How did the theater develop? Where did the first theater appear? The beginning of theatrical life in ancient China

The first theater appeared in Athens, in 497 BC. In Rome, the first stone theater appeared only in 55 BC. . Before this, actors and spectators were content with only temporary wooden buildings.
The performances of past years bore little resemblance to what we understand by a performance today. There could only be one actor on stage, changing masks and playing several roles at once. The need for masks was due to the large size of the theaters, which could accommodate ten or even seventeen thousand people. It was almost impossible to discern the actor’s facial features from a long distance, and masks easily solved this problem.

Download:

Preview:

To use presentation previews, create a Google account and log in to it: https://accounts.google.com

Slide captions:

Educator – Dementieva S.A. MDOU d/s "Fairy Tale" preparatory group

William Shakespeare - outstanding English poet and playwright. Years of life: 1564 – 1616. Great playwright William Shakespeare said: “All the world is a stage, and the people in it are actors.”

The first theater appeared in Athens, in 497 BC

In Rome, the first stone theater appeared only in 55 BC. . Before this, actors and spectators were content with only temporary wooden buildings. The performances of past years bore little resemblance to what we understand by a performance today. There could only be one actor on stage, changing masks and playing several roles at once. The need for masks was due to the large size of the theaters, which could accommodate ten or even seventeen thousand people. It was almost impossible to discern the actor’s facial features from a long distance, and masks easily solved this problem.

Theater is the union of all arts, it includes music, architecture, painting, cinema, photography, etc.

There was no theater in Russia until the 17th century. Over the centuries, this cultural niche was filled with rituals and folk holidays, which included elements of theatrical action, and buffoons, musicians, dancers, puppeteers, and bear guides.

Types of theater

On October 17, 1672, the first performance took place. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich was so delighted that he did not get up from his seat for 10 hours straight while the performance was going on. The boyars stood: they were not allowed to sit in the presence of the sovereign. The day before, the monarch received the blessing of his confessor, Archpriest Andrei Savinov, who assured that the Byzantine emperors staged theatrical performances. It took a long time to convince Alexey to allow the use of music, without which it would be impossible to organize a choir. The king reluctantly agreed. The court theater did not have a permanent premises. The authorities did not skimp on spending on costumes for actors and scenery for theatrical productions, but saved on paying Russian actors.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

Portrait of the founder of the first court theater Artamon Sergeevich Matveev. 1801.

The first European theatrical performances arose in the 6th century BC. from religious festivals dedicated to the god of wine and fertility Dionysus. The actors used masks to show the emotions of the characters, as well as to make it clear to the audience what gender and age the character was when he appeared on stage. The thousand-year tradition that prohibited women from performing on stage originated in the ancient Greek theater.

The first actor is considered to be the Greek Thesipus, who won a poetry competition in honor of Dionysus.

In the 3rd century BC. The Romans, inspired by Greek theater, created their own versions of ancient Greek plays and began performing them on improvised stages. The actors in these performances were slaves. Women were only allowed to play minor roles. As Roman theaters had to compete for the attention of audiences accustomed to gladiatorial combat, public executions and chariot races, plays increasingly contained scenes of violence and crude humor. With the spread of Christianity, such ideas came to an end.

The emergence of theater in the Middle Ages

Although theatrical performances were considered sinful in medieval Europe, theatrical traditions developed. Minstrels invented and performed ballads, and puppeteers, acrobats and storytellers performed at fairs. During Easter service priests acted out mysteries - theatrical stories that allowed illiterate people to understand the meaning of what was happening.

Later, mysteries began to be played during other religious holidays, presenting various biblical stories.

Renaissance Theater

During the Renaissance (XIV-XVII centuries), interest arose in the revival of classical Greek and Roman theater. At the junction of the traditions of ancient and medieval theater, secular theatrical performances arose, and commedia dell'arte appeared - an improvised spectacle created by several masked actors. These plays were the first time since Roman times that women were allowed to return to the stage.

In 1576, the first theater building was built in London; before that, all plays were performed in hotels, on fairgrounds, or in the middle of halls in castles and noble houses. British Queen Elizabeth I patronized the theatrical arts; in the era bearing her name, the first professional playwrights appeared, the most famous of whom is the great Shakespeare, actors, and the tradition of using props and changing costumes during performances. The classical theater was finally formed by the middle of the 18th century.

Matryoshka dolls are considered an original Russian souvenir and therefore are so popular among tourists coming to the Russian Federation from different countries. All the more interesting is the fact that these wooden painted figurines of elegant beauties, nested inside each other, have far from Russian roots.

The first Russian nesting doll

The prototype of a cheerful, round-faced Russian girl, embodied in classic nesting dolls, was brought to Russia from Japan at the beginning XIX century. The souvenir from the land of the sun consisted of wooden figurines of the Japanese old sage Fukuruma, nested inside each other. They were beautifully painted and stylized in the spirit of the traditions of the ancestor country of the modern nesting doll.

Once in the Moscow Toy Workshop, the Japanese souvenir inspired local turner Vasily Zvezdochkin and artist Sergei Malyutin to create similar toys. The craftsmen carved and painted similar figures nested inside one another. The first analogue of a Japanese souvenir was a girl in a headscarf and sundress; subsequent nesting dolls depicted cute funny children - boys and girls; on the last, eighth nesting doll, a swaddled baby was drawn. Most likely, it got its name in honor of the widespread at that time female name Matryona.

Sergiev Posad nesting dolls

After the closure of the workshop in Moscow, in 1900 craftsmen in Sergiev Posad, in a training and demonstration workshop, began making nesting dolls. This type of folk craft became widespread; workshops of the Bogoyavlenskys, Ivanovs, and Vasily Zvezdochkin, who moved to Posad from Moscow, appeared not far from the capital.

Over time, this souvenir toy gained such popularity that foreigners began to order it from Russian craftsmen: the French, Germans, etc. Such nesting dolls were not cheap, but there was something to admire! The painting of these wooden toys became colorful, ornate, and varied. Artists depicted Russian beautiful girls in long sundresses and painted scarves, with bouquets of flowers, baskets and bundles. At the beginning of the twentieth century, mass production of nesting dolls for foreign countries was established.

Later, masculine nesting dolls appeared, for example, depicting shepherds with pipes, mustachioed grooms, bearded old men with sticks, etc. Wooden toys were assembled according to a variety of principles, but, as a rule, a pattern was always visible - for example, matryoshka dolls-grooms were paired with dolls-brides and relatives.

Matryoshka dolls of Nizhny Novgorod province

Towards the middle of the 20th century, the nesting doll spread far beyond the borders of Sergiev Posad. So, in the Nizhny Novgorod province craftsmen appeared who made nesting dolls in the form of slender, tall girls in bright shawls. And Sergiev Posad craftsmen made these toys in the form of more squat and curvy young ladies.

Modern dolls

The matryoshka doll is still considered one of the symbols of Russian culture. Modern nesting dolls are made in the most various genres: in addition to classical drawings, they contain portraits of famous political figures, TV presenters, movie and pop stars.

In Sergiev Posad, in the Toy Museum, there are collections of nesting dolls from various masters of the early and mid-20th century, as well as the first doll painted famous artist Sergei Malyutin.

Video on the topic

Conflict is a clash of opposing opinions, interests and views. It is designed to help meet needs. IN conflict situation Each party strives to achieve its goal and solve its problems.

The main causes of family conflicts: - unsatisfied need for self-affirmation; - the desire of spouses to realize personal needs in marriage; - inability to communicate with each other; - excessive material ambitions; - the presence of inflated self-esteem; - discrepancy in views on education; - discrepancy in ideas about the role of the husband, wife, father, mother and so on; - different types of temperament; - reluctance to engage in dialogue; - sexual coldness of one of the spouses; - jealousy of one of the spouses; - adultery; - bad habits. Management specialists distinguish following reasons conflicts in teams: 1. Limited resources. Material, financial and labor resources are always limited. The manager’s task is to optimally distribute them between various structural divisions of the organization. But, since this is quite difficult to do due to the arbitrary nature of the distribution criteria, such limited resources inevitably lead to various kinds of conflicts.2. Task interdependence. All enterprises are composed of interdependent elements, that is, the work of one employee depends on the work of another. If an individual worker or one department is not performing appropriately, then this interdependence can cause conflict.3. Differences in ideas, goals and values. Typically, in organizational structures, over time, there is a process of specialization, that is, activity in a narrow field. As a result of this, the former structural divisions begin to be divided into smaller specialized units. Such structures formulate new goals and begin to focus on achieving them, which increases the likelihood of conflicts.4. Differences in life experiences and behavior patterns. People are different from each other. There are overly aggressive, authoritarian personalities who are indifferent to others. These are the ones that most often provoke conflicts. Differences in experience, education, length of service, and age increase the possibility of collisions.5. Poor communications. Information overload, unsatisfactory feedback, and distortion of messages can contribute to the emergence of a conflict. Gossip in a team gives special urgency to the conflict. They can act as a catalyst, preventing individual workers from understanding the real situation. Other common communication problems - not well developed job responsibilities employees, presentation of mutually exclusive job requirements.

Sources:

Conflicts in a team: evil or good

Tip 4: The origin of your last name: how to find out the history

Every person values his surname. Every person sooner or later wants to reveal the secret of its origin. Let's find out what experts do to reveal the secret of the origin of the surname.

The history of theater is the world of humanity

Theater of Ancient Greece

Origins of Ancient Greek Drama and Theatre.

The appearance of drama in Greece was preceded by a long period, during which the dominant place was occupied first by the epic and then by the lyric. We all know the rich heroic epic poems “Iliad” and “Odyssey”, the didactic (instructive) epic poems of Hesiod (7th century BC); These are works of lyric poets of the 6th century. BC.

The birth of Greek drama and theater is associated with ritual games that were dedicated to the patron gods of agriculture: Demeter, her daughter Kore and Dionysus. From ritual games and songs in honor of Dionysus, three genres of ancient Greek drama grew: tragedy, comedy and satyr comedy (named after the chorus consisting of satyrs).

The tragedy reflected the serious side of the Dionysian cult.
Comedy - carnival-satirical.
Satirovskaya drama seemed to be an average genre. Cheerful playful character and a happy ending determined its place at the holidays in honor of Dionysus: the satyr drama was staged as a conclusion to the presentation of tragedies.

The role of tragic ideas in socio-political and ethical education was enormous. Already in the second half of the 6th century BC. The tragedy has reached significant development. Ancient history reports that the first Athenian tragic poet was Thespis (VI century BC). The first production of his tragedy (its name is unknown) took place in the spring of 534 BC. at the Feast of the Great Dionysius. This year is considered to be the year of the birth of world theater.

In comedy, much broader than in tragedy, everyday motifs were mixed with mythological ones, which gradually became predominant or even the only ones, although in general comedy was still considered dedicated to Dionysus. Improvised skits were an elementary form of folk farce theater and were called mimes (translated as “imitation”, “reproduction”; the performers of these skits were also called mimes). The heroes of the mimes were traditional masks folk theater: would-be warrior, market thief, charlatan scientist, simpleton fooling everyone, etc.

Theater of Athens.

Ancient Greek theatrical art reached its highest flowering in the works of three great tragedians of the 5th century BC - Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides and the comedian Aristophanes, whose activity spanned the beginning of the 4th century. BC. Other playwrights also wrote at the same time, but only small excerpts of their works have reached us, and sometimes only names and meager information.

Theater of the Hellenistic era.

In the Hellenistic era (VI-I centuries BC), the Greek theater of the classical era underwent significant changes regarding drama, acting, and the architecture of the theater building. These changes are associated with new historical conditions. Comedies and tragedies are still staged in the theater of the Hellenistic era. But from the tragedies of the 4th century. BC. Only small fragments have survived, and, apparently, the artistic merits of the Hellenistic tragedy were small. Much more data is available for judging comedy, since only one play and several excerpts from other plays by the greatest comedian of that time, Menander, have survived.

The comedy of the Hellenistic era is called new Attic (or neo-Attic) comedy. The motive of love plays a big role in the new comedy. The authors of the new Attic comedy widely used the psychological theory of Aristotle's student Theophrastus, according to which all character traits are manifested in a person's appearance and in his actions. The physiognomic descriptions of Theophrastus undoubtedly influenced the design of the masks, which helped viewers recognize this or that character. The influence of Euripides is noticeable in the new comedy. The closeness of many of his heroes to life, the revelation of their emotional experiences - this is what the new comedy took from Euripides.

Architecture is ancient Greek theater.

Initially, the venue for performances was arranged extremely simply: the choir, with their chants and dances, performed on a round compacted platform-orchestra (from the verb orheomai - “I dance”), around which the audience gathered. But as the importance of theatrical art in public and cultural life Greece, and as drama became more complex, improvements became necessary. The hilly landscape of Greece suggested the most rational arrangement of the stage and spectator seats: the orchestra began to be located at the foot of the hill, and the audience was located along the slope.

All ancient Greek theaters were open and could accommodate great amount spectators. The Athens Theater of Dionysus, for example, could accommodate up to 17 thousand people, the theater in Epidaurus - up to 10 thousand. In the 5th century BC. In Greece, a stable type of theater structure developed, characteristic of the entire era of antiquity. The theater had three main parts: the orchestra, theatron (seats for spectators, from the verb teaomai - “I look”) and skene (skene - “tent”, later a wooden or stone structure).

The size of the theater was determined by the diameter of the orchestra (from 11 to 30 m). The skene was located tangentially to the circumference of the orchestra. The front wall of the skene-proskenium, which usually had the appearance of a colonnade, depicted the facade of a temple or palace. Adjoining the skene were two side buildings called paraskenia. Paraskenia served as a place to store scenery and other theatrical property. Between the skene and the seats for spectators, which occupied slightly more than half the circle, there were parlor passages through which spectators entered the theater before the start of the performance, and then the choir and actors entered the orchestra. In the theater of the classical era, the attention of the audience was focused on the development of the action, on the fate of the heroes, and not on external effects. The layout of the Greek theater ensured good audibility. In addition, in some theaters, resonating vessels were placed among the audience seats to amplify sound. There was no curtain in the ancient Greek theater, although it is possible that in some plays some parts of the proskenium were temporarily closed from the audience.

Roman theater

Origins of Roman theater.

The origins of Roman theater and drama go back, as in Greece, to ritual games rich in carnival elements. Such, for example, is the holiday of Saturnalia - in honor of the Italian deity Saturn. The peculiarity of this holiday was the “reversal” of habitual social relations: masters temporarily became “slaves”, and slaves became “masters”.

One of the origins of Roman theater and drama was rural harvest festivals. Even in distant times, when Rome was a small community of Latium, villages celebrated holidays in connection with the end of the harvest. At these holidays, cheerful, rough songs-fescennins were sung. As in Greece, two semi-choirs usually performed and exchanged jokes, sometimes of a caustic nature.

Having originated during the clan system, the Fescennines existed in subsequent centuries, and in them, according to Horace, the social struggle between the plebeians and patricians was reflected. This is how saturas arose (translated as “mixture”). Saturas were dramatic scenes of an everyday and comic nature, including dialogue, singing, music and dancing.

Another type of dramatic performance of a comic nature were the atellans, which were borrowed from other tribes inhabiting the Apennine Peninsula, with which Rome waged continuous wars. Young people became interested in these games and began to organize them on holidays. The atellan featured four permanent comic characters: Makk, Bukkon, Papp and Dossin. The Atellans did not have a hard text, so when performing them, there was wide scope for improvisation. Mime also goes back to folk drama. As in Greece, the mime reproduced scenes from folk life, and sometimes parodied myths, portraying gods and heroes as a buffoon. Thus, in Rome there were approximately the same ritual games as in Ancient Greece. But the development of folk theater did not go beyond the weak beginnings of drama. This is explained by the conservative way of Roman life and the strong resistance of the priests. Therefore, in Rome there was no independent mythology, which in Greece served as the “soil and arsenal” of art, including drama.

Roman theater of the Republican era.

The Romans took literary drama in finished form from the Greeks and translated it into Latin, adapting it to their concepts and tastes. After the victorious end of the first Punic War, at the festive games of 240 BC, it was decided to stage a dramatic performance. The production was entrusted to the Greek Livius Andronicus, who was enslaved by a Roman senator, who gave him Latin name Livy. After his release, he remained in Rome and began teaching Greek and Latin to the sons of the Roman nobility. This teacher staged a tragedy and probably also a comedy at the games, which he revised from the Greek model or, perhaps, simply translated from Greek language into Latin. This production gave the first impetus to the development of Roman theater.

From 235 BC The playwright Gnaeus Nevius begins to stage his plays on stage. Naevius' younger contemporary Titus Maccius Plautus. His work dates back to the period when Rome was transforming from an agricultural community into the strongest state - first of the Apennine Peninsula, and then of the entire basin Mediterranean Sea. Publius Terentius Afr, who, like Plautus, worked in the genre of palliata, belonged to the next generation of playwrights. Terence can be called the forerunner of the new European drama. The European theater has repeatedly turned to his work. The influence of his comedies "Formion" and "Brothers" is felt in the work of Moliere.

Roman theater of the imperial era.

In the 1st century BC, the republic in Rome fell. After the assassination of Caesar and the victory over Antony in 31 BC. Octavian became emperor in Rome, and subsequently received the honorary nickname Augustus (“Sacred”). August understood well public importance theater and contributed in every possible way to its development. First of all, Augustus wanted to revive the tragedy of the Greek type on the Roman stage, seeing in it a means of improving and educating the morals of his citizens. These aspirations of Augustus were supported by one of the outstanding Roman poets, Horace, and were reflected in his “Science of Poetry.” However, all the efforts of Augustus to revive the serious genre on the Roman stage were unsuccessful.

From the tragedy of the imperial era, nothing has reached us except the tragedies of the philosopher Seneca. Lucius Annaeus Seneca was the tutor of Emperor Nero, at one time he held the highest positions in the state under him, but then he was accused of conspiracy against the emperor and, on the orders of Nero, committed suicide by cutting his veins. Seneca began to write tragedies in last years life, when Nero’s attitude towards him changed and he was forced to more carefully express his views on the existing order.

Organization of theatrical performances.

Performances were held in Rome during various public holidays. The plays were performed at the festival of the patricians - the Roman Games, held in September in honor of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva; at the Apollo Games - in July. There was no permanent theater building in Rome until the middle of the 1st century. BC.; the conservative Senate opposed its construction. For performances, a wooden platform half a man's height was usually erected in the forum. A narrow staircase of 4-5 steps led to the stage area, along which the actors climbed onto the stage.

In the tragedy, the action took place in front of the palace. In comedies, the scenery almost always depicted a city street with the facades of two or three houses facing it, and the action took place in front of the house. The audience sat on benches in front of the stage. But sometimes the Senate prohibited the arrangement of seats in these temporary theaters: sitting at performances, in the opinion of the Senate, was a sign of effeminacy. Everything built for theatrical games the structure broke down immediately after their completion.

An event for Rome was the appearance of the first permanent theater built of stone. This theater was built in 55 BC. Gnaeus Pompey the Great and could accommodate up to 40 thousand people. At the end of the 1st century. BC. Two more stone theaters were built in Rome: the Theater of Balbus and the Theater of Marcellus. From the latter, the remains of the outer wall, divided into three floors, which correspond to the three internal tiers, have survived to this day.

Theater of the Middle Ages

Liturgical and semi-liturgical drama.

One of the forms of theatrical art of the early Middle Ages was church drama. Fighting against the remnants of the ancient theater, against rural games, the church sought to use the effectiveness of theatrical propaganda for its own purposes.

Already in the 9th century, the Mass was dramatized, and a ritual of reading episodes from legends about the life of Christ, his burial and resurrection was developed. From these dialogues early liturgical drama is born. There were two cycles of such drama - the Christmas one, telling about the birth of Christ, and the Easter one, conveying the story of his resurrection. In the Christmas liturgical drama, a cross was placed in the middle of the temple, then it was wrapped in black material, which meant the burial of the Lord's body.

Over time, the liturgical drama becomes more complex, the costumes of the “actors” are diversified, and “director’s instructions” are created with precise instructions for the test and movements. The priests themselves did all this. The organizers of liturgical performances accumulated staging experience and began to skillfully show the people the ascension of Christ and other gospel miracles. Approaching life and using production effects, liturgical drama no longer attracted, but distracted parishioners from the service. The development of the genre concealed its self-destruction. Not wanting to give up the services of the theater and not being able to cope with it, church authorities are moving liturgical drama from under the arches of churches to the porch. A semi-liturgical drama is born. And here church theater, formally being in the power of the clergy, fell under the influence of the city crowd. Now she is already dictating her tastes to him, forcing him to give performances on fair days, and not church holidays, completely switch to a native language that is understandable to the crowd. Concerned about success, the clergy began to select more everyday subjects, and the material for semi-liturgical drama became biblical stories, subject to everyday interpretation. Biblical legends are subject to poetic treatment over time. Technical innovations are also being introduced: the principle of simultaneous scenery is finally established, when several scenes of action are shown simultaneously; the number of tricks increases. However, despite all this, church drama continued to maintain a close connection with the church. The drama was staged on the porch, with church funds, its repertoire was compiled by clergy (although the participants in the performances, along with priests and laity). Thus, intricately combining mutually exclusive elements, church drama existed for a long time.

Secular drama.

The beginning of the realistic movement

The first shoots of a new realistic movement are associated with the name of the trouvère (troubadour) Adam de La Halle (circa 1238-1287) from the French city of Arras. De La Al was passionate about poetry, music and theater. He lived in Paris and Italy (at the court of Charles of Anjou) and became quite widely known as a poet, musician, and playwright.

In the 13th century, the current of comedy was already drowned out by the theater of the miracle, which also had life events as its theme, but turned to religion.

Miracle.

The name Miracle itself comes from Latin word"miracle". And indeed, all conflicts, sometimes very acutely reflecting the contradictions of life, in this genre were resolved thanks to the intervention of divine forces - St. Nicholas, the Virgin Mary, etc. Time itself - the 14th century, full of wars, popular unrest and inhuman reprisals - explains the development of such a controversial genre as the miracle. It is no coincidence that a miracle, which usually began with an incriminating image of reality, always ended with a compromise, an act of repentance and forgiveness, which practically meant reconciliation with the atrocities only shown, for it presupposed a possible righteous person in each villain. This suited both the burgher consciousness and the church.

Mystery.

The heyday of the mystery theater was the 15th-16th centuries, a time of rapid growth of cities and aggravation of social contradictions. The city has already largely overcome feudal dependence, but has not yet fallen under the rule of an absolute monarch. The mystery was an expression of the flourishing of the medieval city and its culture. It grew out of the so-called “mimic mysteries” - city processions in honor of religious holidays, in honor of the ceremonial trips of kings. From these festivities, a square mystery gradually took shape, using the early experience of medieval theater. Mystery performances were organized not by the church, but by city workshops and municipalities. The authors were figures of a new type - theologians, lawyers, doctors. Despite the fact that the performances were directed by the city's upper bourgeoisie, mystery plays were a mass public amateur art. Hundreds of people took part in the performances.

The mystery showed the creation of the world, the rebellion of Lucifer against God, and biblical miracles. Mystery expanded the thematic range of medieval theater and accumulated vast stage experience, which was used by subsequent genres of the Middle Ages. The performer of the mystery was the city people. Individual episodes of the huge theatrical performance performed by representatives of various city workshops. At the same time, the mystery gave each profession the opportunity to express itself as fully as possible. Mysteries developed theatrical technique, established the people's taste for theater, and prepared some features of the Renaissance drama. But by 1548, mystery societies, especially widespread in France, were prohibited from showing mystery plays: the critical comedy line of the mystery theater had become too noticeable. The reason for her death is also that she did not receive support from the new, progressive forces of society.

Reformation movement

Anti-feudal character

The Reformation unfolded in Europe in the 16th century. It was anti-feudal in nature and took the form of a struggle against the ideological support of feudalism - the Catholic Church.

The Reformation movement affirms the principle of “personal communication with God,” the principle of personal virtue. In the hands of the wealthy burghers, morality becomes a weapon of struggle both against the feudal lords and against the poor urban masses. The desire to impart holiness to the bourgeois worldview gives rise to morality theater.

Morality.

Moralite freed moralization from both religious subjects and everyday distractions and, having become isolated, acquired stylistic unity and a greater didactic orientation.

Farce.

Square farce has become an independent theatrical genre since the second half of the 15th century. However, he had gone through a long path of hidden development before this. The name itself comes from the Latin farta (“filling”). And indeed, the organizers of the mysteries often wrote: “Insert a farce here.” Merry Maslenitsa performances and folk performances give rise to “stupid corporations” - an association of petty judicial officials, diverse urban bohemia, schoolchildren, and seminarians. In the 15th century, clownish societies spread throughout Europe. There were four large organizations in Paris and regular parades of their farcical performances were held. In these parades, the speeches of bishops, the debates of judges, and the entry of kings into the city were ridiculed. In response to this, the secular and spiritual authorities persecuted the Farsers, expelled them from the city, and threw them into prison. The farce is directed with all its content and artistic structure towards reality. He ridicules marauding soldiers, monks selling indulgences, arrogant nobles, and stingy merchants. Sharply noticed and outlined character traits carry satirically sharpened life material. The main principles of acting for farceurs were characterization, brought to the point of parody caricature, and dynamism, expressing the activity and cheerfulness of the performers themselves. The monarchical and church authorities increasingly attacked urban freethinking and one of its forms - farcical theater.

The farce had a great influence on the further development of the theater Western Europe. In Italy, commedia dell'arte was born from farce; in Spain - the work of the “father of Spanish theater” Lope de Rueda; and in England John Heywood wrote his interludes as a farce; in Germany, Hans Sachs; in France, farcical traditions nourished the art of the brilliant Moliere and the great Shakespeare.

It was the farce that became the link between the old and new theater.

New theater

Theater (from the Greek theatron - place for spectacle, spectacle). Generic concept theater is divided into types of theatrical art: drama theatre, opera, ballet, pantomime theater, etc. The origin of the term is related to the ancient Greek ancient theater, where these were the names of the seats in the auditorium. However, today the meaning of this term is extremely diverse.

During the Age of Enlightenment, the transition to modern culture. Was taking shape new image life and thinking, which means that the artistic self-awareness of a new type of culture also changed. The name “Enlightenment” well characterizes the general spirit of this movement in the field of cultural and spiritual life, which sets itself the goal of replacing views based on religious or political authorities with those resulting from the demands of the human mind.

XVIII century gave world culture such remarkable artists and theorists of theater art as Sheridan in England, Voltaire, Diderot, Beaumarchais in France, Lessing, Goethe, Schiller in Germany, Goldoni in Italy. The dominance of reason led to the fact that the art of the Enlightenment suffered from rationality; a rational analysis of life required ordered forms.

However, the enlighteners, who saw the ideal of man in a harmonious personality, could not neglect the demands of feeling when it came to art. The theater of the Enlightenment remarkably expressed both content and method A New Look to a world that was adequate to the era.

Theater in the Age of Enlightenment in England.

The theater audiences of the 18th century became much more democratic. Simple benches were installed in the stalls for the townspeople. The racks were filled with servants, students and small craft people. During the performances, the audience behaved very actively, reacting animatedly to what was shown on stage.

Thus, in England, the theater of the Enlightenment criticized the vices of the emerging bourgeois system. A new ideological doctrine of theater emerges: public and moral education viewer. This doctrine fit perfectly into the Puritan traditions of England - later the Puritans softened their position in relation to theatrical art, and no longer fought against the theater as such, but for its reformation: the eradication of immorality and the transformation of the theater into a socially useful institution.

The programmatic document of the theater reformation was the treatise of the Puritan theologian Jeremy Collier against the aristocratic theater, A Brief Review of the Immorality and Impiety of the English Stage (1698). This treatise determined the emphatic moralizing and didacticism of English theater throughout almost the entire 18th century. The work of such playwrights as Joseph Addison (Cato, The Drummer), Richard Steele (The Liar Lover, or Women's Friendship; The Carefree Husband), Samuel Johnson (Irene), Colley Cibber (The Carefree Husband; The Wife's Last Bid; The Irritated Husband) developed in this direction. ).

In 1731, in the preface to his play The London Merchant, or the History of George Barnwell, playwright George Lillo published a manifesto of a new aesthetic program - a realistic theory of bourgeois drama. He opposes the class restrictions of the tragedy, which brought out only high-ranking individuals as its heroes. Without hiding his hostility towards the aristocracy, he demands that tragedy become a conductor of the moral ideas of the bourgeoisie. Ten years earlier, in 1721, the anonymous play “Fatal Madness” appeared in England, written on one of the favorite themes of bourgeois drama - about the disastrous consequences of gambling passion. Then the play went virtually unnoticed - the time for a new genre had not yet come. But now bourgeois issues have become in great demand among viewers.

Satirical tendencies in drama were successfully developed by Henry Fielding (“Don Quixote in England”; “Grabstreet’s Opera, or Under the Shoe of the Wife”; “Historical Calendar for 1736”). The severity of satirical denunciation led in 1737 to the publication of a government law on theatrical censorship, which put an end to political satire. The attention of playwrights and educators focused on the comedy of manners, which provided the opportunity for at least social satire. Most interesting works comedies of manners of this period were written by Oliver Goldsmith (Good; The Night of Errors) and Richard Sheridan (The Rivals; The School for Scandal).

The best representative of English artistic art was famous David Garrick (1717-1779), humanist and educator on stage. He successfully promoted Shakespeare's dramaturgy, playing the roles of Hamlet, Lear and others.

End of the 18th century marked in England by the emergence of a new genre - the tragedy of "nightmares and horrors", which was the predecessor of a new aesthetic movement - romanticism. The creator of this genre was Horace Walpole. Although he only wrote one play, “The Mysterious Mother” (1768), depicting the story of incestuous passion, the writer had a great influence on pre-romantic and romantic drama.

French theater of the 18th century.

The process of democratization of society during the Enlightenment brought to life a new dramatic genre - bourgeois drama, the creators of which in France were D. Diderot, M. J. Seden, L. S. Mercier.

The shortcomings of the bourgeois drama and “tearful comedy” were overcome in the comedies of P. O. Beaumarchais “The Barber of Seville” (1775) and “The Marriage of Figaro” (1784), in which new strength Moliere's traditions came to life and the best features of educational aesthetics were embodied.

The heroic and civic aspirations of educational drama were revealed with greatest force during the French bourgeois revolution of the late 18th century. The tragedies of M. J. Chenier, imbued with anti-feudal pathos (Charles IX, 1789, Henry VIII, 1791, Jean Calas, 1791, Caius Gracchus, 1792), were examples of the dramaturgy of revolutionary classicism.

In France, the Enlightenment philosopher Voltaire, turning in his drama to the burning public issues and denouncing despotism, he continued to develop the genre of tragedy.

At the same time, the comedy-satirical tradition was maintained on the French stage. Thus, Lesage (1668-1747) in the comedy “Turcare” criticized not only the decaying nobility, but also the usurious bourgeoisie. He sought to create comedies for mass popular theater.

Another educator and playwright, Denis Diderot (1713-1784), defended truth and naturalness on stage. In addition to a number of plays (“Bad Son”, “Father of the Family”, etc.), Diderot wrote a treatise “The Paradox of the Actor”, where he developed the theory of acting.

In the productions of Voltaire's educational tragedies, a new type of actors emerged, capable of expressing the civic pathos of heroic and accusatory themes.

Fair and boulevard theaters occupied a large place in the development of theater during the Enlightenment in France. The genre of fair theater was pantomimes, farces, morality plays, and fastachtspiels, the performances of which were based on the art of improvisation. These were performances that were often satirical, with elements of the grotesque and buffoonery, filled with crude humor. Rope dancers, jugglers, and trained animals—prototypes of circus actors—also performed at the fairs. They made extensive use of parody and satire. The democratic character of this art caused attacks on it from privileged theaters.

Formation of the German theater.

The true creator of the German national theater was the most prominent German enlightenment writer Gotthold-Ephraim Lessing (1729 -1781). He created the first German national comedy “Minna von Barnholm”, the anti-feudal tragedy “Emilia Galotti” and a number of others dramatic works. In the educational tragedy “Nathan the Wise,” the author spoke out against religious fanaticism.

In the famous book “Hamburg Drama,” Lessing outlined his opinions on aesthetics and theory of drama. G. E. Lessing is the creator of social drama, national comedy and educational tragedy, theater theorist, and founder of the realistic movement in German theater of the 18th century.

Enlightenment ideas had a great influence on German acting art, bringing it closer to realism. The most prominent actor in Germany during these years was Friedrich Ludwig Schröder (1744-1816), associated with the ideas of “sturm und drang”. In the 70s XVIII century A new movement called “Storm and Drang” arose in German art.

It reflected the movement of the most advanced, revolutionary-minded circles of the bourgeoisie, who fought against feudalism and absolutism. The greatest German poets and playwrights, Goethe and Schiller, participated in this movement. In 1777, the Mannheim National Theater was opened, which became one of the largest German theaters of the 80-90s. In the 18th century, the activity of the actor, director and playwright A.V. Iffland unfolded there. He implanted bourgeois-philistine dramaturgy on the Mannheim stage (his own plays, as well as the plays of A. Kotzebue), which determined creative person theater

At the end of the 18th century. The development of German theater is associated with the activities of the great German playwrights J. W. Goethe and F. Schiller in the Weimar theater. Here, for the first time in Germany, the largest works of world classical drama (Goethe, Schiller, Lessing, Voltaire and others) were staged, the foundations of the art of directing were laid, the principle of an acting ensemble subordinate to a single artistic design.

Goethe, in his theoretical program and artistic practice, affirmed the principles of creating a monumental theater that met strict standards ancient art. The “Weimar school” of acting was the opposite of the Mannheim school and was closer to the classicist one.

Italian theater.

Despite its economic and political backwardness, Italy was distinguished by the richness and diversity of its theatrical life. By the 18th century Italy had the best musical theater in the world, in which two types were distinguished - serious opera and comic opera (opera buffa). There was a puppet theater, and commedia dell'arte performances were performed everywhere.

However, the reform drama theater has been brewing for a long time. In the Age of Enlightenment, improvised comedy no longer met the requirements of the time. A new, serious, literary theater was needed. The comedy of masks could not exist in its previous form, but its achievements had to be preserved and carefully transferred to new theater.

Penetration of enlightenment ideas into Italian theater was accompanied by a long struggle against formalism and lack of ideas on the theater stage. An innovator in Italy was the remarkable playwright Carlo Goldoni (1707 -1793). He created new comedy characters. Instead of improvisation, the performance was based on a literary text.

The second half of the 18th century went down in Italian history as a time of theatrical wars. Abbot Chiari, a mediocre and therefore harmless playwright, spoke out against him, but his main opponent, equal to him in terms of talent, became Carlo Gozzi. Gozzi defended the theater of masks, setting the task of reviving the tradition of improvised comedy. And at some stage it seemed that he succeeded. And although Goldoni left room for improvisation in his comedies, and Gozzi himself eventually wrote down almost all of his dramatic works, their dispute was cruel and uncompromising. Since the main nerve of the confrontation between the two great Venetians is their incompatibility public positions, in different views on the world and man.

Carlo Gozzi (1720-1806) was talented playwright. In an effort to contrast his repertoire with Goldoni's comedies, Gozzi developed the genre of theatrical fairy tales. These are his plays “The Love for Three Oranges”, “The Deer King”, the famous “Princess Turandot”, “The Snake Woman” and others. Thanks to their rich irony and rich humor, Gozzi’s talented fairy tales for the stage are still popular today.

The greatest author of tragedies was Vittorio Alfieri. The birth of Italian repertoire tragedy is associated with his name. He created a civil tragedy almost single-handedly. A passionate patriot who dreamed of liberating his homeland, Alfieri opposed tyranny. All his tragedies are imbued with the heroic pathos of the struggle for freedom.

Alfieri argued that the people should receive freedom from the hands of the aristocracy; he asserted the freedom of the human person, the will of which is subject only to reason and a sense of duty. In his treatise “On the Prince and Literature” (1778-86), Alfieri defined the task of dramatic poetry as awakening feelings of virtue and love of freedom. Alfieri's tragedies Saul, Philip, Virginia, Brutus I and Brutus II contributed to the development of Italian theater.

Danish theater of the Enlightenment.

Professional theater in Denmark arose in the 18th century, its creation was caused by economic and cultural development countries. On September 23, 1722, the Danish Stage theater opened in Copenhagen with the play “The Miser,” and soon the premiere of L. Holberg’s first comedy “The Tin Man-Politician” took place.

In 1728, representatives of court circles achieved the closure of the Danish Stage. The theater resumed work only in 1748 (in premises on Royal Square). In 1770 it received the name Royal and came under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Court. In the second half of the 18th century. The theater staged singspiels, comedies by J. Ewald, tragedies by Voltaire and his Danish epigones, but the basis of the theater's repertoire continued to be Holberg's dramaturgy.

A prominent role in the promotion of the ideas of the Enlightenment in Denmark was played by the work of I. H. Wessel, the author of the parody tragedy “Love without Stockings” (1772), who continued the traditions of Holberg.

The theater of the Enlightenment is one of the most striking and significant phenomena in the history of world culture; this is a powerful source of European theatrical art - for all times. The new theater was born out of the need to pour young energy into action. And if you ask yourself the question into what sphere of art this action, this sea of fun, should have resulted, then the answer is clear: of course, into the sphere of theater.

During the 18th century the European theater lived a great and difficult life. Aesthetic norms, considered absolutes, lost their former meaning during this time. Over the course of a century, opinions and tastes were in constant conflict, and auditoriums more than once turned into an arena of public clashes. The authors were political opponents who, for the first time, learned that there could also be a fierce struggle in their art.

Theater as an art form is not preserved in such material monuments as painting and sculpture, as well as works of literature and music. But the history of the theater tells about the great actors of the past, how they played, what aspirations of their contemporaries they embodied in their acting, what demands of the time they responded to.

Theater life Russia XIX century.

At the beginning of the 19th century, a network of Russians formed Imperial theaters which were managed
"the Ministry of the Court of His Imperial Majesty." Subordinate to the court there were three theaters in St. Petersburg - Alexandria, Mariinsky and Mikhailovsky - and two in Moscow - the Bolshoi and Maly theaters.

With the advent of plays by A.N. Ostrovsky, I.S. Turgenev, prose by F.M. Dostoevsky, Nekrasov’s poetry, realism came to Russian culture.

The art of acting changed along with dramaturgy, breaking old ideas about what truth is on stage. November 16, 1859 was the day of the premiere of Ostrovsky’s play “The Thunderstorm” at the Maly Theater. A storm erupted around the performance. The first performer of the role of Katerina was the wonderful actress L.P. Nikulina - Kositskaya. With Ostrovsky's plays, the elements of Russian life burst onto the stage, new, juicy and modern language. Maly's actors shone in Ostrovsky's plays throughout the subsequent decades. G.N. Fedotova, M.N. Ermolova is a wonderful actress of the Maly Theater.

Russian artists of the first half of the 19th century M.S. Shchepkin, P.S. Mochalov, V.A. Karatygin remained in the memory of descendants as figures from legend. Shchepkin played almost 600 roles in plays by Shakespeare, Moliere, Gogol, Ostrovsky and Turgenev. He was one of the first to assert realism in the Russian theater; he created truth on the Russian stage.

Mochalov is the direct opposite of Shchepkin. He played leading roles in plays of Russian and Western drama - Shakespeare's Hamlet, Karl Moor in Schiller's drama The Robbers, Chatsky in Woe from Wit.

In productions of plays, Russian actors created images that went down in the history of theatrical art. The public admired Ekaterina Semyonova and Alexei Yakovlev. These actors completely transformed into the person they represented. Gradually, the Maly Theater began to specialize in dramatic productions, and the Bolshoi in opera and ballet.

Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater 1825-1853

The opening of the Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater on January 6, 1825 was very solemn. The spectators who visited the new theater that evening were shocked by the nobility of the architectural design and its implementation, the unprecedented scale of the building, and the beauty of the decoration of its auditorium.

Writer Sergei Aksakov recalled: “The Bolshoi Petrovsky Theater, which emerged from old, charred ruins... amazed and delighted me... The magnificent huge building, exclusively dedicated to my favorite art, just by its appearance brought me into joyful excitement...”

Before the start of the performance, the audience called the theater builder Osip Bove onto the stage and awarded him applause.

On a cloudy, frosty morning on March 11, 1853, for an unknown reason, a fire started in the theater. The flames instantly engulfed the entire building, but the fire raged with greatest force on the stage and in the auditorium. “It was scary to look at this giant engulfed in fire,” an eyewitness described the fire. “When it was burning, it seemed to us that a person dear to us, who endowed us with the most beautiful thoughts and feelings, was dying before our eyes...”

For two days Muscovites fought the flames, and for the third day the theater building resembled the ruins of the Roman Colosseum. The remains of the building smoldered for about a week. Theatrical costumes collected since the end of the 18th century, excellent scenery for performances, the troupe's archives, part of the music library, and rare musical instruments were irretrievably lost in the fire.

The design of the new theater building, drawn up by Professor A. Mikhailov, was approved by Emperor Alexander I in 1821, and its construction was entrusted to the architect Osip Bova.

One of the largest theaters in Europe, it was built on the site of a burnt theater building, but the façade was facing Teatralnaya Square...

Bolshoi Theater (1856-1917)

On August 20, 1856, the restored Bolshoi Theater was opened in the presence of royal family and representatives of all states with V. Bellini’s opera “The Puritans” performed by an Italian troupe. The Moscow ballet of this period owes its successes to the talent of the Frenchman Marius Petipa, who settled in St. Petersburg. The choreographer came to Moscow several times to stage performances. The most significant of his Moscow works was “Don Quixote” by L. Minkus, first shown in 1869. Petipa subsequently transferred the Moscow edition of this ballet to the St. Petersburg stage.

The work of P. Tchaikovsky was of great importance for the development of performing culture. The composer's debuts in opera music - "The Voevoda" (1869) and ballet music - " Swan Lake"(1877) took place on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Here the opera “Eugene Onegin” (1881) received its real birth, the first attempt at big stage after the Conservatory production of 1879; The opera “Mazeppa” (1884), one of the peaks of the composer’s operatic creativity, was first released; the final version of the opera “Blacksmith Vakula”, which received the new name “Cherevichki” in the 1887 performance.

The first performance on December 16, 1888 became a memorable performance in the annals of the theater. folk drama I. Mussorgsky "Boris Godunov". The first of N. Rimsky-Korsakov’s operas to see the light of the Bolshoi Theater stage was “The Snow Maiden” (1893), and then “The Night Before Christmas” (1898). In the same 1898, the theater first showed the audience A. Borodin’s opera “Prince Igor”, and two years later, lovers of choreographic art became acquainted with A. Glazunov’s ballet “Raymonda”.

The theater's opera troupe of the late 19th and early 20th centuries includes many outstanding singers. Among the glorious names of past years are Eulalia Kadmina, Anton Bartsal, Pavel Khokhlov, Nadezhda Salina, Ivan Gryzunov, Margarita Gunova, Vasily Petrov, etc. Singers appeared on the theater stage in these years, whose names soon became widely known not only in Russia, but and abroad - Leonid Sobinov, Fyodor Chaliapin, Antonina Nezhdanova.

The activity in the theater of Sergei Rachmaninov, who also declared himself a brilliant musician at the conductor's stand, was fruitful. Rachmaninov improved the sound quality of Russian opera classics in the theatre. By the way, the name of Rachmaninov is associated with the transfer of the conductor's console to the place where it is now; before, the conductor stood behind the orchestra, facing the stage.

In 1899, The Sleeping Beauty was staged for the first time at the Bolshoi Theater. The production of this ballet, which established the partnership of music and dance in the Russian ballet theater, was the beginning of a long and happy work in Moscow for the choreographer, librettist and teacher Alexander Gorsky. A large group of talented artists worked with him - Ekaterina Geltser, Vera Caralli, Sofia Fedorova, Alexandra Balashova, Vasily Tikhomirov, Mikhail Mordkin, conductor and composer Andrei Arende, etc. To design a new production of the ballet Don Quixote (1900), Gorsky invited young people for the first time artists Konstantin Korovin and Alexander Golovin, future great masters of theatrical painting.

1911 The plan submitted by Albert Kavos won the competition for the restoration of the theater building.

Kavos, while maintaining the layout and volume of the Beauvais building, increased the height, changed the proportions and redesigned the architectural decoration. In particular, slender cast-iron galleries with lamps were built on the sides of the building. Contemporaries noted the appearance of this colonnade, especially beautiful evenings, when you look at it from a distance, and a row of burning lamps seems like a diamond thread running along the theater.

The alabaster Apollo group that decorated the Beauvais Theater was destroyed in a fire. To create a new one, Kavos invited the famous Russian sculptor Pyotr Klodt (1805-1867), the author of the famous four equestrian groups on the Anichkov Bridge over the Fontanka River in St. Petersburg.

Klodt created the now world-famous sculptural group with Apollo. It was cast in the factories of the Duke of Lichtenberg from a metal alloy plated with red copper.

When reconstructing the auditorium, Kavos changed the shape of the hall, narrowing it towards the stage, and deepened the orchestra pit. Behind the stalls, where there used to be a gallery, he built an amphitheater. The dimensions of the auditorium became: almost equal depth and width - about 30 meters, height - about 20 meters. The auditorium began to accommodate over 2000 spectators.

In this form, the Bolshoi Theater has survived to this day, with the exception of minor internal and external reconstructions.

Theater is a miracle of the human world.

Countries and peoples. Questions and answers Kukanova Yu. V.

Where did the first theater appear?

The first theater appeared in Ancient Greece. It was a fairly large open-air structure, where the audience seats were located in a semicircle above the stage.

In those days, the theater staged plays of only two genres - tragedy and comedy, which were written on historical or mythological stories. Women were not always allowed to attend such performances, and they usually sat separately.

There were no decorations on the theater stage, and all the roles were played by men, performing in huge masks and buskins - high boots that gave majesty to the figures of the actors.

From the book 100 Great Theaters of the World author Smolina Kapitolina Antonovna

Theater of the RSFSR. The First and the Meyerhold Theater (TIM) The RSFSR First Theater is a rather fantastic enterprise, born of the 1917 revolution. Fantastic because its fame was very extensive, despite the fact that only one season (1920–1921) this theater

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 1 [Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and Medicine] author

Where and when did the first paleontological museum appear? The first paleontological museum was established in Rome at the behest of Emperor Augustus (63 BC - 14 AD), who was no stranger to a fascination with antiquities. For the museum in Eternal City built special building, V

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 3 [Physics, chemistry and technology. History and archaeology. Miscellaneous] author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

When did the first pension fund appear? In 27 BC, the Roman Emperor Augustus ordered that a certain amount be deducted from the monthly salaries of soldiers. At the end military career the retiree received either the accumulated amount in silver or a plot of land corresponding to the price

From the book Everything about everything. Volume 3 author Likum Arkady

When did the first black man appear in America? You've probably heard it said that the only real Americans are Indians. All the rest have ancestors who came here from other countries. Blacks also came here from other countries. But most people don't

From the book The Newest Book of Facts. Volume 1. Astronomy and astrophysics. Geography and other earth sciences. Biology and medicine author Kondrashov Anatoly Pavlovich

When did the first university appear? In the Middle Ages, a university was any community or group organized to protect common interests. Therefore, the first educational universities were just communities of teachers and students created for their

From the book Who's Who in the Art World author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

From the book Who's Who world history author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

When did the first magazine appear in Russia? The first entertainment magazine is considered to be “Library for Reading,” a monthly magazine published in St. Petersburg from 1834 to 1865. The initiator of the publication was the famous bookseller A. Smirdin. In 1833, he invited a publicist and

From the book Who's Who in the World of Discoveries and Inventions author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

When did the first polonaise appear? It is difficult to find a person who would not know such a wonderful piece of music as Oginsky’s “Polonaise,” which is also known as “Farewell to the Motherland.” A beautiful, sad melody penetrates the soul and is easy to remember.

From the book Who's Who in Russian History author Sitnikov Vitaly Pavlovich

Where and how did folk theater come from? Have you ever thought about how and when the Russian theater arose? Its origins go back centuries. Elements of theatrical performance were contained in calendar ritual games for Christmastide and Maslenitsa. They were played by mummers - people dressed in

From the author's book

How did the Maly Theater appear? The "progenitor" of the Maly Theater was the theater at Moscow University. His troupe was created in 1756, after the Decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, which marked the birth professional theater in our country: “We have now commanded to establish

From the author's book

When appeared puppet show? Puppet theater is one of those art forms that are represented in almost all countries of the world. Its history goes back many thousands of years and goes back to ancient times. Apparently, puppet theater arose as

From the author's book

When and where did the first man appear? In various places on Earth, scientists have found and are finding the bones of ancient people. Excavations in the valley near the village of Neander (Germany) are widely known. Later, the remains of human beings, reminiscent of those previously found in Neander,

From the author's book

How did the first revolver appear? For a long time, gunsmiths from different countries tried to create multi-shot hand weapons. They came up with many designs, but the most successful of them was the revolver, invented by the American designer S. Colt. Inventor

From the author's book

When did the first ladies' order appear? Under Peter I, several orders were established, but one of them became the first female award in Russian Empire. It received the name of the Order of the Holy Great Martyr Catherine, although it was originally called the Order of Liberation. The First

From the author's book

When did the first “thick” magazine appear in Russia? The first entertainment magazine is considered to be “Library for Reading,” a monthly magazine published in St. Petersburg from 1834 to 1865. The initiator of the publication was the famous bookseller A. Smirdin. In 1833, he invited

The word “theater” is known to everyone, even the smallest children. Who among us didn’t love going to a puppet theater, where faceless toys suddenly came to life? in capable hands puppeteer and turned into magical living creatures... Having grown up, when choosing between theater and cinema, we often prefer the latter. But only in the theater can one feel the living force emanating from the actors, only the theater can captivate the viewer with its splendor.

How did he appear?
The first theater appeared in Athens, in 497 BC. Its appearance was associated with competitions of singers, poets and actors in honor of the holiday of the god Dionysus. There were no special amenities provided for the spectators, but this did not bother them, and they sat on the hill to watch the competition. Wooden stages were made for the actors, which, however, were later replaced by a more comfortable arena.

The competition participants showed their performances on a stage surrounded by a low wall, thanks to which it was possible to hide unnecessary props and decorations. There was also a tent for the speakers where they could change clothes. Since the holiday was dedicated to Dionysus, it is not surprising that in the center of the site there was an altar to the god, and all the action unfolded around it.

A little later, the ancient Greek theater changed. Spectators were finally able to take “real” seats - seats were built for them from marble (for guests of honor) and stone (for simpler spectators). Among the spectator seats there were resonating vessels that provided sound amplification.

In Rome, the first stone theater appeared only in 55 BC. Before this, actors and spectators were content with only temporary wooden buildings.

The performances of past years bore little resemblance to what we understand by a performance today. There could only be one actor on stage, changing masks and playing several roles at once. The need for masks was due to the large size of the theaters, which could accommodate ten or even seventeen thousand people. It was almost impossible to discern the actor’s facial features from a long distance, and masks easily solved this problem. The actors of Ancient Greece were respected people; only a free man could become an actor, unlike his Roman “colleagues”. Roman actors came from among slaves or freedmen.

In ancient Greek theaters, performances were based on myths, interpreted in their own way by actors and play authors. The Roman theater almost completely adopted the plots from Greek drama, processing them for Roman viewers.

Heyday ancient Greek drama dates back to the fifth century BC. These were the times of Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides. The Greek Livius Andronicus made a great contribution to the development of the Roman theater, teaching Greek and Latin to the sons of the Roman nobility. Also famous is Gnaeus Naevius, who achieved fame thanks to his comedies. Representatives of the next generations of Roman playwrights were Titus Maccius Plautus, Publius Terence, and then Horace and Seneca.