''The Forest'' (russian: Лес, translit=Les) is a play 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 ...
written in 1870 and first published in the January
1871 issue of ''
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 ...
'' magazine. It was premiered at
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 ...
's
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 tr ...
on 1 November 1871, as a benefit for actor
Fyodor Burdin. 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 ...
's
Maly Theatre The Maly Theatre, or Mali Theatre, may refer to one of several different theatres:
* The Maly Theatre (Moscow), also known as The State Academic Maly Theatre of Russia, in Moscow (founded in 1756 and given its own building in 1824)
* The Maly Thea ...
it was performed on November 26, 1871.
History
Ostrovsky started writing ''The Forest'' in the last days of summer 1870 in his Shchelykovo estate. Initially it was supposed to be a family comedy but gradually the satirical line in it strengthened with Nestchastlivtsev, originally a marginal character, becoming the main hero.
The play's first informal public reading took place at the house of Alexander's brother, Mikhail Ostrovsky. Following the latter's advice, soon after the publication of the play, Ostrovsky nominated it for the prestigious Uvarov Prize but hasn't got it. The jury's decision has been criticized by
Pavel Annenkov
Pavel Vasilyevich Annenkov (russian: Па́вел Васи́льевич А́нненков) (July 1, 1813 – March 20, 1887) was a significant Russian Empire literary critic and memoirist.
Biography
Annenkov was born into a wealthy landowning fa ...
who wrote: "Alexander Nikolayevich has been refused the Prize. Such was the decision of those walking suit-cases stuffed with quasi-scientific nonsense who sit in the
cademy'sDepartment of the Russian literature, having... not a drop of taste or poetical feeling; not a trace of understanding what mastery is in literature," he wrote to Mikhail Ostrovsky.
On 14 May 1871 the play received the censors' permission at the Theatre and Literature committee. It was premiered in
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 ...
's
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 tr ...
as a benefit for Fyodor Burdin who played Neschastlivtsev. It also featured Maria Tchitau (as Gurmyzhskaya), Yelena Struyskaya (Aksyusha) and Platon Pronsky (Milonov). Ostrovsky, who was not in a position to control the artistic process personally, has been trying to do it by means of letters, addressed to Burdin. After the premiere the latter informed the author that the "play has been received very warmly" but opined that his presence would have done well to improve the quality of the production. What happened in reality was, the play flopped, due, mostly to Burdin's inadequacy who, according to one reviewer, "
adnot a modicum of a tragic actor in him." Tchitau's performance (as Gurmyzhskaya) was found wanting too, while the performances by Zubrov (as Schastlivtsev) and Vasilyev the 2nd (as Vosmibratov) were reviewed positively.
In Moscow ''The Forest'' was performed on 26 November 1871, as a benefit for
Sofia Akimova, who played Ulita. It also featured
Nadezhda Medvedeva (Gurmyzhskaya),
Glikeriya Fedotova
Glikeriya Nikolaevna Fedotova (russian: Гликерия Николаевна Федотова, Pozdnyakova, Позднякова, 22 May 1846, Oryol, Russian Empire – 27 February 1925, Moscow, USSR) was a Russian actress associated with Mosc ...
(Aksyusha),
Ivan Samarin (Milonov),
Vasily Zhivokini
Vasily Ignatyevich Zhivokini (russian: Василий Игнатьевич Живокини, born Giovannio Lammona; 1805 in Moscow, Russian Empire – 30 January 1874 in Moscow, Russian Empire) was a prominent Russian stage actor, a comic, associa ...
(Bodayev),
Prov Sadovsky
Prov Sadovsky was the stage name of Prov Mikhailovich Yermilov (1818-1872), a Russian actor who founded the famous Sadovsky theatrical family, which was regarded as the foremost interpreters of the plays by Aleksandr Ostrovsky in the Malyi Theatr ...
(Vosmibratov, Neschastlivstev),
Sergey Shumsky
Sergey Vasilyevich Chesnokov (russian: Сергей Васильевич Чесноков; 19 October 1820, in Moscow, Imperial Russia – 18 February 1878, in Moscow, Imperial Russia) was a Russian stage actor better known under his stage name, Se ...
(Schastivtsev).
Critical reception
Critics of the conservative camp reviewed the play negatively.
Viktor Burenin
Viktor Petrovich Burenin (russian: Виктор Петрович Буренин, March 6 ebruary 22, o.s. 1841 in Moscow, Russian Empire – August 15, 1926 in Leningrad, Soviet Union) was a Russian literary and theatre critic, publicist, no ...
saw ''The Forest'' as having no relevance whatsoever, arguing that it was lacking any serious content and was built upon the accidental sets of events and characters.
Nikolai Strakhov
Nikolay Nikolayevich Strakhov, also transliterated as ''Nikolai Strahov'' (; October 16, 1828 – January 24, 1896), was a Russian philosopher, publicist, journalist and literary critic. He shared the ideals of Pochvennichestvo and was a longtim ...
, a
Slavophile critic, expressed similar reservations, seeing the play as having no social significance and criticizing it's humour as "
Shchedrinian" and a "low-brow" type.
''The Forest'' was praised by
Nikolai Nekrasov
Nikolay Alexeyevich Nekrasov ( rus, Никола́й Алексе́евич Некра́сов, p=nʲɪkɐˈlaj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲejɪvʲɪtɕ nʲɪˈkrasəf, a=Ru-Nikolay_Alexeyevich_Nekrasov.ogg, – ) was a Russian poet, writer, critic and publi ...
(who called it 'brilliant') and
Ivan Turgenev
Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev (; rus, links=no, Ива́н Серге́евич Турге́невIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; 9 November 1818 – 3 September 1883 (Old Style dat ...
, who told Ostrovsky in a letter that he thought the character of Neschastlivtsev was one of the author's best creations ever.
Aleksey Pleshcheev
Aleksey Nikolayevich Pleshcheyev (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Никола́евич Плеще́ев; 8 October 1893) was a radical Russian poet of the 19th century, once a member of the Petrashevsky Circle.
Pleshcheyev's first book of ...
, reviewing the Moscow Artist Club's production of ''The Forest'', expressed indignation at the fact that such masterpiece has been so poorly treated by the Russian Imperial Theatres. One of the play's admirers was the actor
Prov Sadovsky
Prov Sadovsky was the stage name of Prov Mikhailovich Yermilov (1818-1872), a Russian actor who founded the famous Sadovsky theatrical family, which was regarded as the foremost interpreters of the plays by Aleksandr Ostrovsky in the Malyi Theatr ...
who's made a personal request for his son Mikhail to appear as Bulanov, as gymnasium student, which the latter did at the Moscow premier, on 26 November 1871.
[The Culture of Theatre, 1921. No.2, p.61]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Forest
1871 plays
Plays by Alexander Ostrovsky