This article offers a chronological list of productions directed by Konstantin Stanislavski. It does not include theatrical productions in which Stanislavski only acted.
Until he was thirty three, Stanislavski appeared only as an amateur onstage and as a director, as a result of his family's discouragement.[1] When he was twenty five, he helped to establish a Society of Art and Literature, which aimed to unite amateur and professional actors and artists.[2] His professional career began in 1896 when he co-founded the Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.[3] Later in his life, he created a series of studios whose aims were primarily pedagogical but which also presented public performances.[4] This list of productions directed by Stanislavski includes amateur, professional, and studio productions.
When the sources disagree about the exact date of a production's première, that given in the most recent biography of Stanislavski—Jean Benedetti's Stanislavski: His Life and Art (1988, revised and expanded 1999)—is listed here, with the alternative date detailed in the footnotes. Prior to 14 February 1918, the Julian calendar was in use in Russia, after which the Gregorian calendar was introduced.[5] The details of productions staged before that change are given in both Old Style and New Style dates.
1891: Foma by Fyodor Dostoyevsky, adapted by Stanislavski from The Village of Stepanchikovo. Opened on 26 November [O.S. 14 November] at the German Club. Cast included Stanislavski as Colonel Rostanev and Maria Lilina as Nastenka.[9]
1894: The Governor by Victor Diachenko. Cast included Stanislavski as George Dorci. Opened on 19 February [O.S. 7 February].[10]
1898: The Sunken Bell by Gerhart Hauptmann. Revival of Stanislavski's Society of Art and Literature production from January the same year.[33] Opened on 31 October [O.S. 19 October]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Stanislavski as Heinrich, Ekaterina Munt as the First Elf,[34]Margarita Savitskaya as Magda[35] and Georgy Burdzhalov as the Wood Demon.[29] Just over one week and 17 performances later, protests from the Russian Orthodox Church led to the production being banned on 8 November [O.S. 27 October], despite the particular translation used having been passed by the censor.[36]
1898: The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare. The production was re-titled Shylock.[37] Opened on 2 November [O.S. 21 October].[38] Scenic design by Viktor Simov.[39] Cast included Mikhail Darski as Shylock,[28]Alexander Vishnevsky as Antonio, Vsevolod Meyerhold as the Prince of Aragon,[40] Georgy Burdzhalov as Launcelot Gobbo.[29] This production was the first in Russia to include the fifth act of the play, after the trial scene and humiliation of Shylock, when the intrigue of Portia's ring and cross-dressing is revealed and resolved.[37] The portrayal of Shylock prompted accusations in the press of anti-Semitism because a Jewish accent was considered inappropriate for a tragic role.[41] Though Stanislavski had planned to alternate the role with Darski, he decided against it for fear of exacerbating the hostility of the press.[42] It was played for only ten performances.[43]
1898: The Mistress of the Inn by Carlo Goldoni. Opened on 14 December [O.S. 2 December].[48] Scenic design by Viktor Simov.[39] Cast included Stanislavski as Ripafratta, Vsevolod Meyerhold as the Marquis of Forlipopoli, and Sergey Tarasov as Ripafratta's servant.[49] A special performance for factory workers on 22 January [O.S. 10 January] 1899 provoked a summons by the Chief of Police, Dmitri Trepov, for failing to seek the approval of the censor who oversaw productions for working-class audiences; as a result, the company abandoned its original name as the "Moscow Public-Accessible Theatre" and its aim to provide an "open" theatre, settling instead on Anton Chekhov's suggestion, the "Moscow Art Theatre."[50]
1898: The Seagull by Anton Chekhov. Opened on 29 December [O.S. 17 December].[51] Directed by Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko.[52] Cast included Stanislavski as Trigorin and Vsevolod Meyerhold as Konstantin, Olga Knipper as Arkadnia, Maria Lilina as Masha, Maria Roksanova as Nina, Yevgeniya Raevskaya as Polina, Ioasaf Tikhomirov as Medvedenko, Vasily Luzhsky as Sorin, Alexander Vishnevsky as Dorn, and Alexander Artem as Shamrayev.[53] The production ran for 57 performances in the 1898—99 season, 13 in the next, and 9 in the 1900—01 season.[54] Chekhov disliked Roksanova's performance so intensely that he demanded that she should never be allowed to act in his plays again.[55] For more information on this production, see the article on the MAT production of The Seagull.
1899: Hedda Gabler by Henrik Ibsen. Opened on 3 March [O.S. 19 February]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Stanislavski as Løvborg, Maria Samarova as Aunt Julia[30] and Maria Andreyeva as Hedda.[56] It played for only eleven performances.[57] Reflecting on the production years later, the critic Nikolai Efros regarded Stanislavski's performance as the best of an Ibsen character he had seen.[58]
1899: Drayman Henschel by Gerhart Hauptmann. Opened on 17 October [O.S. 5 October]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included both Anna Aleeva-Shteker and Maria Roksanova as Hanna,[63] as well as Ekaterina Munt as Franziska Wermelskirch.[34] The play's title has also been translated as The Driver Henschel. Anna Alekseieva-Shteker was Stanislavski's sister, who used the stage name of Anna Aleeva-Shteker; see Benedetti (1991, 51) and the article on her on the Russian-language Wikipedia.
1899: Lonely People by Gerhart Hauptmann. Opened on 28 December [O.S. 16 December]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Vsevolod Meyerhold played Johannes Vockerat until he left the company, after which Vasily Kachalov took over the role. Cast included also Maria Samarova as Frau Vockerat.[30] This production was the play's première in Russia.[66]
1900: Snow Maiden by Alexander Ostrovsky. Opened on 7 October [O.S. 24 September]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Vasily Kachalov as Tsar Berendey (his first performance at the MAT), Ekaterina Munt as the Snow Maiden, Anna Aleeva-Shteker as Elena the Fair, Maria Samarova as Bobylikha,[30] Maria Roksanova as Kupava,[27] Margarita Savitskaya as the Spring,[35]Olga Knipper, Ivan Moskvin, Alexander Vishnevsky, Vladimir Gribunin, and . When the MAT production opened, four other productions of Ostrovsky's play also were playing in Moscow.[67]
1901: Three Sisters by Anton Chekhov. Opened on 13 February [O.S. 31 January]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Stanislavski as Vershinin, Olga Knipper as Masha, Maria Andreyeva as Irina,[12]Vsevolod Meyerhold as Tusenback, Maria Samarova as Anfisa[30] and Alexander Vishnevsky as Kulygin. This became the most popular of the MAT's productions of Chekhov's plays, remaining part of the company's repertoire for the next 18 years.[69]
1901: Michael Kramer by Gerhart Hauptmann. Opened on 9 November [O.S. 27 October]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Maria Andreyeva as Michaelina Kramer, Stanislavski as Michael Kramer, and Ivan Moskvin as his son, Arnold. It played for twenty-six performances.[71]
1901—2: In Dreams by Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. Opened on 3 January 1902 [O.S. 21 December 1901]. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Maria Andreyeva as Vera Kirillovna, Maria Samarova as Zankovskaya,[30] Ekaterina Munt as m-lle Solntseva[34] and Stanislavski as Kostromskoy. It played for thirty-eight performances. This was the last of the MAT's productions presented at the Hermitage Theatre on Carriage Row.[72]
1902: The Philistines by Maxim Gorky. Opened on 8 April [O.S. 26 March] in St Petersburg, while the MAT were on tour. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Nikolai Baranov as Teterev, Vasily Luzhsky as Bessemenov, Elena Muratova as Akulina Ivanovna[73] and Vsevolod Meyerhold as Peter (until he left the company after the St Petersburg performances). Its Moscow première inaugurated the MAT's new building (in the renovated Lianozov Theatre, also known as the Omon Theatre, on Chamberlain Lane, Tverskoy District) on 6 November [O.S. 25 October]. The production played for a total of twenty-seven performances.[74]
1904: The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov. Opened on 30 January [O.S. 17 January]. Directed by Stanislavski and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Olga Knipper as Madame Ranyevskaya, Maria Lilina as Anya, Maria Andreyeva as Varya, Stanislavski as Gaev, Leonid Leonidov as Lopakhin, Vasili Kachalov as Trofimov, Elena Muratova as Charlotta,[73]Ivan Moskvin as Yepihodov, Sofia Khaliutina as Dunyasha,[76] Alexander Artem as Firs, Nikolai Alexandrov as Yasha, Mikhail Gromov as a passer-by, and Alexander Zagarov as the stationmaster. Chekhov's last appearance at the MAT, before his death on 15 July [O.S. 2 July], was to see the first public performance of this production, which coincided with his birthday.[78]
1906: Woe from Wit by Aleksandr Griboyedov. Opened on 9 October [O.S. 26 September].[81] Scenic design by Viktor Simov. Cast included Stanislavski as Pavel Afanasyevich Famusov, Vasili Kachalov as Chatski, and Alexander Vishnevsky as Count Tugoukhovsky. Both Stanislavski and Nemirovich directed; Benedetti suggests that "Stanislavski, however, would appear to have exerted the dominant influence" whereas Worrall claims that "most of the work was done by Nemirovich, Stanislavski merely introducing minor corrections and additions to Act Three."[82] Benedetti and Worrall also disagree as to whether the text was in prose or verse.[83] The MAT revived the production in 1914 and 1925.[84]
1907: The Drama of Life by Knut Hamsun. Opened on 21 February [O.S. 8 February]. Cast included Stanislavski as Kareno.[85] Directed by Stanislavski with the assistance of Sulerzhitsky.[86] Music by Ilya Satz.[87]
1922: Eugene Onegin by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Opened on 15 June. Cast included Pavel Rumiantsev as Onegin.[136] Staged in the ballroom of Stanislavski's house on Leontievski Lane (which was known thereafter as the Onegin Room), with minimal set and no costumes or make-up. With a full orchestra the production transferred two years later to the Novi Teatr.[136]
1939: Tartuffe by Molière, production completed by Mikhail Kedrov. Opened on 4 December. Cast included Kedrov as Tartuffe and Vasily Toporkov as Orgon.[138]
^Benedetti (1999a, 21, 24) and Carnicke (2000, 11). The prospect of becoming a professional actor was taboo for someone of Stanislavski's social class; actors had an even lower social status in Russia than in the rest of Europe, having only recently been serfs and the property of the nobility.
^Benedetti (1999a, 38, 385), Magarshack (1950, 100) and Worrall (1996, 27). Benedetti gives its opening as 18 December [O.S. 6 December], while Magarshack gives it as 29 October [O.S. 17 October]. The title of Pisemsky's play has also been translated as A Law unto Themselves and Despots.
^Benedetti (1999a, 52, 385), Magarshack (1950, 102, 107), and Worrall (1996, 29). Benedetti and Worrall give its opening as 31 January [O.S. 19 January], while Magarshack gives it as 28 April [O.S. 16 April].
^Benedetti (1999a, 385) and Magarshack (1950, 102).
^The Polish Jew (French: Le Juif Polonais) by Erckmann-Chatrian is better known in English-speaking countries under the title The Bells, a translation by Leopold David Lewis that brought Henry Irving great success when he staged it in 1871; see Benedetti (1999a, 58).
^Benedetti (1999a, 385) and Magarshack (1950, 117—118). The play's title is also translated as The Dowerless Bride, The Girl without a Dowry, and The Poor Bride. Stanislavski's acting teacher, Glikeriya Fedotova, had played the lead role, Larisa, in the play's première production in 1878.
^Worrall (1996, 90). While Worrall and Leach give Vsevolod Meyerhold's role as Prince Vasili Shuyshy, Braun gives it as Prince Ivan Shuysky, with Worrall giving Vasily Luzhsky as the actor who played the latter role; see Braun (1995, 11), Leach (1989, 3), and Worrall (1996, 90).
^Benedetti (1999a, 98, 386). Benedetti gives the opening performance as 15 October [O.S. 3 October], while Worrall gives 24 October [O.S. 12 October]; see Worrall (1996, 114).
^Benedetti (1999a, 386), Braun (1995, 12), Gottlieb (2005, 245), and Worrall (1996, 126—127). The final performance of this production of Three Sisters took place on 4 May 1919. Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko directed a new production in 1940.
^Braun (1982, 61), Magarshack (1950, 230), and Worrall (1996, 128).
^ abRadishcheva, O. (О. Радищева) Елена Павловна Муратова. Biography at the Moscow Art Theatre site.
^Benedetti (1999a, 120—121, 126), Braun (1982, 61), (1988, xvi), and (1995, 13, 16), Marsh (1993, 14), Magarshack (1950, 230—231), Senelick (2013, 151, 186), and Worrall (1996, 72—78, 131). The title of The Philistines has also been translated as Small People, The Merchant Class, The Petty-Bourgeois, and The Artisans. It premièred in St Petersburg in early 1902 as part of the MAT's tour.
^Benedetti (1999a, 126–127, 386), Magarshack (1950, 233, 238–239), and Worrall (1996, 132—133). Benedetti and Worrall give the opening performance as 18 November [O.S. 5 November], while Magarshack gives 2 December [O.S. 19 November].
^Benedetti (1999a, 386), Gottlieb (2005, lxxxi—lxxxv, 247), and Worrall (1996, 152, 159, 212). Worrall describes the première as Chekhov's name day, which in Russia is usually distinct from a birthday; he also lists Elena Muratova as "M. V. Muratova"; see Worrall (1996, 159—160).
^Benedetti (1999a, 171) and Worrall (1996, 170–171).
^Benedetti describes the excited response of Aleksandr Lensky, Maria Yermolova and Glikeriya Fedotova "when the inexorable flow of the verse was broken up by the use of pauses in Act Three", whereas Worrall describes Vsevolod Meyerhold's sardonic response to Nemirovich's choice of a prose text; see Benedetti (1999a, 171) and Worrall (1996, 171).
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