A
new theater opened in Moscow on October 26, 1898. The audience were excited
in anticipation of something new and unusual. But they hardly realized
that they were attending an event the world's cultural public would mark
100 years later. Indeed, the 100th jubilee of Moscow's Arts Theater was
included in this year's calendar of UNESCO anniversaries.
The Arts Theater is not only a theater founded by two outstanding personalities
- Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. This is a
meaningful idea, a spirit pervading Russia's theatrical atmosphere, a source
of nourishment for the world's theatrical process. It's not accidental
that various studios have branched off from the Arts Theater throughout
its history. Even now there are two equitable troupes - named after Chekhov
and Gorky - in the framework of the Arts Theater. There are also the Musical
Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko Theater, which emerged in 1926 as
the opera branch of the Arts Theater; the Vakhtangov Theater founded by
producer Yevgeny Vakhtangov, a disciple of the great masters; the Sovremennik
Theater opened in 1956 by graduates of the Arts Theater school; and the
purely entertainment cabare theater "The Bat". This relates to
Moscow alone, not theatrical Russia as a whole, or the world at large.
In the USA, for instance, many Hollywood stars viewed themselves as the
followers of Stanislavsky. Such celebrities, as Marilyn Monroe, Gregory
Peck, Yul Brinner were disciples of Mikhail Chekhov, the brilliant Arts
Theater actor, who went to work in America in the early 1930s. Or take
the numerous theatrical schools, which invite Russian instructors to teach
on the basis of Arts Theater traditions. All this is a kind of fantastic
genealogical tree, whose branches will reach all parts of the world.
And what happened 100 years ago? Oleg Yefremov, the leader of the Arts
Theater Chekhov troupe, elaborates:
In the late 19th century there emerged the need to revise the art of
theater, to form new aesthetics, to find a new language to address the
audience with, to reveal the unknown sides of human life. The efforts to
build what is now referred to as Arts Theater heritage began. It posed
an event in Russia's cultural life that made an impact on the world as
a whole.
This
is how we see it today. And this is how it began: Stanislavsky and Nemirovich-Danchenko
met a year before they founded the Arts Theater. The two men were in their
prime: Stanislavsky was 34 and Nemirovich-Danchenko 39. Stanislavsky was
an amateur actor and a prosperous industrialist, Nemirovich-Danchenko a
well-known man of letters, dramatist and producer. They spent almost 24
hours at the "Slav Bazaar" Restaurant, discussing the kind of
theater people needed. The 19th century was ending. The wonderful things
the Russian theater had created became trite. The approaching 20th century
called for something new. "We declared war on all conventions - in
acting, in staging, in scenery, in costumes, in the interpretation of plays,"
Stanislavsky recalled later. They gathered a troupe of young actors, and
spent the summer of 1898 rehearsing till everyone was exhausted. They had
no time to think of a name for their new theater. They advertised its opening
in newspapers, and when the ad was printed, they were terribly excited.
It said: Moscow's Arts Theater accessible to all. The founders suddenly
realized that the word "Arts" laid tremendous responsibility
on them.
On October 26, 1898 the theater presented its first premiere - the
historic drama "Csar Fyodor Ivanovich" by Aleksei Tolstoy. The
curtain lifted, exposing Stanislavsky surrounded by his actors. "Trying
to suppress my deadly fear, pretending to be cheerful, merry and confident,
I addressed my actors with a reassuring speech," Stanislavsky recalled
later. "Suddenly the overture drowned my words, and the only thing
I could do was to throw myself into a dance. I danced wildly, in convulsive
movements, with frightened eyes. My tragic performance was later described
as "danse macabre".
The founders of the Arts Theater were not self-confident. Contemporaries
remembered them as cheerful men full of doubt. Their behavior was emotional,
their reactions were enthusiastic.
The building for the theater had been erected by the well-known patron
of arts Savva Morozov. Stanislavsky recalled: "All the theaters had
red curtains imitating velvet with gold tassels. Such bright coloring killed
the scenery, and we decided to replace them with curtains of subdued colors."
Stanislavsky valued the work of designers, and scenography became an
essential part of all performances. The designer worked on the scenery
as hard as actors on their roles. He was viewed as a co-author of the performance.
The theater's designers included such outstanding artists, as Alexander
Benois, Mstislav Dobuzhinski, Nikolai Rerikh. As for the composer Ilya
Sats, he virtually never left the theater, working on the scores. His music
for Maeterlinck's "Blue Bird" is still viewed as the sound emblem
of the Arts Theater.
Speaking about the Arts Theater, we mean the Stanislavsky system of
acting in the first place, of course. That system was a result of years
of creative work done by Stanislavsky as an actor and producer. He summed
it up only in the 1920s-1930s. Its essence was revealed by actor Mikhail
Chekhov in his lectures in Hollywood. "Stanislavsky was obsessed with
the sense of truth," Chekhov said. "He could accept much, even
what conflicted with his principles, if it was the truth. Though his imagination
was extremely vivid, he was averse to departing from the truth of life."
This is the key to the Stanislavsky system as described by his brilliant
student. His students included Kachalov, Moskvin, Knipper-Chekhova. However
these celebrities never displayed conceit, never put on airs. They knew
that a performance was a collective show. That was the Arts Theater's credo.
Nemirovich-Danchenko made his own contribution to the history of the
Arts Theater. He was a genius as far as the repertoire was concerned. Thanks
to him the theater staged plays by Chekhov, Gorky, Ibsen and dramas based
on novels by Dostoyevsky and Leo Tolstoy. He brought contemporary playwrights
to the theater. Thanks to him the theater began to reflect contemporary
life with all its problems and sentiments.
In its very first season the Arts Theater staged Chekhov's "The
Seagull", which had suffered a failure in St.Petersburg previously.
That was a historic premiere, a triumph. It saved Chekhov himself, who
had been smothered by the failure, and his other plays. Without this success
"The Cherry Orchard", "The Three Sisters" might have
failed to emerge later. The Arts Theater revealed the finest nuances of
Chekhov's plays. That was its gift to the 20th century. "The Seagull"
that took wing from its stage became its emblem forever. The theater lived
its first 100 years under its wing, developing and changing, falling into
decay at times and rejuvenating, in accordance with the predictions of
its founders. In the year of its jubilee the Arts Theater turns to their
names and their ideals once again.
It's a great delusion to see Stanislavsky as a museum piece, said the
leader of the Arts Theater's Chekhov troupe Oleg Yefremov. Stanislavsky
used to say that Chekhov was eternal. The same can be said about Stanislavsky
himself, about his legacy, about his ideals embodied in the Arts Theater
.
Photo: K.Stanislavsky and V.Nemirovich-Danchenko, 1923.
A DOCUMENTARY FILM "CATHERINE
THE GREAT"
A documentary about the life of the outstanding Russian Empress in 13
episodes
As the world prepares to make its entrance into the third millenium,
Russia is living through an unheard-of-before social upheaval which has
once again put the entire future of the Russian people on the line. What
are the values we are going to take with us into the next century? This
depends on many things, including the need to take a new look at our past.
To move forward, we need to reconsider the events that literally reshaped
the course of the European civilisation.
The history of the Russian state knows only two Great Emperors and these
are Peter the First and Catherine the Second.
"Catherine the Great" is a documentary about the life of the
outstanding Russian Empress (1729-1796). The 13-part series brings back
the times of Catherine's majestic reign and her remarkable reforms which,
according to contemporary accounts, amazed the Universe and brought about
an unprecedented upsurge in Russsia's economic and military might.
Following is a brief description of the film: Episode One. "Who
Are You, Empress Catherine?" - about Catherine's enigmatic and controversial
personality and the mysteries of her 34 year-long reign.
Episode Two. "The Cast" - about the royal retinue, the friends
and foes of the great Empress.
Episode Three. "A German Princess Arrives In Russia" - about
the childhood years of the future Russian Empress.
Episode Four. "The Mysteries of the Royal Court" - about Catherine's
unhappy marriage to the Grand Duke Pyotr Fyodorovich, who later succeeded
the throne as Emperor Peter the Third.
Episode Five. "The First Lessons" - Catherine gets involved
in Russian court politics.
Episode Six. "The First Victory" - Catherine wins her first
victory against her ill-wishers.
Episode Seven. "The Coup" - about the events leading up to
the 1762 coup d'etat.
Episode Eight. "Ah! Heavy Art Thou, Crown of Monomakh!" -
about the participants in the July 9th palace coup, about Catherine's friends
and foes, her first months in power and about how they killed Emperor Peter
the Third.
Episode Nine. "Lights and Shadows" - about the problems that
plagued the first months of Catherine's reign.
Episode Ten. "A Baptism of Fire" - about Russia's resounding
land and sea victories against the Turks and during the Crimean War.
Episode Eleven. "Her Secret Husband" - relating Catherine's
relationship with Count Grigory Potemkin, their secret marriage and political
alliance.
Episode Twelve. "Favorites" - about the role the Empress'
lovers played in her life, about their fate and place in the political
life of this country.
Episode Thirteen. "The Undisputed Witnesses of Truth" - shedding
light on the many mysteries hidden in Empress Catherine's archives.
The film's scriptwriter and presenter is historian Vyacheslav Lopatin
whose book "Catherine the Second and Grigory Potemkin. Private Correspondence"
which came out last year shed light on many theretofore-unknown sides of
Catherine's life. The documentary was directed by Grigory Ilgudin whose
feature films "The Dissidents" (1991) and "The Long Night
of Menachem Beilis" (1993) have won prizes at a number of international
film festivals. Featured in this film are nearly 300 portraits of Catherine
the Great, her close associates and other leading 18th century politicians.
Some of these paintings from the Hermitage, The Russian Museum, the Tretyakov
Picture Gallery, the Moscow Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, the State History
Museum, the "Tsarskoye Selo" and "Peterhof" museums,
the Kremlin's Diamond Collection and art depositaries have never been displayed
before.
Each episode runs for 26 minutes. Produced by INTER-ROS Company.
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