The Snow Maiden (play): Difference between revisions
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Even the sympathizers of Ostrovsky were taken aback, [[Leo Tolstoy]] among them. When the two met, Ostrovsky tried to justify himself, arguing that "even [[Shakespeare]] had fairytales alongside serious plays," citing ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' to prove his point.<ref>Makovitsky, D.P. Yasnaya Polyana Notes. – ''Literaturnoye Nasledstsvo'' anthology, 1979, vol. 90, book. 2, p. 350.</ref> |
Even the sympathizers of Ostrovsky were taken aback, [[Leo Tolstoy]] among them. When the two met, Ostrovsky tried to justify himself, arguing that "even [[Shakespeare]] had fairytales alongside serious plays," citing ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' to prove his point.<ref>Makovitsky, D.P. Yasnaya Polyana Notes. – ''Literaturnoye Nasledstsvo'' anthology, 1979, vol. 90, book. 2, p. 350.</ref> |
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[[Nikolay Nekrasov]], who was then the editor of the journal [[Otechestvennye Zapiski]], was rather perplexed by the play. After Ostrovsky submitted the play to him first, he responded with a letter the business-like tone of which Ostrovsky took as an offence. |
[[Nikolay Nekrasov]], who was then the editor of the journal [[Otechestvennye Zapiski]], was rather perplexed by the play. After Ostrovsky submitted the play to him first, he responded with a letter the business-like tone of which Ostrovsky took as an offence (he may have offered Ostrovsky a very modest fee for the play, and little comment otherwise). |
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Ostrovsky replied, |
Ostrovsky replied, |
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Revision as of 19:14, 17 December 2014
| The Snow Maiden | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Alexander Ostrovsky |
| Date premiered | 11 May 1873 |
| Place premiered | Bolshoy Theatre |
| Original language | Russian |
| Genre | Fairytale |
The Snow Maiden is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky written in 1873 and first published in the September 1873 issue of Vestnik Evropy.
Background
The idea of the play based on a fairytale came to Ostrovsky in his Shchelykovo estate, the place he admired and almost worshipped, thinking it to be a piece of wonderland here on Earth, saturated with the spirit of pre-historic Rus with its heroic warriors and gentle, benevolent tsars. The play tells a story of an idyllic utopian kingdom ruled by the Berendey, a poet and an artist who believes in love, peace and good will and promotes this belief of his.[1]
The play's plot was based on the Russian folk fairytale Ostrovsky read in the Vol. 2 of A.N.Afanasiev's book The Slavs' Views Upon Nature (1867).
History
The play was premiered on May 11, 1873 in Moscow's Bolshoy Theatre as a benefit for the actor Vasily Zhivokini. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky has written music for the play's production. It was not successful despite Ostrovsky's involvement in preparing costumes, decorations and ingenious 'magic' machinery (invented by Karl Fyodorovich Valtz).[2]
In 1900, three theatres produced the play: the Moscow Imperial troupe (with Aleksandr Pavlovich Lensky as a director), the St. Petersburg Imperial troupe (as a benefice for the actor Konstantin Varlamov) and the Moscow Art Theatre (set to music by Alexander Gretchaninov, and directed by Stanislavsky and Aleksandr Sanin).
In the Saint Petersburg's Alexandrinsky Theatre the play was produced much later, and was first performed on December 27, 1900, as a benefice for the actor Konstantin Varlamov.[3]
In 1881 Nikolay Rimsky-Korsakov wrote an opera The Snow Maiden based on Ostrovsky's play. The opera was premiered on January 29, 1882, in Saint Petersburg; in Moscow's Bolshoy it was first performed on January 26, 1993.[3]
Reception
The play took everybody by surprise because Ostrovsky was known as a realist and satirical writer specializing in social commentary. Russian fairy tales and fantasies were not expected from him.
One of Ostrovsky's old-time detractors, the novelist Grigory Danilevsky wrote to Alexey Suvorin: "If there is something that deserves scolding, it's Snegurka by Ostrovsky. Each page just asks to be parodied, its insufferably tedious. Raw heap of folk songs, parts of Slovo o Polku Igoreve and even from A.Tolstoy and Mei... Nekrasov had sense enough: despite his friendship with Ostrovsky, he read half of the play and returned it, saying: Boring!"[2]
Even the sympathizers of Ostrovsky were taken aback, Leo Tolstoy among them. When the two met, Ostrovsky tried to justify himself, arguing that "even Shakespeare had fairytales alongside serious plays," citing A Midsummer Night's Dream to prove his point.[4]
Nikolay Nekrasov, who was then the editor of the journal Otechestvennye Zapiski, was rather perplexed by the play. After Ostrovsky submitted the play to him first, he responded with a letter the business-like tone of which Ostrovsky took as an offence (he may have offered Ostrovsky a very modest fee for the play, and little comment otherwise).
Ostrovsky replied,
"I am your constant contributor, I enter the new direction with this work and expecting from you either advice or encouragement, and what do I get? A rather dry letter in which you evaluate my new work which is so dear to me, as cheap as none of my plays had never been assessed."[5]
Vexed, Ostrovsky gave The Snow Maiden to Vestnik Evropy, still assuring Nekrasov that he was not meaning to sever ties with him. "I find no reason to depart from the magazine which I sympathize a lot," he added.[2]
But the Russian musical community loved it. It took Tchaikovsky just three weeks to compose music for the play's production. Several years later Rimsky-Korsakov wrote an operatic version, using the author’s text as a libretto. In the XX century Marina Tsvetayeva praised the play's language, calling it "exemplary".[2]
External links
- The Snow Maiden at cyclowiki.org.
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References
- ^ A.N.Ostrovsky. Remembered by Contemporaries. P 259.
- ^ a b c d Lakshin, Vladimir (1982). "Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky". Iskusstvo, Moscow. Life in Art series. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
- ^ a b The Complete A.N. Ostrovsky. Vol. 6. Plays, 1871-1873. Khudozhestvennaya Literatura Publishers.
- ^ Makovitsky, D.P. Yasnaya Polyana Notes. – Literaturnoye Nasledstsvo anthology, 1979, vol. 90, book. 2, p. 350.
- ^ Makovitsky, D.P. Vol. 11, p. 426.