Lev Aleksandrovich Mei (russian: Лев Алекса́ндрович Мей (name sometimes transliterated as Lev Mey); ) was a Russian

dramatist 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

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

Biography

Mei was born on 13/25 February 1822, in

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 ...

. His father was a German officer who was wounded in the Battle of

Borodino The Battle of Borodino (). took place near the village of Borodino on during Napoleon's invasion of Russia. The ' won the battle against the Imperial Russian Army but failed to gain a decisive victory and suffered tremendous losses. Napoleon ...

and died young. His mother was Russian. Mei completed his studies in Moscow in 1841 and served in the office of the Governor for 10 years. He became part of the "young editorial staff" of

Mikhail Pogodin Mikhail Petrovich Pogodin (russian: Михаи́л Петро́вич Пого́дин; , Moscow, Moscow) was a Russian Imperial historian and journalist who, jointly with Nikolay Ustryalov, dominated the national historiography between the death ...

's ''

Moskvityanin ''Moskvityanin'' (Москвитянин, "The Muscovite") was a monthly literary review published by Mikhail Pogodin in Moscow between 1841 and 1856., , , , It was the mouthpiece of the Official Nationality theory espoused by Count Sergey Uvarov ...

''. For a time, he taught secondary school, but was forced to retire because of conflicts with his colleagues. He moved to

Saint Petersburg 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 ...

, where he was active in literary endeavors. It was during this period that he contributed to the leading Russian magazines, including ''

Biblioteka Dlya Chteniya ''Biblioteka Dlya Chteniya'' (russian: Библиоте́ка для чте́ния, en, The Reader's Library) was a Russian monthly magazine founded in Saint Petersburg, Russian Empire, in 1834 by Alexander Smirdin. History The magazine "of lit ...

'', ''

Otechestvennye Zapiski ''Otechestvennye Zapiski'' ( rus, Отечественные записки, p=ɐˈtʲetɕɪstvʲɪnːɨjɪ zɐˈpʲiskʲɪ, variously translated as "Annals of the Fatherland", "Patriotic Notes", "Notes of the Fatherland", etc.) was a Russian lite ...

'', '' Syn Otechestva'', ''

Russkoye Slovo ''Russkoye Slovo'' (Русское слово, Russian Word) was a Russian weekly magazine published in Saint Petersburg in 1859-1866 by its owner, Count Grigory Kushelev-Bezborodko. History The magazine's first editors were Yakov Polonsky, Apol ...

'', '' Russkiy Mir'', and '' Svetoch''.Мей, Лев Александрович
Biography at ''Russian Writers'' (Biobibliographical dictionary) // "Русские писатели". Биобиблиографический словарь. Том 2. М-Я. Под редакцией П. А. Николаева. "Просвещение", 1990 Mei wrote the historical

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

s, ''

The Tsar's Bride ''The Tsar's Bride'' (russian: Царская невеста, translit=Tsarskaja nevesta) is an historical verse drama in four acts by Lev Mei from 1849.Golub (1998, 951). Fifty years later Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov used the play as the basis for h ...

'' (1849), '' Servilia'' (1854) and ''

The Maid of Pskov ''The Maid of Pskov'' (russian: Псковитянка, Pskovityanka, links=no, Pskov female resident ), also known as ''Ivan the Terrible'', is an 1872 opera originally in three acts (six scenes) by Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The libretto is by the ...

'' (1859), all three of which the composer

Rimsky-Korsakov Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov . At the time, his name was spelled Николай Андреевичъ Римскій-Корсаковъ. la, Nicolaus Andreae filius Rimskij-Korsakov. The composer romanized his name as ''Nicolas Rimsk ...

later used as the basis for

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

s.Golub (1998, 951). Mei lived a dissipated and

bohemian life Bohemianism is the practice of an unconventional lifestyle, often in the company of like-minded people and with few permanent ties. It involves musical, artistic, literary, or spiritual pursuits. In this context, bohemians may be wanderers, a ...

, with a great fondness for

drink A drink or beverage is a liquid intended for human consumption. In addition to their basic function of satisfying thirst, drinks play important roles in human culture. Common types of drinks include plain drinking water, milk, juice, smoothies a ...

, which led to his untimely death on 16/28 May 1862.

References

Sources

* Golub, Spencer. 1998. "Russia and the Republics of the Former Soviet Union." In ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Ed. Martin Banham. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. 948-956. .

External links

Lev Aleksandrovich Mey. Poems
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mei, Lev Poets from the Russian Empire Male writers from the Russian Empire Russian male poets Translators from the Russian Empire 1822 births 1862 deaths Dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire 19th-century translators from the Russian Empire Russian male dramatists and playwrights 19th-century poets from the Russian Empire 19th-century dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire 19th-century male writers from the Russian Empire