Talents and Admirers

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Talents and Admirers
Written by Aleksandr Ostrovsky
Date premiered 20 December 1881 (1881-12-20)
Place premiered Maly Theatre
Original language Russian
Subject Russian theatre
Genre Comedy

Talents and Admirers (Russian : Таланты и поклонники, Romanized as Talanty y poklonniki) is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky premiered on December 20, 1881, in Maly Theatre. The author started working upon this 4-act comedy in August 1881 and finished it on December 6 of that year. [1]

Russian language East Slavic language

Russian is an East Slavic language, which is official in the Russian Federation, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as being widely used throughout Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia. It was the de facto language of the Soviet Union until its dissolution on 25 December 1991. Although, nowadays, nearly three decades after the breakup of the Soviet Union, Russian is used in official capacity or in public life in all the post-Soviet nation-states, as well as in Israel and Mongolia, the rise of state-specific varieties of this language tends to be strongly denied in Russia, in line with the Russian World ideology.

Alexander Ostrovsky Russian playwright

Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repertoire." His dramas are among the most widely read and frequently performed stage pieces in Russia.

Maly Theatre (Moscow) theatre in Moscow, Russia

Maly Theatre is a theatre in Moscow, Russia, principally associated with the production of plays. Established in 1806 and operating on its present site on the Theatre Square since 1824, the theatre traces its history to the Moscow University drama company, established in 1756. In the 19th century, Maly was "universally recognized in Russia as the leading dramatic theatre of the century", and was the home stage for Mikhail Shchepkin and Maria Yermolova. 40 of Alexander Ostrovsky's 54 plays premiered at Maly, and the theatre was known as The House of Ostrovsky. The Maly Theatre in Moscow and Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg "to a great extent determined the development of Russian theatre during the 19th and 20th century".

Contents

Background

Ostrovsky wrote the play in the days when he was working for the Theatre reform commission. The problem facing the main character Negina was the one which the author himself knew only too well, according to the biographer Vladimir Lakshin. He often had to apply for help to rich men but thought such compromises necessary and considered he had to "bear his cross" in the interest of the theatre. According to the author, "the art is unable to stand for itself when facing rough brutal forces and has to find rich mentors." [1]

The original title of the comedy was "Open Letters". According to the literary historian Ilya Shlyapkin, it has been read for the first time for the circle of brother Mikhail Ostrovsky's friends and was received coldly. This aggrieved Alexander Ostrovsky so much, he fell ill. [2]

Productions

Talents and Admirers was premiered on December 20, 1881, in Maly Theatre as the actor Nikolai Muzilh’s benefice (he played Narokov). Negina was performed by Maria Yermolova, Domna Panteleyevna by Olga Sadovskaya, Meluzov by Mikhail Sadovsky, Velikatov by Alexander Lensky. The later Maly Theatre's productions (1885, 1895, 1900, 1902, 1912) featured among others Sergey Aydarov (as Dulebov), Alexander Yuzhin (Bakin), Konstantin Rybakov and Mikhail Klimov (Velikatov), Prov Sadovsky Jr. and Ivan Ryzhov (Meluzov). [3]

Maria Yermolova Russian Actress

Maria Nikolayevna Yermolova was said to be the greatest actress in the history of the Maly Theatre in Moscow and the first person to be proclaimed the "People's Artist of the Republic" (1921).

Aleksandr Pavlovich Lensky Russian actor

Aleksandr Pavlovich Lensky was an Imperial Russian actor, director and theatrical educator. He was an outstanding figure of theatre under the Russian Empire.

Sergey Aydarov Russian actor

Sergey Vasilyevich Aydarov was a Russian and Soviet stage actor and theatre director, associated with the Moscow's Maly Theatre where he debuted in 1898. His most acclaimed parts were those in the plays by Alexander Ostrovsky, as well in Julius Caesar and The Tempest by William Shakespeare.

In 1882 the play was staged by Alexandrinsky Theatre as a benefit for the actress Maria Savina who played Negina. The production also featured Varvara Strelskaya (Domna Panteleyevna), Alexander Nilsky (Dulebov), Marius Petipa (Bakin), Ivan Kiselevsky (Velikatov), Fyodor Gorev (Meluzov), Antonina Abarinova (Smelskaya), Vladimir Davydov (Narokov). The later productions featured performances by such actors as Yury Korvin-Kryukovsky (Bakin), Vasily Dalmatov (Velikatov), Nilolai Khodotov (Meluzov). [3]

Alexandrinsky Theatre theater in Saint Petersburg, Russia

The Alexandrinsky Theatre or Russian State Pushkin Academy Drama Theater is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Maria Savina Russian actor (1854-1915)

Maria Gavrilovna Savina was a renowned Russian stage actress.

Alexander Nilsky Russian actor

Alexander Alexandrovich Nilus was a Russian stage actor associated with Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg and known under his stage name, Nilsky (Нильский).

Characters

Synopsis

Negina, a popular but poor actress, receives lessons from her fiancé Meluzov. Prince Dulebov, intending to take advantage of the girl's dire circumstances, suggests sponsorship, gets refused and becomes spiteful. Despite the latter's intrigues, Negina's benefice performance is triumphant and she receives a large sum of money, part of which Dulebov himself has to provide to keep his face. Still, the entrepreneur refuses to prolong her contract. One after another ecstatic admires come to her expressing their affection, among them Narokov, Naluzov and Velikatov. She leaves honest but dull Meluzov and goes away with rich Velikatov, motivated not by greed but by the desire to work on stage, the only thing she is really in love with. [5]

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References

  1. 1 2 Lakshin, Vladimir (1982). "Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky". Iskusstvo Publishers, Moscow. Life in Art series. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  2. ↑ Russkaya Literatura, 1960, No.1, p. 154.
  3. 1 2 The Complete A.N. Ostrovsky in 12 Volumes. Moscow. Iskusstvo Publishers. 1973-1980. Vol. 5, p. 519.
  4. ↑ "Talents and Admirers". az.lib.ru. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  5. ↑ Lakshin, Vladimir. A.N.Ostrovsky. Selected plays. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura. Preface. Moscow, 1970, pp 3-38
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