Evtikhy Pavlovich Karpov (russian: Евтихий Павлович Карпов, 6 November 1857, – 3 January 1926) was a Russian and Soviet

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

and

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

Biography

Born in

Karachev Karachev (russian: Карачев) is an ancient town and the administrative center of Karachevsky District in Bryansk Oblast, Russia. Population: History First chronicled in 1146, it was the capital of one of the Upper Oka Principalities in t ...

into a postmaster's family, Karpov graduated from the Institute of Agriculture and Geodesy in

Konstantinovsk Konstantinovsk (russian: Константи́новск) is a town and the administrative center of Konstantinovsky District in Rostov Oblast, Russia, located on the Don River near the Seversky Donets. Population: History Town status was granted ...

. He became a member of ''

Narodnaya Volya Narodnaya Volya ( rus, Наро́дная во́ля, p=nɐˈrodnəjə ˈvolʲə, t=People's Will) was a late 19th-century revolutionary political organization in the Russian Empire which conducted assassinations of government officials in an att ...

'' first in

Bryansk Bryansk ( rus, Брянск, p=brʲansk) is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, situated on the River Desna, southwest of Moscow. Population: Geography Urban layout The location of the settlement was originally ass ...

, then in

Oryol Oryol ( rus, Орёл, p=ɐˈrʲɵl, lit. ''eagle''), also transliterated as Orel or Oriol, is a city and the administrative center of Oryol Oblast situated on the Oka River, approximately south-southwest of Moscow. It is part of the Central Fed ...

and

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and was jailed in the early 1880s. It was in prison that he in 1881 wrote his first play ''Hard Life'' (Тяжкая доля) which was followed by ''On the Zemstvo Fields'', ''Ruins of the Past, Free Life'', all written in Oryol. In 1887 Karpov moved to

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl ( rus, Ярослáвль, p=jɪrɐˈsɫavlʲ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence ...

where he debuted first as a stage actor and then, in 1889, as a theatre director. In 1893 his play ''Early Autumn'' (Ранняя осень) was staged by the

Alexandrinsky Theatre The Alexandrinsky Theatre (russian: Александринский театр) or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial trou ...

, featuring

Maria Savina Maria Gavrilovna Savina (russian: link=no, Мария Гаври́ловна Са́вина, née Podrame′ntsova, 11 April 1854, Kamenets-Podolsky, Imperial Russia – 21 September 1915, Petrograd, Imperial Russia) was a renowned Russian stage a ...

. In 1896 Karpov became the head of Alexandrinka where he directed and produced

Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises t ...

'' (with

Vera Komissarzhevskaya Vera Fyodorovna Komissarzhevskaya (russian: Ве́ра Фёдоровна Комиссарже́вская; 8 November 1864 – 23 February 1910) was one of the most celebrated actresses and theatre managers of the late Russian Empire. She made ...

as Nina Zarechnaya), which was this play's Russian premiere. In 1900 Karpov left The Alexandrinsky Theatre and joined the Suvorinsky (which was in 1919 reformed into the Bolshoi Drama Theater) where he staged several plays of his own (''The Coalmine 'Georgy, ''The 1812 Moscow Fire'', ''The Victory Man'') as well as a host of classics by

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 origina ...

whose legacy he idolised. In 1916 Karpov returned to Alexandrinka to stay with this theatre for the next decade, up until his death in 1926, in

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Legacy

In all, Karpov authored more than twenty plays. One of them, ''Brilliant Personality'' (Светлая личность) won him the

Griboyedov Prize The Griboyedov Prize (russian: Грибоедовская премия) was a Russian literary award established in 1878 by the Society of Russian Dramatists and Opera Composers to honor Alexander Griboyedov. The opening ceremony was held on 11 F ...

in 1909. He knew personally and corresponded with numerous grand figures of Russian theatre, including

Konstantin Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian Soviet Fe ...

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer an ...

, Vera Komissarzhevskaya, Maria Savina, Maria Ermolova,

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

, many of whom credited him with being one of the most influential men in Russian history of his time. In 1921 Karpov became the first ever recipient of the title the Meritorious Theatre Director of the Republic.Dekhanov, V.G
Карпов Евтихий Павлович
at the Bryansk City siteХализев В.Е. Карпов Евтихий Павлович. – Краткая литературная энциклопедия. Т.3. – М., 1966, с.421 Карпов Евтихий Павлович. – Театральная энциклопедия. Т.2. – М., 1963, с. 1158-1159

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karpov, Evtikhy Russian dramatists and playwrights Theatre directors from the Russian Empire 1857 births 1926 deaths Burials at Tikhvin Cemetery