Theaters of the 17th century. Imperial theaters Prehistory of the creation of imperial theaters

(under Alexei Mikhailovich (1645-1676))

The weakening of the power of the Orthodox Church. The release of Alexei Mikhailovich from the pressure of Nikon, a look towards Europe, where theaters are at the courts. The birth of Peter - the decision to stage a performance, Artamon Matveev, the Tsar's adviser, proposes Johann Gregory as a performer. Gregory came up with the text of the play "Action of Artaxerxes". They erected the "Comedy Mansion". Interior view of the chamber, the play "Artaxerkos action". Then they recruited Russian boys from the clerks as actors, put on other performances. Since the theater was created for the amusement of the sovereign, it ceased to exist with the death of the king.

Second half of the 17th century the power of the Orthodox Church begins to weaken, The Middle Ages are drawing to a close, the New Age is approaching.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, in the first half was the quietest and God-fearing, was under pressure from the authority of Patriarch Nikon (who issued decrees against buffoons), from the 1660s he was gradually freed from this oppressive influence. Looks back at the European powers, their innovations, among which - theatrical performances at the courts of Western European monarchs.

1672 - Tsarina Natalya Kirillovna, gave birth to Tsarevich Peter, and in honor of this event, the tsar decided to arrange a "comedy" (as any theatrical performance was called), the biblical legend about Esther.

The first adviser to the tsar, the "near" boyar, was at that time Artamon Matveev. "Westerner", knew what was happening in Europe, his wife was Scottish, he was in charge of relations with foreigners (he served in the Embassy Department). The second wife of the tsar, Natalya Naryshkina, was brought up in his family. He suggested to Alksey Mikhailovich Johann Gottfried Gregory, pastor of the Lutheran Church in the German Quarter, as an executor of the royal will. He was a good organizer, had a great culture, had a master's degree, knew the theatrical business, perhaps he himself participated in the performances of the Dresden school theater.

Gregory and created the stage text of the biblical legend of Esther, called "Artaxerxes action". Performers - 60 young foreigners from the German settlement, students of the school led by Gregory. In the village of Preobrazhensky they erected "Comedy Mansion" - the first theater building. The walls were upholstered with red cloth, the floor was green, in the center, on a piece of red cloth on a dais, there was the sovereign’s chair, on the sides there were benches for the rest of the spectators, for the queen and princesses there was a lathed box at the end of the chamber (women were not allowed).

The stage was separated from the hall by a curtain, picturesque scenery was decorated (by the royal painter Andrey Abakumov), costumes were sewn by tailor Christian Meissen, the performance was accompanied by instrumental music.

In June 1673, Russian young people were recruited as actors from clerks and petty-bourgeois children, 26 people, the cat taught Gregory. Staged with them 9 "comedies": Artaxerxes action (1672), Judith ("Holofernov action") (1673), Comedy about Tobias the Younger (1673), Comedy about Egor the Brave (Egor's Comedy) (1673), "Temir-Aksakovo action ”(Bayazet and Tamerlane) (1675), “A small cool comedy about Joseph” (1675), “A pitiful comedy about Adam and Eve” (1675), a Comedy about David with Goliad (1676), a Comedy about Bacchus with Venusrm (1676) , + badet Orpheus.

During the winter, performances were transferred to the Kremlin.

Being a court theater, arranged as a "sovereign's fun", he was entirely subordinate to the palace routine and ceased to exist with the death of the sovereign (January 26, 1676).

The character of the theater is pan-European – secular and professional. He wore a closed palace character. After Gregory, for some time at the head of the theater, the translator of the Ambassadorial order, Givner, was soon replaced by Chizhinsky, a teacher at the Kyiv school.

The combination of different theater systems: the court theater, the church school theater, the theater of English comedians.

4. ENTERTAINMENT AND THEATER URBAN CULTURE OF THE FIRST HALF OF THE 18TH CENTURY: THE FIRST PUBLIC THEATER, "SCHOOL" PRODUCTIONS, FOREIGN GUESTS, PERFORMANCES OF "HUNTERS"

Theater of the era of Peter I (1682 - 1721)

The desire for publicity, various ways of its manifestation. Departure of Splavsky to Poland. The arrival of the Kunst troupe in Moscow. Equipment for the theater building in Lefortovo. Problems with the language - they gave Russian children for training. Staging triumphant comedies, alternating battle scenes with farcical episodes. Completion of the "Comedy Temple" in 1703. 1703 - the death of Kunst, in his place - Otto Furst, the most fruitful period. The revival of theatrical life only to the arrival of the king. 1706 - county of the Germans. Theater of Natalia Alekseevna. 1723 - Mann's troupe. Theater of the first third of the 18th century, troupes of puppeteers.

The first public theater in Russia. The era of Peter I brought changes to all spheres of life of Russians. One of the main signs is the desire for publicity. Peter invents all sorts of ways to implement it: solemn processions on the occasion of the meeting and seeing off the troops, the launching of ships, balls, masquerades, etc.

In this new public cultural life, which is being rebuilt in a European way, a public theater was to appear as its integral attribute.

In 1702 the state theater was reopened. It was public, public, designed to serve a wide range of the urban population. It was supposed to become one of the means of the ideological struggle in defense of Peter's reforms, the education of patriotic thoughts and feelings in society.

By decree of Peter in 1701 Jan Splavsky was sent to Poland, comedian puppeteer. Target: to sentence to the Russian service a theater troupe led by I. Kunst. It is no coincidence that they went to Poland: they needed actors who knew Russian, or at least Slavonic. In 1702 the Kunst troupe arrived in Moscow(There is one woman in the troupe - Kunst's wife Anna).

In connection with the arrival of the troupe, he stood up the question of the construction of a theater building for performances. They wanted to build on Red Square, but did not have time to prepare and equipped a theater building in the former Lefort's house in the German Quarter.

After the arrival of the troupe, it turned out that they could only give performances in German, in connection with which they gave for the training of Russian children, “convenient for that matter”.

In all the years of the existence of this theater, for the arrival of the tsar in Moscow, staged new "triumphant comedy" dedicated to the next victories. The battle scenes alternated with areal farcical episodes, where the clownish character Trazo, eternal for the comedies of that time, participated.

The "comedy temple" on Red Square was completed by the end of 1703, but Kunst did not have to act there, he died in 1703. Otto Furst was taken in his place, in which the theater in the spring and summer of 1704 experienced the most fruitful period, introduced entrance tickets of different prices.

The comedy temple accommodated up to several hundred spectators, only 25 people were present at certain performances.

In the absence of the king and his entourage theatrical life became sluggish, revival came only to the arrival of Peter in Moscow. The theater did not yet fit into the everyday life of Muscovites, there were few spectators, performances were not staged regularly.

They played plays by German playwrights designed for the tastes of the noble and bourgeois audience. Loenstein "Scipio Africanus, leader of the Romans, and the destruction of Sophonisba, Queen of Numidia" and "The Honest Traitor, or Friderico von Popley and Aloysia, his wife", + plays-alterations of Calderon and Moliere.

Separation from life: the repertoire, part of the performances in German, translations are filled not with lively speech, but with Germanisms and Church Slavonicisms, not understandable to the public.

There were also "listed pieces" that did not have a written literary text and allowed an element of improvisation. - made it possible to use live colloquial speech.

Kunst and Furst themselves were far from Russian life, Russian customs, customs, and interests were alien to them.

In 1706, the contract of the German actors was ending, they wanted to leave for their homeland. In connection with the upcoming military actions dismantled all the wooden buildings in Kitay-Gorod, including the Comedy Church y. The entire theatrical belongings: scenery, costumes, texts of plays were transported to the village of Preobrazhenskoye, where he began acting court home theater of Princess Natalia Alekseevna, Peter's younger sister. Russian actors also joined her staff. In 1708, the princess moved to St. Petersburg, where she also moved her theater. They equipped a special building with stalls and lodges, anyone could come (it concerned the top of society). Lasted until 1716 until her death. After the transfer of the capital to St. Petersburg, public performances were given. Not only the court, but also the city public was present. Russian actors played.

Another court theater, open to spectators of various ranks and classes, existed in the village of Izmailovo. at the court of Empress Praskovya Feodorovna(widow of the elder brother of Peter I - Tsar Ivan Alekseevich).

public theaters. .(see question 7)

The first public professional theater in Russia appeared under Peter I. For his performances, a special wooden building was built on Red Square and a troupe of German actors was invited under the direction of I. Kunst. The theater did not exist for a long time (1702–1706), however, it managed to acquaint the audience with a number of plots and images of world drama and arouse public interest in this kind of spectacle. By 1707, theatrical performances began at the courts of Princess Natalia Alekseevna in Preobrazhensky and Queen Praskovya Feodorovna in Izmailovo.

In the middle of the XVIII century. Interest in theatrical performances in various strata of Russian society is expressed in the appearance both in the capital and in many cities of the country of semi-professional democratic theaters. This was facilitated by the permission of the government in 1750 to organize "parties with decent music" in private houses and to present "Russian comedies".

the organizers and participants were "people of various ranks" - "clerks, copyists, even solicitors, along with the courtyard people." Back in the 1730s. theatrical performances began to be given by the cadets of the land gentry corps, and in the 1750s, immediately after the founding of Moscow University, a student theater arose there as well. These last two theaters played a significant role in the formation of theatrical culture in Russia and the formation of the national Russian theater. A.P. left the gentry corps. Sumarokov and M.M. Kheraskov, from the University - D.I. Fonvizin, M.I. Popov, P.A. Melters and a number of other playwrights who laid the foundations of the national theatrical repertoire.

The emergence of the first professional Russian theater is closely connected with the names of Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (1717–1777) and Fyodor Grigoryevich Volkov (1729–1763).

In 1702, a state public theater was opened in Moscow, where a German troupe played, first led by I. Kunst, then O. Furst. After some time, the troupe was replenished with Russian actors who were trained at the same theater.

The repertoire of the theater consisted of works by German authors of the 17th century, as well as Calderon and Moliere in heavy translations. Performances were given most often in German. Russian actors, given to study by foreigners, complained to the tsar about the negligence and negligence of their mentors. In 1706 the theater ceased to exist.

The German theater of I. Mann, which performed in St. Petersburg in 1719, did not justify the hopes either. His repertoire was dominated by crude comedies and tragedies with bloodshed and murders.

Court theatres.

At that time the state ruled Alexey Mikhailovich. The tsar was very fond of various entertainment events, therefore, having heard the proposal of Artemon Sergeevich Matveev to try to create a court theater, he approved his idea and agreed. In the spring of 1672, the preparation and organization of the first theater began in Russia. The attic of the boyar Morozov was chosen as the place for the first performance. While work was underway to equip the theater, Artemon Sergeevich suggested that the pastor of the German settlement, Johann Gottfried Gregory, start recruiting an acting troupe. Actors had to be not only found, but also trained. Gregory recruited a troupe of 60 men and immediately took up their training. In addition to working with actors, he was also engaged in directing and dramaturgy.

In 1675, Johann Gregory, who was the leader and devoted all his time to the theater, died. And at the beginning of 1676, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich also died. After the death of the king court theater also ceases to exist.

At the end of the 17th century, a court theater first appeared in Russia. The idea of ​​creating a theater came up with the head of the Ambassadorial Department Artemon Sergeevich Matveev. Artemon Sergeevich was a very educated person and an outstanding personality. Being a great statesman, he promoted art and secular literature in society with all his might.

At that time, Alexei Mikhailovich ruled the state. The tsar was very fond of various entertainment events, therefore, having heard the proposal of Artemon Sergeevich Matveev to try to create a court theater, he approved his idea and agreed. In the spring of 1672, the preparation and organization of the first theater began in Russia. The attic of the boyar Morozov was chosen as the place for the first performance. While work was underway to equip the theater, Artemon Sergeevich suggested that the pastor of the German settlement, Johann Gottfried Gregory, start recruiting an acting troupe. Actors had to be not only found, but also trained. Gregory recruited a troupe of 60 men and immediately took up their training. In addition to working with actors, he was also engaged in directing and dramaturgy.

On June 4, a royal decree was sent, which stated that the foreigner Johann Gottfried should stage a comedy, the plot of which was to be based on a plot from the Bible. But most importantly, the king made it clear that a new theater should be arranged for this action.

Immediately, hasty work began on the construction of a new theater in the residence of the tsar near Moscow, namely in the village of Preobrazhensky. Gregory tried very hard to make everything in the best possible way. A huge amount of money was invested in the theater. Matveev personally supervised the interior decoration of the premises, the costumes of the actors and the scenery. The costumes for the actors were very rich, and the scenery was painted by the best painters. Gregory was involved in staging the biblical story. He was assisted by two residents of the German settlement Yagan Fingers and Yuri Givner. It was Yuri Givner who took over the leadership of the theater after Gregory's death in 1675. But more on that later.

All summer we worked on the creation of the theater and the rehearsal of the play. October 17, 1672 was the opening of the long-awaited theater and the first performance. This important event was attended by the tsar himself and all his close boyars. In a special box were the queen and her court ladies.

The first performance lasted ten hours, but the king watched everything to the end and was very pleased. When the performance was over, the audience immediately went to the bathhouse, as they believed that after such an “act” it was necessary to wash away all sins from oneself. The theater was called a "disgrace" at that time. People thought that even as spectators they had incurred a great sin. A lot of people didn't like the show. Although, perhaps, this was due to the fact that the boyars stood on their feet throughout the performance.

In 1673 there were some changes. The theater was moved to another room, which was located above the Aptekarskaya Chamber of the Kremlin. The corpse of actors also replenished.

The performances of the first theater were based on biblical motifs. Plays with a mythological plot were also staged, for example, "The Comedy of Bacchus with Venus." The term "comedy" at that time was understood as a dramatic work, so comedies were both pitiful with a tragic ending or cheerful with a joyful ending.

In 1675, Johann Gregory, who was the leader and devoted all his time to the theater, died. And at the beginning of 1676, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich also died. After the death of the king, the court theater also ceases to exist.

Origins of Russian theater

The Russian people have always been famous for their ability to diversify their leisure time. Since ancient times, fairs and holidays were held in Rus', at which buffoons became the main characters. This is how the people called artists, among whom were singers, musicians, and actors.

Usually theatrical performances were timed to coincide with some church or folk holiday. However, over time, festivities could be arranged without any reason. Buffoons were people without shelter and money, they often gathered in separate groups and went around cities and villages in order to earn money. In their performances, they used various musical instruments (pipes, psaltery), puppets, home-made costumes.

A little later, the artists, coming to the new city, erected a special building on its square, where they lived and received the audience. Such a building became known as a booth, and subsequently all theatrical performances received the same name. The buffoons' repertoire included social satire, jokes, ballads, and fairy tales.

And although with the advent of a real theater, the attitude towards booths became sharply negative and negative, one should not forget about the influence that old Russian entertainment had on the development of the theater.

Elements of the theater that arose thanks to folk performances

Since the theater in the 17th century in Russia was just beginning its long journey, many elements and details were adopted from buffoons and taken from folk performances.

Firstly, these are theatrical premises. The first such hall was the Amusement Chamber, where buffoons were invited to perform since 1613. In full, such performances could not be called a theater, because they were of a circus nature with an abundance of humor and various tricks.

Secondly, stage platforms. During their performances, buffoons gathered a large crowd of people around them, and it became necessary to demonstrate their talents on some kind of elevation so that all people could see it. The first stage was built for a puppet show.

Thirdly, oral dramas. Buffoons performed works written by the people. Thus was born the famous hero Petrushka.

Court theater of the 17th century

Even Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich, during his reign, thought about creating a court theater. However, to implement this idea, foreign specialists were needed, since there were no noble playwrights and artists in Rus' who could serve Melpomene with dignity.

In 1644, a troupe of actors arrived in Russia from Strasbourg and spent a month preparing their performance. However, for unknown reasons, they were expelled from the country.

A full-fledged theater in the 17th century appeared in Russia under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The idea was voiced by the boyar Artamon Matveev, who often visited Europe and saw what art could be. The first Russian theater of the 17th century began its work in 1672.

The pastor from the German settlement Johann Gottfried Gregory, on the orders of Matveev, gathered a troupe of actors, consisting of men and boys, in a few weeks, and gave them lessons in dramatic art. He also wrote the first play based on the biblical stories about Esther.

A real theater stage was built in the village of Preobrazhensky. The premiere of the performance took place on October 17. The performance went on for ten hours, but the tsar, the boyars, and the tsarina and her retinue sat through to the end.

In 1673 the stage was moved to the Kremlin. The playwright was well rewarded for his work and hastened to start writing a new play. This time he wrote about Judith, also using a biblical story. Theater in the 17th century in Russia became the main entertainment of the king.

After Gregory's death in 1675, his assistant Givner, who created several successful dramatic productions, became the head of the court theater. However, the Russian court theater of the 17th century ceased to exist in 1676, after the death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

school theater

Theater in the 17th century in Russia was just beginning its rapid development, including at religious educational institutions. This became possible with the feasible participation of the church, which sought to strengthen its position among the people.

The first school theaters were opened at the Kiev-Mohyla and Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Religious performances formed the basis of the repertoire, but there was also a place for an interlude. Satire affected the interests of the clergy, and eventually school theaters ceased to exist closer to the 18th century.

The school theater also influenced the traditions. Sideshow became the prototype of modern comedy. Actors obeyed the principles of classicism in their productions, and also used symbols, including in clothing.

Foreign tours

Theater in the 17th century in Russia adopted invaluable experience from foreign touring troupes in Italy, Prussia and France. Thanks to them, the triumph of spiritual thought was accomplished, they were the sources of social and creative development.

With the coming to power of Fyodor Alekseevich, the theater, painting, music of the 17th century were doomed to a long stagnation, since the new tsar had little interest in art. But fate decreed that the age of his reign was short-lived.

Peter the Great, who ascended the throne, gave a new round to the development of theater and art in general in Russia.

The new period of Russian history, which began approximately in the 17th century and related to the entire life of the Russian people, also affected theatrical art. The Russian theater has entered the "mature" stage of its existence. It differed from the playful one in that theatrical art became spectacular. Public speaking has become a profession. Oral dramaturgy was replaced by written and bookish. Special buildings were built for theatrical performances.

The folk oral play theater continued to exist, but at the same time, church-school, boyar and royal court theaters began to be organized, although they differed from each other, but influenced one another. Their sharp distinction occurred only in the 18th century.

The masses of the people were the first to create a new type of theater. Its initiators were urban slobozhans, petty clergy and the Volga-Don Cossacks. In the 30s of the 17th century, artisans who left the countryside for seasonal work in the cities had their own puppet theater, which later received the name of the Petrushka Theater. In the Petrushka Theater, it was told about how a young guy, having come to the city to earn money, succumbs to the city's temptations and begins to walk and act outrageously. The end of the performance corresponded to the religious views of that time: the devil took the young man to hell.

Gradually, the content of Petrushka's performances changed, more and more new options appeared. But the main thing remained unchanged:     Petrushka is a cheerful, mischievous, dexterous and invincible hero of the folk puppet comedy. Spectators watched with delight as he fooled and defeated the clergy and government officials. For a long time he remained a favorite hero of the puppet theater.

At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, an oral folk drama appeared on the legendary theme "   About King Herod." It tells how Herod, fearing the seizure of power by the Jews, ordered the destruction of all Jewish babies. For such an atrocity, the king was executed and doomed to eternal suffering in hell. This play was a success, because the memory of the atrocities of the tsars Ivan the Terrible and Boris Godunov, on whose orders Tsarevich Dmitry was allegedly killed, was preserved among the people.

The next oral drama that came down to us was composed, like many songs among the Cossacks, and dedicated to the beloved folk hero Stepan Razin and his Astrakhan campaign. This oral drama had several titles. The most common of them is "Boat".

All the plays of the folk theater were each in their own way directed against the authorities.

The church-school theater in Russia was created by the learned monk    Simeon of Polotsk. In the mid-60s of the 17th century, he wrote the comedy The Prodigal Son. This play was directed against young people whom their parents sent to study abroad in those years, and they were drinking and wasting their father's money. The play urged them to come to their senses and repent. This play was the first Russian written drama. The development of Russian dramaturgy in the near future followed the path indicated by Simeon of Polotsk.

The court theater was created for the amusement of the royal court. A special building for the theater was built - Amusement Chamber (1613). At first they tried to use the art of buffoons. But it soon turned out that it did not satisfy the increased tastes of the audience, and besides, the buffoons were not pleasers of the royal power. Therefore, they turned to Simeon Polotsky. But he was unable to create a permanent professional theater. Then Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich decided to turn to foreigners, and from 1660 they began to invite German actors to Moscow. In 1664, performances began to be given by their forces in Moscow, in the villages of Izmailovo and Preobrazhensky. In 1672, the organization of performances was entrusted to the teacher of the German settlement Gregory.

Gregory staged a comedy about "Esther", and liked the performance, but the court needed a national Russian theater. Therefore, a year later, the tsar ordered the same Gregory and two other teachers of the German school to train a troupe of Russian youths. Women did not perform on stage then. In 1675, after the death of Gregory, the troupe became completely Russian. All the plays had a political character - they called the boyars to humility, submission to the tsar and awakened patriotic feelings. Among the latter was a remake of Marlo's tragedy "Tamerlane the Great" under the title "Comedy about Bayazet and Tamerlane". The repertoire included plays in such a way that the viewer, watching the performance, would find a connection between the stage action and the events that excite him. Such events for that time were the war with Turkey and the struggle against the boyars.

After the death of the tsar, the performances organized by him ceased, but the development of the theater in Russia did not die out. Theatrical performances were arranged under the ruler Princess Sophia and the young Peter I.

Having taken up the task of transforming Russia, Peter I for the first time organized a public theater (that is, not only for the tsar and courtiers).

Theatrical art under Tsars Alexei and Peter I was distinguished by a desire for stage truth. The plays were oversaturated with action, heroic deeds, comic scenes, and so on. This was especially liked by the wide urban audience, who began to organize their own urban public performances. But the state theater was truly created only in 1756 thanks to the energy    of the actor F.G. Volkov and writer playwright A.P. Sumarokov.

3 Organization of the court theater of Alexei Mikhailovich 

In 1672, in Moscow, at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, a kind of theater that had never been seen before in Rus' was created. It was a theater of the type that developed in the West during the Renaissance and whose appearance marked a new stage in the history of the world theater, defining the character of the pan-European theater as a secular and professional theater. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich loved beautiful and spectacular spectacles, appreciated the pomp and expressiveness of the court ceremonial, and even introduced features of theatrical festivity into the falconry charter he developed. It can be safely assumed that the boyar Artamon Matveev, one of the most progressive and enlightened statesmen of his time, a lover of music and theater, also played a big role in the creation of the theater (5).

Creating a court theater was not an easy task. There were no Russian people in Moscow familiar with the experience of organizing and operating a professional theater of this type. There were no actors. There were no plays. There was no theater itself, that is, a theater building, however, in Ukraine, in the Kyiv Theological Academy, there was a church school theater that reached a high level. But the Russian court needed a secular theater. It was decided to turn to the "foreigners". In the spring of 1672, energetic preparations began for the creation of a court theater, a royal decree was announced, ordering the construction of a “comedy mansion” and “perpetrate a comedy, and comedy from the Bible to act from the Bible book" Esther ". Gregory supervised the production of plays and the training of actors. He found helpers, wrote the play "Artaxerxes Action" based on the plot of the biblical book "Esther", gathered a troupe of students of the school he led in the German Quarter. On October 17, 1672, the first performance took place. The success of the performance decided the further fate of the theatre. The performance of "Esther" or "Artaxerxes action" has firmly entered the repertoire of the "comedy mansion". And after that, the theater staged a number of productions. The new "fun" became an integral part of court life, it was strictly closed, had a palace character. The courtiers were informed about the performances by "delivered falconers" and "rubber grooms". In 1676, after the death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the theater was closed. Created at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the theater was a complex combination of various theatrical systems: the court theater, the church and school theater, and the so-called “English comedians” theater, which is widespread in the West.

Church activities

The Middle Ages are considered to be the time when the formidable seal of the church lay on everything, fettering the manifestations of human thoughts and feelings ... But who are these cheerful people who roam the roads, enter the knight's castles, gather a crowd around them in the squares of cities? These are folk actors - histrions. Their art is varied. They are jugglers, and acrobats, and storytellers, and trainers, and musicians, and singers.

These first folk actors, showing comical scenes, not only amused the audience, but often caustically ridiculed those who oppressed and oppressed ordinary people. Therefore, the performance of folk actors was severely persecuted and prohibited by many decrees issued by the feudal lords and the church.

Realizing that decrees alone cannot kill the love of the people for spectacles, the church decides to force the art of the theater to serve its goals. In order to attract more people to church services, they begin to supplement them with separate scenes from the life of Christ and the saints, which are first played out by disguised priests. Subsequently, for the performance of certain roles (mainly the inhabitants of hell - devils), persons of a non-clerical rank are also invited.

This is how the church theater arises - the main form of theatrical art in Europe of the Middle Ages.

From the beginning of the 9th century, during the church service - the liturgy - they began to play out the most dramatic episodes from the Holy Scriptures. These performances were called liturgical drama. But in the XII century they were forbidden to be shown in churches. The action was taken out to the porch in front of the temple and was now played out for a larger number of spectators. Such spectacles came to be called semi-liturgical drama.

The further development of the church theater leads to the mysteries - the most massive type of theatrical spectacle.

Mystery arose in the second half of the 13th century. In terms of its religious content, it was associated with the church theater, but the performances were no longer staged by the clergy, but by artisans and artisans. Women's roles in the mysteries were performed not by men, as in the ancient theater or Shakespeare's theater, but by women. The whole city watched with joyful excitement as scenery was erected on the square. They began to be built long before that holiday or fair, when the performance was scheduled. During the holidays, a noisy crowd gathers in the square. Next to the heavy velvet of rich townspeople are the simple clothes of the villagers, residents of the surrounding villages, who also came to the city to watch the holiday; in some places, knightly armor sparkles. The eyes of all the people gathered are no longer riveted to the church, not to the porch, but to separate pavilions, where the spectacle takes place. Sometimes it is taken out to the very square, and then the audience becomes, as it were, participants in the performance.

What are these performances about?

The duration of the mystery is all ages from the “creation of the world”. Therefore, the text of the mysteries contained up to 70 thousand verses, and the performance could last from 2 to 20 days. The place of action of the mysteries is the whole Universe. The spectators moved from gazebo to gazebo, following the development of the action, which was transferred from paradise to the king's palace, from ancient Rome to a tavern or to Noah's ark.

Sometimes the audience did not have to move from their place - the theater itself came to the viewer. One by one, wagons drove into the square, on which the scenes of the play were successively played out. The directors of the mysteries strove for plausibility and effects. If, for example, a scene of the global flood was depicted, the square was flooded with water.

The enthusiasm of the crowd reached its limit when a noisy crowd of devils poured into the square in tongues of flame with a cry and laughter from the hellish mouth open in a monstrous grin. Witty jokes alternated with acrobatic performances and skits on topical everyday topics. The text for them, as a rule, was improvised by the actors themselves right here on the square. In these scenes one could also meet the echoes of folk games and rituals.

Scenes were called inserts, or stuffing of mysteries - minced meat. Hence the word "farce", which gave its name to the late independent form of the performance of the Middle Ages, which by the 16th century had become the dominant type of theatrical spectacle.

Farce is the most democratic genre of medieval theater. The authors and performers of farces reproduced real pictures of the life and customs of their time. Farce performances were full of sharp satire, cheerful, juicy folk humor and enjoyed great success with the public.

In the 15th and 16th centuries, moralizing performances were widely spread - morality, where allegorical figures acted as characters: stinginess with a golden bag, selfishness, constantly looked in the mirror, love, carrying a heart in its hands.

His court was significantly different from the previous ones. At first glance, the way of life of the Moscow autocrat was traditional. But the interiors of his chambers, the external manifestations of palace life no longer corresponded to the ancient order.

One of the main directions in the ideology of the Russian tsar was the approval of his "Ecumenical Monarch" - not just the king of the Moscow kingdom, but the only Orthodox sovereign (which corresponded to reality). That is, from the point of view of Moscow politicians, the only "true", "faithful" ruler on earth.

In the 1660s, the Moscow Kremlin was rebuilt by decree of the tsar. New elements appear in the interiors of country residences. Gardens were equipped with labyrinths and fountains. The tsar played the role of the new "brother" of the Caesar of Rome, and the interiors and faces surrounding him confirmed his true dignity and greatness.

The court poet-hieromonk Simeon of Polotsk appeared at the court. On the occasion of various festivities, he recited his panegyrics (verses glorifying the sovereign), sometimes performing them together with his students in person, playing small performances.

In this joyful atmosphere of the formation of a new palace way of life, the first professional theater in Russia arose. The Muscovite Tsar became interested in the theater already in the 1660s. From the stories of the Russian ambassadors, he was aware of similar "actions" at the courts of foreign sovereigns. However, attempts then to hire in the "German lands" "masters of the comedy" ended unsuccessfully ...

In 1658, Johann Gottfried Gregory arrived in Moscow as a teacher at a school at the Lutheran church. A few years later, he would leave Russia for a short time to receive a master's degree from the University of Jena in Germany and the position of a pastor and return to Russia in this capacity.

His biography is practically unknown. He was born in the city of Merseburg in the family of a physician, received a good education, knew Greek, Latin, Hebrew, wrote poetry, like all German students of that time was interested in theater and, apparently, participated in school performances.

It is very likely that, as a teacher in a Lutheran school, Gregory staged plays, as was done in all European schools. The themes of school plays were edifying in nature and were most often based on biblical traditions. Such a theater of the Jesuits and Protestants was called a school - didactic theater, the main purpose of which was to educate and educate spectators and actors.

In Moscow, Gregory saw a man capable of fulfilling the Tsar's dream of a theater. In 1672, the royal decree followed: "... make a comedy to the foreign master Yagan Gottfried, and act on the comedy from the Bible" Book of Esther ". While Gregory was writing a play, which was then translated from German into Russian, and the students of his school were learning it, in the village of Preobrazhensky, the construction of the Comedy Mansion, the arrangement of the stage and scenery began.

Theatrical props were made from real expensive fabrics. The scenery was performed by masters who worked in the royal chambers. Alexei Mikhailovich longed for the presentation as a new outlandish entertainment, unfamiliar to the people of Moscow. The actual re-creation of ancient biblical times on stage was central to the expected miracle of the theatre.

"Now!" So often exclaimed in the first play! Real persons, who had been imprisoned in "graves for two thousand years," had to pass before the tsar. Mamurza is a special character who explained what was happening on the stage; before the start of the performance, he read the preface written for the king, which explained the essence of the theatrical performance.

October 17, 1672 was the first professional performance in Russia. The king was amazed. For nine hours with the boyars and duma ranks, he continuously followed the "Artaxerxes action." Tsarina Natalia Kirillovna with the princes and princesses watched the performance from a special room, separated from the hall by a lattice (as was customary in the Muscovite state).

The tsar sat in an armchair, the courtiers stood, all nine hours (the play was long, divided into several parts, but there was no intermission) silently surprised at what they saw.

The plot of the play is a biblical story about Esther - a humble beauty who attracted the attention of the Persian king Artaxerxes and saved her people from death by becoming his wife.

The first performance amazed the Moscow court. It was repeated several more times. At the beginning of 1673, a new play "Holofern's action" or "Judith" was given, also based on the biblical story: he told how the pagan Holofernes, who besieged her native city, died at the hands of the beautiful Judith.

In 1675 pastor Gregory fell ill and died on February 16 of that year. With his death, the activities of the court theater did not stop. The management of the theater passed to the translator of the Ambassadorial order, Yuri Mikhailovich Givner (Gibner). He was a native of Saxony. In 1656, during the Russian-Polish war for Ukraine, he was taken prisoner, then settled in Moscow, was a teacher of Latin and German in the German Quarter.

In 1675-76, Stepan Chizhinsky, a Polish gentry, teacher and translator of the Ambassadorial Office, began to take an active part in theatrical business. For the court theater, the court poet Simeon Polotsky also wrote plays "The Comedy of the Parable of the Prodigal Son" and "About King Nefhodnezzar, about a body of gold and three children who were not burned in the oven."

In 1676, Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich died, and with him the first Russian professional theater ceased to exist. Under his successor, Tsar Fedor, "comedy supplies" were ordered to be kept under wraps.

The first Russian performances really reflected in general the artistic and psychological aspirations of the Moscow court, its interest in Western European culture and life, and at the same time cautious caution, both in art and in the life of non-believers - Catholics and Protestants ...

But the court theater of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich did not remain just a historical fact. School theaters of seminaries and theological academies trace their history from him, which influenced the formation and emergence of secular public theater in Russia.

Later, all the rulers of Russia took care of their own court theater, and since the time of Anna Ioannovna, the public one. Following the imperial family, Russian landowners and directors of educational institutions took care of the prosperity of theatrical art in their palaces and estates.

In 1759, by royal decree, the actors Fyodor Volkov and Yakov Shumsky went to Moscow to organize a public theater. The theater they created was run by the director of Moscow University, Mikhail Matveyevich Kheraskov, who himself wrote plays for him. In the theater, among the actors were university students. It was in this theater that the later famous playwright and writer Fonvizin began his career as an actor (for playing in Russian plays they were recruited from students).

The origin and formation of the Russian theater.

Little information has been preserved in history about primitive Russian culture: 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 a “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 elevated, melodious declamatory speech, and the language of the "comic" characters in the interlude was based on the folk dialect with a comical play on speech flaws and accents. In the field of gesticulation, the school theater approved a broad "oratorical" gesture, mainly with the right hand, and the authors were forbidden to use gloves, since the hand was an important element of 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 Moscow 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. King, 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 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. In fact, all the major actors of the next generation were his students - A. Krutitsky, K. Gomburov, S. Rakhmanov, A. D. Karatygina, S. Sandunova, T. Troepolskaya, P. Plavilshchikov and others. In 1771, Dmitrevsky tried to reorganize and head the Moscow The University Theater (having competed with Sumarokov, who by that time was out of work), however, 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 to study 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 was marked by two major events that had an impact on all spheres of public life, including the theater.

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 troupe in 1803, but before moving to a separate building of the Alexandrinsky Theater in 1836, it still worked together with the 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, anticipating the aesthetic direction of critical realism, bringing the 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 the best forces of the Russian theatrical province were drawn.

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's 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. The Moscow Art Theater at that time actually determined the entire artistic life of Moscow, incl. - and the development of small theatrical forms; The most popular Moscow theater-cabaret "The Bat" is being 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 group working on 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 jurisdiction of the arts 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 between 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 the 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 director names appeared: A.Popov, Yu.Zavadsky, R.Simonov, B.Zakhava, A.Dikiy, N.Okhlopkov, L.Vivienne, 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 (which 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 . go on stage 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. Mansurova and others. A strong troupe is being formed at the Mossovet Theater (former 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: M. Babanova, M. Astangov, D. Orlov, M. Strauch, Yu. 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 theater in particular were going through 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. Ginkas, G. Yanovskaya, 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 of the Russian Army), the traditions of psychological theater were preserved by A. Popov and B. Lvov-Anokhin (later head of the Stanislavsky Theater and staged a lot at the Maly Theatre). 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. Well-known actors came here, 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 others. After the 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 the most important condition for 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 the 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

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