Russian Theatre Research Articles

"Hymen" and "Mask of Queens" by Inigo Jones. Early spectacles at the court of James I and the Baroque theatrical aesthetics

The subject of the study is the changes in the theatrical space and artistic features of the two early court masks during the transition from the Renaissance theater system to the Baroque. The object of the study were two early court spectacles of the Stuart period in the context of Baroque aesthetics – "Hymen" and "Mask of Queens", the authors of which were the playwright Ben Johnson and the artist Inigo Jones. Special attention is paid to the scenic design of both masks and the transformations of the theater space, in which the main role is played by the stage device – the turning circle. Its use in spectacles not only allowed the artist to change the whole design and express one of the main themes of the performance through the transformations themselves, but also combined stage transformations with the plot action of the mask. The research material is presented by the surviving texts of Ben Johnson's mask plays, letters from courtiers and ambassadors who were direct witnesses of court spectacles, as well as published sketches of costumes and scenery by Inigo Jones. The methodology of the work includes a cultural-historical approach, a descriptive method, a method of comparative analysis, as well as a reconstruction of a theatrical performance that has not yet been carried out in relation to both masks. The novelty of the research lies in the fact that for the first time in Russian theater studies, an attempt has been made to consider the aesthetic features of Inigo Jones' theatrical and decorative art in the context of Baroque aesthetics based on the material of two court spectacles. The main conclusion is the identification in the two early Stuart masks of the features of Baroque art and the transition to the formation of the English Baroque theater with its scenic metamorphoses, striking the viewer dynamics, the coverage of the universal expanses on stage and the synthesis of all the arts.

The content of the concept of «spiritual and moral values» in the humanitarian knowledge of Germany

Introduction. Spiritual and moral values play an essential role in the formation of the younger person's personality. Therefore, their scientific development occupies an important place in the theory of pedagogy and implies the need for special research in the field of philosophy, axiology and a number of other sciences. The purpose of the article is to generalize the views of leading German scientists of the XIX-XX centuries who dealt with the problem of axiology, including in relation to pedagogy. Materials and methods. The leading research methods are the analysis of scientific literature, mainly in German, comparative and historical methods, and the axiological approach, which allowed us to identify valuable content in the theoretical works of German authors. Results. German axiology occupies a special place in the development of the doctrine of social and pedagogical values. It was German scientists who first developed the main approaches to the doctrine of values, which were then developed by axiologists of a number of other countries. The views of the leading philosophers-axiologists of Germany of the XIX-XX centuries are presented. Immanuel Kant was the first to turn to the study of the concept of "value". Rudolf-Hermann Lotze introduced the concept of "value" into science as an aesthetic and ethical category. The founders of the Baden School of Philosophy Wilhelm Windelband and Heinrich Rickert gave the first scientifically grounded interpretation of such cardinal concepts of axiology as evaluation, value, classification and hierarchy of values. Engelbert Gutwanger singled out such a feature in the concept of value as its orientation for the good or, conversely, against man and society. Fritz-Joachim von Rintelen divided values into personal and non-personal, and the personal sphere, in his opinion, rose above the non-personal; in other words, the interests of the individual were higher than the interests of society. Theodor Steinbuchel believed that moral values obliged and bound a person, and were perceived by him as a duty to society. The doctrine of values was further developed in the pedagogy of culture, represented by the names of Edward Spranger, Theodor Litt and Georg Michael Kershensteiner, who considered values in inseparable connection with education and culture. Conclusions. The scientific novelty of the study consists in a meaningful analysis of the views of a number of German scientists and philosophers. Currently, these views are actively used by the Russian theory of pedagogy as one of the methodological foundations. We put the following meaning into the concept of spiritual and moral values: these are socially approved and transmitted from generation to generation samples of culture and moral norms, personally significant, and regulating the behavior of a person, imprinted in the moral appearance of a person, in cultural patterns of life and intergenerational interaction, in educational relations, in pedagogical theories and methods of pedagogical activity and behavior. The main conclusion is that in order for the value orientations to be viable, and to be accepted by educators and students, it′s necessary that they correspond to the current life values of the younger generation and the progressive development of society as a whole.

К истории создания пьесы Ю. Д. Беляева «Псиша»

The paper examines the creative history of the play Psisha by Yuri Belyaev – a theatre critic, fiction writer and dramatist of the Silver Age. While working on the article cycle A night at “The Opera House” about theatre history of the times of Catherine II, the critic researched historical sources: periodical, fiction, documents of the second half of the 18th – early 19th centuries. There Belyaev must have found the material for his early fictional experience – the historical short story Psisha. Among the characters of the story were a landowner – аn avid theatergoer, and the actors of his serf company. In this story the set of themes is defined, which the writer will develop further in his later works: the court and the serf theatres, the repertoire, the tragic fate of dependent actors. Later Belyaev addressed the theme of the serf theater as a dramatist and his artistic pursuits resulted in the play Psisha. The stage version had a great audience success in Moscow and St. Petersburg in the 1911–1912 theatrical season and was highly appreciated by theater observers in newspapers and journals. Judging by the reviews in the periodical press, the author of Psisha managed to strike the right balance between stylizations that became relevant during this period, the recreation of everyday scenes of the era and a sentimental psychological drama from the life of serf actors. Thus, it was possible to establish that Belyaev’s first works on the history of the Russian theater and his first literary works shaped the main themes and images of one of his most famous dramas.

THE ROLE OF THEATER CLUBS AND SOCIETIES IN THE ORGANIZATION OF LEISURE OF THE RUSSIAN POPULATION OF THE TURKESTAN TERRITORY

Based on archival sources and materials of scientific literature, the article shows the positive influence of the Russian theater on the development of culture and spirituality in the Turkestan region. Besides, in the research has shown the functioning of the Sunday School of the “Pushkin Society”, the dramatic society “Volna”, an amateur theater in Turkestan. KEY WORDS: Russian theater, amateur circles, repertoire, amateur soldiers, local Russian intelligentsia, Russian actress, performance, Samarkand street, Pushkin society, Sunday schools, “Volna” society.

Ключевые сценические понятия и термины в теоретическом наследии Ф. И. Шаляпина

The aim of the study is to reveal the fundamental principles of the theoretical heritage of the opera actor F. I. Chaliapin. The article discusses the features of the rehearsal process organization in modern Russian theatres, identifies the key stage notions and terms that F. I. Chaliapin was guided by in his work on the opera role. The scientific novelty lies in substantiating the importance of referring to the theoretical heritage of F. I. Chaliapin to improve the process of preparing student vocalists. As a result of the study, it was revealed that the tradition of “coaching a singer for a role” established in modern theatrical practice led to the denial of the principle of collective creativity (co-authorship in staging a performance), in connection with this, the need to take into account the notions of “purely intellectual efforts” in the rehearsal process (i.e. an appeal to the literary source, on the basis of which the libretto was compiled and the music of the opera was written), “composing the role” (conveyance of information embedded in the performance by the singer with the help of vocal and plastic expressiveness in collaboration with the director and conductor), formulated by F I. Chaliapin.

THE KYIV PERIOD OF MIKHAIL MORDKIN'S CREATIVITY (1918-1919)

The purpose of the study is to identify the main directions of Mikhail Mordkin’s creativity in Kyiv in 1918-1919. Chronological, comparative, typological and other methods are used in this work. The Kyiv period of M. Mordkin's creativity is associated with his pedagogical, performing and choreographic activities. His productions of the ballets Flowers of Granada, Giselle, La Fille mal gardée (The Wayward Daughter), as well as dance numbers and divertissements in opera and drama performances became meaningful to the artistic life of the city. M. Mordkin gained valuable experience of the director as a result of cooperation with Ukrainian creative intellectuals (L. Kurbas, M. Bonch-Tomashevsky, A. Petritsky, V. Verkhovinets). The stage production skills of Mordkin as the dancer served as an example for many Ukrainian artists. Mordkin as the teacher managed to significantly increase the size of the ballet troupe of the Kyiv Opera in a short time. It was made thanks students from his own studio, he expanded their professional capabilities through careful and systematic physical training. The research materials can serve as a basis for creating special courses on the history of choreography, can be used in subsequent theoretical studies devoted to the learning of Russian and Ukrainian ballet theaters or in the educational process in academic institutions of the corresponding profile.

РУССКАЯ РЕЖИССЕРСКАЯ ШКОЛА И ДРАМАТУРГИЯ В ТЕАТРЕ ВАГЕ ШАХВЕРДЯНА

The authors focus on the theater of the director Vahe Shakhverdyan, which is a phenomenon in the history and modern life of Armenian performing art. Emphasizing the relevance and significance of the theatrical and cultural description of this artistic phenomenon, the authors correlate it with the phenomenon of the independent theater. The research is based on the principles of studying and analysing the director’s theater developed by the Russian school of theater studies. The article is the first attempt of the theatrical analysis of Shakhverdyan’s creative work as a stage director. The authors emphasize the decisive role of the Russian directing theater training in the formation and development of Shakhverdyan's theater. The artistic originality of Shakhverdyan’s theater is revealed during the analysis of his performances based on Russian classical drama. The performances based on the plays by M. Y. Lermontov, A. N. Ostrovsky and A. P. Chekhov, staged by Shakhverdyan in Armenian and Russian theaters are analyzed in the article. The research is based on the analysis of video footage of the plays, descriptions of performances by critics, and on the material from conversations of one of the authors of the article with the director Shakhverdyan, as well as on other interviews given by the director. The results of the study allow us to assert that Russian theater and Russian drama occupy one of the most important places in Shakhverdyan’s theater. The productions of Russian plays demonstrate Shakhverdyan’s original directing manner. It is distinguished by his bright theatrical metaphors, lack of gravitation toward immediate relevance, and an expressed desire for philosophical, humanistic performances. Shakhverdyan's individual theatrical style is based on the Russian directing education he received, on his comprehension of Russian stage performances by outstanding Soviet and Russian directors, and on the national character of Armenian people, their mentality, temperament, vivid imagery and tragic perception of the world.

Имени Чехова. К тридцатилетию Международного театрального фестиваля

The Anton Chekhov International Theatre Festival celebrated its 30th anniversary. The festival was first held in the fall of 1992, and soon became one of world theatre culture’s greatest events. Its audience could see performances by legendary foreign theatres in the country’s main cities. Over the years of the festival’s existence, the spectators have seen over 600 performances from 54 countries. Viewers in Russia had the opportunity to witness the elite of the world stage engaged in the best performances created from recent decades in theatres of Europe, Asia, Africa, and both Americas. And it has been most significant to see that Russian theatre exists within the context of the processes happening in the world’s performing arts. From the first steps of its history, the Chekhov Festival has been organizing the tours of Russian theatre groups around the world. A few years after the Chekhov Festival started, international co-productions, created by Russian and foreign theatres, became a usual venue. Among them there were Oresteia by Peter Stein, Boris Godunov, Twelfth Night and The Tempestby Declan Donnellan. The Chekhov International Festival has an incredibly rich past, with an equally bountiful future awaiting. The basis of modern theatre is in its universality and capacity to unify people, which is the highest goal of theatre art.

Russian theater in Harbin

Russian theater in Harbin

«Гедда Габлер» на российской сцене: жизнь во времени

The subject of the study is the perception and interpretation of the play Hedda Gabler, by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, which has been staged in theatres of Moscow and St. Petersburg over the century. The study is based on critical reviews published in Moscow’s press over the last century up to our time, as well as the author’s own impressions from some performances of the early 21st century. Despite the fact that Hedda Gabler was staged in Russian theatres more often than any other Ibsen play, it has continuously resulted in disputes and contradictory reviews, which often reflect both misunderstanding of the play itself and also of various director’s interpretations of it. In the pre-revolutionary period, on the one hand, there were realistic productions staged, while others were made in the Art Nouveau style of Vsevolod Meyerhold. According to critics, both ways to interpret the play strayed far from the plot in Ibsen’s play. In Soviet times, Kama Ginkas interpreted the play as a psychological drama. In the post-perestroika period, Nina Chusova and Mindaugas Karbauskis offered simplified and even vulgarized versions of the play. In the author’s opinion, the performance which came closest to Ibsen’s idea and style for the play was created by V. Pazi in Saint Petersburg State Academic Lensoviet Theatre. The reason for such difficulties in productions on the Russian stage is in the very nature of the drama, which ends with the protagonist’s suicide. Such a finale is not logically motivated or conditioned by a total inevitability, it is also not prepared for by the chain of events taking place on stage. With such a finale, Ibsen altered the traditional structure and content of tragedy in its classical sense.

Метод Теодороса Терзопулоса как самостоятельная актерская школа

The author analyses the basic principles of the theatrical method of the Greek director Theodoros Terzopoulos, founder of the Athenian theatre, “Attis,” within the stage director’s attitude towards thephysicality of an actor, in connection to the relation between body and emotion, and, what is even more important, in the process of actor’s training. Considering the example of Theodoros Terzopoulos’ performances and based on his words about the main ideas of his methodology, the article analyzes the specificity of movement and actor’s existence via this method from the director’s philosophical point of view that includes the epoch, the man, and the issues of theatre and actor. The author makes comparisons between Terzopoulos’s system and other theatre systems (such of E. G. Kreg, A. Arthaud, E. Grotowski). Theodoros Terzopoulos’ method is formed on the border of the predecessor systems – from Meyerhold to Muller, oriental bodily and religious practices, however, at the same time it represents a unique form of theatrical aesthetics and provides an independent direction for the education of an actor. This methodology can be assessed as a self-sufficient acting school. Although his method is not typical in Russian theatre practice, it does not become an obstacle to its incorporation into Russian theatrical practice. Terzopoulos' trainings can help an actor to learn how to create what is called the scale of emotion. The rituality of his theatre teaches the actor to deal with non-normative aesthetics, and a deep study of the human body and its unconscious behavior and instincts can allow the actor to exist convincingly in the most aggravated and extreme stage circumstances.

Театр в творчестве и в жизни Маргариты Наваррской

The article is devoted to the works of the famous writer of the Renaissance epoch – Marguerite of Navarre. Her dramatic works have not yet been translated into Russian and there is extremely little information about them in Russian theatre studies. They have no analogues in the theatre of the first half of the 16th century. Their peculiarity is a combination of the tendencies of late medieval and Renaissance art. On the basis of rare documents and texts of the plays “The Comedy of the Desert”, “The Inquisitor” and “The Comedy of Mont-deMarsan” the problems of their stage interpretation are considered. Marguerite of Navarre composed her plays specifically for staging, not for reading. She was looking for expressive possibilities that had not yet been used by anyone before her. For many reasons, her experiments were not famous beyond her court. The performances were single, staged in different places where she lived, with different performers, so that no more or less stable tradition was created in this circle. Therefore, it is impossible to reconstruct the “theatre of Marguerite of Navarre” as an artistic unit. At the same time, the originality and even the uniqueness of this material makes it possible to study little-known aspects of the history of French theatre in the period of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance.

Season Tickets at the Saint Petersburg Russian Theater During the 1810s

Season Tickets at the Saint Petersburg Russian Theater During the 1810s

Методология «действенного анализа» и наследие ленинградской театральной школы: Третьи «Кнебелевские чтения»

The article provides an overview of the annual scientific conference “Knebel Readings”. In 2022, dedicated to the Leningrad Theatre School, its methodology and educational process. The origins of stage methodology are set in the directorial and pedagogical work of K. S. Stanislavsky, V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, E. B. Vakhtangov, V. E. Meyerhold, in the legacy of A.D. Popov and G.A. Tovstonogov. M.O. Knebel largely determined the theoretical and pedagogical ways of developing the methodology of the Russian theatre school in the second half of the 20th century. The work of directors and theatre-teachers of Leningrad in the 50s – 80s of the last century (B.V. Zon, Z.J. Korogodsky, G.A. Tovstonogov, A. I. Katsman and others) formed the basis of an outstanding phenomenon in the history of the Russian theatre – the Leningrad theatre school, which is still existing and developing in St. Petersburg. The report of V.M. Filshtinsky focuses on his personal understanding of the theoretical heritage of Stanislavsky–Nemirovich–Knebel, with whom he conducts a research dialogue in his new book. N.A. Kolotova, in her speech, made an analysis of methodological principles of teaching an actor by B.V. Zon (along with a historical report of his pedagogy formation). V.A. Bogatyrev shared his personal memories of his learning in the group of Z.J. Korogodsky and outlined the methods of his master, which continued and developed the methodological system of B.V. Zon. During the conference, a topical discussion took place. It was initiated by A. A. Barmak. The disturbing, from his point of view, methodological context of modern conceptual theatre, built by young directors and a new generation of theatre teachers, requires an appeal to the origins of the method of effective analysis, as well as a careful study of Russian theatre education. At the end of the conference, a review of the literary heritage of the Leningrad theatre school was made.

Типология актерского творчества в отечественных режиссерских концепциях первой половины ХХ в.

Most of the current methods of educating an actor and director of the 21st century theatre are, to a certain extent, based on the experience of the masters of the last century. Their works, the principles of the well-developed director-pedagogical, acting and philosophical systems up to this day remain under the watchful eye of both theorists and practitioners of the world theatre community. The development of methodological techniques, the search for new meanings and tasks of actual theatrical directing is a consequence of the continuous search for the truth of stage culture in twentieth century. The purpose of this work is to find and highlight a bright palette, both popular and not so widely known systems in Russian theatre school, made to analyze and develop the actor’s self-determination of contemporaries at the beginning of the last century. Among them, special attention is paid to K. S. Stanislavsky, Vs.E. Meyerhold, F.A. Stepun and N.V. Demidov. An up-to-date analysis of their directorial, pedagogical and philosophical systems, typologies of acting makes it possible to predict the direction of intentions of a modern actor in relation to the profession, which ultimately determines his place in the theatre community of the 21st century.

Theoretical Sociology in Modern Russia: Global and National Perspectives

The article provides a brief analysis of theoretical processes in post-Soviet Russian sociology. The current state and prospects for development of theoretical sociology are discussed in the context of global sociology and in the framework of original sociological theories on Russian soil. Within the first framework, a special place is given to the problem of borrowing and imitating foreign theories that take place among Russian sociologists educated and socialized in the West. It is stated that the development of national theories does not reject a possibility of relying on some global achievements and does not mean indigenization of Russian sociology. The article describes views on the general state of theoretical sociology and assessment of individual Russian theories (modernization, eco-risk, sociology of life, etc.), highlights their weaknesses and problems hindering their development. The author's position on the combination of global and national in theoretical sociology, general sociological and special sociological theories, study of national traditions of science is offered. It is concluded that there are no prospects for a new grand theory, while coexistence of many general theories that determine the probabilistic paths of Russia's development is possible. The need for an active position of Russian sociologists in theoretical construction is emphasized.

The The comparative analysis of the law of evidence in civil proceedings in France and Russia

The article deals with the problems of the legal nature and legislative consolidation of norms of evidentiary law in France and Russia. The author claims that it is more optimal to consolidate norms of proof and evidence in evidentiary law of Russia. At the same time, Russian theory of evidence needs radical reform. The legal approach to the concept of proof in legislation of Russia and France is differentiated. In French evidentiary law, the ranking of evidence is legally fixed, which cannot be recognized as dignity. However, legal norms regarding some means of proof are sufficiently developed. The means of proof, which are outdated as legislation and judicial practice, are still fixed. At the same time, the legal regulation of electronic evidence has been sufficiently developed, which can be recognized as an advantage of French evidentiary law. Russian evidentiary law does not provide for legal regulation of electronic evidence as an independent means of proof. The following areas of improvement of Russian evidentiary law are highlighted: improvement of the theory of proof, optimization and unification of the legal regulation of the rules of evidence, reception of effective means of regulation from the evidentiary law of foreign countries, and detailed legal regulation of individual means of proof.

Метафоры пандемического дискурса (на материале СМИ Германии)

This article focuses on the analysis of metaphorical representations of the coronavirus pandemic in texts selected by continuous sampling from German-language media. The methodological basis of the research is the theory of conceptual metaphor, as well as the Russian theory of metaphorical modeling, which allow us to single out universal metaphorical models that are in line with the Zeitgeist and are part of the national picture of the world. Pandemic discourse was selected as the research space. It is understood as a media supertext or as a collection of media texts united by one topic and aimed at reflecting events associated with the pandemic. Further, the article examines predictable metaphorical models – the military model with an extensive system of slots representing most of the elements of “military” actions aimed at combating the virus; the disaster model (tsunami, storm, fire) showing the attitude to the virus as to a dangerous and uncontrollable phenomenon; the ambivalent road model (the road from the pandemic, on the one hand, and the road along which the virus is walking around the world, on the other); the legal model focusing attention on the protest part of the discourse; the zoomorphic model; the theatrical-game model. The author shows an example of the interaction of units of different metaphorical models for the implication of certain nuances of meaning. The conceptual metaphors that fill the slots of these models show the complex moral and psychological state of society and an ambiguous social attitude towards the pandemic reality. The final part of the article describes living metaphors, born as a response to the anxiety of the situation and fear, realizing unconventional meanings, to some extent a carnival attitude to what is happening, speaking ironically and/or describing everything in a plain, upfront way. A striking linguistic fact in this category of metaphors is serial metaphors, which form large word families and, by one feature, characterize a number of objects or phenomena of the new reality. Attention is drawn to complex metaphors, the semantics of which is made up of a pun on the direct meanings of the components. The conclusion states the high degree of emotional impact of metaphors, the dynamism of the metaphorical picture of the pandemic reality, its dependence on many objective and individual factors, as well as on ideological reasons. The prospect of the research is seen in the description of anthropomorphic metaphorical images of pandemic discourse of the corona-humoristic texts.

Demons in the Russian Theater, Century to Century

Entre 1913, date de la création de Nikolaj Stavrogin au Théâtre d’Art de Moscou et 1991, année de l’adaptation des Démons par Lev Dodin à Leningrad-St-Petersbourg, le texte de Dostoïevski disparaît de la scène. Depuis la chute de l’URSS, chacune des adaptations du roman apparaît comme un baromètre des humeurs sociales et des crédos des metteurs en scène. C’est ce dont témoignent les deux adaptations de Jurij Ljubimov créées à des moments de rupture : en 1985, lorsqu’il est en exil à Londres, et en 2012 lorsque, chassé de la Taganka par sa troupe, il se retrouve au Théâtre Vaxtangov où il a fait ses débuts. C’est aussi ce que révèle le travail de Dodin sur les Démons : toujours au répertoire depuis 1991, ce spectacle-événement change de résonance en fonction de la relève des interprètes, du vécu et des attentes du public. Le bicentenaire en 2021 a généré de nouvelles interprétations du roman, qui vont du spectacle-leçon, chargé de valeurs pédagogiques (Grigorij Lifanov), au show bouffon et déconstructeur qui renvoie au public ce qu’est devenue la réalité politique (Konstantin Bogomolov).

How to Lend the Shoulder, Not to Do Harm during Online Learning Russian as a Foreign Language

The relevance of the research topic is due to the possibilities of online learning in an uncertain critical situation. New life conditions made us see a model of teaching Russian as a foreign language in a different perspective: there came changes not only in number and quality of the material being learned, but also the form of communication of active subjects of educational process, teaching strategy itself. The purpose of the article is to present a theoretical analysis of the features of online teaching Russian as a foreign language in a forced situation of general technologization of the learning process in Russian universities. On the one hand, modern information and communication technologies open up wide opportunities for choosing a learning model depending on the goals of teaching Russian as a foreign language, and on the other, they create negative stereotypes in the organization of educational process. To achieve this goal, combinations of research methods were chosen: a) methods used at the empirical level - analysis of scientific literature, scientific observation and generalization of pedagogical experience; b) methods used at the theoretical level - abstracting, analysis and synthesis, deduction and induction. The research material includes the theoretical works of linguists, methodologists, practicing teachers, as well as real online education. In the course of the study, the theory and practice of online teaching Russian as a foreign language were analyzed, the requirements for effective online learning were determined; the specific tasks in online education that teachers of Russian as a foreign language face were revealed. The authors conclude that effective online learning requires: 1) understanding its distinctive features; knowing which information and communication technologies are suitable for the solution of particular didactic tasks - the content of the educational material, principles, methods and strategies of teaching depend on this; 2) taking into account the specifics of the subject - Russian as a foreign language, its difficulties, didactic tasks that need to be solved in the learning process. The article shows that the construction of an effective model of online teaching of RFL is possible in accordance with the modern scientific recommendations of methodologists, linguists, psychologists, specialists in the field of using computer technologies in teaching foreign languages. Online learning forms a variable (flexible) model of teaching Russian as a foreign language in constantly changing living conditions, in the conditions of shock learning. The prospects for creating effective online teaching of Russian as a foreign language and using all the didactic possibilities of information and communication technologies are outlined.