''Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich'' (russian: Царь Фёдор Иоаннович, old orthography: Царь Ѳедоръ Іоанновичъ) is a

1868 Events January–March * January 2 – British Expedition to Abyssinia: Robert Napier leads an expedition to free captive British officials and missionaries. * January 3 – The 15-year-old Mutsuhito, Emperor Meiji of Jap ...

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 ...

Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy (russian: Граф Алексе́й Константи́нович Толсто́й; – ), often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy, was a Russian poet, novelist, and playwright. He is considered to be the most ...

.Banham (1998, 1115) and Moser (1992, 270). It is the second part of a

trilogy A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected and can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, and video games, and are less common in other art forms. Three-part wor ...

that begins with ''

The Death of Ivan the Terrible ''The Death of Ivan the Terrible'' (russian: Смерть Иоанна Грозного, translit=Smertʹ Ioanna Groznogo) is a historical drama by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy written in 1863 and first published in the January 1866 issue of ''O ...

'' and concludes with ''

Tsar Boris Boris I, also known as Boris-Mihail (Michael) and ''Bogoris'' ( cu, Борисъ А҃ / Борисъ-Михаилъ bg, Борис I / Борис-Михаил; died 2 May 907), was the ruler of the First Bulgarian Empire in 852–889. At ...

''.Moser (1992, 270). All three plays were banned by the censor.Hartnoll (1983, 831). ''Tsar Fyodor'' is written in

blank verse Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and P ...

and was influenced by the work of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Casimir Delavigne Jean-François Casimir Delavigne (4 April 179311 December 1843) was a French poet and dramatist. Life and career Delavigne was born at Le Havre, but was sent to Paris to be educated at the Lycée Napoleon. He read extensively. When, on 20 March ...

, and

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...

. It dramatises the story of

Feodor I of Russia Fyodor I Ivanovich (russian: Фёдор I Иванович) or Feodor I Ioannovich (russian: Феодор I Иоаннович; 31 May 1557 – 17 January (NS) 1598), also known as Feodor the Bellringer (russian: Феодор Звонарь), ...

, whom the play portrays as a good man who is a weak, ineffectual ruler.Eriksen, MacLeod, and Wisneski (1960, 832). The trilogy formed the core of Tolstoy's reputation as a writer in the Russia of his day and as a dramatist to this day. It has been considered Tolstoy's

masterpiece A masterpiece, ''magnum opus'' (), or ''chef-d’œuvre'' (; ; ) in modern use is a creation that has been given much critical praise, especially one that is considered the greatest work of a person's career or a work of outstanding creativity, ...

. ''Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich'' was first performed in an

amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocation independent from their source of income. Amateurs and their pursuits are also described as popular, informal, autodidacticism, self-taught, user-generated, do it yourself, DI ...

production 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 ...

in 1890. It received its first professional production at Suvorin's theatre in Saint Petersburg on 12 October 1898, directed by P. P. Gnedich. Two days later on 14 October, the play was performed as the inaugural production of the world-famous

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

, directed by

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

, with

Ivan Moskvin Ivan Mikhailovich Moskvin (russian: Иван Михайлович Москвин; 18 June 1874, in Moscow – 16 February 1946, in Moscow) was a Russian and Soviet actor and theater director. People's Artist of the USSR (1936). He became director ...

in the lead role and

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...

as Prince Vasiliy Shuisky.Banham (1998, 1115), Benedetti (1999, 386), Braun (1995, 11), Hartnoll (1983, 831), and Worrall (1996, 85-102). Since then the play has been revived frequently.

Incidental music Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, or some other presentation form that is not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as t ...

was written for the play by Alexander Ilyinsky.

References

Sources

* Banham, Martin, ed. 1998. ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre.'' Cambridge: Cambridge UP. . * Benedetti, Jean. 1999. ''Stanislavski: His Life and Art''. Revised edition. Original edition published in 1988. London: Methuen. . * Braun, Edward. 1995. ''Meyerhold: A Revolution in Theatre.'' Rev. 2nd ed. London: Methuen. . * Eriksen, Gordon, Garrard MacLeod, and Martin Wisneski, ed. 1960. ''Encyclopædia Britannica 15th Edition.'' Volume 11. * Hartnoll, Phyllis, ed. 1983. ''The Oxford Companion to the Theatre''. 4th ed. Oxford: Oxford UP. . * Moser, Charles A., ed. 1992. ''The Cambridge History of Russian Literature.'' Rev. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. . * Tolstoy, Aleksey Konstantinovich. 1922. ''Tsar Fiodor Ioannovich: A Play in Five Acts.'' Trans. Jenny Covan. The Moscow Art Theatre Series of Russian Plays ser. Ed. Oliver M. Sayler. New York: Brentanos
Available online
* Worrall, Nick. 1996. ''The Moscow Art Theatre.'' Theatre Production Studies ser. London and NY: Routledge. .

External links

*
Online English translation by Jenny Covan
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsar Fiodor Ioannovich 1868 plays Plays by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy