Imperial theaters of the Russian Empire. Imperial theaters of the Russian Empire Peter 1 banned the theater

After the short-term flourishing of theatrical art in Russia under Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich and the works of Johann Gottfried Gregory, a time of oblivion of the theater began, which lasted more than 25 years. Tsar Peter I, at the first opportunity, tried to resume his father's theatrical business. During his travels abroad, in Vienna, Amsterdam, London, Peter visited theaters, including performances of Italian opera, and perfectly understood the importance of theatrical performances for the cultural life of the European society that he was building in Russia.

Like once Colonel Nikolai von Staden, Captain Jan Splavsky, now an employee of the Ambassadorial Order, was sent abroad with instructions to recruit a group of actors and musicians. In 1701, in Danzig (Gdansk), Splavsky met the entrepreneur of one of the theater troupes, Johann Christian Kunst, but the first attempt was unsuccessful; the actors refused to go at the last moment. The next year, Splavsky and his assistant Sergei Lyapunov nevertheless concluded a contract with Kunst, whose duties were to “amuse His Royal Majesty with all inventions and fun and for this purpose to always be cheerful, sober and ready to be,” and brought him to Russia in June 1702. Along with Kunst came his wife, Anna Kunst, the first actress on the Russian stage, and 7 actors.

Upon arrival, Kunst was given the position of “His Royal Majesty Comedy Ruler” and he, after complaining to his accompanying people that they did not give him time to recruit actors who were “skilled in singing acts” (i.e. in operas), began for the construction of a theater in Moscow. Boyar Fyodor Alekseevich Golovin, head of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, was appointed responsible for the theater business. A location was chosen for the theater on Red Square; at first, the clerks of the Ambassadorial Prikaz, in whose jurisdiction the construction was located, did not show much zeal and in every possible way refused to carry out this work, but after Peter’s shout, the theater was built in 2 months and was ready by the end of 1702. The decor inside was luxurious for that time, the costumes were luxurious. The theater was public and could accommodate up to 400 spectators, performances were given twice a week - Monday and Thursday and, by royal decree, on these days the gates in the city and in the Kremlin were not locked until the performance ended. The cost of seats was 3,5,6,10 kopecks, everyone could visit it.

In order for the performances to be held in Russian, a theater school was organized, where 10 “Russians of all ranks, fit for this work” were sent. Following the first actors, 7 musicians were discharged from Hamburg and further recruitment and staffing of the orchestra was carried out, as well as training of Russian musicians. It is known that in order to organize the opera, Kunst demanded additional expenses for decorations and mechanisms, but there is no exact evidence that a full-fledged opera was held in this theater. However, many of Kunst's plays included arias, choruses and orchestral accompaniment.

However, Kunst did not have to manage the theater for long; in 1703 he died and the troupe was dissolved, leaving only his widow and one of the actors who were entrusted to continue his work, and the theater school. In 1704, a new director of the theater was found, Otto First, who had nothing to do with the theater, but was a goldsmith and knew the Russian language well. Under his leadership, since 1705, all productions began only in Russian. But he was a weak manager; actors and school students complained about him for his wild life and ignorance of Russian life.

From the first years of its existence, the Moscow theater began to decline; the main reason was the move of the royal court to the new capital, St. Petersburg. In 1707, the theater closed and all its property was transported to Preobrazhenskoye, so to speak, Russian dramatic art returned to its roots - to the site of the first theater of Johann Gregory. The theater from a public one became a private theater, first of Tsarevna Natalya Alekseevna, and after her departure to St. Petersburg it was transported to Izmailovo for the dowager Tsarina Praskovya Fedorovna and existed there until 1723. Following the example of members of the royal family, and some even earlier, boyars and nobles organized their own serf theaters, in which, in addition to peasants, artists visiting from Europe also performed and worked.

However, the need for a public theater in Moscow remained and an attempt to revive it was made by the head of the Moscow Hospital on the Yauza, Dr. Bidlo (Bydlov). He tried with all his might to lure students from the Slavic-Latin Academy to his surgical school, and he succeeded. The means also included theatrical art, which the students of the academy were keen on, because their traditions included “school activities”. Performances in this theater were given on holidays, the repertoire was academic with singing and music, i.e. a kind of opera, and secular subjects were also staged, including works by Johann Gregory. The theater existed until at least 1742 and was open to the public.

At this time in St. Petersburg, Peter I paid much less attention to the theater; worries about how to make the Russian state stronger and the Russian people poorer left practically no time for pleasure, and his health began to deteriorate. However, theatrical life developed magnificently here too; his younger sister Natalya Alekseevna was a passionate theatergoer and brought with her a theater troupe from Moscow, in which visiting artists also performed. Peter, for his part, was dissatisfied with the modern repertoire; he demanded from actors short plays that would have no more than three acts and would not be too sad, not too serious, not too funny. He wanted the plays to be performed in Russian, and ordered to hire Poles and Czechs instead of Germans (including for the purpose of economy), but concerns about the government distracted from his good intentions. In 1723, a group from Germany arrived in St. Petersburg under the direction of a certain Mann, who was patronized by Catherine I. The theater was located somewhere on the Moika and, according to a contemporary, the troupe consisted of “very bad comedians, who, however, had no shortage of spectators.”

It has not been precisely proven whether full-fledged operas were included in the repertoire of theaters of Peter’s time, but the undoubted fact of the existence of a handwritten libretto of the opera “Daphne” has been established - an echo of the world’s first opera, staged by Giulio Caccini and Jacopo Peri, and widely distributed throughout Europe; the libretto was translated from Italian to Polish, from Polish to Russian at the beginning of the 18th century. It is unknown whether "Daphne" was performed on stage.

The theater was revived to a new life during the reign of Empress Anna Ioannovna, who spent almost 20 years in Courland and loved to have fun. Her reign was marked by huge expenditures on entertainment events, including the theater. During her reign, the first opera took place in Russia, the genre fell in love with the audience and gained a foothold on the Russian stage - the Italian period in the history of opera in Russia began.

Since the 18th century, foreign theater troupes, mainly French and Italian, have worked in Moscow. These were private enterprises. They built their own premises or privately equipped some other people's buildings.

In 1702, Peter I built the first public theater in Russia on Red Square near the Nikolsky Gate of the Kremlin, which existed until 1706 or 1707 and was called the “Comedial Temple”. A long one-story building was built for it. The auditorium could accommodate up to 400 people. Performances were given on Mondays and Thursdays and were accompanied by music and stage effects. The theater was intended for performances by foreign (primarily German) actors. This was the troupe of I. Kunst, who soon organized both the first Russian troupe and the first drama school in Russia. Then he was also replaced by the German entrepreneur O. Fürst (according to other spellings, Otto Firsht). Under him and during the following years, only foreigners performed on the court stage in St. Petersburg and Moscow: Italian opera with ballet by F. Araya, German troupes of Mann, K. Ackermann, K. Neuber, French - under the direction of Serigny and others. B 1704 year, Russian actors performed three plays in their native language at the theater. However, we must take into account that these spectacles were more reminiscent of a market booth. True theaters were understood as the performances of foreign comedians.

RUSSIAN THEATER (THEATRE OF RUSSIA)

On February 8, 1673, at Maslenitsa, a new spectacle took place - a ballet based on the story of Orpheus and Eurydice. The actors were taught the art of ballet by engineer Nikolai Lim. By the summer (from May 15 to June 16), the German actors were replaced by Russians. History has preserved their names - Vaska Meshalkin, Nikolai and Rodion Ivanov, Kuzma Zhuravlev, Timofey Maksimov, Luka Stepanov and others - because they signed a written appeal to the Tsar. “Merciful Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Duke Alexei Mikhailovich! Please make us your servants, the sovereign ordered us to make daily food for our great sovereign’s salary, so that we, being your servants in that comedy business, will not die of hunger. Tsar Sovereign, please have mercy.” The king granted permission to give “4 money” per day to each of his comedians.

Performances became one of the most favorite entertainments at the Moscow court. There were 26 Russian actors. Boys played female roles. The role of Esther in the Artaxerxes performance was played by Blumentrost's son. Both foreigners and Russian actors were trained in a special school, which was opened on September 21, 1672 in the courtyard of Gregory’s house in the German settlement. It turned out to be difficult to train Russian and foreign students, and in the second half of 1675 two theater schools began to operate: at the Polish court - for foreigners, in Meshchanskaya Sloboda - for Russians. Theatre's repertoire: Artaxerxes's play (1672), Comedy about Tobias the Younger (1673), Judith (1674), Temir-Aksakov's play (1675), Small cool comedy about Joseph (1675), Comedy about David and Goliath (1676), Comedy about Bacchus with Venus (1676), etc.

Gregory died on February 16, 1675. Yuri Gyutner became his successor, from him the leadership passed to Blumentrost and bachelor Ivan Volosheninov. Later, on the recommendation of the Smolensk governor, Prince Golitsyn, Latin teacher Stefan Chizhinsky became the leader.

In 1676 Alexey Mikhailovich died. The inspirer of the idea of the theater, boyar Matveev, was exiled. On December 15, 1677, the royal decree followed: “The apothecary ordered the chambers that were occupied with comedy to cleanse and what was in those chambers, organs and prospects of all kinds of comedy supplies; take everything to Nikita Ivanovich Romanov’s yard.”

Back in the 19th century. I.E. Zabelin noted the similarity of the plot of the Comedy about Esther with the fate of Natalya Kirillovna Naryshkina. The play defended the Tsarina's tutor, boyar Matveev, from the palace boyar Khitrovo. The notes of Matveev’s son confirm this version. Boyar Khitrovo was one of the first to promote the liquidation of the theater and theater school and was among those who announced the royal decree on the closure of the theater.

One of the first playwrights under Alexei Mikhailovich was Simeon of Polotsk. His plays differed from school ones in their closeness to life and the absence of allegorical images and were lyrical works. The Tsar was attracted by the possibilities of political propaganda in “declamations”; he invited the learned monk to Moscow. Polotsky becomes a teacher at the Zaikonospasskaya school, and also begins to teach the royal children. He organized a printing house and drew up a project for the Moscow Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. Under his influence, the king himself tried to write poetry. It was with his plays that the Russian national literary theater began. In the play Shepherd's Conversations, simple monologue recitation was replaced by a real developed dialogue, an attempt was made to develop images of shepherds: one is simple-minded, the other is smart, etc. But the characters did not yet have their own names and did not receive complete outlines. The comedy parable of the prodigal son developed the gospel tale. The play About King Nechadnezzar, about the golden body and about the three youths who were not burned in the cave was a reworking of the Cave action. From the biography of Simeon of Polotsk it is known that under Tsar Fyodor Alekseevich he continued to write recitations that were performed by his students, which meant the continued existence of the court theater of Alexei Mikhailovich. Other historians argue that the theater ceased to exist and was revived at the beginning of Peter's era, since it was aimed at a very limited circle of courtiers.

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

Petrovsky Theater.

From the end of the 17th century. In Europe, masquerades became fashionable, which appealed to the young Peter I. In 1698, dressed in the costume of a Friesland peasant, he participated in the 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, the troupe of Johann Kunst (Kunsht) came to Russia; on August 6, 1702, boyar Golovin announced the royal decree “On the construction of a comedy theater 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 was built, 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 the outside is covered with planks.” While the building was being built, performances were held in the German Settlement in the house of General Lefort, where the theater was built. The main disadvantage of Kunst’s troupe was that the actors did not know Russian and thereby 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, a Russian theater school was opened. On Christmastide 1702, the opening of the “comedy temple” took place. According to documents, it is known that on December 23, 1702 the play 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: Fyodor 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: under Anna Ivanovna, a 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 “to hire a company of comedians 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 group 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. In a handwritten chronicle dated 1727 it is said: “Philofey was a lover of theatrical performances, he made glorious and rich comedies, when he should be a spectator at a comedy for a collector, then he, the lord, made cathedral bells for the collection of reverence, and the theaters were between the Cathedral and St. Sergius churches and transported, where the people were going." The innovation of Metropolitan Philotheus was continued by his successors, some of them were pets 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 until Anna Ivanovna’s accession to the throne, when there was a noticeable revival of theatrical life at court. Italian comedians, actor Tomaso Ristori and composer Reinhard Keyser will arrive for her coronation; in 1737 a theater hall and stage will be 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 celebration was the “curious” wedding of the jester Prince Golitsyn with the Kalmyk firecracker Buzheninova in the Ice House on February 6, 1740.

Related information.

Description: This clearly reflected 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. The abstract contains 1 file:

Peter 1.doc

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.

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 testify comedy things” to Ukraine, and Yan Splavsky - 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, led by the actor Johann Kunst and directly associated with the famous reformer of German theater 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 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.

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.

Johann Kunst

The Peter the Great era, which caused a fruitful revival in all areas of cultural life, is characterized by such an important event in the history of Russian artistic culture as the creation of the first public theater in Russia, designed according to Western European models. The theater, according to Peter, was supposed to play the role of a kind of tribune for the advanced ideas of the era. The first public theater arose in Moscow on the initiative of Peter. The organization of this theater is one of the most interesting pages in the history of the Europeanization of Moscow Rus', in the history of that cultural transformation, on which Peter himself and the leading people of his era worked a lot.

Theatrical performances by this time were not a novelty in Russia. In 1672, at the court of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, there was a theater in which, under the leadership of Pastor Gregory, plays of predominantly religious content were staged. The theater was a court one; A limited circle of people attended the performances. Soon after Gregory's death, the theater was abolished. Peter, who correctly appreciated theater as an excellent means of propaganda and education of spectators, which he could see abroad, did not need to organize newly closed court performances, but to create a public theater accessible to a wide segment of the population, with a repertoire in which his favorites would be reflected ideas.

The era of Peter I in theatrical terms is incomparable with any previous period. Tsar Peter was the first to appreciate theater as an excellent means of propaganda, agitation and education of spectators. Everything associated with the theater was aimed at realizing this particular idea.

According to the plan of the modernizing tsar, the Russian theater could no longer serve to exalt the church. The Tsar intended the theater to become a platform from which the most advanced ideas of the era would be proclaimed and the victories and achievements of Russian weapons would be glorified. , although they gradually became more worldly, introducing everyday scenes into their repertoire, they were not suitable for achieving this goal.

A new theater was needed: a new troupe, a new stage. This could not be a court theater, where performances were addressed to a narrow circle of people.

However, the Russian theater under Peter I was destined to become publicly accessible.

The Comedy Temple is the first such theater in Russia for everyone. This was the name of the paid public theater of the Peter the Great period , erected in 1702 right on Red Square.

This 18th century Russian theater could accommodate up to four hundred spectators.

It was excellently equipped technically. Stage effects were reproduced using special mechanisms; the stage had “curtains”, wings, and backdrops. Everything was painted with perspective in mind.

They did not spare gold and silver for props and stage costumes.

Since visiting the theater was paid, visitors had to pay 10, 6, 5 or 3 kopecks, in accordance with the category. They were given tags on thick paper, which were the first entrance tickets.

The first Russian public theater of Peter I lasted only 4 years (1702-1706) and was closed because it did not live up to the emperor’s hopes. In 1720, the tsar repeated his attempt in St. Petersburg, but this attempt was not successful either.

German devotees of Peter in theater

Johann Christian Kunst

It is possible that the reason for the tsar’s dissatisfaction with the results of his theatrical reforms was that the emperor did not have like-minded people in this area who could support and develop his ideas. The order to organize a theater troupe was given by the Tsar to the Ambassadorial Prikaz. Only thanks to one of the employees, Jan Splavsky, who was related to theatrical (puppetry) art, the issue was resolved.

In 1702, an agreement was concluded with Johann Kunst. This was the leader of a German traveling group, which, consisting of 9 people, arrived in Moscow. Kunst's troupe performed first in the Lefort Palace, which was located in the German Settlement, and later in the Comedy Temple.

In 1703, Kunst died and his actors left for their homeland. Unfortunately, he did not find a worthy follower.

Despite all the efforts of the emperor, the troupe's performances were not very successful. Their repertoire and German language were incomprehensible to the Russian audience . Even if they tried to reproduce the plays in translation, the emphasis and reproduction of words that had fallen out of use interfered with the perception.

Theatrical dramaturgy of Russia at the beginning of the 18th century

The main problem with the little interest in theatrical productions was the repertoire of the German troupe. In 1702, the Tsar ordered the same Kunst to write and perform a “triumphant comedy”, which would be dedicated to the capture of the Oreshek fortress by Russian troops. Neither Kunst nor his follower Otto First had the strength to fulfill the king’s order.

Peter I, who had excellent taste, according to the memoirs of Minister Bassevich, even promised a reward for a “touching play” and “a cheerful farce without buffoonery.” Unfortunately, his ideas were not destined to come true at that time.

Elements of theater that arose in the era of Peter the Great

Public paid theater . Although the Comedy Temple ceased to exist quite quickly, it became the prototype of modern theaters. The theater was well technically equipped and artistically decorated.

Actress. The first female actress on the Russian stage was Anna Kunst (wife of Johann Kunst). Before this, women had not acted in Russian theater.

Theater school. True to his idea of not only bringing everything progressive from the West to Russia, but also teaching Russians Western wisdom, in August 1702 Peter I ordered the first enrollment in the theater school, which was also to be led by I. Kunst.

Musical orchestra. To accompany the performances, at the request of Kunst, an orchestra consisting of 11 musicians was sent from Hamburg to provide musical accompaniment to the performances.

Singers. In 1704, for the needs of the theater troupe, two singers were invited to perform songs in performances. They were the girl Johanna Willing and her sister.

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.

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.

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 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.

The first public theater in Russia. The era of Peter I, which brought dramatic changes to all spheres of Russian life, also brought a new desire for publicity for Russian society. Peter founded the second capital - St. Petersburg, where everything was planned in a new way. And in this new life, reshaped in the European way, the first public theater appears.
In July 1701, Peter sent for a troupe led by I. Kunst, who agreed only after a certain fee had been established. In 1702 Kunst's troupe arrived in Moscow. It consisted of nine people: Antoni Rotax (also acting as a hairdresser), Jacob Erdmamn Starkey (also a theater tailor and costume designer), Mikhaila Virten (also a theater clerk), Jagan Martin Bandler (best comedian), Jagan Plantin, Karol Ernst Nitz, Mikhail Ezovsky; There was also one actress in the troupe - Kunst's wife Anna.
The question arose about the need for a theater building for performances. Construction has begun. However, for a very long time, the theater temporarily functioned in another building in the German settlement.
There was one drawback: Kunst’s troupe performed exclusively in German. Boyar F. Golovin in 1702 ordered the recruitment of Russian students. And with some changes, the recruited staff lasted until 1706.
In October 1702, Russian troops captured the Noteburg fortress, in honor of which Kunst was ordered to write a play by the time the troops returned to Moscow. The play was called "About the fortress of Grubeton. The first person in it is Alexander the Great."
And throughout the entire existence of this theater, a new “triumphant comedy” was staged there for each visit of the Tsar to Moscow. The repertoire included plays with the titles “Main and State Actions” and small comedies and farces.
The “Comedy Temple” on Red Square was built in 1703. However, Kunst was no longer able to stage there, since he died in early February of the same year. In his place they took Otto Fürst, under whom the theater experienced its most fruitful period. The system of public life was being established, a system of entrance tickets - “labels” of different prices - was introduced; Tolls for travel to Red Square have been cancelled.
In the absence of the Tsar, theatrical life became sluggish. The theater has not yet become something everyday for the people.
In May 1706, the German actors' contract ended and they left for their homeland. In the spring of 1707, in connection with preparations for hostilities, wooden buildings, including the Temple, began to be dismantled.
All theatrical belongings were transported to the village of Preobrazhenskoye; The court “home theater” of Princess Natalya Alekseevna began operating there. Peter's younger sister. Apparently, Russian actors also joined her staff. In 1708, the princess and her theater moved to St. Petersburg, where a special building was being built for the latter, quite large, with a stalls and boxes, and “anyone could come to the performance,” which, of course, applied only to the top of society. The princess herself wrote plays. The theater existed until her death in 1716 and to some extent compensated for the lack of a professional theater.
In 1723, a new German troupe appeared in St. Petersburg, for which a new “house” was organized on the Moika, in which they played until 1725 (until the death of the emperor).
Theatrical and spectacular panorama of Russia in the first third of the 18th century. Theater was one of the main elements of modern culture. But it took time for it to become part of the national culture. The development of Russian culture of that time (including theatrical culture) was affected by many factors, both external (related to European culture and interaction with it) and internal (related to the influence of ancient Russian culture, literature and folklore).
Since the time of Peter the Great, the arrival of foreign artists has become more frequent. Both individual actors and troupes came. And they came for several years. Representatives of the puppet theater were among the most popular among people of all classes, even among the monarchs themselves.
Despite all the diversity of the troupes, they had more in common than different. And the performance was a type of presentation in “pre-literary” theater with a focus primarily on “spectacle.” Most often these were scenes in the spirit of Commedia dell'arte (Italian comedy of masks). The performances were accompanied by music, vocal performances, acrobatic performances, etc.
The first such “comedy” troupe to come to Moscow during the reign of Peter the Great was the puppet troupe of Jan Splavsky. Subsequently, numerous other troupes came, such as the troupe of I.-K. Eckenberg (who had a “curious company with an English dancing master”), Jean Bernert and Franz Shemin, the German “gang” I.-G. Manna, the troupe of Yagan Grieg, the troupe of Vilim Durom (English), the Frenchman Jacques Renolt with his company, the Frenchman Jacob Rioux, also the Frenchman Gemey Vili, in 1728 Sifridus Schultz came from Sweden with his family and troupe.
The new theatrical world for Russia was like a new European dress, put on by order of the sovereign. In some ways she felt familiar - these are comedy shows brought by European comedians. As for the professional theater, this “dress” was only tried on in its isolated public “demonstrations”.
So, over a quarter of a century, in the era of Peter the Great, Russia had to take a closer look and try to fit into European culture, in which theater was one of the most important elements.