Imperial theaters of the Russian Empire. Imperial theaters of the Russian Empire Public theater under Peter 1

1. Introduction.

The social, state and cultural development of Russia, which began in the 17th century and was prepared by the entire course of history, noticeably accelerated in connection with the transformations of Peter I. It marked the onset of a new historical period.

In works on the history of Russian theater, the era of Peter I is often combined with the reign of Alexei Mikhailovich. In some cases - like “the Moscow theater under Tsars Peter and Alexei”, in others - it is covered by a broader chronological concept of “ancient theater”, “ancient performance”. Meanwhile, the differences in these two periods are much greater than the similarities. And in theatrical terms, the Peter the Great era stands apart, just as in all others.

The point is not only that the professional theater of Peter the Great’s time does not have a direct connection with the first professional theater under Alexei Mikhailovich, they are separated by an interval of twenty-five years, during which all traces of the first theatrical venture, both human and material, disappear. A new professional theater is emerging on completely different principles – socially political, artistic, and organizational.

For some time it was believed that after the death of Alexei Mikhailovich, performances continued in the house of Princess Sophia, an energetic, intelligent and quite educated woman for her time. However, Morozov’s work also revealed the apocryphal nature of this information, although Princess Sophia may have had an interest in the theater: at least, her favorite Prince Golitsin, a man with a pronounced “Western” streak, had in his library “four written books on the structure of comedy ", as precisely established by the inventory. But practically there was no longer a court theater.

Peter led an active offensive struggle against the dominance of religious medieval ideology and implanted a new, secular one.

This was clearly reflected in the general character and content of the arts and literature. The stronghold of the old ideology was the church - Peter subordinated it to the state, abolished the patriarchate, and created a synod consisting of representatives of the highest clergy on the royal salary and headed by an official. Peter abolished liturgical dramas, which emphasized the superiority of spiritual power over secular power and contributed to the exaltation of the church. He laid the foundation for secular education, decisively broke patriarchal life, introducing assemblies, and with them “European manners,” European dances, etc. Meeting resistance to novelty, Peter introduced it by force. The results of Peter's activities in various fields were reflected at different times; in the theater, for example, they were fully realized only in the middle of the 18th century.

2. “Peter’s Fun”

To popularize his transformations, Peter resorted to a wide variety of means, but he attached especially serious importance to methods of visual, spectacular influence. This is precisely the reason for his widespread use of “fun” (ceremonial entrances, street masquerades, parody rituals, illuminations, etc.), as well as his appeal to the theater.

Let us dwell first of all on the so-called “fun shows”, in which the propaganda and political role of the spectacle appeared especially clearly.

The first experience of organizing such a spectacle was the “fiery fun” organized on the Red Pond in Moscow at Maslenitsa in 1697 on the occasion of the capture of Azov. Here emblems were first used, then usually introduced into panegyric theatrical performances of the Moscow Academy. When, after the victory over the Swedes and the founding of St. Petersburg, Peter returned to Moscow, he was given a ceremonial welcome. Several triumphal gates were built. Some of them were built by the “educational assembly of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy” and decorated with paintings that were also used in academic panegyric theatrical performances. On the triumphal gates, built in 1704 to commemorate the final liberation of the Izhora land, more sophisticated and intricate allegorical paintings were depicted. The Poltava victory was also reflected in allegorical paintings, and the same Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy took a close part in their creation. Academic poets wrote odes of praise; on the gates located near the academy and decorated with the direct participation of academic teachers, there were many emblems with corresponding inscriptions. Academy students in snow-white robes with wreaths on their heads and branches came out to meet the solemn procession with the singing of cants.

The use of panegyrics and cants brought triumphal ceremonies closer to the declamations of the 17th century, and exquisite allegories continued the scholastic traditions of school theater. A theoretical justification for the need for allegorical images on the triumphal gates was made in 1704 by Joseph Turoboysky, perfect of the Moscow Academy. The purpose of the construction of the triumphal gates, in his words, is “political, and is civil praise for those who are working towards the goals of preserving their fatherland.” Further, he refers to the custom of all Christian countries to honor the winners, turning to divine scripture, worldly stories, and poetic fiction to weave a “crown of praise.” In 1710, the same author, in connection with the celebrations on the occasion of the Poltava victory, published a detailed description and explanation of the triumphal allegories under the title “Political Apophiosis of the praiseworthy courage of the All-Russian Hercules.” The name of the Russian Hercules meant Peter I, and the Poltava victory was called “the glorious victory over the chimera-like divas - Pride, the decision of Untruth and the theft of the Sweans.” I. Turobosky in his sections tried to explain to the audience the system of symbols, emblems and allegories, since, obviously, the authors themselves were aware that not all allegorical images are publicly available.

Peter used the ancient folk custom of Christmas and Maslenitsa dressing up for the purpose of political propaganda in grandiose street masquerades. Particularly outstanding were the Moscow masquerade of 1722 on the occasion of the Peace of Nystad, the St. Petersburg masquerade on the same occasion in 1723, and, finally, the Maslenitsa masquerades of 1723 and 1724. Masquerade processions were by land (on foot and on horseback) and by water. They numbered up to a thousand main participants who were grouped thematically. Men walked in front of each group, women behind; each group had its own central figure, all the rest formed a retinue. The figures had a traditional character and moved from masquerade to masquerade. The costumes were both theatrical, props, and close to historical and ethnographic authenticity.

One masquerade figure was often borrowed from mythology: Bacchus, Neptune, Satyr, etc. Another group of masquerade images of the 1720s consisted of historical characters. The Duke of Holstein at one of the masques “represented the Roman commander Scipio Africanus in a magnificent brocade Roman costume, surrounded by silver braid, in a helmet with a high feather, in Roman shoes and with a leader’s baton in his hand.” It can be assumed that in general the traditional characters of masquerades were partly borrowed from repertoire of the modern St. Petersburg theater, from where the masquerade costumes were taken. The third group consisted of ethnographic characters: Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Tatars, Armenians, Turks, Poles, etc. Participants in masquerades of this time also dressed up in costumes of peasants, sailors, miners, soldiers, and winegrowers. They also dressed up as animals and birds: bears, cranes. All masked people had to strictly adhere to their roles and behave according to the mask during the procession. The main participants in the masquerade were located in boats, gondolas, shells, and on thrones; once even an exact copy of the battleship Ferdemaker was built with full equipment, guns, and cabins. All this was moved by horses, oxen, pigs, dogs and even scientific bears.

The role and significance of masquerades of the Peter I era were not limited to external entertainment. Magnificent celebrations were a means of political agitation.

3. School theater.

However, Peter considered theater to be a more effective means of public education. Bassevich, one of his contemporaries close to Peter, wrote: “The Tsar found that spectacles were useful in a big city.” The theater of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich pursued political goals, but was aimed at a very limited circle of courtiers, while the Peter the Great Theater was supposed to conduct political propaganda among broad sections of the urban population. This led to the creation of a public theater. Peter tried to attract to Russia for the first time such actors who would speak, if not Russian, then at least one of the Slavic languages close to Russian. So, when actors from a German troupe arrived in Russia in 1702, they were asked whether they could play in Polish; when Peter invited the troupe for the second time in 1720, he tried to attract Czech actors. But both of Peter's attempts were unsuccessful.

Under Peter, two main types of theater continued to develop: school and secular; At this time, plays of the city drama theater, which developed widely in the second quarter of the 18th century, also began to appear.

Oral folk drama continues to develop. It has been established that performances were performed in the early years of Peter’s reign, for example in Izmailovo in 1696, at the academy in 1699. In 1698, puppet shows were organized by Jan Splavski. Contemporary testimonies about the performance in Izmailovo on January 14, 1697 have been preserved: “Ridiculous words in jest and deeds displeasing to God... were performed.” At the same time, the clerk of the Preobrazhenskaya Izba, Ivan Gerasimov, said that “he, Ivan, was called in that comedy (that is, in one of the plays) George and they laughed at that.” Probably, we are talking about the performances of 1696, which were part of the celebrations regarding the capture of Azov.

The plays of the secular theater of Peter the Great's time are oversaturated with action, the intrigue in them is extremely complicated, heroic episodes are interspersed with crudely comic scenes. The worldliness of the school theater plays, They, is intensifying and deepening. True, they do not yet break with the biblical and hagiographic content, but at the same time they are filled with elements of modernity; they include symbolic, historical and mythological images in a broad wave.

However, there was a large discrepancy between the tasks that Peter set for the secular theater and living theatrical practice. German troupes could not play in a language understandable to the urban masses, and could not give programmatic journalistic performances. Russian theater was mainly represented by school theater. The aesthetic paths of which by this time had sharply departed from the traditions of Simeon of Polotsk.

It is still impossible to establish with accuracy when performances began at the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. But one can assume. That they were included in the curriculum of the academy shortly after its opening. The reason for the appearance of the performances was the clash between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, and, in fact, with the Jesuits who were in Moscow, who staged performances on religious themes at their school. In response to this, Lefort gave a performance directed against Catholics (1699).

According to the Jesuits, who were probably biased, the academic performances were not distinguished by great artistic merit: “since nothing special came of it,” they turned to foreign actors.

The history of the theater of the early 18th century was lucky in that the oldest drama that has come down to us from 1701 is equipped with detailed stage directions and a list of performers. This allows us to recreate with sufficient clarity the picture of the performance at the Moscow Academy of that time. The school drama of that time reproduced the emotional experiences and psychological fluctuations of a person. Instead of God, whom the school theater usually did not bring to the stage, the Judgment of God appears in front of the audience. The production of the play required rather complex stage adaptations. The play was called “The terrible betrayal of a voluptuous life with the deplorable and impoverished...”. Allegorical characters (Lust, Truth, Retribution and others) were endowed with attributes that traditionally accompanied these figures in painting.

Another example of school drama of the early 18th century of the same genre is Dmitry Rostovsky’s drama “The Penitent Sinner.” It is interesting because it was part of the repertoire of the Yaroslavl theater of F. Volkov, and in 1752 it was performed by the Yaroslavl residents at the court. Christian-religious edification, a wide introduction of allegorical characters, and complex technical design make this play similar to the previous one.

Along with plays such as morality plays, the Russian school theater knew a large number of Easter plays and Christmas mystery dramas. In Christmas dramas, the influence of folk dramas (nativity scenes), games, and a connection with everyday life can be traced.

Noteworthy is “Comedy for the Nativity of Christ” (1702), attributed to Dmitry Rostovsky. It develops the legendary plot of the Christmas drama: a prophecy about Christ is heard, there is a scene of the shepherds, who appears as an angel; further scenes of Herod with the wise men going to worship Christ; scene of the Magi; Herod gives the order for the beating of infants; and finally, Herod dies in agony. These episodes were framed by allegorical scenes. The play also contains the usual speeches from the throne for secular drama of that time.

So, biblical stories in school drama underwent a unique treatment, gradually becoming secularized, absorbing everyday material

A special group of plays in the school theater of the early 18th century were panegyric dramas; in them, political allusions to the praise of Peter overshadowed the religious basis of the plot. Such are, for example, “A Terrible Image of the Second Coming of the Lord” (1702), in which the policies of the Polish King Augustus were condemned, or “The Triumph of the Orthodox World” (1703), in which the victory of the Russian Mars - Peter over Misfortune - the Swedes. On June 11, 1702, Stefan Yavorsky wrote about this to the head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, Golovin: “Now... in honor of the supreme ones and in praise of our most gracious monarch, dialogues are being prepared at the Moscow Academy; this action will be carried out when the people, or your desired arrival to us, are expected.”

In February 1705, the play “The Liberation of Livonia and Ingermenland...” was staged, written in honor of the conquest of the Baltic states in 1703–1704. The Poltava victory was marked (February 1710) at the Moscow Academy with the solemn allegorical action “God's humiliation of the proud... humiliation.” It is based on the biblical story of David's victory over Goliath. The play featured lame Sweden (an allusion to the lameness of Charles XII, who was wounded in the leg before the Battle of Poltava) and Treason, the allegorical embodiment of Mazepa. The play consisted of two parts: the first showed “the united proud”, the second - “opponents or traitors.” Each part was preceded by a pantomime. The allegory became clear to the audience especially in the second part, in which the action unfolded on two levels: on stage in a dramatic performance (Absesalom’s indignation against his father David, the conqueror of Goliath) and on a transparent screen “through the umbra,” that is, in shadow paintings. In these paintings, the viewer saw how “a Russian eagle... catches a lame lion from a lion cub, caught a lion cub with the help of God, a lame lion beige.” The play ended, according to the custom of school drama, with a special epilogue. Interludes were played during the intermissions of the performance, but their content, unfortunately, is not known.

Plays of this kind in their poetics did not differ from contemporary panegyric literature in general and from “fun”. This dramaturgy is characterized by the widespread use of allegories and an abundance of scholastic embellishments. Characters such as Self-will, Pride, Vengeance, Idolatry, Wrath, Truth, Peace, Judgment and the like were woven into the action, alternating with biblical images (Jesus, David). Historical figures (Alexander, Pompey) and mythological images (Mars, Fortune). The author's thought was difficult to discern in the poetic and rhetorical heaps. The characters and stage positions moved from one work to another. And the plays themselves suffered from monotony. The texts of the panegyric school performances of the early 18th century have not survived, but their detailed programs, written in stilted, archaic language, have reached us.

Feofan Prokopovich

These works are opposed by the drama of one of the associates of Peter Feofan Prokopovich.

Feofan Prokopovich (1681 - 1736) was an outstanding speaker, poet, and expert on ancient culture. The son of an impoverished merchant, he received an excellent education at the Kiev-Mohyla Academy and at educational institutions in Western Europe. In Prokopovich's biography there are some features that bring him closer to Simeon of Polotsk. Both of them studied at the Kyiv Academy, completed their education in the West and were repeatedly attacked for this by the reactionary Orthodox clergy.

Prokopovich's aesthetic views found vivid expression in the course on pietics, which he taught at the Kyiv Academy from 1704. He consciously retreated from scholastic aesthetics and objected to the abuse of allegories and mythology. Prokopovich said: “A Christian poet should not bring out pagan gods or goddesses for some work of our god or to indicate the virtue of heroes; he should not say Pallas instead of wisdom... instead of fire - Vulcan.” Prokopovich sharply condemned the favorite formalistic methods of versification, built on anagrams, parallel verses, and poetic echo. He fought against authors who wrote poems in the shape of an egg, cube, pyramid, star, circle, etc., calling such works “trifles, childish toys with which a rude age could play.” Prokopovich turned to the works of Aristotle, Seneca Plautus, Terence, and other ancient authors. He was also familiar with the works of French classicists. Thus, Prokopovich read Corneille’s “Cid” and Racine’s “Andromache” in Polish translation.

Prokopovich assigned an important role to poetic fiction. “Having taken an event,” he wrote in his “Piitik,” “the poet does not inquire how it happened, but having examined it, he sets out how it could have happened... Whether the poet creates a whole event or only the method of its origin, he must mainly and solely to observe... that in certain and individual individuals virtues or vices are depicted in general. The poet describes the feat of famous people, and so does the historian; he is a historian who sets them out as they were, a poet as they should have been.” Prokopovich’s patriotic call to writers, playwrights and orators to turn to themes of national history is remarkable, so that “our enemies will finally know that our fatherland and our faith are not fruitless in valor.”

Prokopovich’s aesthetic principles were vividly embodied in the tragic comedy “Vladimir” he created. This is the best of all school dramas. The play maintains unity of action and place. The genre of the play itself was also an innovation.

The tragic comedy “Vladimir” is closely connected with the oratorical activity of Feofan Prokopovich, and in particular with his “Sermon on the Day of St. Vladimir”. Spoken shortly before he wrote the play. “Vladimir” is an allegorical work. Vladimir’s struggle with the pagans meant Peter’s struggle with representatives of the church reaction. Prokopovich puts into the mouth of Apostle Andrei a prediction about Russia's victory over Sweden.

In Feofan Prokopovich's drama, scenes full of deep reflections, tender lyricism and inspired pathos are written with great force.

For judging the effectiveness and sharpness of Prokopovich’s satire, the following fact is indicative: Feofan’s enemy Markel Radyshevsky wrote in a denunciation that Feofan Prokopovich was bringing out the Russians under the names of zherivols, calling them hypocrites and idolatrous priests. The reactionary clergy was indignant when they recognized themselves in the characters of the tragedy-comedy. Prokopovich also contributed a lot of new things to the development of the syllabic verse in which his play was written.

It should be noted. That the school theater not only created a new repertoire, but also tried to adapt plays from the times of Alexei Mikhailovich to its needs, despite their stylistic differences. The comedy of Judith was revived (apparently by Stefan Yavorsky) on the stage of the school theater at the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy as a response to the Poltava victory, as evidenced by the prologue about the disgrace of the pride of the Swedish king Charles XII and the almost complete destruction of his troops near Poltava .

School theater, legalized by the Spiritual Regulations. Back in the Peter the Great era, it began to spread in the provinces, even in Siberia. In 1702, Metropolitan Philofey Leshchinsky was appointed to Tobolsk, “a hunter of theatrical performances ...” he made glorious and rich comedies.

The school theater developed a strictly normative theory of drama and performing arts. At their core, they were the same for school theater in all countries. The founders of poetics were the famous Jesuits Pontanus and Scaliger. As for the art of performance, it followed the art of oratory and went back to Quintilian; its rules were set out in "rhetorics".

Performance ethics were normative. This is how in anger a “sharp, cruel, often truncated voice” should have sounded, that is, not loud, slow and weakening; in fear, words should be pronounced quietly, in a low voice and intermittently, as if stuttering; in a cheerful state - pronounce at length, pleasantly, softly, cheerfully, moderately loudly, interrupting speech with exclamations. Gestures should correspond to the words: in anger and jealousy they should have been abundant and quick, eyebrows furrowed, the whole body straightened and tense; At the same time, gestures should not be abused, so as not to resemble a madman or a drunk. In sadness and tenderness, gestures should be few, and they should be slow, the head should be humbly bowed, and tears should appear at times. In fear, the body was supposed to be clenched, the eyebrows were supposed to be raised, like a question. To express joy and love, the gesture must be free, the expression of the eyes and the whole face must be bright, smiling, but modest, not like a “boat rocked by the wind”; There was no need to break or squeeze fingers. Speaking about those below you, you should lower your hand, about those above you, you should raise your hand, and when talking about those nearby, you should raise your hand. Facial expressions are the main means of expression; it mainly conveys “heart movements.”

To the stated theory of dramatic art, one should add a discussion about the actor of the Vilna school leader Sarbeevsky; perhaps he was also known in Moscow. “Tragedy, especially in the last acts - in the 4th and 5th... A tragic actor in buskins must perform with a completely special gait: with an elevated posture, with certain, somewhat excited movements of the chest and whole body; the voice should be especially sonorous, full, strong; every word must be pronounced expressively, gracefully, royally. A comic actor in low shoes should act with an ordinary gait, speak in an ordinary tone, with moderate body movements, with a voice of greater frequency, not tense, but ordinary. The mime (sideshow actor) adds freedom in gait and body movement to the ease of conversation and is extremely varied, unbridled and funny.”

The school theater attached great importance to the design of the performance, mainly to the scenery.

A performance, according to Sarbewski, must “recreate actions not only with words and speech, but also with gestures, intonation, movements on stage, expression of moods, and finally, with the help of music, machines and furnishings... If all this is created or regulated by art, then it is also applies to the lighting in which the performance is performed, since according to various requirements, depending on the mood, sometimes sad or pleasant, artificial light can be increased and decreased.”

The school theater had a great influence on the development of Russian urban drama theater of the 18th century.

Russian public theater.

Peter was not satisfied with the school theater. Religious in its content, this theater was aesthetically too intricate and complex for the average viewer. Peter sought to organize a secular theater accessible to the urban masses. The theater he founded, despite the short duration of its existence, played an important role in the development of Russian theatrical culture.

In 1698–1699, a troupe of actors and puppeteers was in Moscow. They were led by the Hungarian Jan Splavsky. Puppeteers gave performances not only in the capital, but also in the provinces. It is known that in September 1700, some of them were sent “to show comedy things” to Ukraine, and Yan Splavsky was sent to the Volga cities, including Astrakhan. And so in 1701, the Tsar gave the same Splavsky an order to go to Danzig to invite comedians to the Russian service.

In Danzig, Splavsky entered into negotiations with one of the best German troupes of that time, headed by the actor Johann Kunsth and directly associated with the famous German theater reformer Felten. An agreement was reached, but the troupe was afraid to go to Russia. I had to send for the actors again. This time, in the summer of 1702, Kunst and his eight actors arrived in Moscow. According to the concluded agreement, Kunst pledged to faithfully serve His Royal Majesty.

While negotiations were ongoing with the troupe, the question of where and how to build a theater building was discussed for a long time. It was planned to equip an old room in the palace above the pharmacy as a theater. Temporarily, a large hall in the Lefortovo House in Nemetskaya Sloboda was adapted for performances. At the end of 1702, the construction of the Comedy Hall on Red Square was completed. It was 18 meters long and 10 fathoms wide (36 x 20 m), lit by tallow candles. The technical equipment was luxurious for that time: a lot of scenery, cars, costumes.

Since Peter’s intentions included the creation of a public theater in the Russian language, Kunst on October 12 of the same 1702 sent ten Russian youths from clerks and merchant children to study. Then twenty of them were recruited. At the same time, it was indicated that they should be taught “with all diligence and haste, so that they can learn those comedies quickly.” In the same year, one of his contemporaries wrote that the Russians had already given “several small performances” in a house in the German settlement. According to documents, it is known that some kind of comedy was shown on December 23, 1702. This is how the Russian public theater began its existence.

Performances were performed twice a week, German performances alternated with Russian ones. This continued for more than a year, that is, until Kunst’s death (1703), when the German troupe was basically released to their homeland, Kunst’s widow and the actor Bandler were instructed to continue training Russian actors. However, they apparently could not cope with the task, and in March of the following 1704, Otto Furst (Firsht), a goldsmith by profession, became the head of the theater business. But he also failed to cope with the matter. Misunderstandings constantly arose between Furst and his Russian students. The students, in essence, stood up for the national theater, and therefore complained about their principal that he “does not know Russian behavior”, “careless in compliments” and “due to lack of knowledge in speeches” the actors “do not act in firmness”. For the entire year 1704, only three comedies were staged. The actors asked to choose a theater director from among themselves and continue the business on a new basis, in other words, they wanted to free themselves from foreign tutelage. But Fürst remained at the head of the business until 1707.

To increase the number of spectators, a decree was published in 1705: “Comedies should be performed in Russian and German, and during those comedies musicians should play different instruments.” Nevertheless, few people attended the performances; sometimes only 25 spectators gathered in a hall intended for 450 people. By 1707 the performances had completely ceased.

The reasons for the failure of the Kunst-Fürst Theater and its short-term existence, despite the support of Peter and the government, are explained by the fact that the performances did not satisfy the audience.

The activities of two types of theaters of the early 18th century - school and secular public - did not pass without a trace in the history of theater in Russia. To replace the closed public theater, theaters for various segments of the population began to emerge one after another in the capitals. In 1707, Russian performances began in the village of Preobrazhenskoye with the Tsar's sister Natalya Alekseevna, in 1713 in the village of Izmailovo with the widow of Ivan Alekseevich - Proskovya Fedorovna. Costumes from the theater on Red Square were sent to the village of Preobrazhenskoye, and plays from the Kunst repertoire were also sent there. Princess Natalya formed a whole theatrical library.

Theater at the court of Tsarina Praskovya Feodorovna. Functioned since 1713. It was organized and directed by her daughter Ekaterina Ivanovna. Performances to which the public was allowed were performed in Russian, but the theater’s repertoire cannot be determined.

After the death of the Tsar's sister, the St. Petersburg Theater continued to function for a long time.

In 1720, Peter made a new attempt to invite to Russia from abroad a troupe of actors who spoke one of the Slavic languages, in the hope that they would quickly learn the Russian language. He ordered a “company of comedians” to be hired from Prague. A traveling group of Eckenbarg-Mann, whom Peter could have seen abroad, arrives in St. Petersburg. The troupe gives several performances and, on Peter’s initiative, plays an April Fool’s joke with the audience. On this day, a performance is announced in the presence of the royal family, and therefore Mann even doubles the prices. However, when the audience arrives, they find out that on the occasion of the first of April there will be no performance. Thus, Peter uses theatrical jokes to popularize the calendar reform.

In 1723, Mann's troupe reappeared in St. Petersburg, for which Peter ordered the construction of a new theater, already in the center, near the Admiralty. Peter himself visited the Mann Theater more than once, and therefore a type of royal box was built for him. However, this troupe also cannot solve the problems that Peter sets for the theater. According to the instructions of his contemporaries, Peter even specifically “promised a reward to the comedians if they composed a touching play.” In fact, the first drama competition is being announced in Russia. The acting troupe does not live up to Peter's hopes and leaves St. Petersburg. Thus, Peter’s second attempt to establish a public theater in Russia, this time in the new capital, ended unsuccessfully.

Conclusion.

Peter himself failed to create a permanent public theater. Both attempts in Moscow and St. Petersburg do not give the desired results. Nevertheless, it was in the era of Peter the Great that a solid foundation was laid for the further development of Russian theater. Under Peter I, the theater was quite clearly given political and artistic tasks - to serve the cause of state building in Russia. At this time, early Russian drama took shape, part of the new secular fiction. For the first time, theater becomes a means of educating the broad masses, although far from achieving the goal in this sense, but still functioning as a public and accessible theater. In the era of Peter the Great, the first professional entrepreneurs appeared in Russia, the acting profession stabilized, and the first actresses appeared on the stage.

For some time after the death of Peter 1, Russian theater continued to develop in the forms of amateur theater, the theater of the urban “lower classes.” But here, too, everything that the Peter the Great era brought to Russian theatrical culture is being mastered. And here forces are accumulating to fight for the further establishment of the national Russian theater.

5. THEAR UNDER PETER 1.

Petrovsky Theater.

From the end of the 17th century. In Europe, masquerades became fashionable, which young Peter I liked. In 1698, dressed as a Friesland peasant, he took part in a Viennese masquerade. Peter decided to popularize his reforms and innovations through the art of theater. He planned to build a theater in Moscow, but not for a select few, but open to everyone. In 1698–1699, a puppet theater troupe worked in Moscow, headed by Jan Splavsky and whom Peter in 1701 instructed to invite comedians from abroad . In 1702 a troupe came to RussiaJohann Kunst(Kunshta), August 6, 1702, boyar Golovin announces the royal decree “On the construction of a comedy house in the Kremlin city.” By the end of the year, on Red Square, on the left side of the Nikolsky Gate, a"comedy, wooden temple , and in it there is a theater, and choirs and benches and doors and windows, and inside its ceiling is lined and the roof is covered, and outside it is covered with planks». While the building was being built, performances were held in the German Settlement in the houseGeneral Lefort,where the theater was built. The main disadvantage of the Kunst troupe was that the actors did not know Russian and this limited the circle of their spectators, which did not suit Peter in any way, because There was no national fun. There were eight people in the Kunst Theater. Under their leadership Russian theater school was opened. On Christmastide 1702, the opening of the “comedy temple” took place. According to the documents it is known that On December 23, 1702, the performance was performed in Russian. Performances were performed twice a week: German ones alternated with Russian ones.. “Khoromina” on Red Square had a length of 18, a width of 10 fathoms (36 × 20 m), and was illuminated by tallow candles. The technical equipment of the stage was at the highest level for that time. At the end of 1703, Kunst died, and his widow Anna and actor Bandler took over the management of the theater and school. They were unable to cope with the troupe, and in March 1704 they were replaced by Artemy Firsht (Otto Fürst). However, the problems remained the same : the majority of the audience did not understand the Germans, and the Russian students could not satisfy the tastes of the public. In 1706 the theater closed. The following plays have been preserved from the repertoire of the Kunst-Fürst Theater: Scipio Africanus, the Roman leader, and the destruction of Safonizba, Queen of Numidia; The Honest Traitor, or Friederico von Popley and Aloysia, his wife; Prince Pikel-Gyaring, or Jodelet, his own prison inmate; A comedy about Frantapis, king of Epirus, and Mirandon, his son, and others. Some names of Russian artists of the Russian troupe have been preserved:Fedor Buslavev, Semyon Smirnov, Nikita Kondratov, Vasily Telenkov (nicknamed Shmaga-drunk) etc. The theater was paid. They paid from 3 to 10 kopecks for seats. Huts were built nearby for people coming from afar. On winter and summer evenings the theater attracted 400–500 spectators, and in the fall and spring about 50. All this did not satisfy Peter. In 1707, “by the personal decree of the Great Sovereign,” the “comedy temple” on Red Square began to be dismantled. The theatrical reputation of this place will remain: atAnna Ioanovnaa new “comedy house” will be built here.

In 1720, Peter made a new attempt to create a theater in Russia, but now in St. Petersburg. He orders a company of comedians to be hired from Prague who can speak Slavic or Czech. In St. Petersburg, the initiative to create a theater belongs to Natalya Alekseevna. At the end of 1723 Mann's troupe arrived, but the performances were performed in German. Peter often attends their performances, but the troupe does not live up to his expectations. Peter “once promised a reward to comedians if they composed a touching play, without this love, pasted in everywhere, which he was already tired of: and a cheerful farce without buffoonery.” Even encouragement had no results. The troupe's cast was weak, and the repertoire was old-fashioned. During this period, an important role was played by the city democratic theater of students of the Moscow hospital, led by Dr. Bidlo. He received students from the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. In 1719–1722, 108 students transferred from the academy to the medical school. They brought with them experience of participating in school plays at the academy. The theater was located in a barn. It was visited by both Russians and foreigners, and Peter himself attended performances. The repertoire of the hospital theater was varied, but the traditions of the school theater were still very strong. The latest information about this theater dates back to the 1740s.

Under Peter I, the beginning of performances in Siberia was laid by Metropolitan of Tobolsk Filofei Leshchinsky. A handwritten chronicle dated 1727 says: “ Philotheus was a lover of theatrical performances, he made glorious and rich comedies, when he should be a collector at a comedy, then he, the lord, made the cathedral bells for the collection of reverence, and the theaters were between the Cathedral and St. Sergius churches and the transport, where the people were going.” The innovation of Metropolitan Philotheus was continued by his successors, some of them were students of the Kyiv Academy.

Peter failed to create a permanent public theater, and both Moscow and St. Petersburg attempts did not produce serious results. With his death, state concern for the development of Russian professional theater is interrupted.

The court theater experienced a period of stagnation before the accession to the throneAnna Ioanovna, when there was a noticeable revival of theatrical life at court. Italian comedians, actor Tomaso Ristoriand composerReinhard Keyser, in 1737 a theater hall and stage were built in the Winter Palace.

Anna Ioannovna spent enormous sums on various celebrations, balls, masquerades, receptions for ambassadors, fireworks, illuminations and theatrical processions. At her court, the clownish culture revived, continuing the traditions of the “sedentary” buffoons - she had giants and dwarves, jesters and firecrackers. The most famous theatrical festival was “curious” wedding of the jester Prince Golitsyn with the Kalmyk firecracker Buzheninova in the Ice House on February 6, 1740.

Folklore

The transformations of Peter I in the field of culture increased the gap between the elite and the people in ideological terms. But thanks to Peter’s position, the common people got rid of the pressure of the church on popular culture. Persecution of pagan holidays with round dances and festivities decreased.

The Northern War has taken its place in popular culture. Its events remained in epics, soldiers' historical songs, fairy tales, etc. Most often they reflected Narva and the Battle of Poltava.

The figure of Peter I is surrounded by legends, which is traditional for folklore. Another standard image was the figure of the enemy and traitor (the Swedes and Hetman Mazepa).

At the same time, the literature used by the peasants mostly remained traditional - these are lives and other instructive works, all sorts of collections of slander, medical books, folk calendars, etc. In addition, polemical works were popular.

Development of literature

City residents were more aware of the rapid growth of the book business. We are especially talking about secular literature, scientific and everyday.

Example 1

For example, in $1708$ the so-called form, i.e. a collection of samples on how to correctly use phrases and the latest vocabulary in letters.

Here we note that under Peter, vocabulary began to gravitate towards the West, and many foreign words appeared. In general, the elite under Peter I spoke a mixture of Russian with a huge number of Dutch, German, English and other words, expressions, and terms.

The emergence of classicism was taking place in literature. Publicistic oratorical works have found their niche in literature. The most famous of these works are the works Feofan Prokopovich. Prokopovich was a consistent ideologist of absolutism, despite the fact that he went through the adoption of Uniatism, and moving to Europe, a Jesuit school and a Catholic monastery. In the end, he returned to Russia because... became disillusioned with Catholicism after studying it deeply. The leitmotif of his work was the praise of Peter I, his deeds and Russia as a whole.

Also in the era of Peter I, prose developed. A particularly popular topic in the genre has become the description of the realities of life and its innovations. The most famous works in this genre: “The Tale of Frol Skobeev”, “The Story of Alexander, a Russian Nobleman”, “The Story of the Russian Sailor Vasily Koriotsky”.

Considering Peter’s “window to Europe,” this also had an effect in the field of literature: Western European literature began to be in great demand.

Theater

Note 1

In $1702, a theater appeared in Moscow on Red Square. Anyone could visit it.

The theater troupe included German actors, and the repertoire consisted of European plays. It is known that Alexey Mikhailovich patronized the theater, but still, in Russia at that time it was still a novelty.

Under Alexei Mikhailovich, theater for those close to him was popular. This type of theater, which was opened by representatives of the nobility, continued to exist under Peter I. Students of academies and theological seminaries, i.e., were especially keen on theater under Peter. educated people.

The repertoire of private theaters continued to be mainly of a moral and religious nature. However, historical plays and reflections of contemporary events gained popularity. A striking example of a historical play is the tragicomedy written by Feofan Prokopovich "Vladimir".

Slavic-Greek-Latin And Kiev-Mohyla academies became centers of theatrical activity.

In addition to Feofan Prokopovich, the names of Dr. Bidloi, Fyodor Zhukovsky.

Along with the theater, interest in secular music grew, as well as in learning to play musical instruments. The art of choral singing also developed. Military drill music became popular.

In 1698 - 1699, a troupe of actors and puppeteers was in Moscow. They were led by the Hungarian Jan Splavsky. Puppeteers gave performances not only in the capital, but also in the provinces. It is known that in September 1700, some of them were sent “to show comedy tricks” to Ukraine, and Yan Splavsky was sent to the Volga cities, including Astrakhan. And so in 1701, the Tsar gave the same Splavsky an order to go to Danzig to invite comedians to the Russian service.

Since Peter’s intentions included the creation of a public theater in the Russian language, Kunst on October 12 of the same 1702 sent ten Russian youths from clerks and merchant children to study. Then twenty of them were recruited. At the same time, it was indicated that they should be taught “with all diligence and haste, so that they could learn those comedies quickly.” In the same year, one of his contemporaries wrote that the Russians had already given “several small performances” in a house in the German settlement. According to documents, it is known that some kind of comedy was shown on December 23, 1702. This is how the Russian public theater began its existence.

Performances were performed twice a week, German performances alternated with Russian ones. This continued for more than a year, that is, until Kunst’s death (1703), when the German troupe was basically released to their homeland, Kunst’s widow and the actor Bandler were instructed to continue training Russian actors. However, they apparently could not cope with the task, and in March of the following 1704, Otto Furst (Firsht), a goldsmith by profession, became the head of the theater business. But he also failed to cope with the matter. Misunderstandings constantly arose between Furst and his Russian students. The students, in essence, stood up for a national theater, and therefore complained about their principal that he “does not know Russian behavior”, “careless in compliments” and “due to lack of knowledge in speeches” the actors “do not act in firmness”. For the entire year 1704, only three comedies were staged. The actors asked to choose a theater director from among themselves and continue the business on a new basis, in other words, they wanted to free themselves from foreign tutelage. But Fürst remained at the head of the business until 1707.

The activities of two types of theaters of the early 18th century - school and secular public - did not pass without a trace in the history of theater in Russia. To replace the closed public theater, theaters for various segments of the population began to emerge one after another in the capitals. In 1707, Russian performances began in the village of Preobrazhenskoye with the Tsar’s sister Natalya Alekseevna, in 1713 in the village of Izmailovo with the widow of Ivan Alekseevich, Proskovya Fedorovna. Costumes from the theater on Red Square were sent to the village of Preobrazhenskoye, and plays from the Kunst repertoire were also sent there. Princess Natalya formed a whole theatrical library.

After the death of the Tsar's sister, the St. Petersburg Theater continued to function for a long time.

Conclusion.

For some time after the death of Peter 1, Russian theater continues to develop in the forms of amateur theater, the theater of the urban "lower classes. But here, too, everything that Peter's era brought to Russian theatrical culture is being mastered. And here forces are accumulating to fight for the further establishment of the national Russian theater.

Chelyabinsk State Academy of Culture and Arts

Essay

On the history of Russian theater

Topic: “Russian theater in the era of PeterI»

Completed:

Group student

304 TV

Abrakhin D.I.

Checked:

Tsidina T.D.

Chelyabinsk, 2008

2. Introduction 3

3. Peter's fun 4

4. School theater 5

5. Russian public theater 7

6. Johann Kunst 9

7. Conclusion 14

8. List of sources 15

Introduction.

The point is not only that the professional theater of Peter the Great’s time does not have a direct connection with the first professional theater under Alexei Mikhailovich, they are separated by an interval of twenty-five years, during which all traces of the first theatrical venture, both human and material, disappear. A new professional theater is emerging on completely different principles - socially political, artistic, and organizational.

Peter led an active offensive struggle against the dominance of religious medieval ideology and implanted a new, secular one.

"Peter's Fun"

Let us dwell first of all on the so-called “amusements”, in which the agitational and political role of the spectacle appeared especially clearly.

The use of panegyrics and cants brought triumphal ceremonies closer to the declamations of the 17th century, and exquisite allegories continued the scholastic traditions of school theater. A theoretical justification for the need for allegorical images on the triumphal gates was made in 1704 by Joseph Turoboysky, perfect of the Moscow Academy. The purpose of the construction of the triumphal gates, in his words, is “political, and is civil praise for those who are working towards the goals of preserving their fatherland.” Further, he refers to the custom of all Christian countries to honor the winners, turning to divine scripture, worldly stories, and poetic fiction to weave a “crown of praise.” In 1710, the same author, in connection with the celebrations on the occasion of the Poltava victory, published a detailed description and explanation of the triumphal allegories under the title “Politikolenny Apophiosis of the praiseworthy courage of the All-Russian Hercules.” The name of the Russian Hercules meant Peter I, and the Poltava victory was called “the glorious victory over the chimera-like divas - Pride, the decision of Untruth and the theft of the Sweans.” I. Turobosky in his writings tried to explain to the audience the system of symbols, emblems and allegories, since, obviously, the authors themselves were aware that not all allegorical images are publicly available.

One masquerade figure was often borrowed from mythology: Bacchus, Neptune, Satyr, etc. Another group of masquerade images of the 1720s consisted of historical characters. The Duke of Holstein at one of the masques “represented the Roman commander Scipio Africanus in a magnificent brocade Roman costume, surrounded by silver braid, in a helmet with a high feather, in Roman shoes and with a leader’s baton in his hand.” It can be assumed that in general the traditional characters of masquerades were partly borrowed from repertoire of the modern St. Petersburg theater, from where the masquerade costumes were taken. The third group consisted of ethnographic characters: Chinese, Japanese, Indians, Tatars, Armenians, Turks, Poles, etc. Participants in masquerades of this time also dressed up in costumes of peasants, sailors, miners, soldiers, and winegrowers. They also dressed up as animals and birds: bears, cranes. All masked people had to strictly adhere to their roles and behave according to the mask during the procession. The main participants in the masquerade were located in boats, gondolas, shells, and on thrones; Once, even an exact copy of the battleship "Ferdemaker" was built with full equipment, guns, and cabins. All this was moved by horses, oxen, pigs, dogs and even scientific bears.

The role and significance of masquerades of the Peter I era were not limited to external entertainment. Magnificent celebrations were a means of political agitation.

School theater

However, Peter considered theater to be a more effective means of public education. Bassevich, one of his contemporaries close to Peter, wrote: “The Tsar found that spectacles were useful in a big city.” The theater of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich pursued political goals, but was aimed at a very limited circle of courtiers, while Peter the Great's theater was supposed to conduct political propaganda among broad sections of the urban population. This led to the creation of a public theater. Peter tried to attract to Russia for the first time such actors who would speak, if not Russian, then at least one of the Slavic languages close to Russian. So, when actors from a German troupe arrived in Russia in 1702, they were asked whether they could play in Polish; when Peter invited the troupe for the second time in 1720, he tried to attract Czech actors. But both of Peter's attempts were unsuccessful.

Oral folk drama continues to develop. It has been established that performances were performed in the early years of Peter’s reign, for example in Izmailovo in 1696, at the academy in 1699. In 1698, puppet shows were organized by Jan Splavski. About the performance in Izmailovo on January 14, 1697, the testimony of contemporaries has been preserved: “Ridiculous words in jokes and deeds displeasing to God... were performed.” At the same time, the clerk of the Preobrazhenskaya Izba, Ivan Gerasimov, said that “he, Ivan, was called in that comedy (that is, in one of the plays.) George and they laughed at that.” Probably, we are talking about the performances of 1696, which were part of the celebrations regarding the capture of Azov.

The plays of the secular theater of Peter the Great's time are oversaturated with action, the intrigue in them is extremely complicated, heroic episodes are interspersed with crudely comic scenes. The secularization of school theater plays is intensifying and deepening, They,. True, they do not yet break with the biblical and hagiographic content, but at the same time they are filled with elements of modernity; they include a wide range of symbolic, historical and mythological images.

It is still impossible to establish with accuracy when performances began at the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. But we can guess. That they were included in the curriculum of the academy shortly after its opening. The reason for the appearance of the performances was the clash between the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, and, in fact, with the Jesuits who were in Moscow, who staged performances on religious themes at their school. In response to this, Lefort gave a performance directed against Catholics (1699).

According to the information of the Jesuits, who were probably biased, the academic performances were not distinguished by great artistic merit: “since nothing special came of it,” they turned to foreign actors.

The history of the theater of the early 18th century was lucky in that the oldest drama that has come down to us from 1701 is equipped with detailed stage directions and a list of performers. This allows us to recreate with sufficient clarity the picture of the performance at the Moscow Academy of that time. The school drama of that time reproduced the emotional experiences and psychological fluctuations of a person. Instead of God, whom the school theater usually did not bring to the stage, the Judgment of God appears in front of the audience. The production of the play required rather complex stage adaptations. The play was called "The terrible betrayal of a voluptuous life with the deplorable and poor...". Allegorical characters (Lust, Truth, Retribution and others) were endowed with attributes that traditionally accompanied these figures in painting.