Viktor Alexandrovich Krylov (russian: Виктор Александрович Крылов, 2 February 1838 — 13 March 1908) was a Russian

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 ...

(who occasionally used the pen name Viktor Alexandrov),

theatre critic Theatre criticism is a genre of arts criticism, and the act of writing or speaking about the performing arts such as a play or opera. Theatre criticism is distinct from drama criticism, as the latter is a division of literary criticism whereas t ...

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...

Imperial Theatres Imperial Theatres of Russian Empire ( rus, Императорские театры Российской империи) was a theatrical organization financed by the Imperial exchequer and managed by a single directorate headed with a director; was ...

official and one of the major contributors to the

Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary The ''Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopaedic Dictionary'' (Russian: Энциклопедический словарь Брокгауза и Ефрона, abbr. ЭСБЕ, tr. ; 35 volumes, small; 86 volumes, large) is a comprehensive multi-volume ...

.Krylov's biography
in the Soviet Literary Encyclopedia.

Biography

Born 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 ...

to a lawyer, Krylov studied at the Moscow Engineering College, where he became friends with fellow student and budding composer

César Cui César Antonovich Cui ( rus, Це́зарь Анто́нович Кюи́, , ˈt͡sjezərʲ ɐnˈtonəvʲɪt͡ɕ kʲʊˈi, links=no, Ru-Tsezar-Antonovich-Kyui.ogg; french: Cesarius Benjaminus Cui, links=no, italic=no; 13 March 1918) was a Ru ...

. Krylov started out as a lyricist and wrote verses for several romances composed by Cui, and later, during 1857-1859, wrote the librettos for Cui's operas '' Prisoner of the Caucasus'' and '' The Mandarin's Son'', and portions of the libretto for Cui's '' William Ratcliff''.Leontyeva, L.
Виктор Александрович Крылов
in ''Russian Writers''. The Biobibliographical Dictionary // Русские писатели. Биобиблиографический словарь]. — Prosveshchenye Publishers 1990. In 1858 Krylov debuted as a playwright with a comedy based upon

Alexander Druzhinin Alexander Vasilyevich Druzhinin (russian: Алекса́ндр Васи́льевич Дружи́нин), (October 20, 1824 – January 31, 1864), was a Russian writer, translator, and magazine editor. Biography Druzhinin was born into a wea ...

's novella ''Polinka Saks''. In 1862 he published (in '' Severnaya Ptchela'') his first large critical essay on

Griboyedov Griboyedov may refer to: * Alexander Griboyedov (1795-1829), Russian playwright and diplomat * Griboyedov Canal The Griboyedov Canal or Kanal Griboyedova () is a canal in Saint Petersburg, constructed in 1739 along the existing ''Krivusha'' r ...

's ''

Woe from Wit ''Woe from Wit'' (, also translated as "The Woes of Wit", "Wit Works Woe", ''Wit's End'', and so forth) is Alexander Griboyedov's comedy in verse, satirizing the society of post-Napoleonic Moscow, or, as a high official in the play styled it, "a ...

'' and the production of it in 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 tr ...

which impressed the head of ''

Sankt-Peterburgskiye Vedomosti The ''Vedomosti'' (Russian: Ведомости) is Russia's oldest newspaper. It was established by Peter the Great's ukase dated 16 December 1702. The first issue appeared on 2 January 1703. Petrine Vedomosti Following along the lines of t ...

'' Valentin Korsh enough to invite Krylov to contribute regularly to this newspaper's theatre section, which he did in 1863—1865. His first major play ''Against the Tides'' (Против течения, after

Mikhail Shchepkin , birth_date = , birth_place = Krasnoe, Kursk Province, Russian Empire , death_date = (aged 64) , death_place = Yalta, Russian Empire , resting_place = , occupation = Actor , language = Russian , nationality = Russian , period ...

's story) came out in 1864, but it was the 1870 comedy ''Heading for the Judge'' (''K mirovomu'', К мировому) that brought Krylov his first major success prompting him to devote himself to the theatre entirely. Krylov authored more than thirty original plays and almost a hundred lesser works, including re-makes and translations, concentrating on comedy and vaudeville. His best-known non-fiction work was ''Stolby'' (Pillars, 1868) which told the story of massive wrongdoings by the landlords, abusing the legal rights of peasant communities. In 1899 with Osip Etinger he dramatised

Fyodor Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

's ''

The Idiot ''The Idiot'' ( pre-reform Russian: ; post-reform rus, Идиот, Idiót) is a novel by the 19th-century Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. It was first published serially in the journal ''The Russian Messenger'' in 1868–69. The title is an ...

''. In 1893—1898 Krylov was the head of the head of the Repertoire Department of the Imperial Theatres. "Have you read the article in '' Russkaya Mysl'' by V. Krylov? This man loves theatre and I trust him, even if I do not like his plays,"

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 ...

wrote in a letter to

Alexey Suvorin Aleksei Sergeyevich Suvorin (Russian: Алексей Сергеевич Суворин, 11 September 1834, Korshevo, Voronezh Governorate – 11 August 1912, Tsarskoye Selo) was a Russian newspaper and book publisher and journalist whose publ ...

. Krylov's best work were collected in an 8-volume compilation ''The Dramas by V. Krylov'' published in Saint Petersburg in 1877—1894, as well as ''The Poems'' (Стихотворения, 1898) and ''The Prose'' (Проза, in two volumes, 1908).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Krylov, Viktor Dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire Burials at Vagankovo Cemetery Writers from Moscow 1838 births 1908 deaths