The history of the emergence of theater in Russia. Literature and music of ancient Rus'

MKOU "Torbeevskaya Basic School named after A.I. Danilov"

Novoduginsky district, Smolensk region

The history of the theater in Russia

Done: Primary school teacher

Smirnova A.A.

d.Torbeevo

2016

Folk art Russian theater originated in ancient times in folk art. These were rituals, holidays. Over time, rituals lost their meaning and turned into performance games. Elements of the theater were manifested in them - dramatic action, disguise, dialogue. The oldest theater was the games of folk actors - buffoons.

buffoons

In 1068 buffoons are first mentioned in chronicles. They coincide in time with the appearance on the walls of the Kiev Sophia Cathedral of frescoes depicting buffoon performances. The chronicler monk calls buffoons servants of the devils, and the artist who painted the walls of the cathedral found it possible to include their image in church decorations along with icons.

Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv

Frescoes on the walls of St. Sophia Cathedral

Who are buffoons?

Here is the definition given by the compiler of the explanatory dictionary V.I. Dal:

"A buffoon, a buffoon, a musician, a piper, a miracle worker, a bagpiper, a harper, a hunter with dances with songs, jokes and tricks, an actor, a comedian, a joker, a bugbear, a lomaka, a jester"

Parsley

In the 17th century, the first oral dramas developed, simple in plot, reflecting popular moods. The puppet comedy about Petrushka (his first name was Vanka-Ratatouille) told about the adventures of a clever merry fellow who was not afraid of anything in the world. .

court theater

Plans to create a court theater first appeared with Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich in 1643. The Moscow government tried to find artists who would agree to enter the royal service. In 1644, a troupe of comedians from Strasbourg arrived in Pskov. They lived in Pskov for about a month, after which, for some unknown reason, they were expelled from Russia.

Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich Romanov

Royal Theater The first royal theater in Russia belonged to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and existed from 1672 to 1676. Its beginning is associated with the name of the boyar Artamon Matveev. Artamon Sergeevich ordered the pastor of the German settlement Johann Gottfried Gregory, who lived in Moscow, to recruit an acting troupe.

Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich

Artamon Matveev

The pastor recruited 64 young men and teenage boys and began to teach them acting skills. He composed a play on a biblical story. It was written in German, but the performance was given in Russian. On October 17, 1672, the long-awaited theater was opened in the Tsar's residence near Moscow and the first theatrical performance took place.

funny ward

The Royal Theater, as a building, was called the Amusement Chamber.

school theater

In the 17th century, a school theater appeared in Russia at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. The plays were written by teachers, and the students staged historical tragedies, dramas, and satirical everyday scenes. The satirical scenes of the school theater laid the foundation for the comedy genre in the national dramaturgy. At the origins of the school theater was a famous political figure, playwright Simeon Polotsky.

Simeon Polotsky

Fortress theaters

And at the end of the 17th century, the first serf theaters appeared. Fortress theaters contributed to the appearance of women on the stage. Among the outstanding Russian serf actresses is the one who shone in the theater of Counts Sheremetevs Praskovya Zhemchugova-Kovalev. The repertoire of the fortress theaters consisted of works by European authors, primarily French and Italian.

Count Sheremetev

Praskovya Zhemchugova-Kovaleva

Fortress Theater of Count Sheremetev

home theater building

Sheremetevs

Actors costumes

theater room

When did the theater appear in the city of Smolensk?

1) in 1708

2) in 1780

3) in 1870

4) in 1807

In 1780 for the arrival Catherine II accompanied by Emperor Joseph II , the governor of the city, Prince N.V. Repnin, prepared an “opera house”, where “Russian comedy with a choir” was presented by “nobles of both sexes”.

N. V. Repnin

Catherine II

Emperor Joseph II

Whose name is the Smolensk Drama Theater?

1) A.S. Pushkin?

2) F.M. Dostoevsky?

3) L.N. Tolstoy?

4) A.S. Griboyedov?

What theater is not in Smolensk?

Chamber theater

Puppet Theatre

Opera and Ballet Theatre

There is no opera and ballet theater in Smolensk, there is a philharmonic named after M.I. Glinka

Smolensk Regional Philharmonic M.I. Glinka

Concert hall Smolensk Philharmonic

A student of the 10th grade of secondary school No. 15 in Sergiev Posad Zakharova Vsevolod 1) The emergence of a professional theater 2) Old Russian musical culture 3) Sources of information 1) Reveal the features of the emergence of a professional theater in Russia, 2) Reveal the features of the formation of musical culture from ancient Russia to Russia, 3) Contribute to the formation of the spiritual culture of students, interest and respect for the culture of our country. Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich The foundations of the professional Russian theater were laid in the second half of the 17th century. Its origin is usually attributed to 1672, when the first performance of the court theater was presented to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich - the persecutor of the people's "fun" and a great lover of magnificent spectacles and entertainment. The enlightened boyar Artamon Sergeevich Matveev became the initiator of the creation of a theater like a European one. The German pastor of the Lutheran Church in Moscow, Johann Gottfried Gregory, was appointed playwright - a well-educated man, literary gifted and with the necessary knowledge in the field of German and Dutch theater. The theater was hastily built in the Tsar's residence near Moscow, in the village of Preobrazhensky. The auditorium of the “comedy mansion”, located in an amphitheater, was inferior in size to the stage, but was richly decorated: the walls and floor were upholstered with crimson, red and green cloth; with their "rank and rank", the audience was placed, some of them stood on the stage. For the queen and princesses, special boxes were arranged - "cages", according to tradition, separated from the auditorium by a lattice. The first performance on the stage of the “comedy mansion” was the play “Esther, or Artaxerxes Action”. The plot of the play was based on the 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 performance lasted ten hours, but the king watched everything to the end and was very pleased. Ten more plays were staged in the "comedy mansion": "Judith", "The Pitiful Comedy about Adam and Eve", "Joseph" and others, on religious and historical subjects. Court performances were staged on a large scale and luxury, as they were supposed to reflect the splendor and wealth of the royal court. The costumes were made from expensive fabrics. Music, singing and dancing were widely used in performances. Organ, pipes and other instruments often sounded. Each performance had lifting scenery and side wings. With the help of stage equipment, various effects were applied. The first performers of the plays of the court theater were mostly actors from the German Quarter and only men. At the end of the 17th century, the “state entertainment” was replaced by the school theater (organized at some educational institution), based on the richest experience of theaters in Poland and Ukraine. Its origin was associated with the name of a graduate of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, educator, poet and playwright Simeon Polotsky. Especially for the school theater, he wrote two plays - "The Comedy of the Parable of the Prodigal Son" and "About the Tsar Nevchadnezzar, about the body of gold and about three youths who were not burned in the oven." The court and school theaters of the 17th century laid the foundation for the development of theatrical art in Russia and largely determined its future. With its origins, ancient Russian musical culture goes back to the pagan traditions of the Eastern Slavs, which developed long before the adoption of Christianity. The musical instruments of Ancient Rus' were quite diverse. The harp, sniffles, flutes, flute were widely used. In Rus', the gusli, the oldest stringed plucked instrument, mentioned back in the 10th century in the Tale of Bygone Years, enjoyed special respect. It has long been believed that the harp is akin to the human soul, and their ringing drives away death and illness. Folk storytellers and bogatyrs played the harp: the prophetic Boyan in The Tale of Igor's Campaign, the epic bogatyrs Volga and Dobrynya Nikitich in Kyiv, Sadko in Novgorod. How Dobrynya takes in her white hands Those sonorous goslings of yaronchaty, They will pull and gilded strings, The Jewish verse will play in a dull way, In a dull and touching way In the feast, everyone became thoughtful, Thoughtful and listened to. Dobrynya began to play in a merry way, He started a game from Yerusolim, Another game from Tsar-grad, The third from the capital city of Kyiv - He brought everyone to the feast for fun. Percussion and wind instruments were used in military campaigns: drums, tambourines, pipes, rattles. They supported the morale of the soldiers during the battles, relieved emotional stress, and instilled confidence in victory. The adoption of Christianity could not completely change the traditional way of life of the people and their musical tastes. With the baptism from Byzantium, many artistic principles were transferred to Russian soil, the canon and the system of genres were borrowed. Here they were creatively rethought and reworked, which subsequently made it possible to form original national traditions. Church music in ancient Rus' existed in the form of choral singing without instrumental accompaniment. Musical instruments were banned in the Orthodox Church. Moreover, instrumental music was considered sinful, demonic. There was a spiritual meaning in this opposition. In those days, it was believed that only angelic singing, which is an echo of heavenly music, should sound in an Orthodox church. Such singing embodied the ideal of beauty and gave people a feeling of grace, purification, consolation, taught to love God and neighbors. The only exception was the art of playing the bells, which was developed in various forms of simple ringing, chiming, chiming, etc. Several bells with different tones formed a belfry, which made it possible to perform entire musical works. Church singing served as a model of the highest professionalism, embodied in various forms in a practical and theoretical system, which was called the system of osmosis, that is, the alternation of groups of tunes over periods of eight weeks. Folk music in those days was traditionally passed down from generation to generation orally, "by word of mouth". Cult music in this era was recorded with special signs, called banners, of which the most common were hooks. Therefore, ancient musical manuscripts were called Znamenny or Kryukovy. In the 17th century, musical culture in Russia, especially choral culture, reached a very high level. It was a time when, along with the traditional genres of musical art, new forms and genres were born. Prior to this, choral music was monophonic. Now it has been replaced by polyphony. And the musical notation came to replace the hooks, and the style of partes singing arose. So then they called singing according to the notes of cantes and choral concerts. These concerts were an important transitional step from church to secular professional music. The musical culture of Ancient Rus' was that solid foundation on which a beautiful building subsequently grew, which laid the foundation for the development of professional creativity. The best examples of ancient Russian music have rightfully become the most valuable asset of the national musical culture. http://images.yandex.ru/, http://www.google.ru/imghp?hl=ru&tab=wi, http://vkontakte.ru/id47570217#/search?c%5Bsection%5D=audio, http://www.youtube.com/, World art culture. From the origins to the 17th century. 10 cells Basic level: textbook for educational institutions / G.I. Danilova. - 7th ed., revised. - M .: Bustard, 2009

Russian theatrical creativity originated in the era of the primitive communal system and, to a greater extent than painting and architecture, is associated with folk art. The soil on which its original elements appeared was the production activity of the Slavs, who, in folk rites and holidays, turned it into a complex system of dramatic art.

Folklore theater in the Slavic countries still exists today. Weddings, funerals, agricultural holidays are complex rituals, sometimes lasting several days and widely using such theatrical elements as dramatic action, singing, dance, costume, scenery (dressing the matchmaker, bride, round dances, ritual or entertaining games, etc. ). The ancient Slavs also reflected the holiday of the resurrection of dead nature, characteristic of world paganism.

After the adoption of Christianity, the role of folk games in the life of society decreased significantly (the church persecuted paganism). Theatrical folk art, however, continued to live until the 20th century. At first, its carriers were buffoons. At the folk games, popular "games of mummers", "deceased" performances with a "learned bear" were performed. The People's Theater gave the Petrushka Theater.

Favorite in Rus' were puppet shows - a nativity scene, later a district (Ukraine), in the south and west - batleyka (Belarus). These performances were given with the help of a wooden box divided into upper and lower tiers. On the top floor, a serious part of the performance was played on the theme of the biblical story about the birth of Christ and King Herod. On the lower floor, everyday comic and satirical scenes were shown, in many ways reminiscent of the Petrushka Theater. Gradually, the serious part of the crib performance was reduced, and the second part grew, supplemented by new comic scenes. and, the crib from a two-tier box became a single-tier one.

Until the 17th century in Russia, theatricality was an organic component of folk rituals, calendar holidays, and round dances. Elements of it were included in the church service, and it is here, as the secular principle intensifies in Russian society, that a professional theater begins to take shape.

Initially, liturgical performances arose. These are quite complex theatrical performances used to enhance the impact of church services and glorify the unity of state and church authorities. Known are the “stove action” (a staging of the massacre of King Nebuchadnezzar over Christians) and “walking on a donkey” (drawing the plot of the Bible on Palm Sunday).

The court and school theaters of the 17th century contributed to the further development of theatrical business in Russia. Even under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, court festivities, receptions, ceremonies began to take shape with a great deal of theatricality - expressively and magnificently. The first Russian professional comedy theater was a court theater and was one of the regulated “fun” of the tsar. It was headed in 1662 by the master of theology, pastor and head of the school at the Lutheran officer's church in the German Quarter of Moscow, I. Gregory. The very same building was opened in 1672 in the village of Preobrazhensky with the play "Artaxerxes Action".

The emergence of the school theater in Rus' is associated with the development of school education. In Western Europe, it arose in the 12th century in humanistic schools as a kind of pedagogical technique and initially served only teaching and educational purposes. He helped students in the form of a game to master various knowledge: the Latin language and biblical stories, poetics and oratory. In the 16th century, the possibilities of the spiritual influence of the school theater began to be used for religious and political purposes: by Luther in the fight against Catholics, the Jesuits against Lutheranism and Orthodoxy. In Russia, school the theater was used by Orthodoxy in the fight against Roman Catholic influence. Its origin was facilitated by a monk, a graduate of the Kiev-Mohyla Academy, an educated person, politician, educator and poet Simeon Polotsky. In 1664 he came to Moscow and became the tutor of the royal children at court. In the collection of his works "Rhymologion" two plays were published - "The comedy about Novkhudonosor the king, about the body of gold and about the three children who were not burned in the cave" and the comedy "The Parable of the Prodigal Son".

S. Polotsky's plays are designed for the court theater by their nature. In their merits, they stand above the school plays of that time and anticipate the development of the theater of the 18th century. Thus, the functioning of the “comedy temple” and the appearance of the first professional dramatic works by S. Polotsky was the beginning of a historically necessary and natural process of mastering the achievements of the world theatrical culture in Russia.

Simeon Polotsky was not only a talented poet and playwright. In world artistic culture, he played a significant role as the largest Slavic art theorist, considering the problems of artistic creativity - literature, music, painting. As a theologian, he noted that art is the highest spiritual creativity. To him he attributed poetry, music and painting.

The aesthetic and educational views of S. Polotsky on art are interesting. The monk argued that the art of beauty "is a spiritual and spiritual benefit for people." According to his reasoning, there is no poetry, painting, music without harmony, proportion and rhythm. Without art, there is no education, because through its impact on the souls of people, negative emotions are replaced by positive feelings. Through the beauty of music and words, the unsatisfied become patient, the lazy become hard workers, the stupid become smart, the dirty become pure in heart.

S. Polotsky created the first classification of fine arts in the Slavic region, elevating painting to the Seven Liberal Arts. The same applies to music. He substantiated its aesthetic value and proved the necessity for the church of polyphonic singing in a harmonious combination of voices. The modal-tonal variety of music, noted S. Polotsky, is dictated by its educational function.

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The history of the emergence of the Russian theater

Introduction

The history of the Russian theater is divided into several main stages. The initial, playful stage originates in a tribal society and ends by the 17th century, when, along with a new period in Russian history, a new, more mature stage in the development of the theater begins, culminating in the establishment of a permanent state professional theater in 1756.

The terms “theatre”, “drama” entered the Russian dictionary only in the 18th century. At the end of the 17th century, the term "comedy" was used, and throughout the century - "fun" (Amusing closet, Amusement Chamber). In the popular masses, the term “theater” was preceded by the term “disgrace”, the term “drama” - “game”, “game”. In the Russian Middle Ages, definitions synonymous with them were common - “demonic”, or “satanic”, buffoon games. All sorts of curiosities brought by foreigners in the 16th-17th centuries, and fireworks were also called fun. The military occupations of the young Tsar Peter I were also called fun. In this sense, both the wedding and dressing up were called “play”, “game”. “Play” has a completely different meaning in relation to musical instruments: playing tambourines, sniffles, etc. The terms “game” and “play” in relation to oral drama were preserved among the people until the 19th-20th centuries.

Folk art

Russian theater originated in ancient times. Its origins go to folk art - rituals, holidays associated with labor activity. Over time, the rites lost their magical meaning and turned into performance games. Elements of the theater were born in them - dramatic action, disguise, dialogue. In the future, the simplest games turned into folk dramas; they were created in the process of collective creativity and kept in people's memory, passing from generation to generation.

In the process of their development, the games were differentiated, disintegrated into related and at the same time more and more distant varieties - into dramas, rituals, games. They were brought together only by the fact that they all reflected reality and used similar methods of expressiveness - dialogue, song, dance, music, disguise, disguise, acting.

Games instilled a taste for dramatic creativity.

Games were originally a direct reflection of the tribal community organization: they had a round dance, choric character. In round dance games, choral and dramatic creativity was organically merged. Songs and dialogues, abundantly included in the games, helped to characterize the playful images. Mass commemorations also had a playful character; they were timed to coincide with the spring and were called “mermaids”. In the XV century, the content of the concept of "Rusalia" was defined as follows: demons in human form. And the Moscow “Azbukovnik” of 1694 already defines mermaids as “buffoon games”.

The theatrical art of the peoples of our Motherland originates in rituals and games, ritual actions. Under feudalism, theatrical art was cultivated, on the one hand, by the "popular masses", and on the other, by the feudal nobility, and buffoons were differentiated accordingly.

In 957 Grand Duchess Olga got acquainted with the theater in Constantinople. Hippodrome performances are depicted on the frescoes of the Kiev Sophia Cathedral of the last third of the 11th century. In 1068, buffoons were first mentioned in the annals.

Three types of theaters were known to Kievan Rus: court, church, folk.

buffoonery

The oldest "theater" was the games of folk actors - buffoons. Shyness is a complex phenomenon. Buffoons were considered a kind of magicians, but this is erroneous, because buffoons, participating in rituals, not only did not enhance their religious and magical character, but, on the contrary, introduced worldly, secular content.

Anyone could buffoon, that is, sing, dance, joke, act out skits, play musical instruments and act, that is, portray some kind of person or creature, anyone could. But only the one whose art stood out above the level of the art of the masses by its artistry became and was called a buffoon-craftsman.

In parallel with the folk theater, professional theatrical art developed, the carriers of which in Ancient Rus' were buffoons. The appearance of a puppet theater in Rus' is connected with buffoon games. The first chronicle information about buffoons coincides in time with the appearance on the walls of the Kiev Sophia Cathedral of frescoes depicting buffoon performances. The chronicler monk calls buffoons servants of the devils, and the artist who painted the walls of the cathedral found it possible to include their image in church decorations along with icons. Buffoons were associated with the masses, and one of the types of their art was "gum", that is, satire. Skomorokhovs are called "fools", that is, scoffers. Glum, mockery, satire will continue to be firmly associated with buffoons.

The secular art of buffoons was hostile to the church and clerical ideology. The hatred that the churchmen had for the art of buffoons is evidenced by the records of the chroniclers (“The Tale of Bygone Years”). Church teachings of the 11th-12th centuries declare that disguise, which buffoons resort to, is also a sin. Buffoons were subjected to especially strong persecution during the years of the Tatar yoke, when the church began to intensively preach an ascetic way of life. No persecution has eradicated the buffoon art among the people. On the contrary, it successfully developed, and its satirical sting became more and more acute.

Art-related crafts were known in Ancient Rus': icon painters, jewelers, wood and bone carvers, and book scribes. Buffoons belonged to their number, being "cunning", "masters" of singing, music, dance, poetry, drama. But they were regarded only as amusing, funny people. Their art was ideologically connected with the masses of the people, with the artisan people, usually opposed to the ruling masses. This made their skill not only useless, but, from the point of view of the feudal lords and clergy, ideologically harmful and dangerous. Representatives of the Christian church placed buffoons next to the wise men and fortune tellers. In rituals and games there is still no division into performers and spectators; they lack developed plots, reincarnation into an image. They appear in a folk drama permeated with sharp social motifs. The appearance of the square theaters of the oral tradition is connected with the folk drama. The actors of these folk theaters (buffoons) ridiculed those in power, the clergy, the rich, sympathetically showed ordinary people. Performances of the folk theater were built on improvisation, included pantomime, music, singing, dancing, church numbers; performers used masks, make-up, costumes, props.

The nature of the performance of the buffoons initially did not require them to be combined into large groups. For the performance of fairy tales, epics, songs, playing the instrument, only one performer was enough. Buffoons leave their homes and roam the Russian land in search of work, move from villages to cities, where they serve not only the rural, but also the townspeople, and sometimes princely courts.

Buffoons were also attracted to folk court performances, which multiplied under the influence of acquaintance with Byzantium and its court life. When the Amusing Closet (1571) and the Amusement Chamber (1613) were arranged at the Moscow Court, buffoons found themselves in the position of court jesters there.

The performances of buffoons united different types of arts: both dramatic art proper, and church and “variety” ones.

The Christian Church opposed folk games and the art of buffoons with ritual art, saturated with religious and mystical elements.

Performances of buffoons did not develop into a professional theater. There were no conditions for the birth of theater troupes - after all, the authorities persecuted buffoons. The church also persecuted buffoons, turning to secular authorities for assistance. Against the buffoons were sent a charter of the Trinity-Sergius Monastery of the XV century, the Statutory charter of the beginning of the XVI century. The Church persistently put buffoons on a par with the bearers of the pagan worldview (magicians, sorcerers). And yet, buffoon performances continued to live, the folk theater developed.

At the same time, the church took all measures to assert its influence. This found expression in the development of the liturgical drama. Some liturgical dramas came to us along with Christianity, others in the 15th century, along with the newly adopted solemn charter of the “great church” (“Procession on the Ground”, “Washing of the Feet”).

Despite the use of theatrical and spectacular forms, the Russian church did not create its own theater.

In the 17th century, Simeon of Polotsk (1629-1680) tried to create an artistic literary drama on the basis of liturgical drama, this attempt turned out to be isolated and fruitless.

Theaters of the 17th century

court theater

The emergence of the court theater was caused by the interest of the court nobility in Western culture. This theater appeared in Moscow under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich. The first performance of the play "The Action of Artaxerxes" (the story of the biblical Esther) took place on October 17, 1672. Initially, the court theater did not have its own premises, scenery and costumes were transferred from place to place. The first performances were staged by pastor Gregory from the German settlement, the actors were also foreigners. Later, they began to forcefully recruit and train Russian “youths”. Their salaries were paid irregularly, but they did not skimp on scenery and costumes. The performances were distinguished by great splendor, sometimes accompanied by playing musical instruments and dancing. After the death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, the court theater was closed, and performances resumed only under Peter I.

school theater

In addition to the court theater, in Russia in the 17th century there was also a school theater at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, in theological seminaries and schools in Lvov, Tiflis, and Kyiv. The plays were written by teachers, and students staged historical tragedies, allegorical dramas close to European miracles, interludes - satirical everyday scenes in which protest against the social system sounded. Interludes of the school theater laid the foundation for the comedy genre in the national dramaturgy. At the origins of the school theater was a famous political figure, playwright Simeon Polotsky.

The appearance of the court school theater expanded the scope of the spiritual life of Russian society.

Theater of the early 18th century

At the behest of Peter I, in 1702, the Public Theater was created, designed for the mass public. Especially for him, not on Red Square in Moscow, a building was built - “Comedy Temple”. The German troupe of I. Kh. Kunst gave performances there. The repertoire included foreign plays that were not successful with the public, and the theater ceased to exist in 1706, as the subsidies of Peter I ceased.

Conclusion

A new page in the history of the performing arts of the peoples of our Motherland was opened by serf and amateur theaters. In the serf troupes that existed from the end of the 18th century, vaudeville, comic operas, and ballets were staged. On the basis of serf theaters, private enterprises arose in a number of cities. The Russian theatrical art had a beneficial effect on the formation of the professional theater of the peoples of our Motherland. The troupes of the first professional theaters included talented amateurs - representatives of the democratic intelligentsia.

Theater in Russia in the 18th century gained immense popularity, became the property of the broad masses, another public sphere of people's spiritual activity.

Russian theater RUSSIAN THEATER (THEATRE OF RUSSIA) went through a different path of formation and development than the European, Eastern or American theater. The stages of this path are connected with the originality of the history of Russia - its economy, changes in social formations, religion, the special mentality of Russians, etc. THEATER

The Origin and Formation of the Russian Theater Theater in its ritual and ceremonial forms, as in every ancient community, was also widespread in Rus', it existed in mystery forms. In this case, we mean mystery not as a genre of medieval European theater, but as a group action associated with everyday and sacred goals, most often - to get the help of a deity in situations important for the functioning of the human community.

The origin and formation of the Russian theater. These were the stages of the agricultural cycle - sowing, harvesting, natural disasters - drought, epidemics and epizootics, tribal and family events - marriage, childbirth, death, etc. These were prateatre performances based on ancient tribal and agricultural magic, so the theater of this period is mainly studied by folklorists and ethnographers, and not theater historians. But this stage is extremely important - like any beginning that sets the vector of development.

The origin and formation of the Russian theater From such ritual actions was born the line of development of the Russian theater as a folklore, folk theater, presented in many forms - a puppet theater (Petrushka, a nativity scene, etc.), a booth (raek, bear fun, etc.), wandering actors ( harpists, 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

The origin and formation of the Russian theater Approximately from 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.

Professional theater 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

The school-church theater "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, ancient Olympus, wisdom, faith, hope, love, etc., appeared on the stage, transferred from the pages of books.

School and church theater 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.

Court Theater 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. I. Rozanov. Portrait of the founder of the first court theater Artamon Sergeevich Matveev

Court theatre. 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 May 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."

Court Theater Performances have become one of the favorite entertainments at the Moscow court. There were 26 Russian actors. The boys played the female roles. The role of Esther in the action of Artaxerxes was played by the son of Blumentrost. 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 work: at the Polish court - for foreigners, in the Meshchanskaya Sloboda - for Russians

Court Theater The appearance of the first court theater coincided with the birth of Peter I (1672), who saw the last performances of this theater as a child. Having ascended the throne and started a huge work on the Europeanization of Russia, Peter I could not help but turn to the theater as a means of promoting his innovative political and social ideas.

Petrovsky Theater Petrovsky Theater From the end of the 17th century. in Europe, masquerades, which young Peter I liked, came into fashion. In 1698, dressed in the costume of a Friesian peasant, he participated in the Viennese masquerade. Peter decided to popularize his reforms and innovations through the art of the theater. He planned to build a theater in Moscow, but not for the elite, but open to everyone. In 1698-1699, a puppet theater troupe worked in Moscow, headed by Jan Splavsky, and in 1701 Peter instructed to invite comedians from abroad. In 1702, the troupe of Johann Kunst arrives in Russia

The Emergence of a Public (Public) Theater After Elizabeth Petrovna ascended the throne in 1741, the introduction of the European theater continued. Foreign troupes toured at the court - Italian, German, French, among them - drama, opera and ballet, commedia dell'arte. In the same period, the foundations of the national Russian professional theater were laid, it was during the reign of Elizabeth that the future “father of the Russian theater” Fyodor Volkov studied in Moscow, taking part in Christmas performances and absorbing the experience of touring European troupes.

Theaters in educational institutions In the middle of the 18th century. theaters are organized in educational institutions (1749 - St. Petersburg Gentry Corps, 1756 - Moscow University), Russian theatrical performances are arranged in St. Petersburg (organizer I. Lukin), in Moscow (organizers K. Baikulov, clerks led by Khalkov and Glushkov, master "Ivanov and others), in Yaroslavl (organizers N. Serov, F. Volkov). In 1747, another important event took place: the first poetic tragedy was written - Khorev A. Sumarokov.

National public theater 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. Ivanova and others. Among them are four women: A. Musina-Pushkina, A. Mikhailova, sisters M. and O. Ananiev.

Petrovsky Theater Petrovsky Theater Under Peter the Great, performances in Siberia were initiated by the Metropolitan of Tobolsk, Philotheus Leshchinsky. In a handwritten chronicle under 1727 it is said: “Filothey was a hunter for theatrical performances, he made glorious and rich comedies, when he was supposed to be a spectator of a gatherer at a comedy, then he lord produced cathedral bells to collect blaze, and the theaters were between the Cathedral and St. Sergius churches and vzvozu, where the people were going. The innovation of Metropolitan Philotheus was continued by his successors, some of whom were pupils of the Kyiv Academy.

Theater under Anna Ioannovna Anna Ioannovna spent huge sums on various festivities, balls, masquerades, solemn receptions of ambassadors, fireworks, illuminations and theatrical processions. At her court, the clownish culture revived, continuing the traditions of the "sedentary" buffoons - she had giants and dwarfs, jesters and crackers. The most famous theatrical holiday was the "curious" wedding of the jester Prince Golitsyn with the Kalmyk joker Buzheninova in the Ice House on February 6, 1740.

Permanent public theater The first Russian permanent public theater was opened in 1756 in St. Petersburg, in the Golovkinsky 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.)

Creation of a Drama Theater 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.

History of the Maly Theater The Maly Theater is the oldest theater in Russia. His troupe was created at Moscow University in 1756, immediately after the well-known Decree of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna, which marked the birth of a professional theater in our country: We now ordered the establishment of a Russian theater for the presentation of comedies and tragedies ... The house of the merchant Vargin, where the Maly Theater was opened in 1824

History of the Maly Theater In 1824 Beauvais rebuilt the mansion of the merchant Vargin for the theatre, and the dramatic part of the Moscow troupe of the Imperial Theater received its own building on Petrovsky (now Teatralnaya) Square and its own name - the Maly Theatre. In 1824, Beauvais rebuilt the mansion of the merchant Vargin for the theatre, and the dramatic part of the Moscow troupe of the Imperial Theater received its own building on Petrovskaya (now Teatralnaya) Square and its own name - the Maly Theatre. The building of the Moscow Maly Theatre, photograph of the 90s of the XIX century

Theater of the era of sentimentalism The period of classicism in Russia did not last long - already from the mid-1760s, the formation of sentimentalism began. There are "tearful comedies" by V. Lukinsky, M. Veryovkin, M. Kheraskov, comic opera, petty-bourgeois drama. The strengthening of democratic tendencies in the theater and dramaturgy was facilitated by the exacerbation of social contradictions during the period of the peasant war of 1773–1775 and the traditions of the folk theater. So, according to contemporaries, Shumsky used playing techniques close to buffoons. A satirical comedy is developing - Undergrowth D. Fonvizin

Fortress theaters By the end of the 18th century. fortress theaters are spreading. Theatrical specialists - actors, choreographers, composers - were invited here for classes 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). Castle theater dancer

Theater at the turn of the century 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. The Hermitage Theatre, built by order of Catherine the Great in the years

Russian theater at 19 c Russian theater at 19 c 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 on Enlightenment with Respect 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 modern 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, the desire for the individualization of stage characters, the disclosure of their feelings and psychology, were affirmed.

Division of the theater into two troupes 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.)

Alexandrinsky Theater For the Alexandrinsky Theater, second half of the 19th century. turned out to be a more difficult period. Despite separate productions of plays by Ostrovsky, I. Turgenev, A. Sukhovo-Kobylin, A. Pisemsky, at the behest of the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters, vaudeville and pseudo-folk dramaturgy formed the main basis of the repertoire at that time. The troupe included many talented artists whose names are inscribed in the history of the Russian theater: A. Martynov, P. Vasiliev, V. Asenkova, E. Guseva, Yu. Linskaya, V. Samoilov, later, by the end of the 19th century. - P. Strepetova, V. Komissarzhevskaya, M. Dalsky, K. Varlamov, M. Savina, V. Strelskaya, V. Dalmatov, V. Davydov and others. However, each of these brilliant actors appeared as if on his own, acting stars did not form a stage ensemble. In general, the state of the Alexandrinsky Theater at that time was not very enviable: the leaders of the troupe were constantly changing, there was no strong direction, the number of premieres increased, and the rehearsal time was reduced.

The largest opera and ballet theater in Russia, one of the oldest musical theaters in our country. It originates from the Stone (Bolshoi) Theater opened in 1783. It has existed in a modern building (rebuilt after a fire in the Circus Theater) since 1860, at the same time it received a new name - the Mariinsky Theater.

Theater at the turn of the century The turn of the 19th and 20th centuries became the period of rapid rise and rapid flourishing of the Russian theater. This time was a turning point for the entire world theater: a new theatrical profession appeared - the director, and in connection with this, a fundamentally new aesthetics of the director's theater was formed. In Russia, these tendencies are especially pronounced. It was a period of unprecedented rise of all Russian art, which later received the name of the Silver Age. And the drama theater - along with poetry, painting, scenography, ballet - appeared in a huge variety of aesthetic directions, focusing the attention of the world theatrical community.

Russian theater at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries Russian theater at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries In order to consider Russia at the turn of the 19th–20th centuries. the focus of world theatrical achievements, it would be enough for one K. Stanislavsky with his stunning innovative ideas and the Moscow Art Theater created by him together with V. Nemirovich-Danchenko (1898). Despite the fact that the Moscow Art Theater opened with a performance of Tsar Fedor Ioannovich by A.K. Tolstoy, A. Chekhov’s dramaturgy, mysterious, not fully disclosed even today, became the banner of the new theater. No wonder there is a seagull on the curtain of the Moscow Art Theater, which refers to the title of one of Chekhov's best plays and has become a symbol of the theatre. But one of the main merits of Stanislavsky to the world theater is the education of talented students who have absorbed the experience of his theatrical system and develop it further in the most unexpected and paradoxical directions (bright examples are V. Meyerhold, M. Chekhov, E. Vakhtangov).

VERA FYODOROVNA KOMISSARZHEVSKAYA V. Komissarzhevskaya was the "key figure" of that time in St. Petersburg. 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 theater of Komissarzhevskaya in 1906–1907, Meyerhold first asserted the principles of the conventional theater on the capital 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)

Moscow Art Theater Moscow Art Theater The Moscow Art Theater was the center of theater 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. Krag 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.

The Russian Theater after 1917 The new government understood the importance of theatrical art: on November 9, 1917, a decree was issued by the Council of People's Commissars transferring 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).

Theater named after Evgeny Vakhtangov History of the Theater named after Evg. Vakhtangov began long before his birth. At the end of 1913, a group of very young students of eighteen to twenty Moscow students organized the Student Drama Studio, deciding to engage in theatrical art according to the Stanislavsky system.

Theater in the 1930s A new period of the Russian theater began in 1932 with a 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 allowed 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 (A Man with a Gun in the Vakhtangov Theatre, in the role of Lenin - B. Shchukin; Pravda in the Theater of the 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.

Theater in the 1930s (and the second half of the 1940s, when the ideological politics continued) were tragic for many figures in the Russian theater. However, the Russian theater continued to develop. New director names appeared: A.Popov, Yu.Zavadsky, R.Simonov, B.Zakhava, A.Dikiy, N.Okhlopkov, L.Vivien, 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.
Theater during the Great Patriotic War During the Great Patriotic War, Russian theaters mainly turned to the patriotic theme. Plays written during this period (L.Leonov's Invasion, A.Korneichuk's Front, A Guy from Our City and K.Simonov's Russian People), and plays of historical and patriotic themes (Peter I A.N. Tolstoy, Field Marshal Kutuzov) were staged on the stages
Theater during the Great Patriotic War 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.

The Russian theater in 1950–1980 The Russian theater in 1950–1980 A great contribution to the formation of Russian theatrical art was made by many actors of Leningrad: I. Gorbachev, N. Simonov, Yu. Tolubeev, N. Cherkasov, B. Freindlich, O. Lebzak, L. Shtykan, N. Burov and others (Pushkin Theatre); D. Barkov, L. Dyachkov, G. Zhzhenov, A. Petrenko, A. Ravikovich, A. Freindlich, M. Boyarsky, S. Migitsko, I. Mazurkevich and others (Lensovet 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). Theater of the Russian Army THE THEATER OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY is the first professional drama theater in the system of the Ministry of Defense. Until 1946 it was called the Theater of the Red Army, then it was renamed the Theater of the Soviet Army (later - the Central Academic Theater of the Soviet Army). Since 1991 - Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army. THE THEATER OF THE RUSSIAN ARMY is the first professional drama theater in the system of the Ministry of Defense. Until 1946 it was called the Theater of the Red Army, then it was renamed the Theater of the Soviet Army (later - the Central Academic Theater of the Soviet Army). Since 1991 - Central Academic Theater of the Russian Army.

Theater of the Russian Army In 1930–1931 the Theater of the Red Army was headed by Yu.A. Zavadsky. Here he staged one of the notable performances in Moscow at that time, Mstislav Udaloy I. Prut. A studio worked at the theater, its graduates replenished the troupe. In 1935, the theater was headed by A.D. Popov, whose name is associated with the heyday of the Red Army Theater. Architect K.S. Alabyan created a project of a very special theatrical building - in the form of a five-pointed star, with two auditoriums (the Great Hall for 1800 seats), with a spacious stage, characterized by an unprecedented depth until then, with many rooms adapted for workshops, theater services, rehearsal rooms. By 1940 the building was built, until that time the theater played its performances in the Red Banner Hall of the House of the Red Army, went on long tours.

Russian theater of the post-Soviet period Russian theater of the post-Soviet period 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 of theater-studios, entreprises, etc. were organized. 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.

Theater today The present day of the Russian theater is associated with the Silver Age in terms of the number and variety of aesthetic trends. The directors of traditional theatrical trends are side by side with experimenters. Along with recognized masters - P. Fomenko, V. Fokin, O. Tabakov, R. Viktyuk, M. Levitin, L. Dodin, A. Kalyagin, G. Volchek, K. Ginkas, G. Yanovskaya, G. Trostyanetsky, I. Reichelgauz, K. Raikin, S. Artsibashev, S. Prokhanov, S. Vragova, A. Galibin, V. Pazi, G. Kozlov, as well as even younger and radical avant-garde artists: B. Yukhananov, A. Praudin, A .Mighty, V.Kramer, Klim and others.

Theater today In the post-Soviet period, the contours of theatrical reform changed dramatically, they moved mainly to 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.