Articles about the Schwarz's tale - an ordinary miracle. "An Ordinary Miracle"

The power of love is great. This is repeatedly mentioned in literature so that people remember and are ready to meet it halfway. Love is magical in many ways. This is the power that can change everything. And at the same time, love is such a simple and natural feeling, almost ordinary. And the title of Evgeniy Schwartz’s play “An Ordinary Miracle” conveys this idea well. This play has become one of the most famous in the writer’s work; everyday life and fairy tales are intertwined in it. The writer talks about love, about the human soul and about humanity in general, showing all this through experiences and feelings. At the same time, it cannot be said that the play is overly romanticized; there is room for both irony and the harsh truth of life.

Readers will learn the story of an unusual young man who used to be a Bear. The wizard turned him into a human, but at the same time did not give him the opportunity to be happy. Once the girl falls in love with the Bear and kisses him, he will become a beast again. And one day the Princess falls in love with him, but the Bear is afraid that her kiss will change everything. These two will have to go through trials, overcome their fears, before they understand the power of love. True love can work miracles and conquer everything.

The play is not only about the love of the Princess and the Bear. The author shows the wizard's love for his wife, who admires her in the same way as many years ago. The King's love for his daughter is shown. And it is this feeling that transforms him from a tyrant and tyrant into a good dad. The whole play is imbued with love, it leaves a pleasant impression and will be interesting to both adults and children.

On our website you can download the book “An Ordinary Miracle” by Evgeniy Lvovich Schwartz for free and without registration in fb2, rtf, epub, pdf, txt format, read the book online or buy the book in the online store.

Evgeny Schwartz. Chronicle of the life of Binevich Evgeniy Mikhailovich

"An Ordinary Miracle"

While Evgeny Lvovich was ill, his favorite artist Erast Garin attempted to stage “The Bear” at the Film Actor’s Studio Theater...

Back in 1953, the play interested G. A. Tovstonogov, then still the chief director of the Leningrad Theater. Lenin Komsomol. He called the author and said that he liked the first act, liked the second less and did not like the third at all. Except for a few scenes. He asked to listen to his thoughts at any time and in any place, when and where it was more convenient for Schwartz - at home or in the theater. “I listened to the words of an interested person, really interested, who wanted to stage the play like music...” Evgeniy Lvovich wrote down on December 25.

The performance did not take place then. In Schwartz's diary entries there is not a word about whether their meeting took place or why Georgy Alexandrovich did not stage the play. He did not mention this in his letters either.

A little more than a year passed, and Erast Pavlovich Garin took up the production of “The Bear”. The theater management did not like the play, but the director and actors decided to rehearse it anyway. That is, at your own peril and risk. And the risk paid off.

And on June 16, 1955, Garin informs the author: “Dear Evgeny Lvovich! I didn’t want to write to you until today. I was afraid. I thought I wouldn’t pass the exam I asked for. Now I'm writing. This afternoon I showed the artistic council, management and the curious about Act One and a Half of Your Bear. The performance (I call it that because there were actors, mise-en-scène, lighting, costumes, although amateurish, but sometimes expressive) was enthusiastically received.

The board and management decided to give me, as they now say, a “green light.” Well, I don’t know about the street and its color, but I know that rehearsals will continue from Saturday, and all work on the play will move forward. Obviously, they will enter into legal relations with you, because, I think, no other theater will be able to get ahead of us.

We showed the entire first act and the second up to and including the appearance of the court lady with Emil. The discussion proceeded, as they say, at the highest level. They celebrated acting successes, etc.

All rehearsals went on in great excitement. The performance has put together its own bear team, very nice and hardworking. If it weren’t for the theater’s vacation, I would have finished in a month, but the theater goes on vacation at the end of the month. Now we pose the question of not allowing bears on vacation...

Wish you happiness. Say hello to Katerina Ivanovna. Khasya sends greetings, and we are very sorry that we could not read your Don Quixote. He was here with Kozintsevsky director Shostak. Erast."

Khesya is the wife of E.P. Garin, director Khesya Aleksandrovna Lokshina.

And again - at the end of summer: “Hello, dear you are our wizard Evgeniy Lvovich and dear hostess Katerina Ivanovna. I hasten to tell you something pleasant: yesterday I received permission from Lithuania. Now everything in the theater will be on a legal basis. True, everything was going fine before that. The first act has already gone to the workshops, but the second and third were nice in the drawings, but when the model was made, it seemed rough. As of today, the second act has already been redone and makes a good impression. I think the third act will soon be sorted out. On August 12, the theater sent money (4840 rubles) to your Griboyedkanal address... but for some reason the accountant became confused and, during the transfer, changed you into a woman. Then she grabbed it and sent a telegram to the post office (I will find out at whose expense), where she wrote that you are not Evgenia Lvovna, but he.

Our theater is touring the Crimea, but the artists who come to filming are looking forward to the start of rehearsals. And they can start in the second half of October, when our bear actors return from filming.

We hope to see you in the pre-general period. We wish you happiness, health, success. Everyone greets you and loves you very much. Heska sends greetings.

And shortly before the premiere, in December, Schwartz received a telegram from the theater, which said that it was necessary to release a poster for the play, and “the management, the artistic council, the director” were asking to change the name “Bear” to something else, for example, “It’s just a miracle” . Evgeny Lvovich, without hesitation, offered several options to choose from: “Cheerful Wizard”, “Obedient Wizard”, “Ordinary Miracle”, “Crazy Bearded Man” and “Naughty Wizard”. Four of the five titles revolved around the Master (the Wizard) in one way or another, but the play was not about him, but about love. And life taught all the characters in the play, including the Master, a lesson. The love between the Bear and the Princess turned out to be stronger than magic. This was the miracle. An ordinary miracle! The theater preferred this name. And Schwartz agreed with him.

Unexpected and even more joyful events happened to me. Erast staged “The Bear” at the Film Actor Theater. It is now called “An Ordinary Miracle”... Suddenly on January 13th in the afternoon there was a call from Moscow. The dress rehearsal was a great success. Erast reports this. At night Fraz calls with the same thing. On the 14th, around one in the morning, the call came again. The performance was shown to the box office audience, the so-called target, bought by some organization. Before the start there is a brass band and dancing. Everyone expected failure. And suddenly the audience understood the play perfectly. Even greater success... What makes me happy is not so much success as the absence of failure. That is pain. I endure any kind of abuse like a burn, it doesn’t go away for a long time. But I never learned to believe in success...

This is the first time I am not attending my own premiere. And for some reason I don’t feel particularly sad... Well, Moscow is calling again. Garin, full of delight, and Khesya, even more full of delight. More precisely, her delight inspired more confidence. Erast drank with the stagehands to celebrate... and I felt the wonderful atmosphere that happens behind the scenes on the day of success. And he was comforted.

The premiere took place on January 18, 1956. Artist B. R. Erdman. Musical arrangement by V. A. Tchaikovsky and L. A. Rapporot. K. Bartashevich acted as the Host, N. Zorskaya acted as the hostess; Bear - V. Tikhonov, King - E. Garin, Princess - E. Nekrasov, Minister-Administrator - G. Georgiou, First Minister - A. Dobronravov, Emilia - V. Karavaeva, Emil - V. Avdyushko, Hunter - A. Pintus , executioner - G. Millyar.

And the next day Schwartz wrote to the Garins: “Dear Khesya and Erast! Thank you very much for all the calls. For all. I didn’t even have time to worry - you were so attentive to me...”

At the end of January, Leonid Malyugin and Alexander Kron watched the performance. And after watching, they shared their impressions with the author. “Dear Zhenya! - Malyugin wrote on the 23rd. - I was leaving for Saratov, and therefore could not be at the premiere of your play. He arrived and ran to the first performance. First of all, the theater was full (though it was Sunday), which is a rarity in our difficult times. Erdman made a very good set - the interiors are good, and the last act is simply magnificent. Garin, in my opinion, found the right key to the play - a very original work; The play is listened to very well. Maybe not everything in it reaches the viewer, but here a lot depends on the viewer, whom we have been feeding quinoa for so long that he has already forgotten the taste of real bread. I must say that not all actors convey the background in the play, its elegant humor. To be honest, Garin himself truly understood the play and plays excellently. The rest - as they can, there are interesting images, but all this is some part of the image... The third act seemed to me weaker than the first two - which, it seems to me, is also your fault. Well, but overall it’s interesting and new. I congratulate you on the birth of the play, which has been hidden for so long, I wish you health, so that you can come to Moscow as soon as possible and see everything with your own eyes.

Heartfelt greetings to Ekaterina Ivanovna.”

And two days later, on the 25th, Kron also sent a letter: “Dear friend! Please accept my congratulations. Yesterday I saw your film actor “Bear” at the theater. This Very good and marvelous talented. There is a lot of good fiction in the work of Garin and Erdman, but best of all is the play itself. The audience understands this and most of all applauds the text. The most precious thing in what I have seen and heard is wit, which has managed to become higher than wit. The humor of the play is not skittish, but philosophical. This is not environmental humor, this is universal. If this were not so, the play would not have survived to the premiere. Probably eight years have passed since you read our act and a half. And during this time nothing has become outdated, gone out of fashion, or lost vitality. Quite the contrary... I believe that “Bear” will have a happy fate. We just need to return to Act III. He is lower than the first two, which is a shame. Moreover, there is nothing inevitable or irreparable in this. Hugging you. Kron."

“Dear Lenya, thank you for your detailed and friendly letter. After this, the performance became completely clear to me. You're right about the third act, of course. Let me just remind you what Chapek says about this. He writes that the general opinion is that the first act is always better than the second, and the third is so bad that he wants to reform the Czech theater - to cut off all third acts completely. I say this not to justify myself, but to remind you that such troubles happen in the best families.

People from Moscow call me about the performance and tell me about it, and friends write to me. Everything seems to be fine, but I have the impression that I will get it for this. I would prefer things to happen more quietly. Good fees! Will they forgive me for such tactlessness? I open newspapers every time with the feeling that they are mined... I have composed something for the program, instead of a libretto. There I asked not to look for open meaning in the fairy tale, because it, that is, the fairy tale is told not to hide, but to reveal one’s thoughts. He also explained why some of the characters, who are closer to the “ordinary” ones, have everyday features of today. And why are the faces closer to the “miracle” written in a different way? When asked how such different people get along in one fairy tale, he answered: “Very simple. Just like in life." The theater did not intend to print the program with these explanations, but nevertheless, for the most part, the audience understands the play without a guide. Mostly. And I'm happy so far. But opening newspapers... etc.

Thank you again, dear friend, for your review. I kiss and send greetings to the whole family."

Both letters are similar, talk about the same thing, and are somewhat repeated. But the arguments that Schwartz gives in his defense vary and are very characteristic of him. Therefore, I will show Kron’s answer only in the most interesting fragments: “Dear Alexander Alexandrovich, thank you for your letter. I re-read it so many times that I almost remembered it by heart, and I was going to write an answer so many times that it seems to me that this is not the first time I have written to you.

Regarding the third act, you are probably right. I do not know him. Erast rearranged something there, shortened something - I’ll look and then I’ll understand. But regardless of this, musicologists say that the weakest thing in musical works, as a rule, is the ending. They call this: “the problem of the ending.” It's in the music! Where is the theory? What should we, sinners, do? I'm not making excuses. This is me, by the way...

(And again there is a story about the text for the program. - E.B.) ...None of this was published, and the box office audience mostly understood the tale without my explanation. They realized that you can take living people as models for both sinners and saints, for the correct ratio of arms, legs, light and shadow. This is how Garshin posed for the painting “John the Terrible Killing His Son.” Garshin is not a writer or a public figure, but his height and face help the picture acquire authenticity. I’m writing all this because I’m waiting for someone to hold me accountable, although there seems to be no reason.

Thank you again for your kind letter. And not only affectionate, but also serious, in your special way. Confidence-inspiring. I kiss you deeply...

From letters like yours, the blood pressure immediately becomes normal.”

It was not in vain that Evgeniy Lvovich feared reviews. Many months after the premiere, on May 24, he pulled out “Soviet Culture” from his mailbox, in which he found Mikhail Zharov’s review of the fiftieth performance of the play, where he indistinctly, but quite unpleasantly, scolded the play, attributing the success of the performance to the unusualness of the genre and talent of the production." He wrote that “An Ordinary Miracle” “introduces genre diversity” to the theater’s repertoire, fresh creative word..." As for the play itself, “its conflict, its morality, there are different opinions. Some are inclined to argue that its theme is not accurately outlined and developed by the author, that, in essence, the heroes are guided by some external forces, fate, that love for them is a source of suffering, that they do not fight for their happiness, and everything is not resolved according to logic relationships and feelings, but by the good will of the wizard. Perhaps there are some grounds for such judgments. To me personally, the wizard seems to be the personification creative forces of the people, mighty and omnipotent ruler, creator...” (Emphasis added). (I will note in parentheses that in this performance some roles were performed by actors of the second cast: M. Troyanovsky acted as the 1st minister, M. Gluzsky as the minister-administrator, S. Golovanov as Emil: but in M. Zharov’s assessment of the performance this didn't matter).

The author's attitude towards this review shows how vulnerable Schwartz was, even if he reacted this way even to such a small injustice. The fact is that the People's Artist of the USSR and the anonymous people to whom he refers simply did not understand the meaning of what was happening in the action. But it's theirs problem, not the author. There are no “external forces” or any “fate” there. Even the Wizard himself can no longer intervene (change anything) in what is happening. Bear myself decides his fate. And love wins. Human love. This is what it is - a miracle! "An ordinary miracle." It always won, in all of Schwartz’s plays, be it “The Naked King”, “Shadow”, “Dragon” or “An Ordinary Miracle”. The latter was dedicated to Ekaterina Ivanovna, the wife with whom they lived for many years. And there was probably something from the Schwartzes themselves in the Master and Mistress.

But he thought seriously about the third act. I tried different endings. The best, in his opinion, was inserted into the text of the play. In addition, a “Prologue” appeared in the play, which explained the meaning of the “Miracle”. What the author wanted to do in the program. Before the start of the performance, a “man” appeared in front of the curtains and addressed the audience:

- “An Ordinary Miracle” - what a strange name! If a miracle means something extraordinary! And if it’s ordinary, then it’s not a miracle. The answer is that we are talking about love. A boy and a girl fall in love with each other - which is common. They quarrel - which is also not uncommon. They almost die of love. And finally, the power from the feelings reaches such a height that it begins to work real miracles - which is both surprising and ordinary...

“Dear Hesya and Erast! - Evgeny Lvovich wrote to Moscow back in February. - I am sending you a new version of the third act. This time, in my opinion, is the best. Everything became clear. The bear performs feats. The king ends his role. His fate is clearer. And so on and so forth. However, decide for yourself. Akimov is rehearsing this very option. My opinion is: handle this issue with caution. It’s scary to touch a performance that has already been performed and is alive. However, decide for yourself. Kiss you. Yours, E. Schwartz.”

And Garin talks on March 7 about the first anniversary, twenty-fifth, performance and the twenty-sixth, post-anniversary performance: “Yesterday we played the twenty-sixth performance. The first anniversary has passed. The last two performances were a serious test for us. The 26th performance was watched by the blind, but not only that, they celebrated International Women's Day from 5 pm. Then, when the first act of “Miracle” began, it was like drinking water into my mouth – there was no reaction, and only halfway through the second act did they warm up and take it warmly.

We, the actors, were simply confused at first, but yesterday, starting the second quarter of a hundred, district committee workers watched “Miracle,” also in honor of March 8th. And although their eyes were watching, we didn’t even wait for the reaction of the blind. All actors dream of a simple, disorganized viewer, not affected by any illness. Fortunately, the sold-out crowds don’t stop.

During this time, many prominent spectators watched the performance and came with compliments, such as: Zavadsky, Slobodskoy, Zelenaya,<нрзб>, Zharov, etc. and less outstanding, but nice and enthusiastic... So for now we are keeping on the level.

I wish you health and inspiration. Everyone sends greetings to you and expects many more works from you...”

“Dear Hesya and Erast!

It’s a terrible pity that I can’t come on the twentieth and explain in words how grateful I am to you for your good attitude.

Erast staged a performance from a play that I myself did not believe in. That is, I didn’t believe that it could be installed. He got it, the play. He began rehearsing it, contrary to the opinion of the theater management. After the first screening, when they showed one and a half acts in the theater to the artistic council, you called me. And the production was completed! And then they called from you again. Such things are not forgotten. And now we have reached the fiftieth performance. Thank you, friends, for everything.

There is no person who, speaking about the performance or sending reviews and letters (and I received more of these than ever in my entire life, including from strangers), would not praise Erast with all his might. Oh yes, we are Ryazan residents! (My mother is from there).

I will do everything possible to come in June, I would have come on the twentieth. But Katerina Ivanovna suffered such fear when I was sick that I don’t have the cruelty to argue with her. And when I moved to Komarovo, I suddenly felt not only bad, but threatening. Now all this is passing.

In the Comedy the performance is going well. But after thinking about it, I decided to write another third act, which I will bring...

Greetings to the entire troupe and congratulations if the letter reaches the fiftieth performance. However, I will still telegraph on the twentieth. I kiss you deeply."

In 1956, the Comedy Theater was returned to Nikolai Pavlovich Akimov. The theater was dying. There were no fees, which means there was no money to pay the artists. In order to quickly improve matters, Akimov decided to begin by reviving “Dangerous Turn” by J. Priestley, a play staged by G. M. Kozintsev in 1939 and which enjoyed enormous success with the audience. Grigory Mikhailovich was not in Leningrad. At this time he was in Crimea, where he was filming Don Quixote. He learned about the resumption of his performance from A. Beniaminov, who came to the shooting. “Akimov not only did not consider it necessary to wait for my arrival so that I could somehow do this myself,” Kozintsev wrote on July 15 in despair to Evgeniy Lvovich, “but he did not even inform me about it, obviously considering my production to be ownerless property. I can imagine the shameful hack that will be released. Please advise what to do in such cases?..” But Akimov did not have time for this, it was necessary to urgently, very urgently do something. Nikolai Pavlovich decided that it would be renewal. And for the renewal he chose “Dangerous Turn”, because in the theater there were many artists who played in it, and G. Florinsky, who assisted Kozintsev during the production. They could well “remember” the performance.

On July 26, Schwartz answered him: “...Our friend Nikolai Pavlovich did not say a word to me about this renewal. I learned about it from posters. But! 1. Uvarova, an extremely strict woman who loves to scold, claims that the renewal was done respectfully and kindly. 2. All the performances were sold out. There is a lot of talk in the city, and everyone remembers you kindly.”

Critic Vera Smirnova also did not consider “Dangerous Turn” the best choice for revival. “What the Leningrad Comedy Theater and Akimov himself should renew is Schwartz’s “Shadow,” she insisted, “one of the best (I even think the best) play by this amazingly talented and unique playwright. Re-reading this “fairy tale for adults” now, I enjoyed most of all the author’s courage and intransigence in matters of art, in relation to reality, to truth and lies in life and in art. (...) Schwartz’s fairy tale is more truthful than many realistic plays, in it, as in life, there are both ordinary people and eminent ones, there is selfless love and profitable connections, there is a struggle for life and death and simply tangled intrigue, there is lyricism and genuine humanity, there is and subtle, needle-sharp irony is an evil parody... To convey in the theater this combination of lyricism and satire, the most incredible fantasy and the most ordinary modern words and things, the subtlest hints and the crudest “materialization” of metaphors - the most pressing issues contained into the naive and oldest literary form of a fairy tale - the task, in my opinion, is very interesting...” (Theater 1957. No. 1).

The task is, of course, very interesting, but also extremely difficult. In addition, perhaps it seemed to Akimov that the time for “Shadow” had not yet come. Yes, and there was a new play, which had already been successfully performed in Moscow, and which seemed to be simpler and not so sharp. And Akimov staged the second version of “Shadows” at the Comedy Theater only in 1960.

The premiere of “An Ordinary Miracle” took place at the Comedy Theater on April 30. Direction and scenography by N. Akimova, director P. Sukhanov, composer A. Zhivotov. The performance included artists L. Kolesov (Prologue), A. Savostyanov (Master), I. Zarubina (Mistress), V. Romanov (later L. Leonidov) (Bear), P. Sukhanov (King), L. Lyulko (princess), V. Uskov (minister-administrator), K. Zlobin (first minister), E. Uvarova (Emilia), N. Kharitonov (Emil), N. Trofimov (hunter), T. Sezenevskaya (court lady).

When his health allowed, Evgeny Lvovich attended room rehearsals, and then rehearsals on stage.

Yesterday I had the premiere of “An Ordinary Miracle” at the Comedy. I saw the play the day before yesterday - the first run-through, the last open dress rehearsal. It's a great thing when actors believe in a play. Akimov is more delicate and careful than ever before. And the audience believes me, the theater, Akimov. For everyone, this performance is a sign of joy. A sign of the return of the old Comedy... And the performance went well, but not great. Akimov is in some kind of frenzy of activity... All the actors at the room rehearsals made me happy. And when we got on stage, I felt fear and tension. However, the evening audience listened with tension, laughed a lot, and the unusual form did not bother anyone. But there is something so incompatible in Akimov with me, and in me with his mind made of unbreakable glass, extremely clear, cutting and completely unbending, and light without shadows, that it had to turn out that way. And I am a vague person... But sometimes a vague expectation of joy stirs. Familiar from childhood to today...

I gave him a copy of the play three years ago. He could well have staged it at the Lensovet Theater, but he didn’t even mention it. He was mysteriously silent, and I understood that he didn’t like her. But in Moscow, Garin staged it, contrary to the opinion of the management, showing half of the play, and convinced his opponents. Akimov returned to the Comedy Theater, and then - still with slight doubt - he made up his mind. Everything seems to be fine. But not great. It was as if they had put on someone else's costume for the play. Or during a production the play fits like someone else’s dress. But complaining is a sin. Everything is fine so far... My soul is rather calm - I feel like I’m living...

In 1965, at the Central Studio of Children's and Youth Films named after. M. Gorky's "An Ordinary Miracle" was filmed. Without seeing E. Garin's performance, it is difficult to compare it with the film, but judging by the fact that it was again staged by E. Garin (this time with Kh. Lokshina), and some of the performers of the play starred in it, from which we can assume that both of these productions were close to each other in design. The cameraman of the film was V. Grishin, the artist I. Zakharova, the composers were the same - V. Tchaikovsky and L. Rappoport. The cast included: A. Konsovsky (Master), N. Zorkaya (Mistress), E. Garin (King), G. Georgiu (Minister-Administrator), A. Dobronravov (1 Minister), V. Karavaeva (Emilia), V. Avdyushko (innkeeper Emil), V. Vestnik (hunter), G. Millyar (executioner). VGIK students O. Vidov and N. Maksimova starred in the roles of the young Bear and Princess.

Ordinary courage The life of Boris Ermilovich Tikhomolov developed in the same way as the lives of peers of his generation. The school is in Tashkent, where his family moved from Baku. Then, on the Komsomol permit, the construction of the famous Tashkent "Selmash". During the day - a digger,

Miracle If "The Kingdom" took the Danes by surprise with its amazing mixture of horror and laughter, the film "Breaking the Waves" finally tore the blanket off them. These two works in a row were, according to film critic Kim Scott, like a deuce in boxing: a blow to the laugh muscles and immediately after it

Miracle What do you do when you don’t want to look inside yourself? You look around. Or rather, in my case, up. I have always loved the sky. For me it has always been something more than a permanent ceiling. Every day I look at its splendor - at the lavender sunset or

An ordinary miracle He generally only recognized happy endings. Since childhood, when he flatly refused to finish reading a book, suspecting that it might end sadly. Mom used this for pedagogical purposes: as soon as Zhenya sat down to eat, she began

AN ORDINARY MIRACLE This is a miracle! You are ours! K. Stanislavsky “...I went straight from the station to Romanov’s rooms. There was only one available room, very small, and I settled in it. I took your portraits out of the suitcase, kissed them and placed them on the table, on the chest of drawers, on the table

MIRACLE-YUDO On one of the small hills that spread around Lugovka - the oldest village of Svyatogorye - there is a miracle-YUDO stone. Not a stone, but a whale. It was placed here eight years ago among other mossy boulders that have surrounded the hill since ancient times. I found this “whale” in

“An Ordinary Miracle” While Evgeny Lvovich was ill, his favorite artist Erast Garin attempted to stage “The Bear” at the Film Actor’s Studio Theater... The play interested G. A. Tovstonogov, then still the chief director of the Leningrad Theater. Leninsky

Miracle More than three months have passed since the case was sent to Moscow, and we are still waiting and are still alive. Now this can happen every night. And in the morning we look at each other, gloomy, green, unable to sleep a wink. Another night has passed. You can no longer sleep. We forget ourselves on

An ordinary feeling of fear. So, I will fly. In addition to the hand-held camera that will be in my cockpit, another movie camera is installed in the bomb bay. Lens down. By pressing a button, the camera motor is activated, and it will record the fall of bombs and their explosions on the ground. Manual

An ordinary miracle Spring sunny day. We, elementary school students, usually languish at such a time: we wish we could break out of lessons early, into the greenery of the yard... But instead of a regular lesson today there is a miracle. The miracle is revealed by the young man Oleg - black-haired and black-eyed. He talks about

E.Sh. Isaeva

In his semi-diary notes dating back to the initial period of his biography as a writer, Evgeny Schwartz, the future creator of fairy tale plays that were brilliant in their invention and amazing in their generosity of imagination, left the following thought: “... while remaining yourself, goggle at the world as if you see it first time... Look. Look. Look".

It is no coincidence that perhaps his best creation was “The Dragon,” a wartime play in which the writer’s reflections on “ordinary fascism,” begun in “The Naked King” and continued by “The Shadow,” are completed. At the same time, it predicts a lot about the fate of the post-war world.

“Real modern contemporary Soviet plays,” is what their first director, the wonderful director Nikolai Akimov, called Schwartz’s fairy tales. The deliberate paradoxical nature of this formulation - “modern contemporary”... fairy tales - reflects the main property of Shvartsev’s dramaturgy, which determines all its uniqueness and originality.

How can simplicity, constant clarity in the placement of moral accents and some even naivety of the “old, old fairy tale” be combined with the study of the spiritual world of modern man, with the depiction of ambiguous phenomena that cannot be decomposed only into black and white tones?

The answer to this question is suggested by the playwright himself in his own, “Shvartsev-like” way. Not inclined to theorize, he preferred to show the process of creating a work in himself. Thus, the disclosure of “magical secrets” occurs in one of Schwartz’s early plays, “The Snow Queen,” where the Storyteller himself is introduced into the fairy tale as its participant and at the same time its creator.

But if the revelation of the technique in “The Snow Queen” was rightly defined by V. Shklovsky as “ironic-theatrical,” then the similar construction of “An Ordinary Miracle” (the wizard who invents the fairy tale - the Master - is among the characters) carries a completely different artistic meaning. The lyricism of the play, the lyricism and even the autobiographical nature of the image of the Master allows us to consider this last play-fairy tale by Schwartz as the most complete embodiment and expression of his creative principles.

In the prologue to “An Ordinary Miracle” - perhaps Schwartz’s only direct explanation of his goals and objectives to the viewer - he defines the main thing that makes a fairy tale attractive to him: “A fairy tale is told not in order to hide, but in order to open, to tell with all your strength, with all your voice, what you think.”

That freedom of fiction, which is a strict law of a fairy tale, gave the artist the opportunity to bring it to its logical conclusion, to clarify a situation, a conflict, a property of human character. In “An Ordinary Miracle” - this, in fact, a very capacious formula for any of Schwartz’s fairy tales - it is the “miracle” that first of all attracts him. “Oh, how I would like,” sighs one of the play’s heroines, Emilia, “to get to those amazing countries that they talk about in novels. And there is no such cursed syllable “suddenly” at all. There, one thing follows from the other... Extraordinary events happen there so rarely that people find out when they finally come.

The entire development of the action of “An Ordinary Miracle” is, in essence, a conversation about love, into which the entire circle of characters canonical for the fairy tale is drawn. This is a young hero of “magical origin” (a bear turned into a human), and a beautiful princess, and magical and non-magical assistants - the Master and Mistress, the innkeeper and Emilia, his beloved, who met again after long years lived apart; this is both the traditional antagonist of the hero - the Minister-Administrator, and the king, indispensable for every fairy tale.

The plot of the play, which contaminates fairly common folklore motifs, is centripetal: each character (up to those who are usually called the background, say, the Princess's maids of honor) is involved in the main storyline, the line of the Princess and the Bear, and effectively, with all the fairy-tale categoricalness, expresses their life position, your understanding - or lack of understanding - of the “ordinary miracle” of love.

Here is the mundane microphilosophy of the King, who would like to push even the miraculous into the framework of everyday life - “Others live - and nothing! Just think - a bear... Not a ferret after all... we would comb it, tame it,” and the unshakable cynicism of the Minister-Administrator, who sincerely does not allow the existence of feelings that go beyond the limits of his normal - so normal that it is surprising - worldview , and sad loyalty to their failed miracle of Emil and Emilia...

And finally, in the story of the Princess and the Bear, as a plot implementation of a fairy-tale metaphor (a bear turns into a person - and forever!), the most important idea for the author sounds about the transformative, revealing “man in man,” the truly magical power of genuine feeling. Moreover, it is depicted as if outside its everyday shell: Schwartz’s Princess and the Bear are devoid of purely individual signs and any specific characterological traits. It seems that this is not the usual blueness of 100% positive heroes, but a deliberately broad generalization that turns into symbolism - a property inherent in folk poetics.

However, Schwartz’s play is by no means a theatrical allegory, an allegory in a conventional fairy-tale garb, similar to, say, Olesha’s “Three Fat Men” or Marshak’s fairy tales. Its unusualness matches the tone of his fairy tale, as if it itself was admitting its magical origin and slightly ironizing over its own miracles.

By creating a fantastic fairy-tale world, Schwartz at the same time exposes its conventionality, illusoryness, and unrealism. And this is the writer’s deep comprehension of the very essence of the genre, its internal structure. After all, a fairy tale is, perhaps, the only type of folklore in which convention is recognized and, moreover, emphasized. “Attitude towards fiction” (E. Pomerantseva’s formula), this most important genre feature of a fairy tale, lies in the fact that both the storyteller and the listeners seem to recognize in advance the fantastic nature of the fairy-tale narrative.

But if in a folk tale this is reminiscent of the framing elements (saying, ending), not directly related to the plot, then in Schwartz the destructible convention is introduced into the very fabric of the play. The creation of a magical world is happening right before our eyes: a married and settled wizard, who “no matter what you feed... is always drawn to miracles...”, comes up with his next and seemingly completely innocent miracle - this becomes the plot of the action - The bear cub he turned into a human can only be disenchanted by the kiss of the “first princess he came across.” And we are not allowed to forget throughout the entire play that a fairy tale is a “fold” (“and the song is a true story”), as the proverb states. This goal is served by both Emilia’s already cited ironic monologue and the Master’s confession - “I... gathered people and shuffled them, and they all began to live in such a way that you would laugh and cry.”

In other words, in “An Ordinary Miracle,” convention is both built and broken, creating that atmosphere of festive theatricality, cheerful play, without the elements of which it is difficult to imagine today’s perception of the fairy tale (remember the modern costumes of the characters in Vakhtangov’s “Princess Turandot”).

But, of course, not only the desire to emphasize the playful principle in the fairy tale determined the playwright’s plan, as happened, for example, in the theatrical fairy tales of Schwartz’s distant predecessor Carlo Gozzi, where the characters of the comedy of masks, interfering with the main, often tragic plot, strengthened and exposed his fantastic character.

Schwartz's mischievous play is most seriously connected with the very ultimate goal of the play. After all, here the fairy-tale extravaganza disintegrates under the pressure of “living life”; it is destroyed by real human feeling, breaking out of the closed magical circle. This is the high symbolism of the “ordinary miracle” at the end of the play, the miracle of love, rebelling against inevitability and crossing out everything with its power - so that the magician himself is the first to be amazed: Look! Miracle, miracle! He remained human.

Such openness of the fairy-tale world makes Schwartz's play an open structure in which reality can be reflected not only in the extreme generalization of the allegory, but even in everyday outlines. Such a combination of different image planes, the interweaving of the realities of a fairy tale and the realities of everyday life, their mutual reflection create a completely special atmosphere of Shvartsev’s plays, determines their unique intonation and originality.

The whole play is filled with situations that are instantly recognizable: so sniper-like, they capture - and in accordance with the laws of a fairy tale - phenomena that are well known to us, features of everyday life, characteristic moments of our everyday life.

The entire mechanism of pharisaism - and equally the panacea of its indifferent readiness to accept what is visible as what is - is revealed in the short, businesslike repentance of the Minister-Administrator: “... forget about my arrogant proposal, / tongue twister / I consider it an ugly mistake. I am an extremely mean person. I repent, I repent, I ask for an opportunity to make amends for everything.”

In aphoristically sharpened remarks, one stroke captures the very essence of a character (King. “The whole house is arranged so nicely, with such love that it would take it away!”) or situation (Housewife. “A poor girl in love will kiss a young man, and he will suddenly turn into a wild one.” beast? Master. It's an everyday matter, wife").

However, for Schwartz in his maturity, such one-dimensional everyday allusions are no longer the main thing. Perhaps the only character of this kind in “An Ordinary Miracle” is the Hunter. Most of Shvartsev’s images are not limited to just a combination of two plans - the traditionally fairy-tale one and the everyday, everyday layer guessed behind it. They are multi-layered, multi-component. Let's say, the King - does this character, or rather, the psychological phenomenon, fit into the author's certification of him as “an ordinary apartment despot, a frail tyrant, deftly able to explain his outrages by considerations of principle”? After all, here Schwartz is ironic both at flirtatious intellectual self-flagellation, which essentially turns into self-justification and narcissism, and, more broadly, at the very principle of such an interpretation of character in life and literature (hence the element of literary parody): “I am a well-read, conscientious person. Another would have blamed his outrages on his comrades, on his boss, on his neighbors. And I blame my ancestors as if they were dead. They don’t care, but it’s easier for me.”

“Schwartz’s viewer / or reader’s / perception is directly included in the artistic structure of the work - as this also happens in the process of creating a folk tale, which always varies depending on the audience. Hence the intellectualism of Schwartz's fairy tale plays, which allows us to compare them, as has been done more than once, with the epic theater of B. Brecht and the philosophical dramas of J. Anouille.

But even within the framework of the fairy tale, Schwartz was able to outline the contours of characters that are not at all simple, while avoiding the bad modernization of the folklore genre.

So, for example, Schwartz’s poetics firmly includes his favorite technique of the fairy tale - playing out the contradictions between the method, real and imaginary, visible and existing. Many of his images are based on the collision of multidirectional properties. Such is the king, who is alternately possessed by either paternal feelings or royal temper - the legacy of “twelve generations of ancestors - and all the monsters, one to one.” The combination of the incompatible - an oxymoron at the level of phrases - becomes the main principle of his speech characteristics: “I either want music and flowers, or I want to stab someone.”

The face in the mask is a cross-cutting motif that accompanies the image of Emilia: in the stage directions she is called either Emilia or the Lady of the Court.

And such a classic element of a fairy tale plot as a return becomes for the playwright an opportunity to outline the story of his hero not in its calm flow, but in the starting and final points, the distance between which is easily filled.

This depicts not at all a magical, but a sadly natural transformation of “proud, tender Emilia” into a well-trained court lady, a fabulously fast, but by no means an insoluble everyday riddle metamorphosis, which turned the “dashing supplier” into an indulgently imposing prince-administrator.

The motif of magical transformation also determines the development of the main storyline of the play. With the wave of the Master’s magic wand, the story of the main character begins (in the original version the play was called “The Bear in Love”/), it ends with his miraculous transformation: “Look: this is a man, a man walks along the path with his bride and talks to her quietly. Love has melted him so much that he can no longer become a bear.” And this acquisition of true humanity by the hero occurs beyond the framework of fairy-tale miracles.

That’s why Schwartz is so ironic about the usual expectation of a successful fairy-tale ending, where an obligatory miracle can settle everything: “How dare you lament, be horrified, hope for a good ending where there is no longer, no way back... don’t you dare talk to me about miracles, miracles are subject to the same laws as all other natural phenomena.”

Schwartz's comedy-fairy tale /as N. Akimov defines the genre of these plays/, like any high comedy, oscillates between two emotional poles - joy and sadness. “The starting point of a comedian,” notes drama researcher E. Beyuli, “is suffering; joy, being its ultimate goal, is a beautiful and exciting overcoming.” The happy ending of “An Ordinary Miracle” is not unconditional; it is preceded by a dramatic situation, and it is not for nothing that the lovers in the play are accompanied, as if by different variations of their possible fate, by two couples - the Master and the Mistress and Emil and Emilia.

“The Good Storyteller” was, in fact, a very tough artist, a maximalist who was demanding of his heroes. Bear's confession - “Yes, mistress! “Being a real person is very difficult” - this is, in essence, an epigraph to the entire work of the writer, his cross-cutting, constant theme.

“What will our enemies do to us while our hearts are hot?” - exclaims the Storyteller from The Snow Queen.

Lancelot fights for true humanity among “armless souls, legless souls, deaf-mute souls...” (“Dragon”), it is defended in the world of shadows and fiction by the Scientist (“Shadow”).

And in this statement of simple but unshakable moments of human existence there is a deep connection between Schwartz’s fairy tale plays and folk tales, with the pathos of timeless moral values that inspires them.

L-ra: Problems of mastery. Hero, plot, style. – Tashkent, 1980. – No. 628. – P. 32-39.

Keywords: Evgeny Schwartz, dramatic tales, An Ordinary Miracle, criticism of the works of Evgeny Schwartz, criticism of the fairy tales of Evgeny Schwartz, analysis of the plays of Evgeny Schwartz, download criticism, download analysis, download for free, Russian literature of the 20th century.

Evgeny Schwartz

An ordinary miracle

Ekaterina Ivanovna Schwartz

Characters

Master.

Mistress.

Bear.

King.

Princess.

Minister-Administrator.

First Minister.

Court lady.

Orinthia.

Amanda.

Innkeeper.

Hunter.

Hunter's Apprentice.

Executioner.

Appears before the curtain Human, who tells the audience quietly and thoughtfully:

– “An Ordinary Miracle” – what a strange name! If a miracle means something extraordinary! And if it’s ordinary, then it’s not a miracle.

The answer is that we are talking about love. A boy and a girl fall in love with each other - which is common. They quarrel – which is also not uncommon. They almost die of love. And finally, the strength of their feeling reaches such a height that it begins to work real miracles - which is both surprising and ordinary.

You can talk about love and sing songs, but we will tell a fairy tale about it.

In a fairy tale, the ordinary and the miraculous are very conveniently placed side by side and are easily understood if you look at the fairy tale as a fairy tale. As in childhood. Don't look for hidden meaning in it. A fairy tale is told not in order to hide, but in order to reveal, to say with all your might, out loud what you think.

Among the characters in our fairy tale, who are closer to the “ordinary” ones, you will recognize people whom you meet quite often. For example, the king. You can easily recognize in him an ordinary apartment despot, a frail tyrant who deftly knows how to explain his outrages by considerations of principle. Or dystrophy of the heart muscle. Or psychasthenia. Or even heredity. In the fairy tale, he is made a king so that his character traits reach their natural limit. You will also recognize the minister-administrator, the dashing supplier. And an honored figure in hunting. And some others.

But the heroes of the fairy tale, who are closer to the “miracle”, are deprived household damn today. Such are the wizard, and his wife, and the princess, and the bear.

How do such different people get along in one fairy tale? And it's very simple. Just like in life.

And our fairy tale begins simply. One wizard got married, settled down and started farming. But no matter how you feed the wizard, he is always drawn to miracles, transformations and amazing adventures. And so he got involved in the love story of those very young people I spoke about at the beginning. And everything got confused, mixed up - and finally unraveled so unexpectedly that the wizard himself, accustomed to miracles, clasped his hands in surprise.

It all ended in grief or happiness for the lovers - you will find out at the very end of the fairy tale. (Disappears.)

Act one

Estate in the Carpathian Mountains. Large room, sparkling clean. On the hearth is a dazzlingly sparkling copper coffee pot. A bearded man, huge in height, broad-shouldered, sweeps the room and talks to himself at the top of his voice. This owner of the estate.

Master. Like this! That's great! I work and work, as befits an owner, everyone will look and praise, everything with me is like that of other people. I don’t sing, I don’t dance, I don’t tumble like a wild animal. The owner of an excellent estate in the mountains cannot roar like a bison, no, no! I work without any liberties... Ah! (Listens, covers his face with his hands.) She goes! She! She! Her steps... I’ve been married for fifteen years, and I’m still in love with my wife, like a boy, honestly! It's coming! She! (Giggles shyly.) What a nonsense, my heart is beating so much that it even hurts... Hello, wife!

Included mistress, still a young, very attractive woman.

Hello wife, hello! It’s been a long time since we parted, just an hour ago, but I’m happy for you, as if we haven’t seen each other for a year, that’s how I love you... (Getting scared.) What happened to you? Who dared to offend you?

Mistress. You.

Master. Are you kidding! Oh, I'm rude! Poor woman, standing there so sad, shaking her head... What a disaster! What have I, damned one, done?

Mistress. Think about it.

Master. Well, where is there to think... Speak, don’t be tormented...

Mistress. What did you do this morning in the chicken coop?

Master (laughs). So it’s me who loves!

Mistress. Thank you for such love. I open the chicken coop, and suddenly - hello! All my chickens have four legs...

Master. Well, what's offensive about that?

Mistress. And the chicken has a mustache like a soldier.

Master. Ha ha ha!

Mistress. Who promised to improve? Who promised to live like everyone else?

Master. Well, dear, well, dear, well, forgive me! What can you do... After all, I’m a wizard!

Mistress. You never know!

Master. The morning was cheerful, the sky was clear, there was nowhere to put any energy, it was so good. I wanted to fool around...

Mistress. Well, I would do something useful for the economy. They brought sand over there to sprinkle the paths. I would take it and turn it into sugar.

Master. Well, what a prank this is!

Mistress. Or he would turn those stones that were piled near the barn into cheese.

Master. Not funny!

Mistress. Well, what should I do with you? I fight, I fight, and you are still the same wild hunter, mountain wizard, crazy bearded man!

Master. I'm trying!

Mistress. Everything is going well, just like people do, and suddenly - bang! - thunder, lightning, miracles, transformations, fairy tales, all sorts of legends... Poor thing... (Kisses him.) Well, go, dear!

Master. Where?

Mistress. To the chicken coop.

Master. For what?

Mistress. Fix what you did there.

Master. I can not!

Mistress. Oh please!

Master. I can not. You yourself know how things are in the world. Sometimes you mess around, and then you’ll fix everything. And sometimes there’s a click and there’s no turning back! I already beat these chickens with a magic wand, and curled them with a whirlwind, and struck them with lightning seven times - all in vain! This means that what has been done here cannot be corrected.

Mistress. Well, nothing can be done... I will shave the chicken every day, and turn away from chickens. Well, now let's move on to the most important thing. Who are you waiting for?

Master. No one.

Mistress. Look into my eyes.

Master. I'm watching.

Mistress. Tell the truth, what will happen? What kind of guests should we receive today? Of people? Or will ghosts come and play dice with you? Don't be afraid, speak up. If we have the ghost of a young nun, I will even be glad. She promised to bring back from the other world a pattern for a blouse with wide sleeves, such as was worn three hundred years ago. This style is back in fashion. Will the nun come?

Master. No.

Mistress. It's a pity. So there won't be anyone? No? Do you really think that you can hide the truth from your wife? You'd rather deceive yourself than me. Look, your ears are burning, sparks are flying from your eyes...

Master. Not true! Where?

Mistress. There they are! That's how they sparkle. Don't be shy, admit it! Well? Together!

Master. OK! We will have guests today. Forgive me, I'm trying. Became a homebody. But... But the soul asks for something... magical. No offense!

Mistress. I knew who I was marrying.

Master. There will be guests! Here, now, now!

Mistress. Correct your collar quickly. Pull up your sleeves!

Master (laughs). Do you hear, do you hear? On his way.

The approaching clatter of hooves.

It's him, it's him!

Mistress. Who?

Master. The same young man because of whom amazing events will begin for us. What a joy! That's nice!

Mistress. Is this a young man like a young man?

Master. Yes Yes!

Mistress. That’s good, my coffee just boiled.

There's a knock on the door.

Master. Come in, come in, we've been waiting for a long time! I am glad!

Evgeny Schwartz

An ordinary miracle

characters

Princess

Minister-Administrator

First Minister

Court lady

Innkeeper

Hunter's Apprentice

a man appears in front of the curtain and speaks quietly and thoughtfully to the audience:

– “An Ordinary Miracle” – what a strange name! If a miracle means something extraordinary! And if it’s ordinary, then it’s not a miracle.

The answer is that we are talking about love. A boy and a girl fall in love with each other - which is common. They quarrel – which is also not uncommon. They almost die of love. And finally the strength of their feeling reaches such a height that it begins to work real miracles - which is both surprising and ordinary.

You can talk about love and sing songs, but we will tell a fairy tale about it.

But the heroes of the fairy tale, who are closer to the “miracle”, are devoid of the everyday features of today. Such are the wizard, and his wife, and the princess, and the bear.

How do such different people get along in one fairy tale? And it's very simple. Just like in life.

It all ended in grief or happiness for the lovers - you will find out at the very end of the fairy tale.

disappears

Act one

estate in the Carpathian Mountains | large room, sparkling clean | on the hearth there is a dazzlingly sparkling copper coffee pot | a bearded man, huge in height, broad-shouldered, sweeps the room and talks to himself at the top of his voice | this is the owner of the estate

Master

Like this! That's great! I work and work, as befits an owner, everyone will look and praise, everything with me is like that of other people. I don’t sing, I don’t dance, I don’t tumble like a wild animal. The owner of an excellent estate in the mountains cannot roar like a bison, no, no! I work without any liberties... Ah!

listens, covers his face with his hands

She goes! She! She! Her steps... I’ve been married for fifteen years, and I’m still in love with my wife, like a boy, honestly! It's coming! She!

giggles shyly

What a nonsense, my heart is beating so much that it even hurts... Hello, wife!

the hostess enters, still a young, very attractive woman

Hello wife, hello! It’s been a long time since we parted, just an hour ago, but I’m happy for you, as if we haven’t seen each other for a year, that’s how I love you...

gets scared

What happened to you? Who dared to offend you?

Mistress

Master

Are you kidding! Oh, I'm rude! Poor woman, standing there so sad, shaking her head... What a disaster! What have I, damned one, done?

Mistress

Master

Well, where is there to think... Speak, don’t be tormented...

Mistress

What did you do this morning in the chicken coop?

Master (laughs)

So it’s me who loves!

Mistress

Thank you for such love. I open the chicken coop, and suddenly - hello! All my chickens have four legs...

Master

Well, what's offensive about that?

Mistress

And the chicken has a mustache like a soldier.

Master

Mistress

Who promised to improve? Who promised to live like everyone else?

Master

Well, dear, well, dear, well, forgive me! What can you do... After all, I’m a wizard!

Mistress

You never know!

Master

The morning was cheerful, the sky was clear, there was nowhere to put any energy, it was so good. I wanted to fool around...

Mistress

Well, I would do something useful for the economy. They brought sand over there to sprinkle the paths. I would take it and turn it into sugar.

Master

Well, what a prank this is!

Mistress

Or he would turn those stones that were piled near the barn into cheese.

Master

Not funny!

Mistress

Well, what should I do with you? I fight, I fight, and you are still the same wild hunter, mountain wizard, crazy bearded man!

Master

I'm trying!

Mistress

So everything is going nicely, like with people, and suddenly there’s a bang - thunder, lightning, miracles, transformations, fairy tales, all sorts of legends... Poor thing...

kisses him

Well, go, dear!

Master

Mistress

To the chicken coop.

Master

Mistress

Fix what you did there.

Master

Mistress

Oh please!

Master

I can not. You yourself know how things are in the world. Sometimes you mess up, and then you fix everything. And sometimes there’s a click and there’s no turning back! I already beat these chickens with a magic wand, and curled them with a whirlwind, and struck them with lightning seven times - all in vain! This means that what has been done here cannot be corrected.