pages of books. “The poor pupils of the academy, having made up of artels, went to different provinces and suburban regiments to collect alms ... (they) represented dialogues, comedies, tragedies, and so on. These walks were called rehearsals. So school performances were taken out of the walls of the academy and presented to the people. Western teachers, wanting to teach their students to speak Latin, back in the 15th century. began to introduce into the practice of school life the performance of plays by students in Latin. Other teachers, who opposed the ancient repertoire and found it dangerous and inconvenient, began to write plays themselves. The school theater has long been considered a spectacle devoid of artistic merit, but in the early stages of development, the school stage satisfied the urgent need for theatrical performances. Silent scenes, shadow paintings, icons were brought into action at the school play at pathetic moments, giving them a static quality. “Suffering is a painful painful action when death, torture, infliction of wounds are depicted on the stage, which can be represented either in the story by messengers or by a shadow picture” ( Kyiv piitika, 1696). The serious characters of the play spoke in an upbeat, melodious declamatory speech, and the language of the "comic" characters in the interlude was based on the folk dialect with a comic play on speech flaws and accents. In the field of gesticulation, the school theater asserted a broad "oratorical" gesture, mainly right hand, and the authors were forbidden to use gloves, since the hand was an important element of the stage play. The school theater used emblems, thanks to which the audience already guessed the essence of each character by their appearance. This was especially true of mythological and allegorical figures. So, for the "God's Grace", an obligatory allegorical figure of Christmas and Easter plays, it was required "a burning heart, pierced by an arrow, and a cup, on the head a laurel crown." Hope was depicted with an anchor, Faith with a cross, Glory with a trumpet, Justice with scales, mythological Mars held a sword in his hand. Initially, performances were held in the open air. In the early school theater there were stages with scenery, which at the same time indicated the main places of action.

Having arisen in Kyiv, the school church theater began to appear in other cities: Moscow, Smolensk, Yaroslavl, Tobolsk, Polotsk, Tver, Rostov, Chernigov, etc. Having grown up within the walls of a theological school, he completed the theatricalization of church rites: liturgy, Holy Week services, Christmas, Easter and other rites. Emerging under the conditions of the emerging bourgeois life, the school theater for the first time on our soil separated the actor and the stage from the viewer and the auditorium, for the first time led to a certain stage image for both the playwright and the actor. It is characteristic at the same time that in fulfilling the pedagogical task, he also created a coherent theoretical system of the theater, if not independent, but embracing the entire phenomenon as a whole. The repertoire of the Kiev-Mohyla Collegium (since 1701 the Kiev Theological Academy): Alexy, God's man(drama in honor of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, 1674), Action on the Passion of Christ decommissioned (1686), The realm of human nature (1698), Freedom from centuries longed for by human nature (1707), Wisdom eternal (1703), Vladimir... Feofan Prokopovich (1705), The triumph of human nature (1706), Joseph, Patriarch Levreniy Gorka (1708), God's mercy to Ukraine... through Bogdan... Khmelnitsky... liberated Feofan Trofimovich (1728), Powerful image of God's love for mankind Mitrofan Dovgalevsky (1757), Tragicomedy about rewarding in this light the found deeds of bribes in the future eternal life (About the vanity of this world) Varlaam Lashchevsky (1742), Grace of Marcus Aurelius Mikhail Kozachinsky (1744), Resurrection of the dead George Konissky (1747), A tragicomedy called Photius George Shcherbitsky (1749). The repertoire of the school of the Zaikonospassky Monastery (since 1678 the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy): Comedy parable of the prodigal son Simeon of Polotsk (1670), About King Nevchadnezzar, about a golden body and about three children who were not burned in the cave Simeon of Polotsky (1673) and others. The repertoire of the surgical school at the Moscow hospital: Judith (1710), Act of the Most Glorious Queen of Palestine (1711), Glory Russian F. Zhuravsky (1724). Repertoire of the Novgorod Theological Seminary: Stefanotokos Innokenty Odrovonzh-Migalevich (1742), Repertoire of the Polotsk School at the Epiphany Monastery: Shepherd's Conversations Simeon of Polotsk (1658). Repertoire of the Rostov Episcopal School: Christmas Drama (1702), Rostov action (1702), Penitent(1705) - all the dramas of Dimitri Rostovsky. Repertoire of the Smolensk Theological Seminary: Declamation Manuil Bazilevich (1752). In the Tobolsk Bishops' School - Easter drama (1734).

Court theatre.

The formation of the court theater in Russia is associated with the name of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The time of his reign is associated with the formation of a new ideology focused on expanding diplomatic ties with Europe. Orientation to the European way of life led to many changes in the life of the Russian court. In the 1660s, the Moscow Kremlin was rebuilt, and decorative motifs from the palaces of European sovereigns appeared in the interiors of its chambers and country residences. Not only Russians, but also foreign craftsmen are involved in decorative work. Aleksey Mikhailovich’s attempt to organize the first court theater also dates back to 1660: in the “list” of orders and purchases for the tsar, the English merchant Gebdon, Alexei Mikhailovich’s hand, inscribed the task “To summon masters of comedy from the German lands to the Muscovite state”. However, this attempt was unsuccessful; the first performance of the Russian court theater took place only in 1672. On May 15, 1672, the tsar issued a decree in which Colonel Nikolai von Staden (a friend of the boyar Matveev) was instructed to find people abroad who could "play comedies." Staden invited the famous actors Johann Felston and Anna Paulson "for the pleasures of royal greatness". But frightened by stories about the mysterious Muscovy, the comedians refused to go, and Staden brought only five musicians to Moscow. Matveev learned that the teacher of the German church school, Johann Gottfried Gregory, who arrived in Moscow back in 1658, knows how to "build comedies." On June 4, 1672, an order was given “to the foreigner Yagan Gottfried to make a comedy, and to act on the comedy from the Bible book of Esther, and for this action to arrange a mansion again, and for the construction of that mansion and what must be bought for it from the decree of the Volodymyr couple. And according to that great sovereign’s decree, a comedy mansion was built in the village of Preobrazhensky with all the outfit that is needed in that mansion.

In pursuance of the royal order, Gregory and his assistant Ringuber began to gather children and teach them theatrical art. A total of 69 people were recruited. For three months, the play was learned in German and Slavic. "Comedy mansion", which had already been built by that time, was a wooden building, consisting of two parts. Inside, scaffolds were made, seats arranged in an amphitheater, benches. A lot of red and green cloth was used for upholstery of the inner parts. The royal place, protruding forward, was upholstered with red cloth, and boxes with frequent bars were arranged for the queen and prince, through which they looked at the stage, remaining hidden from the rest of the audience. The stage, raised above the floor, was separated from the audience by a railing. A curtain was made on the stage, which was closed when the need arose for rearrangements on the stage. The scenery was made by the Dutch painter Peter Inglis. The tsar granted Gregory "40 sables worth 100 rubles, and a couple of eight rubles for a salary for a comedy structure, which is about Artaxerxes' reign." Ringuter wrote about this performance in his diary: “The performance took place on October 17, 1672. The king, struck by it, sat for ten hours without getting up.” The performance was played by: Blumentrost, Friedrich Gossen, Ivan Meva, Ivan and Pavel Berner, Pyotr Carlson and others. They participated in performances until the second half of 1673. On the wedding anniversary, the tsar wished to stage a performance, but did not want to go to Preobrazhenskoe ” was built in the wards, although they could not complete it by the deadline. Alexei Mikhailovich became a frequent visitor to theatrical performances.

On February 8, 1673, a new spectacle took place at Shrovetide - a ballet based on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The art of ballet was taught by the engineer Nikolai Lim. By the summer (from May 15 to June 16), German actors were replaced by Russians. History has preserved their names - Vaska Meshalkin, Nikolai and Rodion Ivanov, Kuzma Zhuravlev, Timofey Maksimov, Luka Stepanov and others - since they signed a written appeal to the tsar. “Merciful Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich! Perhaps we are their lackeys, the sovereign would give us his great sovereign a salary for daily food, so that we, being your lackey, being in that comedy business, would not die of starvation. Tsar sovereign, have mercy, perhaps. The king granted to issue "4 money" for the day to each of his comedians.

Performances have become one of the most favorite entertainments at the Moscow court. There were 26 Russian actors. The boys played the female roles. Esther's role in Artaxerxes action played by Blumentrost's son. Both foreigners and Russian actors were trained in a special school, which was opened on September 21, 1672 in the courtyard of Gregory's house in the German settlement. It turned out to be difficult to teach Russian and foreign students, and in the second half of 1675 two theater schools began to operate: at the Polish court - for foreigners, in the Meshchanskaya Sloboda - for Russians. Theater repertoire: Artaxerxes action (1672), Comedy about Tobias Jr. (1673), Judith (1674),Temir-Aksakovo action (1675), Small cool comedy about Joseph(1675), Comedy about David with Goliath (1676), Comedy about Bacchus with Venus(1676) and others.

February 16, 1675 Gregory died. Yuri Gyutner became his successor, from him the leadership passed to Blumentrost and bachelor Ivan Volosheninov. Later, on the recommendation of the Smolensk Governor Prince Golitsyn, the teacher of the Latin language Stefan Chizhinsky became the leader.

In 1676 Alexei Mikhailovich died. Boyar Matveyev, the inspirer of the theater idea, was exiled. On December 15, 1677, the royal decree followed: “Over the apothecary order of the chambers that were occupied with comedy, clean up and what was in those chambers, organs and perspectives, all kinds of comedic supplies; bring everything to the yard of Nikita Ivanovich Romanov.

All this creates the prerequisites for the emergence of a national public theater. To do this, in 1752 Volkov's troupe was called from Yaroslavl to St. Petersburg. Talented amateur actors are determined to study in the gentry corps - A. Popov, I. Dmitrevsky, F. and G. Volkov, G. Emelyanov, P. Ivanov and others. Among them are four women: A. Musina-Pushkina, A. Mikhailova, sisters M. and O. Ananiev.

The first Russian permanent public theater was opened in 1756 in St. Petersburg, in the Golovkin House. A number of actors from the Yaroslavl troupe of F. Volkov were added to the actors trained in the gentry corps, including the comic actor Y. Shumsky. The theater was headed by Sumarokov, whose classicist tragedies formed the basis of the repertoire. The first place in the troupe was occupied by Volkov, who replaced Sumarokov as director, and held this position until his death in 1763 (this theater in 1832 will be called Alexandrinsky - in honor of the wife of Nicholas I.)

The first public performances in Moscow date back to 1756, when students of the university gymnasium, under the guidance of their director, the poet M. Kheraskov, formed a theater troupe within the walls of the university. Representatives of the highest Moscow society were invited to the performances. In 1776, on the basis of the former university troupe, a drama theater was created, which received the name of Petrovsky (it is also the Medox Theater). The Bolshoi (opera and ballet) and Maly (dramatic) theaters of Russia lead their genealogies from this theater.

Both the St. Petersburg and Moscow troupes felt the lack of female actresses. There were no women at all in the Yaroslavl troupe of Volkov, young men played the female roles. However, even later, when the first cast of actresses was selected with difficulty, they appeared on stage only in the roles of young women, the role of comic old women remained for men for a long time. According to eyewitnesses, Y. Shumsky shone with special skill in this.

After Volkov's death, Dmitrevsky became the first actor of the Petersburg troupe. His activities were extremely varied. In 1767, he traveled abroad with an official assignment to recruit actors for a French troupe in St. Petersburg, wrote plays that were staged and brought in good fees, worked on the history of the Russian theater, inspected the work of the theater, and taught young actors. Virtually all major actors next generation were his students - A. Krutitsky, K. Gomburov, S. Rakhmanov, A. D. Karatygina, S. Sandunova, T. Troepolskaya, P. Plavilshchikov and others. by that time, Sumarokov was out of work), but this project did not take place.

As Russian theaters developed, their role in shaping ideology and public sentiment became more and more obvious to the government. In 1766, on the orders of Catherine II, the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters was created, which eventually took over all the leading theaters in Russia.

By the end of the 18th century serf theaters are spreading. Theatrical specialists - actors, choreographers, composers - were invited here for classes with actors. Some of the fortress theaters (Sheremetev in Kuskovo and Ostankino, Yusupov in Arkhangelsk) surpassed state theaters in the richness of their productions. At the beginning of the 19th century the owners of some serf theaters are beginning to turn them into commercial enterprises (Shakhovskaya and others). Many famous Russian actors came out of the serf theaters, who were often released for quitrent to play in "free" theaters - incl. on the imperial stage (M. Shchepkin, L. Nikulina-Kositskaya and others).

In general, the process of formation of a professional theater in Russia in the 18th century. ended. The next, 19th century, became a period of rapid development of all areas of the Russian theater.

Russian theater in the 19th century

First half of the 19th century in Russia is marked by two major events influencing all areas public life and the theater as well.

The first of these was the war against Napoleonic France, which caused a huge increase in patriotic sentiments. For the theatre, this meant two things. First, the ruling circles and the intelligentsia realized the role and possibilities of theatrical art in the formation of social ideology. Issues related to the development of the theater at the very beginning of the 19th century. were discussed at meetings of the Free Society of Lovers of Literature, Sciences and Arts. A follower of Radishchev I. Pnin in his book Experience about enlightenment in relation to Russia(1804) argued that the theater should contribute to the development of society. Secondly, the relevance of the patriotic tragedies staged during this period, full of allusions to the current situation ( Oedipus in Athens And Dmitry Donskoy V. Ozerov, plays by F. Schiller and W. Shakespeare), contributed to the formation of romanticism. This means that new principles of acting were affirmed, the desire for the individualization of stage heroes, the disclosure of their feelings and psychology. In the romantic manner of the game, the talent of artists of the next generation was revealed - Y. Shusherin, A. Yakovlev, E. Semenova, whose talent was highly appreciated by A.S. Pushkin. Among the comedic actors, V. Rykalov, I. Sosnitsky, M. Valberkhova stood out (performances Yabeda kapnista, Brigadier And undergrowth Fonvizina, fashion shop And Lesson for daughters Krylov and others). The victory over France strengthened the patriotic and romantic-psychological tendencies in theatrical art, this was especially evident in the dramatic and theatrical-theoretical work of Pushkin, who defended the principles of true nationality in the Russian theater.

In the first quarter of the 19th century the first official separation of the Russian drama theater into a separate direction took place (previously, the drama troupe worked together with the opera and ballet, and the same actors often performed in performances of different genres). In 1824, the former theater of Medox was divided into two troupes - drama (Maly Theater) and opera and ballet (Bolshoi Theater). The Maly Theater gets a separate building. (In St. Petersburg, the drama troupe was separated from the musical in 1803, but before moving in 1836 to a separate building of the Alexandrinsky Theater, she still worked together with opera and ballet troupe at the Mariinsky Theatre.)

However, the free development of literature and theater was suspended in 1825, when the Decembrist uprising led to an intensification of reaction. In 1826 state theaters were transferred to the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Imperial Court. In 1828, additional censorship of plays was introduced in the "Third Department of His Imperial Majesty's Own Chancellery." Collegial management of theaters in 1829 was replaced by a one-man command of the director, who was subordinate to the government. Censorship prohibits the best dramatic works of that time from being staged: Woe from Wit A. Griboyedov (1824, the ban was lifted in 1831); Boris Godunov A. Pushkin (1825, the ban was lifted in 1866); Masquerade M. Lermontov (1835, the ban was lifted in 1862). The basis of the repertoire of the Russian theater of this period is made up of vaudeville and monarchist plays by N. Kukolnik, N. Polevoy, P. Obodovsky and others. Against this background, the staging of N. Gogol's comedy Auditor (1836).

By this time, the democratic direction of the development of acting art is concentrated in Moscow at the Maly Theater. A strong troupe is going there, headed by P. Mochalov and Shchepkin. Shchepkin developed the psychological line of acting creativity, anticipating the aesthetic direction critical realism bringing theater closer to life. Other outstanding artists of the Maly Theater belonged to the Shchepkin school - M. Lvova-Sinetskaya, P. Orlova, V. Zhivokini and others. Mochalov represented the tragic-romantic, rebellious direction, inspired by high feelings and strong passions.

A different direction in acting appeared in the work of the premiere of the Alexandrinsky Theater V. Karatygin, in which the features of classicist conventionality, ceremonial officialdom were clearly reflected. Thanks to the articles by V. Belinsky And my opinion about the game of Mr. Karatygin(1835) and Hamlet, drama by Shakespeare. Mochalov as Hamlet(1838) Karatygin and Mochalov became symbols of two alternative Russian acting schools of the 19th century in the history of the theater. Schematizing somewhat, they can be defined as rational (Karatygin) and built solely on inspiration (Mochalov).

By 1830–1840s years in Russia, the number of provincial theaters has increased significantly, the first information about the outstanding actors of the Russian provinces appears, among them K. Solenik, L. Mlotkovskaya and others.

A new stage in the development of the Russian theater of the 19th century. associated with the work of the playwright A. Ostrovsky. The appearance of his plays provided the theater with an extensive realistic national repertoire. Ostrovsky's dramaturgy demanded from the actors a stage ensemble, the ability to create everyday characters, work on the word to convey the original language of the characters. The proximity of aesthetic positions led to Ostrovsky's close and productive cooperation with the Maly Theater. Work on his dramaturgy contributed to the improvement of the acting skills of the troupe, and the talented play of the actors determined the stage success and increased the popularity of the playwright. On the realistic drama of Ostrovsky, the talent of such actors as P. Sadovsky, I. Samarin, S. Shumsky, L. Kositskaya, G. Fedotova, S. Vasiliev, N. Rykalova, S. Akimova, N. Muzil, N. Nikulina and others. In parallel with the realistic everyday direction, the line of romantic tragedy was successfully developed at the Maly Theater, most vividly represented in the work of the great M. Yermolova (performances Emilia Galotti Lessing, Fuente Ovejuna Lope de Vega, Storm Ostrovsky, Mary Stuart Schiller, etc.).

This period is marked by a whole constellation of theatrical names - actors and directors. Theatrical life was seething in both capitals, where best forces Russian theater province.

In St. Petersburg, the "key figure" of this time was V. Komissarzhevskaya. Debuting on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater in 1896 (before that, she played in amateur performances by Stanislavsky), the actress almost immediately won the ardent love of the audience. Her own theater, founded in 1904, played a huge role in the formation of a brilliant constellation of Russian stage directors. In the Komissarzhevskaya Theater in 1906-1907, Meyerhold first asserted the principles of the conventional theater on the capital stage (later he continued his experiments in the imperial theaters - Alexandrinsky and Mariinsky, as well as in the Tenishevsky School and in the theater studio on Borodinskaya Street). In the 1906–1907 season, A. Tairov played on the stage at the Komissarzhevskaya Theater (in 1907 he moved to the no less famous First Mobile Public Drama Theater at the Ligovsky People's House, created by P. Gaideburov). In 1908-1909 N. Evreinov, who created the Ancient Theater in St. Petersburg, staged performances in her theater, where performances of the French Middle Ages and the Spanish Renaissance were reconstructed in a stylized form. By the 1910s, the so-called. small theatrical forms, incl. cabaret art. Stray Dog, Halt of Comedians and Crooked Mirror gave many famous names of directors, actors, artists, writers and entered the history of Russian theater. Petersburg became the birthplace of the Russian theatrical avant-garde - in 1913 the Youth Union opened a new futuristic theater (opera by A. Kruchenykh, V. Khlebnikov, M. Matyushin and K. Malevich victory over the sun and the tragedy of V. Mayakovsky V.V.Mayakovsky).

In Moscow, the Moscow Art Theater was the center of theatrical life. A brilliant constellation of actors gathered there who played in performances that attracted a huge number of spectators: O. Knipper, I. Moskvin, M. Lilina, M. Andreeva, A. Artem, V. Kachalov, M. Chekhov and others. modern directing: in addition to Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko, these were the works of L. Sulerzhitsky, K. Mardzhanov, Vakhtangov; the world-famous G. Crag also came to the production. The Moscow Art Theater laid the foundations for modern scenography: M. Dobuzhinsky, N. Roerich, A. Benois, B. Kustodiev and others were involved in the work on its performances. At that time, the Moscow Art Theater actually determined the entire artistic life Moscow, incl. - and the development of small theatrical forms; the most popular Moscow cabaret theater Bat"is created on the basis of the skits of the Moscow Art Theater. Against this background, the rest of the theaters in Moscow look rather pale. Perhaps the only team working for other artistic principles and at the same time having its own audience was the Chamber Theater created in 1914 by Tairov.

Russian theater after 1917.

After the revolution of 1917, which changed the whole way of life in Russia, a new stage began in the theatrical life of the country.

The new government understood the importance of theatrical art: on November 9, 1917, a decree was issued by the Council of People's Commissars on the transfer of all Russian theaters to the art department of the State Commission for Education. And on August 26, 1919, a decree on the nationalization of theaters appeared, for the first time in the history of Russia, the theater completely became a matter of state (in ancient Greece, such a state policy was carried out as early as the 5th century BC). The leading theaters were awarded academic titles: in 1919 - the Maly Theater, in 1920 - the Moscow Art Theater and the Alexandrinsky Theater (renamed the Petrograd State Academic Drama Theater). New theaters are opening. In Moscow - the 3rd Studio of the Moscow Art Theater (1920, later the Vakhtangov Theater); Theater of the Revolution (1922, later - the Mayakovsky Theater); theater named after MGSPS (1922, today - theater named after Mossovet); Moscow Theater for Children (1921, since 1936 - Central Children's Theater). In Petrograd - the Bolshoi Drama Theater (1919); GOSET (1919, moved to Moscow in 1920); Theater for Young Spectators (1922).

During this period, the direction of the agitational-mystery public square theater was actively developing. Placed in Petrograd Action about the Third International(1919), The Mystery of Emancipated Labor, Toward the World Commune, Capture of the Winter Palace(all - 1920); in Moscow - Pantomime of the Great Revolution(1918); in Voronezh - Praise of the Revolution(1918); in Irkutsk - The struggle of labor and capital(1921);

In art in general and in the theater in particular, this was a very difficult period. Artists (like the whole country) were divided into supporters and opponents of the revolution. Simplifying somewhat, we can say that in the aesthetic sphere, the division took place on the attitude towards the traditions of world culture. The excitement of a social experiment aimed at building a new society was accompanied by the artistic excitement of experimental art, the rejection of cultural experience of the past. In 1920, Meyerhold put forward the Theater October program, which proclaimed the complete destruction of the old art and the creation of a new art on its ruins. It is paradoxical that Meyerhold, who deeply studied traditional theaters, became the ideologist of this trend. But the destructive euphoria of social reorganization was accompanied by the euphoria of an artistic experiment - supported by the government and addressed to new audiences.

The key to success in this period was the experiment, innovation - of a different nature and direction. Perhaps this was the reason for the existence in the same period of futuristic politicized “performances-rallies” by Meyerhold and Tairov’s exquisite, emphatically asocial psychologism, Vakhtangov’s “fantastic realism” and experiments with performances for children by the young N. Sats, the poetic biblical theater of Habima and the eccentric FEKS and others. Theaters of a more traditional direction (Moscow Art Theater, Maly, former Alexandrinsky, etc.) paid tribute to modernity with revolutionary-romantic and satirical performances, but sources indicate that the 1920s became a period of creative crisis for them.

The new period of the Russian theater began in 1932 with the resolution of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks “On the restructuring of literary and artistic organizations”. The method of socialist realism was recognized as the main method in art. The time for artistic experiments is over, although this does not mean that the subsequent years did not bring new achievements and successes in the development of theatrical art. It’s just that the “territory” of permitted art has narrowed, performances of certain artistic trends were approved - as a rule, realistic ones. And an additional evaluation criterion appeared: ideological-thematic. So, for example, the unconditional achievement of the Russian theater since the mid-1930s has been the performances of the so-called. "Leninians", in which the image of V. Lenin was brought to the stage ( Man with a gun at the Vakhtangov Theatre, in the role of Lenin - B. Shchukin; Is it true in the Theater of Revolution, in the role of Lenin - M. Strauch, etc.). Practically doomed to success were any performances based on the plays of the "founder of socialist realism" M. Gorky. This does not mean that every ideologically sustained performance was bad, just artistic criteria (and sometimes audience success) in the state evaluation of performances ceased to be decisive.

For many figures in the Russian theater, the 1930s (and the second half of the 1940s, when the ideological politics continued) became tragic. However, the Russian theater continued to develop. New directorial names appeared: A.Popov, Yu.Zavadsky, R.Simonov, B.Zakhava, A.Dikiy, N.Okhlopkov, L.Vivien, N.Akimov, N.Gerchakov, M.Kedrov, M.Knebel, V .Sakhnovsky, B.Sushkevich, I.Bersenev, A.Bryantsev, E.Radlov and others. These names were mainly associated with Moscow and Leningrad and the directing school of the country's leading theaters. However, the works of many directors in other cities of the Soviet Union are also gaining fame: N. Sobolshchikov-Samarin (Gorky), N. Sinelnikov (Kharkov), I. Rostovtsev (Yaroslavl), A. Kanin (Ryazan), V. Bityutsky (Sverdlovsk), N. Pokrovsky (Smolensk, Gorky, Volgograd), etc.

There is also a new generation of actors. In the Moscow Art Theater, along with such luminaries as O. Knipper-Chekhova, V. Kachalov, L. Leonidov, I. Moskvin, M. Tarkhanov, N. Khmelev, B. Dobronravov, O. Androvskaya, K. Elanskaya, A .Tarasova, A.Gribov, B.Livanov, M.Yanshin, M.Prudkin and others. Actors and directors of the Moscow Art Theater School - I.Bersenev, S.Birman, S.Giatsintova successfully work in the Moscow Theater of Lenin Komsomol (former TRAM). In the Maly Theater, along with the older generation of actors A. Yablochkina, V. Massalitinova, V. Ryzhova, E. Turchaninova, A. Ostuzhev, P. Sadovsky and others, a prominent place is occupied by new actors who gained fame already in Soviet times: Pashennaya, E. Gogoleva, N. Annenkov, M. Zharov, M. Tsarev, I. Ilyinsky (who moved here after the break with Meyerhold). In the former Alexandrinsky theater(who was named after A. Pushkin in 1937) famous old masters - E. Korchagina-Aleksandrovskaya, V. Michurina-Samoilova, E. Time, B. Gorin-Goryainov, I. Pevtsov, Yu. Yuryev and others take the stage together with young actors - N. Rashevskaya, E. Karyakina, E. Wolf-Israel, A. Borisov, N. Simonov, B. Babochkin, N. Cherkasov and others. B. Shchukin, A. Orochko, Ts. Mansurov and others. A strong troupe is formed in the Mossovet Theater (formerly MGSPS and MOSPS), consisting mainly of Y. Zavadsky's students - V. Maretskaya, N. Mordvinov, R. Plyatt, O. Abdulov and others. Despite the fate of the main directors, the work of the actress of the Chamber Theater A. Koonen, as well as many actors of the Revolution Theater and the Meyerhold Theater are widely recognized: M. Babanova, M. Astangov, D. Orlov, M. Strauch, Y. Glizer, S. Martinson, E. Garin.

During the Great Patriotic War, Russian theaters mainly turned to the patriotic theme. Plays written during this period were staged on the stages ( Invasion L.Leonova, Front A. Korneichuk, Guy from our city And Russian people K. Simonov), and plays of historical and patriotic themes ( Peter I A.N. Tolstoy, Field Marshal Kutuzov V. Soloviev and others). The success of theatrical performances of this time disproved the validity of the common expression "When the guns speak, the muses are silent." This was especially evident in the besieged Leningrad. The City Theater (later - the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre) and the Musical Comedy Theater, which worked here throughout the blockade, gathered full halls of spectators, despite the lack of heating, and often light, bombing and shelling, and deadly hunger. Paradoxically, the more disastrous the conditions of life in the city became, the more acute the need of Leningraders for art to help them survive. With joy, people met visiting performances and concerts at the forefront, in many theaters of the country front-line brigades were formed, performing not only in the army, but also in hospitals.

The period 1941-1945 had another consequence for the theatrical life of Russia and the Soviet Union: a significant increase in the artistic level of provincial theaters. The evacuation of theaters in Moscow and Leningrad and their work on the periphery breathed new life into local theaters, contributed to the integration of stage art and the exchange of creative experience.

However, after the end of the war, the patriotic upsurge of the theatrical art of wartime gave way to a decline. The Decree of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of August 26, 1946 "On the repertoire of drama theaters and measures to improve it" tightened ideological control and censorship. Russian art in general, and the theater in particular, experienced a crisis associated with a social crisis.

The theater reflects the state of society, and a new round of the rise of the Russian stage was also the result of social changes: the exposure of the personality cult (1956) and the weakening of ideological politics, the so-called. "thaw".

Russian theater in 1950–1980.

The renewal of the Russian theater began with directing. A new theatrical aesthetics was again formed in Moscow and Leningrad.

In Leningrad, this process proceeded less brightly, not so much in a revolutionary way as in an evolutionary way. It is associated with the name of G. Tovstonogov, who from 1949 headed the Leningrad Theater named after Lenin Komsomol, and in 1956 became the artistic director of the BDT. A magnificent troupe (E. Lebedev, K. Lavrov, G. Yanovskoy, N. Sheiko and others. Most of them managed to realize their creative potential in Moscow.

A great contribution to the formation of Russian theatrical art was made by many actors of Leningrad: I. Gorbachev, N. Simonov, Yu. Pushkin); D. Barkov, L. Dyachkov, G. Zhzhenov, A. Petrenko, A. Ravikovich, A. Freindlich, M. Boyarsky, S. Migitsko, I. Mazurkevich and others (Lensoviet Theatre); V. Yakovlev, R. Gromadsky, E. Ziganshina, V. Tykke and others (Lenin Komsomol Theatre); T. Abrosimova, N. Boyarsky, I. Krasko, S. Landgraf, Yu. Ovsyanko, V. Osobik and others (Komissarzhevskaya Theatre); E. Junger, S. Filippov, M. Svetin and others (Comedy Theatre); L. Makariev, R. Lebedev, L. Sokolova, N. Lavrov, N. Ivanov, A. Khochinsky, A. Shuranova, O. Volkova and others (Young Spectators Theatre); N. Akimova, N. Lavrov, T. Shestakova, S. Bekhterev, I. Ivanov, V. Osipchuk, P. Semak, I. Sklyar and others (MDT, also known as the Theater of Europe).

In Moscow, the formation of a new theatrical aesthetics took place more rapidly and clearly. Here, first of all, the name of A. Efros should be mentioned, who did not become the banner of any theatrical revolution, although each of his performances aroused great interest from critics and spectators. Having headed the Central Children's Theater in 1954, Efros rallied a group of talented youth around him - O. Efremov, O. Tabakov, L. Durova and others. An artistic program was largely formed here, which led in 1958 to the opening of the Sovremennik Theater. This marked the beginning of a new era in the Russian scene. The renewal of the aesthetics of realistic psychological theater was combined in Sovremennik with the search for new means of artistic expression. Young troupe - O. Efremov, O. Tabakov, E. Evstigneev. In the Central Theater of the Red Army (today - the Central Academic Theater Russian Army) the traditions of the psychological theater were preserved by A. Popov and B. Lvov-Anokhin (later he headed the Stanislavsky Theater and staged a lot at the Maly Theater). The performances of B. Rovensky are well known - in the Pushkin Theater and in the Maly. Working in various theaters, Efros maintained the highest artistic authority for several decades. M. Zakharov, who later embodied his aesthetics in the Theater. Lenin Komsomol. In the 1970s, success accompanied the debuts of directors A. Vasiliev and B. Morozov. But perhaps the loudest Russian theater of the 1970s and 1980s was the Moscow Taganka Theater and its director Y. Lyubimov.

During this time, several generations of remarkable actors have been formed in Moscow, belonging to different schools, possessing high professionalism and a bright personality. True, for a number of years the situation in the MKhAT troupe was sad - the legendary "MKhAT old men" continued to shine on the stage, but the renewal of the troupe began to take place in 1970, when the theater was headed by Efremov. Came here famous actors, formed in different theaters, but managed to create a new magnificent ensemble: E. Evstigneev, A. Kalyagin, A. Popov, I. Smoktunovsky V. Lanovoy, O. Yankovsky, A. Abdulov, A. Zbruev, I. Churikova, N. Karachentsov, T. Dogileva, E. Shanina and others. In Sovremennik, actors are added to the core of the troupe, whose names become no less famous: M. Neelova, L. Akhedzhakova, V. Gaft, E. Yakovleva, A. Leontiev and others In the Theater on Malaya Bronnaya, where L. Sukharevskaya and B. Tenin shone in the early 1960s, O. Yakovleva, L. Durov, N. Volkov, M. Kozakov, A. Grachev, G. Saifullin and etc. After premieres at the Stanislavsky Theater Adult daughter of a young man(staged by A.Vasiliev) and Cyrano de Bergerac(staged by B. Morozov) the names of A. Filozov, S. Shakurov, V. Korenev, E. Vitorgan, A. Balter became known. The Hermitage Theater under the direction of M. Levitin reveals the individualities of L. Polishchuk, E. Gerchakov, V. Gvozditsky and others. Talents are formed and strengthened in the Mayakovsky Theater

On the one hand, the theatrical successes of Russian theaters in the 1960s and 1980s were not easy to win. Often, the best performances went to the audience with great difficulty, and even were banned due to ideological considerations, and performances of average, but ideologically sustained, received awards and prizes. On the other hand, the semi-official status of the "opposition" theater almost always gave its performances additional "audience capital": they initially received a greater chance of success in the box office and being considered creative victories (often regardless of the real artistic level). The history of the Taganka Theater testifies to this: any performance of the first "Lubimov" period was considered brilliant in a liberal environment, professional criticism of shortcomings was most often regarded as a scab. Allegory, allusion, allusions to modern reality reigned on the Russian stage of that time - this was the key to audience success. At the same time, one should not forget that in the social situation of state theaters, all theatrical experiments (including political ones) were financed by the state. By the early 1980s, a new theater building with modern technical equipment was built for the semi-disgraced Taganka. Often, political and social criteria in the evaluation of performances often outweighed artistic ones - both in official and informal evaluation. A balanced, adequate attitude to the performances of that time was practically impossible. Very few understood it then.

The change of political formation in the early 1990s and a long period of economic devastation radically changed the life of the Russian theater. The first period of weakening (and after - and the abolition) of ideological control was accompanied by euphoria: now you can put on and show the audience anything. After the abolition of the centralization of theaters, many new groups were organized - studio theaters, entreprises, etc. However, few of them survived in the new conditions - it turned out that, in addition to the ideological dictate, there is a viewer's dictate: the public will watch only what it wants. And if in the conditions of state financing of the theater, filling the auditorium is not very important, then with self-sufficiency, a full house in the hall is essential condition survival. Under these conditions, the professions of a manager and producer could become especially in demand in the theater, who, in addition to studying audience demand, would be engaged in the search for sponsors and investors. However, today the most talented and successful theatrical producers are directors and actors (one of the examples is Tabakov). Truly talented directors (especially those who combine creative talent with the ability to fit into the situation of a market economy) were able to "survive" and got the opportunity to fully reveal their ideas.

A. Galibin, V. Pazi, G. Kozlov, as well as even younger and more radical avant-garde artists: B. Yukhananov, A. Praudin, A. Moguchiy, V. Kramer, Klim, etc. The direction of happenings and installations, adjacent to the theater, is actively developing . I. Eppelbaum, starting from the aesthetics of the puppet theater, experiments with all the components of the spectacle in his theater "Shadow". E. Grishkovets invents his theatrical aesthetics. Since 2002, the project has been opened Theatre.doc, built on the rejection of the literary basis of the performances: the material for them is the transcripts of real interviews with representatives of the social group to which the heroes of future productions belong. And this is not all of today's theatrical experiments.

The access to the world culture and its theatrical experience contributed to a new stage in the development of the Russian theater, which helps to comprehend one's own work and move to the next level.

Today, the need for theater reform is widely discussed. The urgent need for theater reform was first raised in the early 1980s. True, at that time it was associated mainly with the need to change the labor legislation for the work of actors. The fact is that in the troupes of state theaters, along with actors in demand, there were many those who had not received roles for years. However, it was impossible to fire them, which means that hiring new members of the troupe was also impossible. The Ministry of Culture of the RSFSR, as an experiment, in the early 1980s in some theaters introduced the so-called. re-election system, when the contract with the actors was only for a few years. This system then caused a lot of debate and discontent: the main argument against it was the reproach of social insecurity. However, the change in the political formation of Russia destroyed the relevance of such a reform: the market economy itself began to regulate the number of theater troupes.

In the post-Soviet period, the contours of theatrical reform changed dramatically, they moved mainly into the area of ​​financing theater groups, the need for state support for culture in general and theaters in particular, and so on. The possible reform causes a lot of diverse opinions and heated debate. The first steps of this reform were the Decree of the Government of Russia in 2005 on additional funding for a number of theaters and educational theater institutions in Moscow and St. Petersburg. However, there is still a long way to go before the systemic development of the theatrical reform scheme. What it will be is still unclear.

Tatyana Shabalina

Literature:

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Gorchakov N. Directing lessons Vakhtangov. M., 1957
Vsevolodsky-Gerngross V.N. Russian theater of the second half of the 18th century. M., 1960
theater poetry Sat. articles. M., 1960
Rudnitsky K.L. Directed by Meyerhold. M., 1969
Velekhova N.A. Okhlopkov and the theater of the streets. M., 1970
Early Russian dramaturgy(XVII - first half of the XVIII century.). Tt. 1–2. M., 1972
Zavadsky Yu.A. Teachers and students. M., 1975
Zolotnitsky D.I. Dawns of theatrical October. L., 1976
Zolotnitsky D.I. Academic theaters on the paths of October. L., 1982
Mikhail Semyonovich Shchepkin. Life and art, tt. 1–2. M., 1984
Chekhov M. Literary heritage in 2 volumes. M., 1986
Likhachev D.S. The formation of the theatre. In the article Russian literature of the 17th century. History of World Literature in 9 vols. T. 4. M., 1987
Tairov directing art. M., 1987
folklore theater. M., 1988
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Ivanov V. Russian theater seasons« Habima". M., 1999
Smelyansky A.M. Proposed circumstances. From the life of Russian theater in the second half of the twentieth century. M., 1999
Stanislavsky K.S. Collected Works, tt. 1–9. M., 1988–1999
Documentary theatre. Plays(Theatre.doc). M., 2004
Diakova E. Theater drama. Novaya Gazeta, 2004, November 15
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Vyrypaev I. The Russian repertory theater has long been dead. Does Russia need theater reform?"Izvestia", 2005, April 6

HISTORY AND AESTHETICS OF THE THEATER

19th century European theater (until 1871)

Introduction

Theatrical art has always sharply reacted to the state of society - to the political and social processes taking place in it. Therefore, the periodization of the development of the theater was associated with revolutionary situations that arise in certain countries and affect world socio-political development. So, the historical frontier of the theater new time was the Great French Revolution of 1789-1793. A latest The era in the development of theatrical art is determined by the Great October Revolution of 1917 in Russia.

At the end of the 18th century, as you know, within the dominant artistic direction - classicism - new stylistic trends were born: sentimentalism, romanticism, enlightenment realism, rococo . And by the beginning of the 19th century, romanticism turned out to be an already formed artistic direction, influencing the development of all art.

Of course, it is impossible to consider the development of theatrical art and artistic trends in isolation from socio-political events in society.

The contradictions in the social life of the 19th century determined the character of the theatrical culture of that period. Economic and political dependence on the masters of the bourgeois world created unfavorable conditions for the development of the theater. But at the same time, the ideology of democratic circles fruitfully influenced all spheres of the spiritual life of society, including the theater.

Two main artistic trends in the art of the XIX century. - romanticism and realism- represented various forms of critical perception of the world. The development of literature and theater in this era went through two stages, the boundary between which was 1848. At the first stage, romanticism was the dominant artistic trend; in the 1930s and 1940s critical realism was asserted; after 1848 - 1871 entertainment predominates, low in ideologically dramaturgy. Theater of the second half of the XIX century. experiencing a crisis.

The romantic trend in literature and in all forms of art expressed the social moods born of the results of bourgeois revolutions and the social changes that they caused.

The main feature of the Romantic worldview was the idea of ​​a tragic gap between the ideal and real life. Hence the denial of reality, the desire to escape from it into a world transformed by the will and imagination of the artist. The forms of romantic denial of everyday life in creativity were both going into history and creating images of exceptional heroes, symbolic and fantastic characters. Romantics did not set themselves the task of objective knowledge of life and its laws; they asserted the complete freedom of creativity of the artist, who creates his own special poetic world, not similar to the existing one.

Romantics opposed the enlightenment cult of reason with the pathos of the affirmation of passions and feelings. They called for the rejection of the normative aesthetics of classicism, of its rules and canons.

In romanticism, two trends were clearly manifested, which determined the two directions of the romantic current - progressive romanticism and conservative romanticism.

Progressive Romanticism expressed the mood of the democratic strata of society: disappointment in the results of the revolution of 1789 and rejection of the political regime were combined with a protest against the social vices of the new, bourgeois world.

conservative romanticism expressed the sentiments of the noble aristocracy, who felt their historical doom; hence the desire to escape from reality as a reaction to the revolution and a manifestation of the rejection of bourgeois relations.

The most significant and fruitful in the literary and theatrical life of Western Europe in the first half of the 19th century. was progressive romanticism associated with revolutionary ideas and sentiments and the national liberation movement. This romanticism is represented by the names of Byron, Shelley and Keane in England; Hugo, Bocage and Dorval in France; Heine, Gutskov, Buchner, Devrient in Germany; Mickiewicz and Slovak in Poland; Decembrist writers, young Pushkin, Lermontov and Mochalov in Russia. This romanticism had an active life-affirming character. His hero was a rebel, an avenger, a fighter for human dignity denouncer of social evil.

The types of romantic heroes were varied. For them, it was not necessary to have a high position in society, they were not the embodiment of goodness. Rootless plebeians, executioners and jesters, lackeys and robbers, they were often marked by the seal of gloomy disappointment, but each in his own way carried the theme of rebellion.

Anti-bourgeois tendencies were also permeated with some works conservative romanticism, for example, de Vigny's drama "Chatterton", some national-patriotic dramas by Kleist, Tieck, which are characterized by an interest in the past of their people, in folk art.

Romanticism was a natural stage in the development of the European theater. But at the same time, the originality of the historical path of each country, the nature of the relationship between class forces, the predominance of progressive or reactionary principles in the spiritual life of society - all this determined the characteristics of the romantic theater of various countries.

In France social contradictions were distinguished by a certain sharpness and were resolved by revolutionary explosions, and romanticism was associated with a turbulent socio-political life. Literary and theatrical "fights" between romantics and classicists were one of the forms of political struggle, because they perceived classicism as a courtly aristocratic style. And this revolt reflected the growth of revolutionary sentiment.

English romanticism, due to the relative stabilization of the country's social forces, was deprived of an open political sound. But England went further than all European countries along the path of development of capitalist relations, and therefore social contradictions gave rise in the democratic strata of society, in the worldview of artists, a sense of tragic trouble and protest against the injustice of life. In the most significant works of the English romantics - in the dramas of Byron and Shelley - the struggle against bourgeois practicality, deceit and hypocrisy of Church Puritan morality was expressed in the formulation of philosophical and moral problems good and evil, in the affirmation of the images of heroes who rise up against this deceit and hypocrisy.

Romanticism had a special character in Germany . In an economically and politically backward country that has preserved numerous remnants of the Middle Ages, the opposition between progressive and conservative tendencies manifested itself much weaker than in the romanticism of other countries. The peculiarity of German romanticism, which developed during the years of the Napoleonic wars, can be expressed as follows: it is characterized by a combination of the spirit of rebirth with the spirit of reaction (K. Marx).

The German romantics raised the contradiction between the political weakness of the third estate and the high level of the country's spiritual culture to the level of eternal and absolute truth. Critical of modern German life, they saw in its squalor only a manifestation of the eternal conflict between high aspirations human spirit and real reality. This conflict received its illusory resolution in the retreat into the world of history and fairy-tale fantasy, or in the romantic irony of the depiction of the vulgar philistinism and wretched practicality of German petty-bourgeois customs.

The nature of German romanticism manifested itself in a tendency to develop the philosophical and aesthetic foundations of this trend. The problem of nationality, criticism of French classicism, the cult of Shakespeare created by the German romantics - all this had a big impact on the development of romantic drama and romantic theater in other countries.

Before the revolutionary events of 1848-1849. in European romanticism, realistic tendencies are increasingly beginning to appear. romantic theme the discord between dreams and reality is replaced by a more acute theme of the plight of the people, the denunciation of bourgeois morals.

The development of romantic drama and melodrama at this time began to be influenced by the ideas of utopian socialism (Saint-Simon, Fourier, who sharply criticized modern bourgeois society). A striking example of melodrama, depicting social contrasts, was the play of the French democratic public figure and playwright F. Pia "The Parisian rag-picker".

Along with romanticism, realistic direction, who was destined to play a decisive role in the development of dramaturgy and performing arts in the second half of the 19th century.

Realism modern times, who set the task of knowing the objective laws of reality and the historical pattern of its development, was imbued with a critical attitude towards modernity. This was a similarity between realism and romanticism. But, in contrast to the romantics' interest in the exceptional, realism presupposes, "in addition to the veracity of details, the veracity of the reproduction of typical characters in typical circumstances" (F. Engels).

The method of depicting life in its typical manifestations, its contradictions, the historical and social conditioning of human characters and destinies created the great realistic literature of the West (Balzac, Stendhal, Flaubert, Dickens, Mérimée). A critical attitude to reality is an important distinguishing feature of this literature.

critical realism created his own dramaturgy - plays by Balzac, Merimee, Buchner, etc. However, this dramaturgy, imbued with a critical spirit, could not become the basis of the repertoire. The dominant bourgeois ideology needed works that affirmed the “reasonableness” of the bourgeois world order, its ideas, moral principles, and way of life. A gap arose between the theater and great literature, giving rise to a certain ideological inferiority of theatrical art, especially noticeable in comparison with the mighty flowering of critical realism in literature.

This expressed the general pattern of the development of stage art. It was most fully expressed in the life of the French theater. The type of bourgeois theater of the 19th century finally took shape. after 1848, the bourgeoisie that came to power created its own art. The rebellious spirit of romanticism is now being replaced by the preaching of bourgeois "common sense". This realism, being devoid of a critical attitude to life, did not provide a deep disclosure of the essence of life phenomena and replaced the genuine truth with superficial plausibility. Such a theater influenced the viewer not so much by the truth of the characters and passions depicted, but by the highly developed technique of dramaturgy and acting skills (dramas by Dumas the son, Sardou, etc.). The entertaining role of the theater is growing, vaudeville and operetta are becoming the predominant genres. Among the many funny, but empty comedies-vaudevilles, clever and subtle, not without satirical sharpness and virtuoso in technique, vaudevilles by Eugene Labiche stand out.

Acting art developed during this period with greater independence, having passed a long and difficult path from romanticism to realism. The search for new expressive means to achieve the social, psychological and emotionally rich truth of the image was most fully embodied in the work of the great romantic actors - Lemaitre, Bocage, Dorval, Keene, Devrient. The desire for the authenticity of stage existence, for the truthful transmission of complex, contradictory, fanned by stormy passions spiritual world heroes led to the breaking and destruction of the old classical methods of acting and the establishment of a new type of actor, who is fluent in the art of impersonation, which was further developed in subsequent years.

Under the influence of European culture in Russia since the end of the XVIII century. there is also a modern theater. At first, it is still developing on the estates of large magnates, but gradually the troupes, gaining independence, on a commercial basis, passed into the rank of independent ones. In 1824, an independent drama troupe of the Maly Theater was formed in Moscow. In St. Petersburg in 1832, the Alexandrinsky Drama Theater appeared, patrons are still large landowners, nobles and the emperor himself, who dictate their repertoire.

Enlightenment sentimentalism acquires leading importance in the Russian theater. The attention of playwrights was attracted by the inner world of a person, his spiritual conflicts (dramas by P. I. Ilyin, F. F. Ivanov, tragedies by V. A. Ozerov). With sentimental tendencies, there was a desire to smooth out life's contradictions, features of idealization, melodrama (works by V. M. Fedorov, S. N. Glinka, etc.).

Gradually, the themes characteristic of European classicism are developed in dramaturgy: an appeal to the heroic past of their homeland and Europe, to an ancient plot (“Marfa Posadnitsa, or the Conquest of Novgorod” by F. F. Ivanov, “Velzen, or the Liberated Holland” by F. N. Glinka, "Andromache" by P. A. Katenin, "The Argives" by V. K. Kuchelbeker, etc.). At the same time, such genres as vaudeville (A. A. Shakhovskoy, P. I. Khmelnitsky, A. I. Pisarev) and family play(M. Ya. Zagoskin).

During the first quarter of the 19th century in the Russian national theater, a struggle is unfolding for the creation of a new, nationally original theater. This task was carried out by the creation of a truly national, original comedy by A. Griboyedov "Woe from Wit". A work of innovative significance was Pushkin's historical drama Boris Godunov, the author of which grew out of the forms of court tragedy of classicism and Byron's romantic drama. However, the production of these works was held back for some time by censorship. The dramaturgy of M. Yu. Lermontov, imbued with freedom-loving ideas, also remains outside the theater: his drama “Masquerade” in 1835-1836. banned three times by censorship (excerpts from the play were first staged thanks to the perseverance of the actors in 1852, and it was played in full only in 1864).

The stage of the Russian theater in the 1930s and 1940s was mainly occupied by vaudeville, pursuing mainly entertainment purposes (plays by P. A. Karatygin, P. I. Grigoriev, P. S. Fedorov, V. A. Sollogub, N. A. Nekrasov , F. A. Koni and others) “At this time, the skill of talented Russian actors M. S. Shchepkin and A. E. Martynov, who were able to identify the contradictions of real life behind comic situations, to give the created images genuine drama, grew.

Of great importance in the development of the Russian theater were the plays of A. N. Ostrovsky, which appeared in the 50s, raising Russian dramaturgy very high.

The Russian theater in the nineteenth century was distinguished by a certain duplicity - on the one hand, it continued to react sharply to various social and political changes in the state structure, and on the other hand, it improved under the influence of literary innovations.

Birth of great masters

At the beginning of the 19th century, in Russian stage art, romanticism and classicism were replaced by realism, which brings a lot of fresh ideas to the theatre. During this period, many changes take place, a new stage repertoire is being formed, which is popular and in demand in modern drama. The nineteenth century is becoming a good platform for the emergence and development of many talented playwrights who, with their work, make a huge contribution to the development of theatrical art. The brightest person in the dramaturgy of the first half of the century is N.V. Gogol. In fact, he was not a playwright in the classical sense of the word, but, despite this, he managed to create masterpieces that instantly gained worldwide fame and popularity. Such works can be called "The Government Inspector" and "Marriage". These plays are very graphic full picture public life in Russia. Moreover, Gogol did not sing of it, but on the contrary, sharply criticized it.

"Inspector" N.V. Gogol

At this stage of development and full formation, the Russian theater can no longer remain satisfied with the previous repertoire. Therefore, the old will soon be replaced by the new. Its concept is to depict a modern person with a sharp and clear sense of time. The founder of modern Russian dramaturgy is considered to be A.N. Ostrovsky. In his works, he very truthfully and realistically described the merchant environment and their customs. Such awareness is due to a long period of life in such an environment. Ostrovsky, being a lawyer by education, served in court and saw everything from the inside. With his works, the talented playwright created a psychological theater that sought to look into and reveal as much as possible internal state person.

"Thunderstorm" A.N. Ostrovsky

In addition to A.N. Ostrovsky, other outstanding masters of the pen and the stage made a great contribution to the theatrical art of the 19th century, whose works and skills are the standard and indicator of the pinnacle of mastery. One of these personalities is M. Shchepkin. This talented artist performed great amount roles, mostly comedic. Shchepkin contributed to the exit of the acting game beyond the existing templates at that time. Each of his characters had their own individual character traits and appearance. Each character was a person.

In the nineteenth century, the Russian theater continues, on the one hand, to react sharply to political and social change in the country, and on the other hand, to correspond to literary changes.

Almost the entire century in Russian literature passes under the sign of realism, which is replacing both outdated classicism and romanticism. The nineteenth century gives the national theater the names of playwrights who, in fact, from scratch will create a theatrical repertoire that is still in demand today.

In the first half of the century, N.V. Gogol. Not being a playwright himself, he managed to create real masterpieces of world dramaturgy - the plays "The Inspector General" and "Marriage", which presented the viewer with a large-scale picture of the life of the then Russian society and sharply criticized it.

It was at the premiere of The Inspector General that Emperor Nicholas I uttered the legendary phrase “Everyone got it, but I got it the most!”, realizing who is depicted under the mask of the Governor.

At this time, the theater can no longer be satisfied with the old repertoire, it strives to show a modern person who is keenly aware of the time. The playwright who created the literary basis of the modern Russian theater was A.N. Ostrovsky.

A lawyer by training, who served in court, Ostrovsky got an excellent idea of ​​​​the environment that he would then describe in his immortal plays. Describing in detail and realistically the mores of the merchant environment, he creates, first of all, a psychological theater that tries to look inside a person.

Ostrovsky subtly feels the coming social changes and depicts the collapse of established merchant traditions, the impoverishment and moral decline of the nobility, and the growing role of money in human relations. He vividly and accurately describes the new heroes of life, enterprising, quite cynical and dexterous: Glumov (“Enough simplicity for every wise man”), Lipochka (“Bankrupt”), Paratov (“Dowry”).

Almost all of Ostrovsky's works were successfully staged at the Moscow Maly Theatre, which in this century has become the best theater of the empire.

The nineteenth century gave the national theater a whole galaxy of outstanding stage masters, whose names have become legends forever. One of the founders of the Russian acting school is M. Shchepkin.

The history of the creative path of M. Shchepkin is the history of the national theater of the first half of the nineteenth century. Being a serf and starting his career with the consent of his master, Count Volkenstein, Shchepkin becomes an actor at the Maly Theater and plays a huge comic repertoire.

His success in comedies was largely determined by the external data of the actor (a tendency to be overweight and small in stature). But at the same time, Shchepkin also possessed an amazing talent, which allowed him to perfectly cope with a variety of roles.

It was Shchepkin who sought to bring the acting game out of the stereotyped framework, each character in his performance had many vivid details of behavior and appearance. In addition, Mikhail Semyonovich carefully developed the character's line of behavior, built a role pattern on a sharp change in the character's behavior.

Without a doubt, the heyday of Shchepkin's career coincided with the appearance immortal works Russian dramaturgy. Shchepkin understood the imperfection of the plays of the early 19th century and enthusiastically accepted the emerging dramatic works of A. Griboedov, N. Gogol, A. Sukhovo-Kobylin, A. Ostrovsky, that is, the material that every actor dreams of playing today. So, M. Shchepkin played Famusov in Woe from Wit, Gorodnichiy in The Government Inspector, Kochkarev in Marriage.

The history of the Russian theater in the second half of the 19th century is inextricably linked with the name of M. Yermolova. This outstanding actress during her career has created on the stage of the Maly Theater a whole gallery of female images of classical drama. Yermolova's repertoire included high tragedy (Schiller's Maid of Orleans, Shakespeare's Macbeth, Lope de Vega's The Sheep Spring), and everyday drama (plays by V. Alexandrov and V. Dyachenko).

P. Sadovsky contributed to the formation of realism on the Russian stage. His best works are roles in plays by A. N. Ostrovsky and N. V. Gogol. Sadovsky became famous as a versatile, characteristic actor, one appearance of which attracted the attention of the auditorium.

Similar information.

PENZA STATE PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY IM. V. G. BELISKY

Historical Chair national history and Faculty of History Teaching Methods

Thesis on the topic

Theatrical culture of Russia in the 19th century

Student Omarova K.T.

Scientific adviser Kuzmina T.N.

Head Department Kondrashin V.V.

Penza - 2011

Introduction

Chapter I. Russian theater of the 1st half of the 19th century

§ 3. The transition of the serf theater to a commercial basis. Vicegerent and governor's theaters

§ 4. Theater in Nicholas Russia: artistic culture in the conditions of political reaction

§ 5. Theatrical life of the province

§ 6. Stage art and the ideological search of society in 1850 - 1860: the establishment of the principles of critical realism

Chapter II. Russian theater of the second half of the 19th century

§ 1. Russian theater in the era of the “Great Reforms”

§ 2. Private and club theaters of the capitals, the provincial theater of the 1860s - 1870s of the XIX century

§ 3. Metropolitan and provincial theaters in 1880-1890

§ 4. Abolition of the monopoly of the imperial theaters. First private theater in Moscow

Conclusion

List of used sources and literature

Introduction

The theme of this thesis is "Theatrical culture of Russia in the 19th century." This problem is the most important component of Russian culture and its history.

Relevance of the research topic. Theatrical art was born in ancient times. The creators and masters of Russian scenic folk art were parsleys, bahari, storytellers, guslyars, buffoons, who amused honest people on holidays. IN different times stagecraft was intended to entertain, educate and preach morally significant truths.

The greatest power of influence, diverse possibilities - this is why the theatrical art has been placed at the service of kings and princes, emperors and ministers, revolutionaries and conservatives.

In the Middle Ages, the stage space was thought of as a model of the universe, where it was necessary to play, to repeat the mystery of creation.

During the Renaissance, the theater was most often entrusted with the task of correcting vices.

And in the era of enlightenment, theatrical art was valued very highly "as cleansing morals" and encouraging virtue. (These ideas were later developed by the Russian writer and playwright N.V. Gogol). For him, the stage is "such a pulpit from which one can say a lot of good to the world."

The aesthetic thesis “the theater is a university of folk culture” remains relevant today. After all, comprehending the meaning of the performance, the viewer comprehends the meaning of life.

The object of the study is Russian culture of the 19th century in the process of its development. The subject is the process of formation and development of the Russian theater in the context of the evolution of the political regime in Russia in the 19th century.

The purpose of this thesis is to study the Russian theater in the 19th century and reveal its features.

Based on the goal, the main objectives of the study are:

- to identify the factors influencing the development of theatrical art of the 19th century;

- trace the influence of the Decembrist ideology on the Russian theater;

- to characterize the state of stage art in the conditions of the crisis of classicism;

Analyze the ideological foundations and trends in the development of theatrical art;

Show the theatrical life of Russia in the 19th century;

To reveal the features of the theatrical life of the province.

The chronological framework of the study covers the 19th century. At the beginning of the 19th century, the role of the theater in social and cultural life grew. The theatrical repertoire is becoming the subject of discussion in the press, persistent wishes were expressed to create a national dramaturgy that would reflect the Russian folk life and history. By the end of the first quarter of the 19th century, Russian dramaturgy and Russian stage art rise to classical heights: in tragedy - Pushkin's "Boris Godunov" and the art of actress E. S. Semyonova, in comedy - Griboedov's "Woe from Wit" and the work of actor M. S. Shchepkina. Following this, Gogol's "natural school" brings to life the humanistic art of the artist of the St. Petersburg stage A. E. Martynov, and the brilliant actor P. S. Mochalov shocks his contemporaries, revealing the tragedy of his time in Shakespeare's tragedy. As early as the middle of the century, the unprecedented intensive development of dramatic literature and stage art led to the creation by the writer A. N. Ostrovsky of a new type of drama (“plays of life”) and to the creation of a powerful national school of realistic acting. This paved the way for the revolution in art, which was made by such writers as A. P. Chekhov and A. M. Gorky, directors K. S. Stanislavsky and V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, a revolution that had a huge impact on the entire course of the world artistic culture XX century.

Historiography of work. The first attempts to write the history of the Russian theater date back to the end of the 18th century. Already in 1779, the work of Academician Jakob Stehlin appeared “Brief news about theatrical performances in Russia from their beginning to 1768”, and in 1790 “notes belonging to the history of the Russian theater” were published by the archeographer and translator A. F. Malinovsky 1 History of the Russian Drama Theater // In 7 volumes - V.1. - P.6 .. Extensive work on the history of the Russian theater is undertaken by one of the associates of F. G. Volkov, the outstanding Russian actor I. A. Dmitrevsky, but his work was not published, and the manuscript was lost. S. P. Zhikharev, S. T. Aksakov, A. A. Shakhovsky refer to the information gleaned from this manuscript in their theatrical memoirs. In 1864, the playwright, critic and publisher of the theatrical magazine F. A. Koni published an article "The Russian Theatre, its fate and admirers", which, according to him, was written on the basis of the manuscript of I. A. Dmitrevsky. In 1883 it was published, also with references to this manuscript, "The Chronicle of the Russian Theater", compiled by a retired actor, later assistant director and librarian Ivan Nosov.

Among the early attempts to write the history of the Russian theater, the Chronicle of the Russian Theater, written by the playwright and theater official P. N. Arapov, should be noted. The Chronicle of the Russian Theater covers the history of the theater from 1673 to 1825 and contains a lot of factual material, however, theater art researchers believed that it could not be called a truly scientific work. P. 6. The author, obviously, did not check the facts cited, especially those relating to the initial period of the theater's formation, and made serious mistakes; the last section of the "Chronicle" is the author's personal reminiscences, hence the subjectivity of assessments, the lack of information about many paramount phenomena, the mention of unimportant events Vsevolodsky-Gengross V.N. History of the Russian theater // In 2 volumes - L. - M., 1929. - S. 9 ..

Since the second half of the 19th century, major Russian historians and philologists have shown great interest in the study of the history of the Russian theater - P. P. Pekarsky, I. E. Zabelin, N. S. Tikhonravov, A. N. Veselovsky, I. A. Shlyapkin , S. K. Bogoyavlensky, V. N. Peretz and others. However, in the works of historians, the theater was considered mainly from an ethnographic point of view, as one of the forms of everyday life; scholars-philologists focused their interests not so much on theatrical art itself, but on dramatic literature; the limitations of the comparative methodology of scientists of the comparative historical school did not allow revealing the original national character of Russian theatrical art. At the same time, the attention of researchers is attracted almost exclusively by the early period of the formation of the theater in Russia.

The only attempt in pre-revolutionary Russian theater studies to give a general description of the entire theatrical process, including the art of the 19th and early 20th centuries, was B.V. Varneke's History of the Russian Theater Questions of the History of Russian Culture in Russian and Foreign Literature. - M .. 1986. - S. 53 .. This book contains a huge amount of factual material. According to a number of researchers of theatrical art, the author failed to reveal the driving forces of theatrical history, limiting himself to an empirical presentation of the facts and refusing to analyze their social analysis, to comprehend the ideological problems of dramaturgy and acting.

It can be said without exaggeration that theater studies as a special branch of the social sciences were formed only in the post-revolutionary years. In pre-revolutionary Russia there was not a single scientific institution dealing with the history and theory of theatrical art, not a single educational institution that trained theater critics. From the first years of its existence, the young Soviet state has devoted great attention organization of theater science. Already in 1918, the Historical and Theater Section of the People's Commissariat for Education was established, in 1920 the Theater Section of the State Academy of Arts was created in Moscow, in Petrograd in the same year the so-called "Theatrical Discharge" of the Russian Institute of Art History was organized. A whole network of higher theatrical educational institutions headed by State Institute theatrical art named after A. V. Lunacharsky in Moscow; in most of them, theater studies faculties are being created, where a lot of research work is carried out on the history and theory of the theater. In 1944, the Institute of Art History was organized in Moscow, which became one of the centers for studying the history and theory of the theater.

The first attempt to cover the entire history of the Russian theater, from its origins to the first years Soviet theater, was undertaken by V. N. Vsevolodsky-Gengross in 1929 in his two-volume "History of the Russian Theater" Questions of the history of Russian culture in domestic and foreign literature. P. 54. This work convincingly showed the advantage of the sociological method of studying theater over the empirical method characteristic of pre-revolutionary theater studies.

In 1939, a new, revised edition of The History of the Russian Theater was published by B.V. Varneke Ibid. S. 55. . This book, approved as a manual for theatrical educational institutions, considered the history of the theater in it, as before, outside the general historical process outside of public life.

IN post-war years the study of Russian theater has expanded significantly. Valuable collections of materials and documents dedicated to the work and theatrical views of outstanding Russian playwrights, actors and directors have been published. Monographic studies on the life and work of the largest artists of the Russian stage of the 19th century have been published. The processes of formation and development of the Russian theater Art XIX centuries are studied in such generalizing works as “Russian theatrical art at the beginning of the 19th century” by T. M. Rodina, “Russian drama theater of the first half of the 19th century” by S. S. Danilov, “Russian drama theater of the second half of the 19th century” by S. S. Danilova and M. G. Portugalova, "The Maly Theater of the second half of the 19th century" and "The Maly Theater at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century" and in a number of other works.

The methodological basis of the work is the principle of historicism. The paper examines the process of development of the Russian theater in close connection with the key problems of the life of Russian society. The consistent historical approach allows revealing the internal patterns and contradictions in the development of theatrical art; to show its place in the artistic and - more broadly - the spiritual life of society in each given period; discover its diverse and changing from stage to stage relationship with other arts and with other forms of social consciousness. The work attempts to reveal the dynamics of the formation, struggle, mutual influence and change of various creative methods and stylistic trends - from enlightenment classicism and sentimentalism, through theatrical forms romantic type, to the gradual approval and development of critical realism. At the same time, special attention is paid to critical, turning points, when new trends begin to mature within the existing artistic systems, which are associated with the establishment of new aesthetic principles and style in the theater.

Practical significance thesis lies in the fact that the materials of the work can be used by students to write reports and prepare for seminars on this topic, as Toolkit for organizing extra-curricular activities in historical circles and in history lessons at school.

Chapter 1. Russian theater of the first half of the 19th century

§ 1. Stage art in the conditions of the crisis of classicism

Socio-political life of Europe in the late XVIII - early XIX century was distinguished by an unusually stormy character. The French bourgeois revolution, its political echoes in different countries, the Napoleonic wars, national liberation and anti-feudal movements - all this gave the era a very special look. Although the upheavals that many European states experienced during this period did not always end with the fall of feudal despotic regimes, the flow philosophical ideas and artistic images, coming from the progressive literature XVIII century, continued to revolutionize public consciousness and at the beginning of the next century. Art, in particular dramaturgy and theater, were active conductors and transformers of these ideas in various national conditions. But it sought to develop its own holistic ideas about reality, relying on the rich and diverse experience of the surrounding life in its new forms and trends. Here, art inevitably came into conflict with certain aspects of the Enlightenment tradition, sought to rework it and rise above it.

Both processes found their expression in the development of Russian social and artistic thought at the beginning of the 19th century.

Speaking about the factors that influenced the development of theatrical art in the first decade of the 19th century, it is necessary to take into account some foreign policy circumstances. From 1804 to 1807, Russia was at war with France, acting on the side of the Austro-Prussian coalition. Semi-feudal states, such as Austria and Prussia at that time, could not resist the united onslaught of the Napoleonic army and its victorious spirit. The military-political coalition was defeated. The patriotic feelings of Russian society were sharpened and wounded at the same time. The peace of Tilsit, experienced as shameful, aroused the need for revenge. The historically ambiguous figure of Napoleon in some circles of society caused condemnation of the Great french revolution, which gave birth to him, while for others this figure personified a tyranny that encroaches on the national independence of the European peoples, a betrayal of the principles of freedom and equality proclaimed by the enlighteners.

At the beginning of the 19th century, the French Revolution gave impetus to reflections on the further ways of Russia's development. Its implementation in Russia, in the then only nationally possible form of a mass peasant revolution, is not wanted by anyone among the noble intelligentsia of this period. But at the same time, it would be wrong to underestimate the importance of the French Revolution of 1789-1794 for Russian social thought, Russian culture - it was no less than for other European countries.

No matter how tangibly the limited freedom of the nobility made itself felt in dramaturgy and criticism, it is impossible not to notice that obvious strengthening of democratic tendencies, which affected the entire state of theatrical art.

The speed with which the Russian theater is saturated with the beginnings of social, historical, psychological truth is largely due to the fact that the conflicts typical of Russian feudal-serf reality, for all their national character, no longer appear in the light of the experience of the bourgeois era, although learned and experienced, reflected.

For the theater, the period that ended with the Patriotic War of 1812 was in many respects a transitional one. Artistic traditions The 18th century in the new social conditions gradually disintegrated, pouring into new forms, although not as decisively as it would be in the pre-Pushkin and Pushkin times. It is also important that some tendencies contained in these traditions, but then, as it were, clamped down, crushed by the course of the social process and breaking through only occasionally beyond the possibility of their full flowering, now manifested themselves as part of other genres and trends that were just emerging.

The connections of the theater with the public environment are also becoming freer, more direct, the theater responds to modern life livelier than before; its cultural role is growing. The nature of the era is such that the very concept of the social environment is expanding, influencing the development of the theater, drama, acting, and the criteria for theater criticism. Both socio-politically and artistically, the theater is under the influence of heterogeneous and multidirectional factors.

In the theater of the beginning of the century, the traditions of classicism and sentimentalism continue to operate - artistic systems that were formed in Russian art in the middle and in the second half of the 18th century. These traditions carried with them not only formal stylistic skills, not only asserted the authority of a taste formed in a certain way - they were associated with a stable range of problems, common ideas, conflicts, with a special understanding of the goals of theatrical art and its place in public life.

The tradition of Russian classicist drama, the classicist theater as a whole as a world phenomenon, also possessed such mobility, although we sometimes, contrary to artistic practice, this mobility is underestimated. The classicist tradition was polymorphic, like any other tradition born of a complex artistic system. Quite often, however, the theoretical prejudice against classicism as a rational and normative art leads us to exaggerate the stability of its forms, methods, and content itself. The tradition of classicism at the beginning of the 19th century is manifested not only in the repetition of conceptual and stylistic features, fixed by theory and the most “pure” examples of creative practice. She lives (which is much more important) in an attempt to solve similar problems. artistic tasks on material close in subject matter, but with different historical background. Stylistic repetitions, which involuntarily and by themselves arise in similar cases, will testify both to the intensity of the artistic process, constrained by the given "conditions of the game", and to the fact that the forces needed to rebuild these conditions are accumulated by a whole generation of artists.

Speaking about the traditions of classicism in the theater, drama and acting art of the early 19th century, it must be taken into account that Russian classicism was a late and in many ways a peculiar branch of the great pan-European artistic system. Let us touch on the questions of the general methodology of classicism only to the extent that they are connected with the theatrical processes of the early 19th century and help to clarify their essential aspects.

After all, one of the main and socially significant genres of the theater of that time - tragedy - grew entirely out of this peculiar classicist tradition.

Classical theater clearly sought to limit and curb the means of normative poetics (Renaissance, Shakespearean) beginning in human nature, and yet he could not fully cope with this task. He made the impetuous, changeable element of feelings the subject of rationalistic analysis, putting the human mind above his own emotions, so that if not to keep the hero from harmful deeds, then, in any case, to immerse him in the understanding of the full measure of his guilt and responsibility.

The crisis of classicism was also reflected in the conservative-protective dramaturgy, which is becoming more and more difficult to defend the monarchy and challenge the rights of individual self-consciousness from the standpoint of reason and social necessity. For all its orientation towards tradition, the conservative drama is essentially unable to follow it. It departs from the cardinal classicist problematic and more and more loses characteristics style, replacing the analytical basis of the action with its inevitable sequence, arbitrary plot fiction, complicated intrigue, striving for entertainment and effects. Both in tragedy and in comedy, these tendencies reveal themselves quite clearly.

The artistic processes of the period under study cannot be clearly understood without taking into account all that the activity of the largest representative of Russian sentimentalism, an advocate of the sentimentalist theater, N. M. Karamzin, brought into them.

Karamzin acted a lot as an art theorist, and at the beginning of his literary activity - as a theater critic. He was the first in the Moscow Journal published by him in 1791-1792 to regularly publish reviews of Moscow performances, as well as of some plays performed on the Parisian stage. This rapprochement between Moscow and Paris productions had its own symbolic meaning, expressing Karamzin's firm conviction of the need to consider the Russian theater in line with European cultural life as an integral and important part.

Sentimentalism, whose role in the Russian theater at the turn of the two centuries was extremely great, was not, however, the main trend that determined the development of Russian stage art. It would be more accurate to admit that his own development was influenced by an even more powerful force - realistic tendencies.

These trends, originating in the aesthetics of Novikov and the work of Fonvizin, were defended with the greatest energy and brilliance at the turn of the century by the playwright and critic, later the famous fabulist Ivan Andreevich Krylov.

Enlighteners, and, above all, Novikov and Fonvizin, taught him to judge the phenomena of life, applying to them the assessment of high reason. For Krylov, first of all, it is essential: “What subject did the author have?”, “What did he want to ridicule?”. The concept of truth, the principle of "following nature", which Krylov defends at this time along with many other writers, for him is firmly combined with the requirement of a critical attitude to reality. This is the most significant feature of the theatrical aesthetics of Krylov, one of the most prominent representatives of Russian Enlightenment realism of the 18th century.

In his articles, speaking about the theater, Krylov puts forward the accusatory direction of the Russian drama Vsevolodsky-Gengross V.N. The history of the Russian theater // In 2 vols. revealing truth and education public opinion. The primary force of influence on the viewer for him is moralization (he, like Karamzin, sharply rebels against the teachings that overload contemporary plays), and the truth of the image of life itself. In everything that Krylov writes about the theater, the democratic nature of his convictions is clearly felt.

The creative work of A. N. Radishchev had a huge impact on the development of progressive Russian theater at the beginning of the 19th century. Ibid. P. 271 .. Radishchev's traditions turned the artist, first of all, to the real contradictions of social life, to the problem of serfdom, while demanding from him to give up hope to correct the serf-owner and tyrant by the power of verbal persuasion and moral example, that is, demanding the rejection of enlightenment illusions, formed in the West even before the French Revolution, and in Russia - before the peasant war and government reaction. Radishchev rethought the educational program in the light of the experience of the class struggle that unfolded in Western Europe and Russia in the 1870s-1890s. He was the only one among the major literary figures of the late 18th century who drew consistently revolutionary conclusions from contemporary social experience.

At the beginning of the 19th century, one of the most important artistic ideas era, namely, the idea of ​​the nationality of any truly national-original art. Of course, the advanced criticism of that time, relying on certain traditions of the previous development of art, in particular, on the theoretical statements of Novikov and Krylov, takes only the first steps towards placing the problem of nationality on a truly democratic basis. A particularly large place will be occupied by the discussion of this problem in Decembrist criticism, moving from there to Belinsky and Gogol Vsevolodsky-Gengross V.N.

Despite all the limiting moments, the idea of ​​the nationality of art will become an active force in the development of drama and theater already in the pre-Pushkin period. But even at the beginning of the century, contrary to the conservative-noble interpretation of nationality as “common people”, there was a desire to put forward this problem as a central one, to connect the successes and tasks of modern Russian drama with it. In this regard, it is extremely important that Russian dramaturgy, even in the years preceding the Patriotic War of 1812, takes practical steps towards becoming a national drama, folk in its very content. At the same time, she has to regain the ideological positions that were largely lost with the crisis of classicism. And she succeeds in this to the extent that she becomes a conductor of the historically progressive and generally significant trends of her time.

The rise of patriotism during the years of Russia's participation in the wars against Napoleonic France is clearly reflected in the Russian theater, in the developed themes and genres of Russian drama. The theater refers to the plots of national history, to the themes of the heroic past of the Russian people. Western European history, the struggle of other peoples for their national independence also attracted Russian playwrights during these years.

The movement of ideas and artistic tendencies acts as the main moment that determines the development of the genres of drama, their mutual connection and predominant development in the circle of one or another problem. As the main pattern in this regard, the process of displacement of the classicist 18th tradition centuries with a sentimental drama, and then - the flourishing of the tragic genre in the second half of the decade and the connection with the arrival of a new tragic theme in the theater. The conflict between the humanistically interpreted personality and the real world, based on the power of unjust, unnatural orders, comes to the fore more and more sharply. Having stepped over the stage at which the moral-emotional equalization of the slave and the master seemed to be a sufficiently convincing argument in favor of social equality, the theater puts forward a hero who no longer accepts this kind of resolution of contradictions. The principle of emotional interpretation of the image, affirmed by the aesthetics of sentimentalism, naturally turned under such conditions into a source of pre-romantic and at the same time socially oppositional tendencies in the theater.

Already on the eve of the Patriotic War of 1812, ideological processes were taking place, preparing the Decembrist movement. The influence of these processes is tangible in the literature and theater of the end of the first decade of the 19th century. The drama of F. N. Glinka, L. N. Nevakhovich, F. F. Ivanov, and some other writers of the progressive direction opposes the Ozerovsky hero, who is prone to melancholy and lyrical isolation, with a hero capable of active social struggle and heroic selflessness in the name of a lofty ideal. Democratic ideology, love of freedom, civic pathos connect this drama with the Radishchev tradition, as well as interest in the individual, reliance on his moral intransigence to social evil.

However, in the work of these writers, tragedy is not freed from stylistic eclecticism, which comes from its insufficiently formalized ideological and artistic structure at a new stage in the development of the genre, its attachment to the sentimentalist tradition - in substantiating the inner truth of the hero, and to the classicist - in characterizing his relationship with society, its ideological and political position.

Thus, it should be concluded: if during the years of the war between Russia and France, patriotic motifs in their progressive, democratic interpretation are widely included in dramaturgy and theater, then at the same time, monarchical, conservative-protective tendencies in drama, criticism, features of official splendor are also intensifying. in style and performance. In the press, there are often sharp attacks on the traditions of enlightenment art, on Russian satirical comedy XVIII century, on the works of such foreign playwrights as Mercier, Beaumarchais, Schiller. But, on the other hand, it was during these years that the significance of the work of Fonvizin and Kapnist was realized, Krylov's last comedies were created, and a voice was raised in defense of the progressive Western European drama. The repertoire of the Russian theater includes works by Schiller and Shakespeare, a struggle is unfolding for the ideological and creative rethinking of the dramaturgy of Molière, Racine, Voltaire. New, deeply fruitful trends are revealed in the field of acting History of Russian Art / Ed. M. Rakova, I. Ryazantsev. - M., 1991. - S. 29 ..

§ 2. Theatrical life in Russia in the era of liberal reforms of Alexander I

The development in large cities at the end of the 18th century of interest in the theater not only on the part of the nobility, but also on the part of a part of the merchant class is confirmed by more than one cited fact. The journal Urania, which was published at that time in Kaluga, testifies that with the advent of the theater in the city, Kaluga residents, and especially merchants, were significantly enlightened, while “before this, it was considered a miracle” to see young merchants in some cultural public meetings Karskaya T. Ya. Great traditions of Russian classical theater. - L., 1955. - S. 48 ..

The period that began with the Patriotic War of 1812 and ended with an uprising on Senate Square December 14, 1825, gave a lot of new things both in public and in cultural development countries. At this time, the general picture of the artistic life of Russia changed markedly. The balance of forces fighting and interacting in art is becoming different than in the previous decade. The tendencies caused by the spread of liberation democratic ideas in Russian society come to the fore.

The circle of future Decembrists and a significant stratum of the intelligentsia adjoining them are the environment where the formation of new views on art, in particular on the theater, takes place first. And just as the social aspirations of the Decembrists grow out of the urgent needs of the country's development, so their aesthetic views, their artistic innovation have a real basis.

The revival of public life after the victory over Napoleonic France took place not only in St. Petersburg and Moscow, but also in many cities of the province, where the fighting Russian officers who had seen a lot and changed their minds returned. Liberating ideas are gradually penetrating into very remote corners. Russian Empire, exerting its influence on the scene.

At the same time as the political ideas of Decembrism are taking shape, the freedom-loving ideals of Griboedov and Pushkin are being formed, the love of freedom of Shchepkin, Semyonova, Mochalov Kulikov K. F. The first actors of the Russian theater are maturing. - M., 1991. - P.133.. Coming from the serf environment, from the "lower classes" of society, the largest Russian actors perceive the liberal trends of the time through the prism of their own social experience. It is in the theater that the spontaneous democratism of the people's intelligentsia merges with the democratism of advanced Russian literature, which has grown on European soil. This is the inner strength of the theater, the reason for its rapid creative growth, its ever-increasing significance in national culture.

One of the most important phenomena characterizing the artistic life of the period is the formation of Russian romanticism, which widely influences theatrical practice.

The theoreticians and propagandists of Russian romanticism are, first of all, the Decembrist writers. They give this direction a politically progressive content and associate it with the struggle for the national identity of Russian art, for the development in it of the principles of nationality and historical concreteness.

The contradictions of the political ideology of the Decembrists are also manifested in their theatrical aesthetics. However, her positive influence the theater is huge. The theater is entering a period when the protection of the rights of the individual becomes on the stage the ideological basis of civic valor and heroism. Moreover, this heroism itself ceases to be a simple expression of an abstract ideal, more and more acquiring motivation in political and moral necessity. On this basis, the beginnings of historicism develop in the romantic drama of the Decembrist trend, and the entire system of its artistic expression is rebuilt (despite the force of resistance of traditional creative skills that hindered this restructuring).

“The main task of the romantic reform of the theater was to replace the story, that is, the description, with the show, that is, the action,” rightly noted B. Reizov Reizov B.V. French historical novel in the era of romanticism. - M., 1958. - S. 401 .. The interaction of characters with the environment developed. People took to the stage. Instead of a conventional place of action on the stage, there appeared historical era. From the truth of feelings to social and psychological truth in the depiction of the environment and characters, from the conceptual and speculative construction of a political conflict to the disclosure of socio-historical necessity - this is the most important direction in the development of Russian theater and drama in the period 1813-1825.

Compound theater repertoire changes and becomes more complex. A new trend of the time, which largely determined the repertoire of the theater, was the translated melodrama, which rushed to the Russian stage in a wide stream. Interest in her was natural. The most popular genre of Western European romantic theater, melodrama was close to the Russian audience for its democratic, humanistic, socially critical tendencies. However, the limited outlook, which determined its artistic inferiority, puts the melodrama under fire from critics.

In the early 1820s, realistic tendencies in the Russian theater were already quite significant. Griboedov and Pushkin create their plays, being in the very center of the theatrical interests of the time, being closely connected with the theatrical environment, the acting world, participating in disputes around the phenomena of theatrical life Reader on the history of Russian theater of the XVIII - XIX centuries. - L., 1940. - S. 230 ..

The Decembrists wanted to see in the actor a progressively thinking artist, capable of influencing the minds and feelings of his contemporaries, awakening in them the consciousness of moral and civic responsibility. Such an understanding of the purpose of the actor will be deeply assimilated by Shchepkin, and will form the social and ethical basis of his school. Belinsky and Gogol would later develop a similar point of view, contributing to the strengthening of one of the main traditions of the national theatrical culture.

Under the conditions of political reaction, with the dominance of obscurantists in the government, the persecution of everything that oppositional sentiments could only see as an insult to religion and religious morality intensified. In 1819, theatrical censorship, together with the Ministry of Police, was transferred to the Ministry of the Interior and came under the jurisdiction of its "special office".

"Woe from Wit", created in the midst of the rise of the Decembrist movement, was completed by Griboedov in 1824. Comedy was strictly forbidden for the theatre. Griboyedov died without seeing her on the professional stage. On the eve of the Decembrist uprising, the autocratic-feudal state, with the help of the censorship system, tried in every possible way to block the path of progressive social thought and the liberation movement. In 7 volumes - M., 1977. - V.3. - P. 224 .. The ban was canceled only by the censorship charter, approved on April 22, 1828 Morov A. G. Three centuries of the Russian stage. - M., 1978. - S. 74 ..

A special mission in subordinating theaters to the ideological tasks of the government was entrusted to censorship. In 1826, a new censorship charter was introduced, which received from writers the apt definition of "cast iron". True, two years later it was replaced by another, but this one turned out to be no less difficult. Plays, even passed by the general censorship for publication, in case of desire to put them on the stage, were submitted for a new consideration to the III department. And this, the last, by banning the play, did not even explain the reasons for the ban. Often the tsar intervened directly in the affairs of dramatic censorship. Nikolai could not indifferently hear about any manifestation of public initiative. It was forbidden to depict any kind of popular unrest on the stage. Censorship did not allow Pushkin's Boris Godunov and Pogodin's Martha the Posadnitsa to be staged, in particular because they portrayed people raising their voices.

The censorship categorically forbade bringing the clergy on stage, subjecting the military, high-ranking officials, and policemen to any kind of criticism. Having learned from his own experience what censorship is, Gogol wrote on May 15, 1836 to Pogodin: “To say about a rogue that he is a rogue is considered by them to undermine the state machine; to say any only living and true trait means, in translation, to disgrace the entire estate and arm others or his subordinates against him. Drizen N.V. Dramatic censorship of two eras (1825 - 1881). - M., 1905. - S. 33. .

Anything reminiscent of the French Revolution was immediately subjected to a censorship veto. The censor, after reading the translation of the innocent French comedy “Lunch at Barras”, made by N. A. Polev, wrote in horror in his report: “At the sight of this play, my hair stood on end. Is it possible that the Russian writer will choose a play for translation, where in the title we find the name of one of the monsters of the French revolution, namely Barras, the regicide who gave his vote for the death of Louis XVI: what can this serve to acquaint our good Russian people with revolutionary expressions : equality and freedom?...” Quote from the book. Drizen N.V. Dramatic censorship of two eras (1825-1881) .. - S. 35 ..

The chief of staff of the corps of gendarmes Dubelt, to whom the censorship department was subordinate, said: “Dramatic art, like the whole branch of literature, should have a beneficent goal: instructing people, amuse them together, and this will be achieved incomparably sooner with high pictures than with descriptions of baseness and depravity” Herzen A.I. Full Op. Op. In 30 volumes - M., 1954-1960. - T. 8. - S. 121. .

The situation of the people in Nicholas Russia was difficult, entire provinces were starving, frank administrative arbitrariness reigned. But the ruling circles demanded from the theater to give life to the Ennobled, to create the impression of the prosperity of Russia, the happiness of all those living in it, and the loyalty of the people to the throne. As for even the slightest manifestations of criticism, they met with hostility.

Over the years, this monarchical, protective tendency has been widely represented in the repertoire. But of course, it was not she who determined the main direction in Russian theatrical art. It was determined by artists who sought to express in their work the pressing problems of the era and were looking for new forms in art for this.

It should also be noted that at the time under consideration, professional theater criticism is being established, which has an increasing impact on the theater. True, of the newspapers, only the "Northern Bee" had the right to give reports on performances, and then each time in agreement with the III branch. But then there was, it seems, not a single literary and artistic journal that would not publish reviews, reviews, theoretical articles devoted to theatrical art. In 1839, the theater magazine "Repertoire of the Russian Theater" began to appear, and since 1840 the magazine "Pantheon of Russian and all European theaters" began to appear. In 1842, both magazines merged under the title "Repertoire of the Russian and the Pantheon of all European theaters."

Beginning in 1831, V. G. Belinsky constantly turned to the theater, having written up to one hundred and eighty articles and notes on various theatrical topics. Of course, during the course of Belinsky's critical activity, his views changed; starting with a passionate defense of revolutionary romanticism, he later became a theorist and leader of the "natural school". Belinsky defends the lofty social purpose of the theatre, fighting against relegating it to empty entertainment. He consistently opposes the conservative ideas of the official nationality, for the genuine democracy of theatrical art, for the triumph on the stage life truth. Arguing that the repertoire, first of all, determines the ideological direction of the theater, he at the same time considers the actors as independent creators, full-fledged co-authors of the playwright. Belinsky was one of the first to talk about directing, about the ensemble as an urgent need for contemporary theater.

S. T. Aksakov acts as a theater critic. Despite the well-known conservatism of his worldview, Aksakov, in his journal articles (Vestnik Evropy, Moskovsky Vestnik, Athenaeus, Galatea, and others), consistently defends the realistic principles of art, combining spiritual truth and depth of feelings.

In the Moscow Telegraph magazine, the theater department is led by V. A. Ushakov, who defends romantic positions close to the magazine's publisher, N. A. Polevoy.

Beginning in the 1840s, N. A. Nekrasov, I. I. Panaev, F. A. Koni and other writers of the democratic direction often turned to theater criticism.

On the other hand, reactionary journalists are no less active in the field of theater criticism. The newspaper "Northern Bee" preaches autocracy, Orthodoxy and nationality, trying to introduce this formula in the theater.

Thus, ideological and aesthetic disputes are being waged around theaters, certain performances, and actors' performances. The theater at this time is in the center of attention of a thinking society.

§ 3. The transition of the serf theater to a commercial basis. Vicegerent and governor's theaters in the province

The theatrical life of the late 18th and early 19th centuries was permeated with acute struggle, which, under the conditions of serfdom, took unusually dramatic forms. Serfdom, the reactionary policy of the autocratic government, bureaucratic arbitrariness and the legal dependence of actors retard the natural process of the artistic development of stage art. The government establishes police and censorship control over theaters, seeks to centralize their management in the capitals and in the provinces, to make the theater a conductor of the autocratic-feudal ideology. These efforts are manifested consistently from the very moment of the emergence of professional public theaters, penetrate into all spheres of their organizational and creative life, and are carried out through the entire theater management system.

In the narrow forms of the government theatrical system, shackled by direct manifestations of feudal violence (as it was in the serf theater), democratic principles are revealed in the work of stage artists - playwrights and actors - despite these unfavorable circumstances, in a constant and intense struggle with them.

At the beginning of the 19th century, in fact, there was not a single theatrical undertaking in the provinces, the origins of which would not go back to those phenomena that arose and developed in the previous century. Both the serf and the “free” theaters of the early 19th century were the result of the development and crisis of the serf large-land, noble and vicegerent theater that functioned in parallel with it.

After the establishment of the court theater in St. Petersburg, the provincial nobility began to show interest in the city's theatrical "undertakings". There are deaf mentions that in 1764 - 1765 an "opera house" was created in Omsk, which was intended mainly for "polishing" noble youth. In 1765, the governor of Novgorod, Yakov Efimovich Sievers, at a dinner with the heir Pavel, said "that he had a masquerade in Novgorod and that a theater was being started there." In the Elizavetgrad Theater in 1770, the comedy The Coffee House, composed by V. A. Chertkov, was staged. However, until the mid-70s of the XVIII century, these initiatives were of an accidental nature, having neither support among the urban population, nor any consistent support in the ruling circles.

In 1793, with the sanction of the governor, the theater of "noble lovers" was opened in the city of Penza. A special building for a hundred people was built for the theater in the city center. The theater existed until 1797 - as long as the famous theater-goer, playwright, amateur actor I. M. Dolgorukov remained the Penza vice-governor. Little information has been preserved about the governor's theater in Voronezh. We only know that the theater was "noble - amateur", that its initiator was the Voronezh governor V. A. Chertkov. The Pantheon magazine reports that "entrance to the theater was ... free", and "the best audience was invited to each performance by tickets, and the paradise was filled with people of the lower classes." After the death of Chertkov, in 1793 the "noble" theater was closed. Levanidov, who took the vicegerent post in 1796, tried to revive the stalled theater, but with the liquidation of the post of governor-general, the “noble” performances finally stopped.

Similar processes took place in a city as remote from central Russia as Irkutsk. The population of this city consisted mainly of merchants and bourgeoisie. But the circle of the urban nobility, for all its small number, was distinguished by solidarity and influence; it was formed almost exclusively from large officials, who made up the retinue of the Irkutsk governor. To meet the theatrical needs of this very narrow circle of the nobility, two theatrical undertakings were undertaken in Irkutsk, with the explicit patronage of the governor. The first is "noble" amateur theater who gave performances from 1787; its organizer was the wife of a local official. The second undertaking is connected with the opening of the Noble Assembly in Irkutsk in 1799. Until 1803, theatrical performances were given here. They were also designed for an extremely narrow audience: only members of the assembly had the right to attend performances, and the last could be only the most eminent and wealthy citizens who paid an entrance fee of twenty rubles, a very significant amount at that time.

The beginning of the process, which received its true development only in the 19th century, is given the concept of two vicegerent theaters: Kaluga and Kharkov. The first was created by general-in-chief M.P. Krechetnikov, after the Kaluga province was transformed into a vicegerency by decree of August 24, 1776, which included the cities of Kaluga and Tula. Kaluga was an uncultured, but rich merchant city with big amount Old Believers. Krechetnikov sets as his task to turn this city into a stronghold of the local nobility, scattered over various, sometimes very remote counties. He celebrates the beginning of his reign with balls, fireworks, masquerades, to which all local nobles are invited from the estates. In addition, Krechetnikov is considering the creation of a governor's theater, which would be under his personal supervision.

This theater was still very far from fulfilling the functions of a truly urban theater, that is, a theater designed to serve a wide circle of citizens. Being personally subordinate to the governor, he was used mainly to lure the county landed nobility. This is evidenced not only by the above excerpt from A. T. Bolotov’s Notes, but also by another of his testimonies: the memoirist reports that when Krechetnikov moved from Kaluga to Tula, the theater followed him.

Another provincial theater, about which we have some information - Kharkov - was also created in connection with the establishment of the governorship. On this occasion, on September 29, 1780, there was a festivity, fireworks and a theatrical performance on the University Hill. In 1781, the first regularly operating theater appeared in Kharkov. There is little information about him, but no doubt, and he was in full charge of the governor.

In the 80s of the 18th century, the government did not interfere in any way with the initiative of the local nobility to organize theaters in provincial cities. In the decree of Catherine II to Olsufiev of June 12, 1783, it is said, among other things, about the royal permission “everyone to start entertainment decent for the public, keeping only state laws and regulations in the Police Charter ...” Reader on the history of the Russian theater of the XVIII - XIX centuries .. - C 241.. It is interesting to compare this decree with another document signed by Catherine, which followed it in 1785 - "Charter of Letters to the Cities", which contributed to the development of local administrative and cultural centers. Catherine's decree strengthened the significance of the city, gave it a coat of arms, certain rights, encouraged the development of schools, theaters, etc. Rybakov Yu. S. Epochs and people of the Russian stage. 1823 - 1917. - M., 1989. - S. 118 .. Along with the main ruling class of nobles in cities, the concept of "city dweller" is officially introduced, which included all of its non-noble, but "free" population, which is given some rights.

The development of theater in the province is characterized in the period under review by the expansion of the network of theaters. Interest in the theater in the provinces was also revived by the fact that with the approval, and sometimes at the initiative of the central and provincial authorities in 1813-1814, a wave of charitable amateur performances swept through literally all Russian cities. The participants of these performances were nobles, officials and landowners. In almost all such performances, the recent victory of Russian weapons was glorified. All proceeds from the collection usually went to the families of the fallen soldiers or to the families of those devastated by the war.

The current situation in the country required, however, not only a quantitative increase in theaters and performances. It also demanded new forms of organization of theatrical work, more flexible, more capable of expressing the demands of the time than the old serf type of theater could do.

The revival of city life, the growth of entrepreneurship prompted some actors to create more or less independent profitable commercial theaters, free from direct subordination to the landowner or city official. This does not mean at all that already in the initial period of its existence, the new type of theater immediately and completely replaced the old, serf theater. In the period under review, in various cities of the province, in addition to numerous small traveling troupes, there were at least fifteen more or larger, or at least partially stationary theaters. Of these, six theaters were serfs (sometimes with civilian artists) and nine theaters were civilians (some of the actors in which were quitrent serfs).

It was the young free theatre, which was sometimes in dire need, that was destined to play a significant role in spreading theatrical culture throughout the vast territory of Russia. It was he who contributed to the rooting of the urgent need for theater among the general population. At the same time, it is significant that the disintegration of serfdom relations also concerns the fate of the serf theater. His ties with private estate life are increasingly weakening, performances are increasingly acquiring a public and paid character. The maintenance of a serf troupe or the exploitation of the talents of individual serf actors very often acquires a commercial character.

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