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The Moscow Art Theatre production of The Seagull in 1898, directed by Konstantin Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, was a crucial milestone for the fledgling theatre company that has been described as "one of the greatest events in the history of Russian theatre and one of the greatest new developments in the history of world drama." It was the first production in Moscow of Anton Chekhov's 1896 play The Seagull, though it had been performed with only moderate success in St. Petersburg two years earlier. Nemirovich, who was a friend of Chekhov's, overcame the writer's refusal to allow the play to appear in Moscow after its earlier lacklustre reception and convinced Stanislavski to direct the play for their innovative and newly founded Moscow Art Theatre (MAT). The production opened on 29 December [O.S. 17 December] 1898. The MAT's success was due to the fidelity of its delicate representation of everyday life, its intimate, ensemble playing, and the resonance of its mood of despondent uncertainty with the psychological disposition of the Russian intelligentsia of the time. To commemorate this historic production, which gave the MAT its sense of identity, the company to this day bears the seagull as its emblem.
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The Ascension of Little Hannele, also known simply as Hannele, is an 1893 play by the German playwright Gerhart Hauptmann. In contrast to Hauptmann's naturalistic dramas, The Assumption of Hannele adopts a more symbolist dramaturgy and includes a dream sequence. The play is the first in recorded world literature with a child as its heroine. The play tells the story of a neglected and abused peasant child, who, on her deathbed, experiences a vision of divine powers welcoming her into the afterlife. It was first published in 1894. Hauptmann was awarded the Grillparzer Prize in 1896 for the play.
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References
- ↑ Banham (1998, 476), Hartnoll (1983, 377), and Lewisohn (1913).
- ↑ Jelavich (1984, 455).
- ↑ Jelavich (1984, 455) and Worrall (1996, 114).
- ↑ Hartnoll (1983, 377).
- 1 2 Jelavich (1984, 462).
- ↑ Benedetti (1999, 92, 386).
- ↑ Benedetti (1999, 92) and Worrall (1996, 115).
- ↑ Benedetti (1999, 386) and Worrall (1996, 114).
- ↑ Quoted by Worrall (1996, 115).
- ↑ Benedetti (1991, 51) and Worrall (1996, 114).
