It is the surname of A. N. Ostrovsky that stands at the origins of the development of Russian drama theater. His dramas are still very popular to this day thanks to the extraordinary flavor of his talent as a writer and playwright, who always felt what the secular public expected from him. Therefore, it is interesting to know what kind of person Alexander Ostrovsky was. His books contained a huge creative heritage. Among his most famous works: “Guilty Without Guilt”, “Dowry”, “Thunderstorm”, “Wolves and Sheep”, “Snow Maiden”, “At someone else’s feast there is a hangover”, “What you go for is what you will find”, “Your own people” - let’s settle”, “Mad money”, etc.

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky. short biography

Alexander Nikolaevich was born in the spring of March 31 (April 12), 1823. He grew up on Malaya Ordynka in Moscow. His father was the son of a priest, and his name was Nikolai Fedorovich. Having received a seminary education in Kostroma, he went to study at the Moscow Theological Academy. But he never became a priest, but began to practice as a lawyer in judicial institutions. Over time, he rose to the rank of titular councilor and received the title of nobility.

Ostrovsky's biography (short) says that Ostrovsky's mother, Lyubov Ivanovna, died when he was 7 years old. There are six children left in the family. Subsequently, their stepmother, Emilia Andreevna von Tesin, who was the daughter of a Swedish nobleman, took care of the family. The Ostrovsky family did not need anything; much attention was paid to the education and upbringing of children.

Childhood

Ostrovsky spent almost his entire childhood in Zamoskvorechye. His father had a large library, the boy began studying Russian literature early and felt a craving for writing, but his father wanted his son to become a lawyer.

From 1835 to 1940, Alexander studied at the Moscow Gymnasium. Then he entered Moscow University and began studying to become a lawyer. But a quarrel with a teacher did not allow him to complete his last year of university. And then his father got him a job in court. He received his first salary in the amount of 4 rubles, but then it increased to 15 rubles.

Creation

Further, Ostrovsky’s biography (brief) indicates that Alexander Ostrovsky’s fame and popularity as a playwright was brought to him by the play “Our People - Let’s Be Numbered!”, published in 1850. This play was approved by I. A. Goncharov and N. V. Gogol. But the Moscow merchants did not like it, and the merchants complained to the sovereign. Then, by personal order of Nicholas I, its author was dismissed from service and placed under police supervision, which was lifted only under Alexander II. And in 1861, the play again saw the theatrical stage.

During Ostrovsky’s disgraced period, the first play staged in St. Petersburg was called “Don’t Get in Your Own Sleigh.” Ostrovsky's biography (brief) includes information that for 30 years his plays were staged at the St. Petersburg Alexandrinsky and Moscow Maly Theaters. In 1856, Ostrovsky began working for the Sovremennik magazine.

Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich. Works

In 1859, Ostrovsky, with the support of G. A. Kushelev-Bezborodko, published the first collection of essays in two volumes. At this point, the Russian critic Dobrolyubov will note that Ostrovsky is an accurate portrayal of the “dark kingdom.”

In 1860, after “The Thunderstorm,” Dobrolyubov called him “a ray of light in a dark kingdom.”

Indeed, Alexander Ostrovsky knew how to captivate with his remarkable talent. “The Thunderstorm” became one of the playwright’s most striking works, the writing of which was also associated with his personal drama. Prototype main character the play was played by actress Lyubov Pavlovna Kositskaya, with her for a long time had a close relationship, although they were both unfree people. She was the first to play this role. Ostrovsky made the image of Katerina tragic in its own way, so he reflected in it all the suffering and torment of the soul of a Russian woman.

Cradle of Talents

In 1863, Ostrovsky was awarded the Uvarov Prize and became an elected corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences of St. Petersburg. Later, in 1865, he organized the Artistic Circle, which became the cradle of many talents.

Ostrovsky hosted such eminent guests in his house as F. M. Dostoevsky, L. N. Tolstoy, P. I. Tchaikovsky, M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, I. S. Turgenev, etc.

In 1874, the writer-playwright founded the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers, of which Ostrovsky remained chairman until his death. He also served on a commission related to the revision of laws theater management, which led to new transformations, thanks to which the position of artists was significantly improved.

In 1881, a benefit performance of the opera “The Snow Maiden” by N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov took place at the Mariinsky Theater. Ostrovsky's biography (brief) indicates that at these moments Ostrovsky was incredibly pleased with the musical design of the great composer.

Last years

In 1885, the playwright became the head of the repertoire department of Moscow theaters and headed the theater school. Ostrovsky almost always had financial problems, although he collected good fees from his plays and had a pension assigned by Emperor Alexander III. Ostrovsky had many plans, he was literally burning at work, this affected his health and depleted his vitality.

On June 2, 1886, he died on his Shchelykovo estate near Kostroma. He was 63 years old. His body was buried next to his father’s grave at the Church of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker in the Kostroma province in the village of Nikolo-Berezhki.

The widow, actress Maria Andreevna Bakhmetyeva, three sons and a daughter were awarded a pension by Tsar Alexander III.

His estate in Shchelykovo is now a memorial and natural museum of Ostrovsky.

Conclusion

Ostrovsky created his own theater school with its holistic concept theatrical production. The main component of his theater was that it did not contain extreme situations, but depicted life situations, going into the everyday life and psychology of a person of that time, which Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky knew very well. short biography describes that Ostrovsky’s theater had many ideas, but to bring them to life, new stage aesthetics and new actors were needed. All this was later brought to mind by K. S. Stanislavsky and M. A. Bulgakov.

Ostrovsky's dramas served as the basis for film adaptations and television series. Among them are the film “Balzaminov’s Marriage”, shot in 1964 based on the play “What You Go For, You’ll Find” by director K. Voinov, the film “Cruel Romance”, shot in 1984 based on “Dowry” by director Eldar Ryazanov. In 2005, Evgeny Ginzburg directed the film “Anna” based on the play “Guilty Without Guilt.”

Ostrovsky created an extensive repertoire for the Russian theater stage, which included 47 highly original plays. He worked in collaboration with talented young playwrights, including P. M. Nevezhin and N. Ya. Solovyov. Ostrovsky's dramaturgy became national due to its origins and traditions.

BRIEF BIOGRAPHY OF ALEXANDER OSTROVSKY

Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich (1823-1886), playwright

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was born on April 12, 1823 in Moscow into the family of a judicial official. Received a good home education. At the age of 12 he was sent to the 1st Moscow Gymnasium, from which he graduated in 1840. Then he entered the Faculty of Law of Moscow University. In 1843 he left the university: legal sciences ceased to interest him, and decided to seriously study literature. However, at the insistence of his father, he entered the service of the Moscow Conscientious Court, and then (1845) moved to the office of the Moscow Commercial Court.

His father's legal practice and service in court for almost eight years gave the future playwright rich material for his plays. In 1849, the comedy “Our People Are Numbered” was published in the Moskvityanin magazine, and Ostrovsky became an employee of the magazine. In 1851, he left service to devote himself to literary creativity.

Ostrovsky created about 50 plays (“Profitable Place”, 1856; “Thunderstorm”, 1859; “Mad Money”, 1869; “Forest”, 1870; “Snow Maiden”, 1873; “Dowry”) ", 1878, and many others). An entire era in the development of Russian theater is associated with the name of Ostrovsky. He is the author of translations from Cervantes, Shakespeare, Terence, Goldoni. His work covers a huge period of Russian development in the 19th century. - from the era of serfdom in the 40s. before the development of capitalism in the 80s.

Ostrovsky's dramaturgy played a decisive role in establishing an original and vibrant repertoire on the Russian stage and contributed to the formation of a national stage school. In 1865, Ostrovsky founded an artistic circle in Moscow and became one of its leaders. In 1870, on his initiative, the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers was created, of which he was the permanent chairman from 1874 until the end of his life.

In 1881-1884. Ostrovsky took part in the work of the commission to revise the regulations on the Imperial Theaters. On January 1, 1886, he was appointed head of the repertoire department of Moscow theaters. But by this time the playwright’s health had already deteriorated greatly, and on June 14, 1886, Ostrovsky died on the Shchelykovo estate in Kossush, Troma province.

A.N. Ostrovsky is one of Russia's most popular playwrights, and it is worth considering some interesting facts from the life of Ostrovsky. He was the founder of the Russian theater school, and also the teacher of the widely known Stanislavsky and Bulgakov. Ostrovsky's life is as interesting as his work.

The playwright was born on April 12, 1823 in Moscow, into a family of clergy and was educated at home.. The mother died when the future pioneer Russian theater turned seven years old and his father married Baroness Emilia von Tessin. The stepmother took an active part in the upbringing and education of the future writer and his brothers.
Ostrovsky was a polyglot, and from an early age he knew many foreign languages, including French, Greek and German languages. Later he also learned Spanish, Italian and English. Throughout his life he made translations of his plays foreign languages, honing the skill of using them.
Ostrovsky entered the university, but was forced to quit his studies due to contradictions with one of the teachers.
After leaving school, Alexander got a job at the Moscow court as a scribe, where they dealt with litigation between relatives.
In 1845, the future playwright went to work in the office of the commercial court. This stage of his career gave Ostrovsky many vivid impressions, which were useful to him in the future for his works.
The released comedy “Our People – Let’s Be Numbered!” gave the playwright recognition and popularity. But along with its enormous success, this play almost became the last in the writer’s work. She displeased the bureaucrats whom she denounced. Alexander Nikolaevich was removed from service and placed under close police surveillance.
An unenviable fate could await the play “The Thunderstorm”. This work might not have been born at all if not for the intervention of the Empress, who liked it. Dobrolyubov called this play “A Ray of Light in a Dark Kingdom.”
Despite the fact that Ostrovsky was from the upper class, he knew the customs of the common people very well.. This is due to his wife, who was a commoner. Alexander Nikolaevich's parents did not approve of this union, and opposed his marriage to a representative of the lower class. Therefore, he lived for 20 years in an unofficial marriage with his first wife. They had five children, but they all died early. The second marriage was with actress Maria Bakhmetyeva, with whom they had 2 daughters and 4 sons.
In 1856, he worked for the Sovremennik magazine and went with an expedition along the upper reaches of the Volga, where he was engaged in research. The materials about language and morals collected during the expedition will be very useful to the playwright later in making his works more realistic.
Many people do not realize that the opera by P.I. Tchaikovsky's "The Snow Maiden" is a joint work of the eminent composer and the great playwright. The opera was based on folk tales and legends.
As the founder of the Russian theater, Ostrovsky played big role in Stanislavsky's career. We can say that Alexander Nikolaevich was a pioneer of Russian acting. He created a school in which he taught actors expressive and emotional acting without losing authenticity. This approach has gained enormous popularity. But there were also obvious opponents of this technique. The well-known actor Shchepkin at that time openly criticized this method of acting and left the rehearsal of the play “The Thunderstorm”.
Even by modern standards, it must be admitted that Ostrovsky was a genius. Polyglot, outstanding playwright, founder of the Russian theatrical arts. An outstanding, educated and inquisitive person.
After for long years Due to intense work, the writer’s well-being worsened, and on June 14, 1886, Alexander Nikolaevich passed away and was buried in the Kostroma region.
Over the 40 years he spent in art, he had a strong influence on a whole layer of Russian theater. For his achievements in art he was awarded the Uvarov Prize. At that time, he was a corresponding member of the Academy of Sciences in St. Petersburg, and led the Artistic Circle, where he helped future talents grow.
Ostrovsky wrote that the viewer comes to watch the actors play, not the play.

Biography

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky was born on March 31 (April 12), 1823 in Moscow on Malaya Ordynka. His father, Nikolai Fedorovich, was the son of a priest; he himself graduated from the Kostroma Seminary, then from the Moscow Theological Academy, but began to practice as a lawyer, dealing with property and commercial matters; rose to the rank of titular councilor, and in 1839 received the nobility. His mother, Lyubov Ivanovna Savvina, the daughter of a sexton, died early when Alexander was only eight years old. The family had four children. The family lived in prosperity, and great attention was paid to the education of the children who received home education. Five years after the death of his mother, his father married Baroness Emilia Andreevna von Tessin, the daughter of a Russified Swedish nobleman. The children were lucky with their stepmother - she surrounded them with care and continued to study for them.

Alexander became addicted to reading as a child, receives a good education at home, knows Greek, Latin, French, German, and later English, Italian, and Spanish. When Alexander was thirteen years old, his father married a second time to the daughter of a Russified Swedish baron, who was not very involved in raising the children from her husband’s first marriage. With her arrival, the household way of life changes noticeably, official life is reshaped in a noble manner, the environment changes, new speeches are heard in the house. By this time, the future playwright had re-read almost his entire father’s library.

Story personal life

Personal life story 2

First wife: Agafya Ivanovna. According to eyewitnesses, she was a kind, warm-hearted woman, to whom Ostrovsky owed much of his knowledge of Moscow life. According to the law of that time, unmarried marriages in Russia were not officially legally recognized (only since the twentieth century have actual marriages been recognized as legal, regardless of their registration), but they were fully recognized as such in society. The playwright lived in a civil marriage with the commoner Agafya Ivanovna, with whom he had common children, but they all died as children. She had no education, but was an intelligent woman with a subtle, vulnerable soul, she understood the playwright and was the very first reader and critic of his works. Ostrovsky lived with Agafya Ivanovna for about twenty years, until her death

Childhood

Ostrovsky spends his childhood and early youth in Zamoskvorechye - a special corner of Moscow with its established merchant and bourgeois life. It was easier for him to follow Pushkin’s advice: “It’s not bad for us sometimes to listen to the Moscow malts. They speak an amazingly pure and correct language.” Grandmother Natalya Ivanovna lived with the Ostrovsky family and served as a bread maker in the parish. Nanny Avdotya Ivanovna Kutuzova was famous as a great master of telling fairy tales. His Godfather- titular councilor, his godmother - court councilor. From them and from his father’s colleagues who were in the house, the future author of “A Profitable Place” could hear plenty of bureaucratic conversations. And since my father left the service and became a private attorney for trading companies, there have been no merchants in the house.

Studies

From 1835-1840 – Ostrovsky studies at the First Moscow Gymnasium. In 1840, after graduating from high school, he was enrolled in the law faculty of Moscow University. At the university, law student Ostrovsky was lucky enough to listen to lectures by such experts in history, law and literature as T.N. Granovsky, N.I. Krylov, M.P. Pogodin. Here, for the first time, the future author of “Minin” and “Voevoda” discovers the riches of Russian chronicles, the language appears before him in a historical perspective. But in 1843 Ostrovsky left the university, not wanting to retake the exam. At the same time he entered the office of the Moscow Conscientious Court, and later served in the Commercial Court (1845-1851). This experience played a significant role in Ostrovsky's work.

The second university is the Maly Theater. Having become addicted to the stage even in his high school years, Ostrovsky became a regular at the oldest Russian theater.
1847 - in the "Moscow City Leaflet" Ostrovsky publishes the first draft of the future comedy "Our People - We Will Be Numbered" under the title "The Insolvent Debtor", then the comedy "Picture of Family Happiness" (later "Family Picture") and the prose essay "Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky Resident" .

Creation

"Columbus of Zamoskvorechye"

The play “Poverty is not a vice” (1853) was first staged on January 15, 1869 at the Maly Theater for a benefit performance by Prov Mikhailovich Sadovsky.

Ostrovsky Theater

It is with Ostrovsky that Russian theater begins in its modern understanding: the writer created a theater school and a holistic concept of acting in the theater.

The essence of Ostrovsky's theater lies in the absence of extreme situations and opposition to the actor's gut. Alexander Nikolaevich's plays depict ordinary situations with ordinary people, whose dramas go into everyday life and human psychology.

The main ideas of the theater reform:

the theater must be built on conventions (there is a 4th wall separating the audience from the actors);

constancy of attitude towards language: mastery speech characteristics, expressing almost everything about the heroes;

the bet is not on one actor;

“People go to watch the game, not the play itself - you can read it.”

Ostrovsky's theater required a new stage aesthetics, new actors. In accordance with this, Ostrovsky creates an acting ensemble, which includes such actors as Martynov, Sergei Vasiliev, Evgeny Samoilov, Prov Sadovsky.

Naturally, innovations met opponents. He was, for example, Shchepkin. Ostrovsky's dramaturgy required the actor to detach himself from his personality, which M. S. Shchepkin did not do. For example, he left the dress rehearsal of “The Thunderstorm” being very dissatisfied with the author of the play.

Ostrovsky's ideas were brought to their logical conclusion by Stanislavsky.

Folk myths and national history in Ostrovsky's dramaturgy

On stage in 1881 Mariinsky Theater the successful premiere of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera “The Snow Maiden” took place, which the composer called his best work. A. N. Ostrovsky himself appreciated the work of Rimsky-Korsakov: “The music for my “Snow Maiden” is amazing, I could never imagine anything more suitable for it and so vividly expressing all the poetry of the Russian pagan cult and this at first snow-cold, and then the uncontrollably passionate heroine of a fairy tale.”

“The most memorable day for me in my life,” Ostrovsky recalled, “February 14, 1847... From that day on, I began to consider myself a Russian writer and, without doubt or hesitation, believed in my calling.”
Ostrovsky's comedy "Our People - Let's Be Numbered" (original title - "Bankrut", completed at the end of 1849) brings recognition to Ostrovsky. Even before publication, it became popular (in the reading of the author and P.M. Sadovsky), caused approving responses from N.V. Gogol, I.A. Goncharova, T.H. Granovsky.
“He started out in an extraordinary way...” testifies I.S. Turgenev. His first big play, “We Will Be Numbered as Our Own People,” made a huge impression. She was called the Russian "Tartuffe", "Brigadier" XIX century, the merchant's "Woe from Wit", was compared with "The Inspector General"; Yesterday, the still unknown name of Ostrovsky was placed next to the names of the greatest comedy writers - Moliere, Fonvizin, Griboedov, Gogol.

In 1863 Ostrovsky was awarded the Uvarov Prize and elected a corresponding member of the St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences. In 1866 (according to other sources - in 1865) he created an Artistic Circle in Moscow, which subsequently gave many talented figures to the Moscow stage. I.A. visited Ostrovsky’s house. Goncharov, D.V. Grigorovich, I.S. Turgenev, A.F. Pisemsky, F.M. Dostoevsky, I.E. Turchaninov, P.M. Sadovsky, L.P. Kositskaya-Nikulina, Dostoevsky, Grigorovich, M.E. Saltykov-Shchedrin, L.N. Tolstoy, I.S. Turgenev, P.I. Tchaikovsky, Sadovsky, M.N. Ermolova, G.N. Fedotova. From January 1866 he was the head of the repertory department of the Moscow imperial theaters. In 1874 (according to other sources - in 1870) the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers was formed, of which Ostrovsky remained the permanent chairman until his death. Working on the commission “to revise regulations on all parts of theatrical management,” established in 1881 under the directorate Imperial theaters, he achieved many changes that significantly improved the situation of artists. In 1885 Ostrovsky was appointed head of the repertory department of Moscow theaters and head of the theater school. Despite the fact that his plays did well at the box office and that in 1883 Emperor Alexander III granted him an annual pension of 3 thousand rubles, financial problems did not leave Ostrovsky until last days his life. His health did not meet the plans he had set for himself. The intense work quickly exhausted the body; June 14 (old style - June 2) 1886 Ostrovsky died at his Kostroma estate Shchelykovo. The writer was buried there, the sovereign granted 3,000 rubles from the cabinet sums for the funeral, the widow, together with her 2 children, was given a pension of 3,000 rubles, and 2,400 rubles a year for raising three sons and a daughter.

Heritage

Nowadays in Shchelykovo (Kostroma region) there is a memorial and natural museum-reserve of the playwright. Once every five years, since 1973, the All-Russian stage lights up theater festival“Ostrovsky Days in Kostroma”, which is supervised by the Ministry of Culture Russian Federation and the All-Russian Theater Society.

Ostrovsky's plays never leave the stage. Many of his works were filmed or served as the basis for the creation of film and television scripts. Among the film adaptations most popular in Russia is Konstantin Voinov’s comedy “Balzaminov’s Marriage” (1964, in leading role- G. Vitsin). The film “Cruel Romance”, directed by Eldar Ryazanov based on “Dowry” (1984), gained great popularity. In 2005, director Evgeny Ginzburg received Grand Prize (Grand Prix "Garnet Bracelet") of the eleventh Russian festival “Literature and Cinema” (Gatchina) “for an incredible interpretation to the point of amazement great play A. N. Ostrovsky “Guilty Without Guilt” in the film “Anna” (2005, script by G. Danelia and Rustam Ibragimbekov; starring - Opera singer Lyubov Kazarnovskaya).

After the death of the writer, the Moscow Duma established a reading room named after A.N. in Moscow. Ostrovsky. On May 27, 1929, a monument to Ostrovsky was unveiled in front of the Maly Theater (sculptor N.A. Andreev, architect I.P. Mashkov).

Plays

"Family Picture" (1847)

“Our people - we will be numbered” (1849)

"An Unexpected Case" (1850)

"Morning young man"(1850)

"Poor Bride" (1851)

“Don’t get into your own sleigh” (1852)

"Poverty is no vice" (1853)

“Don’t live as you want” (1854)

“In someone else’s feast there is a hangover” (1856) text. The play was first staged on the theater stage on January 9, 1856 at the Maly Theater for a benefit performance by Prov Mikhailovich Sadovsky, and then, on January 18, in St. Petersburg on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater for a benefit performance by Vladimirova.

“Profitable Place” (1856) text The play was first staged on the theater stage on September 27, 1863 at the Alexandrinsky Theater during a benefit performance by Levkeeva. First staged at the Maly Theater on October 14 of the same year at a benefit performance by E. N. Vasilyeva.

“A festive nap before lunch” (1857) text

“The characters didn’t get along” (1858) text

"The Pupil" (1859) text

"The Thunderstorm" (1859) text

“An old friend is better than two new ones” (1860) text

“Your own dogs squabble, don’t bother someone else’s” (1861) text

“The Marriage of Balzaminov” (1861) text

“Kozma Zakharyich Minin-Sukhoruk” (1861, 2nd edition 1866) text

"Hard Days" (1863) text

“Sin and misfortune do not live on anyone” (1863) text

“Voevoda” (1864; 2nd edition 1885) text

"Jokers" (1864) text

“In a lively place” (1865) text

"The Deep" (1866) text

“Dmitry the Pretender and Vasily Shuisky” (1866) text

"Tushino" (1866) text

“Simplicity is enough for every wise man” (1868) text

"Warm Heart" (1869) text

"Mad Money" (1870) text

"Forest" (1870) text

“It’s not all Maslenitsa for the cat” (1871) text

“There wasn’t a penny, but suddenly it was Altyn” (1872) text

“Comedian of the 17th Century” (1873) text

"The Snow Maiden" (1873) text

« Late love"(1874) text

“Labor Bread” (1874) text

"Wolves and Sheep" (1875) text

"Rich Brides" (1876) text

“Truth is good, but happiness is better” (1877) text

“The Marriage of Belugin” (1877), text together with Nikolai Solovyov

"The Last Victim" (1878) text

"Dowry" (1878) text

"Good Master" (1879)

"The Heart Is Not a Stone" (1880) text

"Slave Girls" (1881) text

“It shines, but does not warm” (1881), text together with Nikolai Solovyov. Premiere on November 14, 1881 in St. Petersburg, at the Alexandrinsky Theater, at a benefit performance in F. A. Burdina.

“Guilty without guilt” (1881-1883) text

“Talents and Admirers” (1882) text

"Handsome Man" (1883) text

“Not of this world” (1885) text

Possessing an extraordinary social temperament, Ostrovsky actively fought all his life for the creation of a new type of realistic theater, for a truly artistic national repertoire, for the new ethics of the actor. He created the Moscow artistic circle in 1865, founded and headed the society of Russian dramatic writers (1870), wrote numerous “Notes”, “Projects”, “Considerations” to various departments, proposing to take urgent measures to stop the decline of theatrical art. Ostrovsky's work had a decisive influence on the development of Russian drama and Russian theater. As a playwright and director, Ostrovsky contributed to the formation of a new school of realistic acting, the promotion of a galaxy of actors (especially in the Moscow Maly Theater: the Sadovsky family, S.V. Vasiliev, L.P. Kositskaya, later - G.N. Fedotova, M.N. Ermolova and etc.).

Beginning in 1853 and for more than 30 years, new plays by Ostrovsky appeared at the Moscow Maly and St. Petersburg Alexandrinsky theaters almost every season. Since 1856, Ostrovsky became a permanent contributor to the Sovremennik magazine. In 1856, when, according to the thoughts of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, a business trip took place outstanding writers to study and describe various areas of Russia in industrial and everyday relations, Ostrovsky took upon himself the study of the Volga from the upper reaches to the Lower. In 1859, in the publication of Count G.A. Kushelev-Bezborodko, two volumes of Ostrovsky’s works were published. This publication served as the reason for the brilliant assessment that Dobrolyubov gave to Ostrovsky and which secured his fame as an artist of the “dark kingdom.” In 1860, “The Thunderstorm” appeared in print, prompting an article by Dobrolyubov (“A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”). From the second half of the 60s, Ostrovsky took up the history of the Time of Troubles and entered into correspondence with Kostomarov.

Russian literature XIX century

Alexander Nikolaevich Ostrovsky

Biography

Ostrovsky, Alexander Nikolaevich - famous dramatic writer.

Born on March 31, 1823 in Moscow, where his father served in the civil chamber and then practiced private law. Ostrovsky lost his mother as a child and did not receive any systematic education. All of his childhood and part of his youth were spent in the very center of Zamoskvorechye, which at that time, according to the conditions of his life, was a completely special world. This world populated his imagination with those ideas and types that he later reproduced in his comedies. Thanks to his father's large library, Ostrovsky became acquainted with Russian literature early and felt an inclination towards writing; but his father certainly wanted to make him a lawyer. After graduating from the gymnasium course, Ostrovsky entered the law faculty of Moscow University. He failed to complete the course due to some kind of collision with one of the professors. At the request of his father, he entered the service as a scribe, first in the conscientious court, then in the commercial court. This determined the nature of his first literary experiments; in court, he continued to observe the peculiar Zamoskvoretsky types familiar to him from childhood, who begged for literary treatment. By 1846, he had already written many scenes from the life of a merchant, and conceived a comedy: “The Insolvent Debtor” (later - “Our People - We Will Be Numbered”). A short excerpt from this comedy was published in No. 7 of the Moscow City Listok in 1847; Below the passage are the letters: “A. ABOUT." and "D. G.”, that is, A. Ostrovsky and Dmitry Gorev. The latter was a provincial actor (real name Tarasenkov), the author of two or three plays that had already been performed on stage, who accidentally met Ostrovsky and offered him his cooperation. It did not go beyond one scene, and subsequently served as a source of great trouble for Ostrovsky, since it gave his ill-wishers a reason to accuse him of appropriating someone else’s literary work. In issues 60 and 61 of the same newspaper, another, completely independent work by Ostrovsky appeared, without a signature - “Pictures of Moscow Life. A picture of family happiness." These scenes were reprinted, in a corrected form and with the name of the author, under the title: “Family Picture”, in Sovremennik, 1856, No. 4. “ Family picture " Ostrovsky himself considered his first printed work and it was with her that he began his literary activity. He recognized February 14, 1847 as the most memorable and dear day of his life: on this day he visited S.P. Shevyrev and, in the presence of A.S. Khomyakov, professors, writers, employees of the Moscow City List, read this play, appeared in print a month later. Shevyrev and Khomyakov, hugging the young writer, welcomed his dramatic talent. “From that day,” says Ostrovsky, “I began to consider myself a Russian writer and, without doubt or hesitation, believed in my calling.” He also tried his hand at the narrative genre, in feuilleton stories from life in Zamoskvoretsk. In the same “Moscow City List” (No. 119 - 121) one of these stories is published: “Ivan Erofeich”, with the general title: “Notes of a Zamoskvoretsky resident”; two other stories in the same series: “The Tale of How the Quarterly Warden Started to Dance, or From the Great to the Ridiculous” and “Two Biographies” remained unpublished, and the latter was not even finished. By the end of 1849, a comedy entitled “Bankrupt” had already been written. Ostrovsky read it to his university friend A.F. Pisemsky; At the same time, he met the famous artist P. M. Sadovsky, who saw a literary revelation in his comedy and began to read it in various Moscow circles, among other things - with Countess E. P. Rostopchina, who usually gathered young writers, only that those who were beginning their literary activities at that time (B.N. Almazov, N.V. Berg, L.A. Mei, T.I. Filippov, N.I. Shapovalov, E.N. Edelson). All of them had been in close, friendly relations with Ostrovsky since his student days, and all accepted Pogodin’s offer to work in the updated Moskvityanin, forming the so-called “young editorial staff” of this magazine. Soon, Apollo Grigoriev occupied a prominent position in this circle, acting as a herald of originality in literature and becoming an ardent defender and praiser of Ostrovsky, as a representative of this originality. Ostrovsky’s comedy, under the changed title: “Our people - we will be numbered”, after much trouble with censorship, which reached the point of appealing to the highest authorities, was published in the 2nd March book of “Moskvityanin”, 1850, but was not allowed to be presented; censorship did not even allow talking about this play in print. It appeared on stage only in 1861, with the ending altered from the printed one. Following this first comedy by Ostrovsky, his other plays began to appear annually in Moskvityanin and other magazines: in 1850. - “The Morning of a Young Man”, in 1851 - “An Unexpected Case”, in 1852 - “Poor Bride”, in 1853 - “Don’t Get in Your Sleigh” (the first of Ostrovsky’s plays to appear on the stage of the Moscow Maly Theater, January 14, 1853), in 1854 - “Poverty is not a vice”, in 1855 - “Don’t live the way you want”, in 1856 - “There’s a hangover at someone else’s feast.” In all these plays, Ostrovsky portrayed aspects of Russian life that before him were almost not touched upon in literature and were not reproduced at all on stage. Deep knowledge of the everyday life of the depicted environment, the bright vitality and truth of the image, a unique, lively and colorful language that clearly reflects that real Russian speech of the “Moscow breads”, which Pushkin advised Russian writers to learn - all this artistic realism with all the simplicity and sincerity to which even Gogol did not rise, was met in our criticism by some with stormy delight, by others with bewilderment, denial and ridicule. While A. Grigoriev, proclaiming himself “the prophet of Ostrovsky,” tirelessly insisted that in the works of the young playwright the “new word” of our literature, namely “nationality,” found expression, critics of the progressive trend reproached Ostrovsky for gravitation to pre-Petrine antiquity, to “Slavophilism” of the Pogostin sense, they even saw in his comedies the idealization of tyranny, they called him “Gostinodvorsky Kotzebue”. Chernyshevsky had a sharply negative attitude towards the play “Poverty is not a vice”, seeing in it some kind of sentimental sweetness in the depiction of a hopeless, supposedly “patriarchal” life; other critics were indignant at Ostrovsky for elevating some sensitivities and boots with bottles to the level of “heroes”. The theater audience, free from aesthetic and political bias, irrevocably decided the matter in favor of Ostrovsky. The most talented Moscow actors and actresses - Sadovsky, S. Vasiliev, Stepanov, Nikulina-Kositskaya, Borozdina and others - were forced until then to perform, with isolated exceptions, either in vulgar vaudevilles, or in stilted melodramas converted from French, written in addition in barbaric language, they immediately felt in Ostrovsky’s plays the spirit of a living, close and native Russian life to them and devoted all their strength to its truthful depiction on stage. And the theater audience saw in the performance of these artists a truly “new word” of stage art - simplicity and naturalness, they saw people living on stage without any pretense. With his works, Ostrovsky created a school of true Russian dramatic art, simple and real, as alien to pretentiousness and affectation as all the great works of our literature are alien to it. This merit of his was first of all understood and appreciated in theatrical environment, the most free from preconceived theories. When in 1856, according to the thoughts of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich, a business trip of outstanding writers took place to study and describe various areas of Russia in industrial and domestic relations, Ostrovsky took upon himself the study of the Volga from the upper reaches to the Lower. A short report about this trip appeared in the “Sea Collection” in 1859, the full one remained in the author’s papers and was subsequently (1890) processed by S.V. Maksimov, but still remains unpublished. Several months spent in close proximity to the local population gave Ostrovsky many vivid impressions, expanded and deepened his knowledge of Russian life in its artistic expression - in a well-aimed word, song, fairy tale, historical legend, in the mores and customs of antiquity that were still preserved in the backwoods. All this was reflected in Ostrovsky’s later works and further strengthened their national significance. Not limiting himself to the life of the Zamoskvoretsky merchants, Ostrovsky introduces into the circle characters the world of large and small officials, and then of landowners. In 1857, “A Profitable Place” and “A Festive Sleep Before Lunch” were written (the first part of the “trilogy” about Balzaminov; two further parts - “Your dogs are biting, don’t pester someone else’s” and “What you go for is what you will find” - appeared in 1861), in 1858 - “They Didn’t Get Along” (originally written as a story), in 1859 - “The Pupil”. In the same year, two volumes of Ostrovsky’s works appeared, published by Count G. A. Kushelev-Bezborodko. This publication served as the reason for the brilliant assessment that Dobrolyubov gave to Ostrovsky and which secured his fame as an artist of the “dark kingdom.” Reading now, after half a century, Dobrolyubov’s articles, we cannot help but see their journalistic character. Ostrovsky himself, by nature, was not at all a satirist, and almost not even a humorist; with truly epic objectivity, caring only about the truth and vitality of the image, he “calmly regarded the right and the guilty, knowing neither pity nor anger” and not in the least hiding his love for the simple “little mermaid”, in whom, even among the ugly manifestations of everyday life, he always knew how to find certain attractive features. Ostrovsky himself was such a “little Russian,” and everything Russian found a sympathetic echo in his heart. In his own words, he cared primarily about showing a Russian person on stage: “let him see himself and rejoice. Correctors will be found even without us. To have the right to correct the people, you need to show them that you know the good in them.” Dobrolyubov, however, did not think of imposing certain tendencies on Ostrovsky, but simply used his plays as a truthful depiction of Russian life, for his own, completely independent conclusions. In 1860, “The Thunderstorm” appeared in print, causing Dobrolyubov’s second remarkable article (“A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”). This play reflects the impressions of a trip to the Volga and, in particular, the author’s visit to Torzhok. An even more vivid reflection of the Volga impressions was the dramatic chronicle published in No. 1 of Sovremennik in 1862: “Kozma Zakharyich Minin-Sukhoruk.” In this play, Ostrovsky took up the treatment for the first time historical theme, suggested to him both by Nizhny Novgorod legends and by a careful study of our history XVII century. The sensitive artist managed to notice the living features of folk life in dead monuments and perfectly master the language of the era he was studying, in which he later, for fun, wrote entire letters. "Minin", which received the approval of the sovereign, was, however, banned by dramatic censorship and could appear on stage only 4 years later. On stage, the play was not successful due to its prolixity and not always successful lyricism, but critics could not help but notice the high dignity of individual scenes and figures. In 1863 Ostrovsky published a drama from folk life: “Sin and misfortune do not live on anyone” and then again returned to the paintings of Zamoskvorechye in the comedies: “Hard Days” (1863) and “Jokers” (1864). At the same time, he was busy processing what he had begun during his trip to the Volga great play in verse, from the life of the 17th century. It appeared in No. 1 of Sovremennik in 1865 under the title: “The Voevoda, or a Dream on the Volga.” This excellent poetic fantasy, something like a dramatized epic, contains a number of vivid everyday pictures of the long past, through the haze of which one feels in many places a closeness to everyday life, which to this day has not yet completely passed into the past. The comedy “On a Lively Place,” published in No. 9 of Sovremennik in 1865, was also inspired by Volga impressions. From the mid-60s, Ostrovsky diligently took up the history of the Time of Troubles and entered into a lively correspondence with Kostomarov, who was studying the same era at that time. The result of this work were two dramatic chronicles published in 1867: “Dmitry the Pretender and Vasily Shuisky” and “Tushino”. In Љ 1 “Bulletin of Europe” in 1868 another historical drama, from the time of Ivan the Terrible, “Vasilisa Melentyev”, written in collaboration with the theater director Gedeonov. From this time on, a series of plays by Ostrovsky began, written, as he put it, in a “new manner.” Their subject is the image no longer of merchants and bourgeois, but of noble life: “Simplicity is enough for every wise man,” 1868; "Mad Money", 1870; “Forest”, 1871. Interspersed with them are domestic comedies“old manner”: “Warm Heart” (1869), “It’s not all Maslenitsa for the cat” (1871), “There wasn’t a penny, but suddenly it was Altyn” (1872). In 1873, two plays were written that occupy a special position among Ostrovsky’s works: “The Comedian of the 17th Century” (for the 200th anniversary of the Russian theater) and dramatic tale in verse “The Snow Maiden”, one of the most remarkable creations of Russian poetry. In his further works of the 70s and 80s, Ostrovsky turns to the life of various strata of society - the nobility, the bureaucrats, and the merchants, and in the latter he notes changes in views and conditions caused by the demands of the new Russian life. This period of Ostrovsky’s activity includes: “Late Love” and “Labor Bread” (1874), “Wolves and Sheep” (1875), “Rich Brides” (1876), “Truth is good, but happiness is better” (1877), “The Last Victim” (1878), “The Dowry” and “The Good Master” (1879), “The Heart is Not a Stone” (1880), “Slave Women” (1881), “Talents and Admirers” (1882), “Handsome Man” (1883), “Guilty Without Guilt” (1884) and, finally, the last play, weak in concept and execution: “Not of this world” (1885). In addition, several plays were written by Ostrovsky in collaboration with other persons: with N. Ya. Solovyov - “The Marriage of Belugin” (1878), “The Savage” (1880) and “It shines and does not warm” (1881); with P. M. Nevezhin - “Whim” (1881). Ostrovsky also wrote a number of translations of foreign plays: Shakespeare’s “Pacification of the Wayward” (1865), “The Great Banker” by Italo Franchi (1871), “The Lost Sheep” by Teobaldo Ciconi (1872), “The Coffee House” by Goldoni (1872), “The Family of a Criminal” Giacometti (1872), an adaptation from French of “The Slavery of Husbands” and, finally, a translation of 10 interludes by Cervantes, published separately in 1886. He wrote only 49 original plays. All these plays provide a gallery of a wide variety of Russian types, remarkable in its vitality and truthfulness, with all the peculiarities of their habits, language and character. In relation to the actual dramatic technique and composition, Ostrovsky's plays are often weak: the artist, deeply truthful by nature, was himself aware of his powerlessness in inventing a plot, in arranging the beginning and ending; he even said that “the playwright should not invent what happened; his job is to write how it happened or could happen; all his work is here; when he turns his attention in this direction, living people will appear and speak themselves.” Talking about his plays from this point of view, Ostrovsky admitted that his most difficult task is “fiction,” because any lie is disgusting to him; but it is impossible for a dramatic writer to do without this conventional lie. That “new word” of Ostrovsky, for which Apollo Grigoriev so ardently advocated, essentially lies not so much in “nationality”, but in truthfulness, in the artist’s direct relationship to the life around him with the goal of completely realistically reproducing it on stage. In this direction, Ostrovsky took a further step forward compared to Griboyedov and Gogol and for a long time established on our stage that “ natural school", which at the beginning of his activity already dominated in other departments of our literature. A talented playwright, supported by equally talented artists, caused competition among his peers who followed the same path: playwrights of a homogeneous trend were Pisemsky, A. Potekhin and other, less noticeable, but in their time writers who enjoyed deserved success. Devoted with all his soul to the theater and its interests, Ostrovsky also devoted a lot of time and work to practical concerns about the development and improvement of dramatic art and improving the financial situation of dramatic authors. He dreamed of the opportunity to transform the artistic taste of artists and the public and create a theater school, equally useful for both aesthetic education society, and for training worthy stage performers. Amid all sorts of griefs and disappointments, he remained faithful to this cherished dream until the end of his life, the realization of which was partly the Artistic Circle he created in 1866 in Moscow, which later gave many talented figures to the Moscow stage. At the same time, Ostrovsky was concerned about alleviating the financial situation of Russian playwrights: through his works, the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers was formed (1874), of which he remained the permanent chairman until his death. In general, by the beginning of the 80s, Ostrovsky firmly took the place of the leader and teacher of Russian drama and stage. Working hard in the commission established in 1881 under the directorate of the Imperial Theaters “to revise the regulations on all parts of theatrical management,” he achieved many changes that significantly improved the situation of artists and made it possible to more efficiently organize theatrical education. In 1885, Ostrovsky was appointed head of the repertory department of Moscow theaters and head of the theater school. His health, already weakened by this time, did not correspond to the broad plans of activity that he had set for himself. The intense work quickly exhausted the body; On June 2, 1886, Ostrovsky died in his Kostroma estate Shchelykovo, without having time to implement his transformative assumptions.

Ostrovsky's works have been published many times; the latest and more complete publication is the Enlightenment partnership (St. Petersburg, 1896 - 97, in 10 volumes, edited by M. I. Pisarev and with a biographical sketch by I. Nosov). “Dramatic Translations” (Moscow, 1872), “Intermedia of Cervantes” (St. Petersburg, 1886) and “Dramatic Works of A. Ostrovsky and N. Solovyov” (St. Petersburg, 1881) were published separately. For the biography of Ostrovsky, the most important work is the book of the French scientist J. Patouillet “O. et son theater de moeurs russes" (Paris, 1912), where all the literature about Ostrovsky is listed. See the memoirs of S. V. Maksimov in Russian Thought, 1897, and Kropachev in Russian Review, 1897; I. Ivanov “A. N. Ostrovsky, his life and literary activity"(SPb., 1900). The best critical articles about Ostrovsky were written by Apollon Grigoriev (in “The Moskvitian” and “Time”), Edelson (“Library for Reading”, 1864), Dobrolyubov (“The Dark Kingdom” and “A Ray of Light in the Dark Kingdom”) and Boborykin (“The Word”, 1878 ). - Wed. also the books by A. I. Nezelenov “Ostrovsky in his works” (St. Petersburg, 1888), and Or. F. Miller “Russian writers after Gogol” (St. Petersburg, 1887).

Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich (1823-1886) - Russian dramatic writer, translator. Born on March 31, 1823 in Moscow into the family of a civil servant. His father worked in the civil chamber, and after some time became a private lawyer. His mother died early, so Ostrovsky did not receive home education. The writer's childhood and youth were spent in Zamoskvorechye.

He studied at the gymnasium, and upon graduation received a law degree at Moscow University, but did not finish his studies due to a conflict with some professor. He served as a scribe in the conscientious court, and then moved to the commercial court. The comedy “Family Picture” (1856) in the Sovremennik magazine became the writer’s first publication. He also tried to write stories and feuilletons. The comedy “We Will Be Numbered Our Own People” (1850) is published in “Moskvityanin”, but censorship prohibits its presentation and writing criticism about it in the press, and it became possible to make a stage production only in 1861 with a changed ending.

In 1856, Prince Konstantin Nikolaevich ordered writers to study and describe the production and life of various Russian localities. Ostrovsky studied the Volga and published a report on the trip in the Sea Collection in 1859.

Their impressions of the trip were expressed in the article “The Thunderstorm” (1860) and the dramatic chronicle “Kozma Zakharyich Minin-Sukhoruk” (1862).

Ostrovsky was also involved in translations into Russian of plays by foreign writers: Shakespeare’s “The Pacification of the Wayward” (1865), “The Great Banker” by Italo Franchi (1871), “The Coffee House” by Goldoni (1872), “The Lost Sheep” by Teobaldo Ciconi (1872) and “The Family” criminal" by Giacometti (1872). Remade “The Slavery of Husbands” from French. The translated 10 Cervantes interludes were published in a separate book in 1886.

Ostrovsky wrote 49 plays, created the Artistic Circle in Moscow in 1866, and in 1874 the Society of Russian Dramatic Writers and Opera Composers, which he headed for the rest of his life. In 1881 he created a commission under the directorate of the Imperial Theaters, which considered bills on theatrical activities. In 1885 he worked as the head of the repertory department of Moscow theaters and headed the theater school. Active work activity ruined the writer's health.

Ostrovsky's thunderstorm