Russian actor and theater figure Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was born in 1729 in Kostroma. Having lost his father early, Volkov, however, acquired a kind and attentive parent in the person of his stepfather, the merchant Polushkin. In Moscow, where the boy was sent for training, Volkov became deeply and forever interested in theater. He literally caught fire with his new hobby and studied art and stagecraft for several years. Returning in 1748 to Yaroslavl, where the family lived, Volkov organized a theater troupe and began giving performances in a stone barn. The first performance took place on June 29, 1750, it was the drama "Esther". Two years later, Volkov and his comrades, by decree of Empress Elizabeth Petrovna, were summoned to St. Petersburg. And in 1756, the main event in the theatrical life of Russia in the 18th century took place - the establishment of the “Russian Theater for the Presentation of Tragedies and Comedies,” the first state operating professional theater.
Fyodor Volkov was immediately appointed “the first Russian actor,” and Alexander Sumarokov was appointed director of the theater; only after his death, in 1761, Volkov became director of “his” theater. For this reason, Fyodor Grigorievich refused the post of cabinet minister. In total, Fyodor Volkov wrote about 15 plays, none of which have survived to this day; he was also the author of many solemn odes and songs.
Today the Volkovsky Theater is one of the most famous and largest "non-capital" Russian theaters. The International Volkov Festival, which has become very famous, is annually held on its stage, the laureates of which are awarded the Fyodor Volkov Prize of the Government of the Russian Federation. Provincial theaters present their best performances here, based on works of Russian classics, and scientific conferences of art critics are held. Scientific conferences, theatrical performances and shows are dedicated to the Russian theater. The festival traditionally attracts a huge number of theater lovers, the city these days is filled with guests, and Yaroslavl hotels hospitably open their doors to modern servants of Melpomene.
The life of Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was cut short during takeoff. During a masquerade called "Minerva Triumphant" in 1763, he caught a cold, and never managed to recover from his cold - on April 4, 1763, the great Russian actor died. Fyodor Volkov is buried in Moscow, at the Androniev Monastery cemetery. Despite the fact that Volkov’s grave did not survive, a memorial plaque was installed in the cemetery. But the best memory of the actor is the theater named after him - the Russian State Academic Drama Theater named after Fyodor Volkov in Yaroslavl.
Fedor was born on February 9 (February 20, new style) 1729 in Kostroma - a Russian actor and theater figure who created the first permanent Russian theater. Considered the founder of the Russian theater.
Biography
His father, a Kostroma merchant, died during his childhood. In 1735, the mother remarried the merchant Fyodor Polushkin and moved with him and her children to Yaroslavl. Volkov's stepfather was a wealthy and kind man. Yaroslavl residents were familiar with different types of theatrical performances. Since childhood, Volkov has seen folk games, amateur performances and performances of school dramas. He was distinguished by his varied talents. The boy received his first literacy lessons from a pastor who served under Duke E.I. Biron, who was exiled to Yaroslavl.
At the age of twelve, he was sent to Moscow to study business with German industrialists, from whom Volkov, among other things, perfectly learned the German language, which he spoke “like a natural German.” In Moscow, he became interested in theatrical performances, which were performed by students of the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy. While studying in Moscow, Volkov, according to A. A. Shakhovsky, “distinguished himself at Christmas time in the presentation of spiritual dramas and translated comedies, for which Zaikonospasski students have long been famous.” Volkov stood out from his peers for his intelligence, diligence and knowledge, “he was partial,” according to Novikov, “to the knowledge of the sciences and arts.” The time of study coincided with the ascension to the throne of Elizabeth Petrovna, who greatly contributed to the development of culture.
In 1746, a young merchant arrived in St. Petersburg on business, and here, according to legend, a visit to the court theater made a stunning impression on him. He devoted himself completely to his new passion and during his two years in St. Petersburg he was engaged in the arts and studying stagecraft. In 1748, after the death of his stepfather, Fyodor Volkov took control of the factories, but soon retired, transferring control to his brother.
Having gained independence, he gathers around him lovers of theatrical performances from among the Yaroslavl youth. On June 29 (July 10), 1750, in a large stone barn where the merchant Polushkin had previously stored his goods, Volkov gave his first public performance, showing the drama “Esther” (translated by Volkov) and the pastoral “Evmon and Berfa.” Although not all Yaroslavl residents accepted the new entertainment, and there is even information about robbery committed by several townspeople during one of the performances, the very next year in Yaroslavl a wooden theater was built on the banks of the Volga especially for Volkov’s performances, which opened on January 7, 1751 with the tragedy of A. P. Sumarokov “Horev”. In Volkov’s theater, in addition to himself, his brothers Grigory and Gavrila, “clerks” Ivan Ikonnikov and Yakov Popov, “churchman” Ivan Dmitrevsky, “pischiki” Semyon Kuklin and Alexey Popov, barber Yakov Shumsky, townspeople Semyon Skachkov and Demyan Galik played . This was the first public theater in Russia.
Since the end of January, the Yaroslavl residents, led by Fyodor Volkov, have already played in front of the empress and the court. The repertoire included the tragedies of A.P. Sumarokov “Horev”, “Sinav and Truvor” and Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”. Performances were also staged at the Land Noble Corps.
On August 30, 1756, the “Russian Theater for the Presentation of Tragedies and Comedies” was officially established, marking the beginning of the creation of the Imperial Theaters of Russia, and Fyodor Volkov was appointed “the first Russian actor”, and Alexander Sumarokov became the director of the theater, in 1761 Volkov took this post. But for the sake of his favorite business, Fyodor Grigorievich abandoned the post of cabinet minister, the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called, estates and serfs.
Fyodor Volkov wrote about 15 plays (“Shemyakin’s Court”, “Every Eremey Understands to Himself”, “The Amusement of Moscow Residents about Maslenitsa”, etc.), which have not survived to this day, was also the author of solemn odes (it is known that he began to write an ode “Peter the Great”) and songs ("You are passing by a dear cell" about someone who was forcibly tonsured a monk and "Let us, brother, sing an old song, how people lived in the first century" about the past Golden Age have been preserved). In addition, he was involved in the artistic design of performances; his painting depicting him and his brothers during a performance, a bust of Peter I, is known; According to legend, his work also includes the carved iconostasis of the St. Nicholas Church in Yaroslavl. He played many instruments and created music for performances.
Until now, one of the most unclear moments in his life is his role during the coup and the accession of Catherine II to the throne. The very fact of the inclusion of civilist Volkov in the detachment of guards guarding the deposed Emperor Peter III in Ropsha is unique. According to the researchers of the German historian E. Palmer, Volkov was in conflict with the emperor on the basis of musical theater. Peter Fedorovich, when he was the Grand Duke, rejected Volkov’s services as a composer and director of operas at the Oranienbaum Theater. Volkov insulted the Grand Duke in anger, for which he put him under arrest. Volkov's hatred of Peter the Third was well known at court. That is why Volkov was entrusted with the assassination of the emperor. After the coup, he always had access to the empress’s office without reporting. On the oil week of 1763, in honor of the coronation of Empress Catherine II, a multi-day “grand masquerade called “Triumphing Minerva” was organized in Moscow, in which the Infamy of vices and the Glory of virtue will be revealed,” which became Volkov’s last creation.
During the masquerade, he caught a cold and died on April 4 (April 15, new style) 1763. He played his last performance on January 29, performing in his best role as Oskold in Sumarokov’s tragedy “Semira”. Fyodor Volkov is buried in Moscow, at the cemetery of the Andronikov Monastery. There are no traces of his grave left. In the mid-1990s, a memorial plaque was installed at the cemetery.
The first Russian professional actor Fyodor Volkov: main stages of life and activity
Introduction
Childhood and youth
Getting to know the theater
Theater in Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl residents in St. Petersburg
Volkov's roles
Bibliography
Introduction
Two centuries ago, on April 15, 1763, a man died. But his name continues to live. Descendants pronounce this name with deep respect: Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov.
They say that the one who gives birth to a child or leaves behind a book does not die. Fyodor Grigorievich had no children. There were no books left after him. It was claimed that he was a writer, but almost all of his writings disappeared just like his ashes. No one even knows exactly where the grave was dug for him.
Nothing tangible remained from him. He died early - thirty-five years old. He was an actor. An actor does not produce material assets. An actor creates only with a spoken word or gesture. But the word and gesture are fleeting. And for a very long time people could not learn to capture them - a whole hundred and fifty years after Volkov’s death, until the beginning of the 20th century, when cinema won its rights.
But the name of Fyodor Grigorievich continues to live in the memory of people, and his deeds are listed on the pages of history. After all, he left us a huge legacy - his activities formed the basis of the first Russian professional theater. The creation of the Russian state theater was an important stage in the development of Russian national theatrical culture.
Based on this, the purpose of this work is to consider the stages of the life and work of F. G. Volkov and identify his role in the creation of the Russian national professional theater.
I set myself the following tasks:
analysis of childhood and adolescence, impressions of the first meetings with the theater;
consideration of his activities in Yaroslavl;
identifying the role of the empress’s decrees in the development of Russian professional theater;
studying the creative activity of F. Volkov in the Russian Theater.
In my work I used the following methods:
study of documents, Volkov’s work, reviews and works about him by his contemporaries;
research of literature about F. G. Volkov.
1. Analysis of the literature used
The historical significance of F. G. Volkov is great. Meanwhile, his life and work have not been studied sufficiently: we do not have a major work devoted to his life and work. In my work I used several books, relying mainly on four of them.
F. G. Volkov and the Russian theater of his time. Collection of materials, ed. Yu.A. Dmitrieva
The compilers of this collection reviewed the corresponding funds of 19 repositories of the former Soviet Union. The collection contains 98 documents and 30 illustrations.
The documents are systematized into thematic groups, and within the groups they are located primarily in chronological order. The materials of the first two sections provide biographical information about F. G. Volkov, covering the early period of his life; the third and fourth sections characterize the state of theater and drama in the period immediately preceding the creation of the theater by Volkov; the fifth section contains documents about the arrival of F. G. Volkov and the troupe to St. Petersburg; in the sixth - about the teaching of Volkov and some members of his troupe to the gentry cadet corps; the seventh section is devoted to the establishment of the Russian public theater, the first actor of which was Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov; The eighth section includes documents about Volkov’s last creative work - the production of the masquerade “Minerva Triumphant”.
A list of the most important identified but not published documents is given in the Appendix to the collection. The works of F. G. Volkov and those attributed to him are also given there; texts of the roles played by Volkov; biography of Fyodor Grigorievich from “The Experience of a Historical Dictionary on Russian Writers” by N.I. Novikova; a list of performances staged in Moscow during the years of Volkov’s stay there (1742-1749) and a table of Russian performances (1750-1763).
Most of the documents in the collection are published in full, however, in some cases only excerpts from the documents are given. Spelling and punctuation in documents are close to modern rules,
K. Kulikov, Russian theater first actors.
The book is dedicated to the ancient theatrical St. Petersburg. The story about the fate of the first Orthodox Russian actors - F. Volkov, I. Dmitrevsky, A. Yakovlev, E. Semenova - is given against the broad historical background of life in the capital of Russia in the 18th - first quarter of the 19th centuries,
The content of the book is based on magazine and newspaper publications of those years, and memoirs. When working on it, historical and theatrical publications of periodicals of the last century were also used: “Artist”, “Repertoire and Pantheon”, “Repertoire of the Russian Theater”, “Dramatic Bulletin”, “Yearbook of Imperial Theaters”, “Pantheon”, “Domestic Notes” ", "Russian Antiquity", "Russian Archive", "Russian Messenger", etc.
K. Kulikova, Dagger of Melpomene.
This book is dedicated to the founder of the Russian theater, Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov. It tells in an entertaining way about the difficult and remarkable fate of the first great master of the Russian stage, describes the atmosphere and life that surrounded him, and reveals the features of the acting art of the 18th century.
B. N. Aseev, Russian Drama Theater of the 16th-18th centuries.
This book outlines the history of Russian theater from its origins to the end of the 18th century. In presenting the history of ancient Russian theater and theater of the 18th century, I tried to show the originality of the Russian historical and theatrical process of this era. His main attention is paid to the problems of the traditions of folk theater in the professional theatrical art of the 17th-18th centuries, to the connection of theater with Russian advanced social thought, to the formation of elements of realism and nationality in drama and acting in the 18th century.
At the beginning of the sections, brief overviews of the state of education, literature and the fine arts are given. The work opens with a historiographical overview, which outlines the main stages in the study of ancient Russian theater.
K. Evgrafov, Fedor Volkov.
This is a work of fiction that tells about the personality of F. G. Volkov, which is covered in many legends. Since Fyodor Grigorievich left behind very few material traces, the writer had to speculate a lot, create his own versions about certain events from the life of Fyodor Volkov. This is the only book that presents a chronological table “Main dates of the life and work of F.G. Volkova".
volkov actor professional theater
2. Main stages of life and activity
Childhood and youth
Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was born in 1728, on February 9. His childhood and youth were spent in the ancient Russian cities of Kostroma and Yaroslavl.
Fyodor Volkov arrived in Yaroslavl in 1735, when he was seven years old. He was the eldest son of the Kostroma merchant Grigory Ivanovich Volkov, who died shortly before. In total, Grigory Ivanovich had five sons: Fedor, Alexey, Gavrila, Ivan and Grigory. The widow of the deceased, Matryona Yakovlevna, brought the three eldest of them with her to Yaroslavl.
Here Matryona Ivanovna found her second happiness: she married the widowed merchant Fyodor Vasilyevich Polushkin. Whether she brought any capital to her second husband's dowry or not is unknown. But her new husband himself already had a fortune by that time.
Fyodor Vasilyevich himself was no longer young. Had two children. The son soon died, and there is little hope for the daughter. The scope of the factory business required young energy, physical strength, and knowledge. and then the old merchant directed all his thoughts towards his stepsons, and especially towards the eldest, Fyodor. The report of the Yaroslavl magistrate to the Chief Magistrate about F. Polushkin’s request to transfer his stepsons the Volkovs to the Yaroslavl merchants (1745) says: “Polushkin, besides his three stepsons, not only to correct factory affairs, but also to create his own merchants. Which other stepsons he, Polushkin, adopted from his very childhood for the above-mentioned benefits. And not sparing his own capital, he kept teachers at his house to teach them, and taught them literacy, writing, and other sciences, as well as Zavotsky productions and merchants.” Polushkin spared no expense to send his stepsons to “finish their studies” in Moscow.
According to Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov’s own words, he stayed in Moscow for seven whole years - from 1741 to 1748. Later, biographers wondered where he studied there: at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy, a theological school, or at some school at the factory (such schools began to function since the time of Peter I)? It is quite possible that it was his stepfather who sent him to the factory school.
March 1744 (when Fyodor was sixteen years old) Polushkin submitted a petition to the Berg College in charge of the factories: “And so that the highest s. And. V. the decree ordered this report of mine... to be accepted and about being with me in the company of my stepson described above to give them e.i. V. a decree with a reading and from their services, and from their courtyards, according to the force of the decree, dismiss them.” Thus, the Volkov brothers, who became factory owners, were exempt from military service, a number of taxes, and soldiers’ billets.
Getting to know the theater
While still living in Yaroslavl, Volkov had the opportunity to get acquainted with the theater and become interested in it. The first impressions that aroused Volkov’s interest in theater and determined his aesthetic tastes were undoubtedly the impressions of buffoon performances, the performance of fairy tales, epics, and oral folk dramas. In Yaroslavl, Fyodor Volkov also became acquainted with the so-called school theater, where seminarians performed “comedy” performances based on stories from the Holy Scriptures.
None of the Volkov brothers studied in seminaries. But, apparently, they saw performances of the school theater. In any case, you certainly heard about them: many of their friends were seminarians. And when it occurred to Fyodor Volkov to set up a theater at home, at first he, of course, focused on the school theater, and on amateur performances of “eager” people, and on folk festivals, with their mummers and simple games during trades and holidays .
According to a number of biographers, Fyodor Grigorievich visited not only Moscow. He could also tell the Yaroslavl people about St. Petersburg, where, according to available evidence, his stepfather sent him. There in 1746 he became acquainted with the Italian theater. (Volkov met “painters, musicians and other artists who were then at the Imperial Italian Theater.”) There he allegedly made acquaintance with German actors - the “free comedian” Hilferding and the “showman” Skolyariy, whose troupes performed in Russia in the 50s. x years. From them he allegedly received a lot of instructions on theatrical art, which he carefully wrote down, sketched, and memorized.
“Seeing Nikita Afanasyevich Beketov in the role of Sinav, I was so delighted that I did not know where I was - on earth or in heaven. Then the idea was born in me to start my own theater in Yaroslavl,” he allegedly admitted later to Ivan Dmitrevsky.
Theater in Yaroslavl
In 1748 Polushkin died. The Polushkinsky factories began to be called after their new owners: “Fedora Volkova and his brothers.” Instead of using the received inheritance to expand capital, twenty-year-old Fyodor Volkov began to noticeably cool down on “the product of sulfur, vitriol and mummy paint.” Young people gathered around him. The comrades of the Volkov brothers were also not without education. Ivan Dmitrevsky and Alexey Popov had previously studied at the seminary for some time, Semyon Kuklin served as a scribe in the Yaroslavl provincial chancellery. There, Ivan Ikonnikov and Yakov Popov rose to the rank of clerk.
All of them became actors in the theater, which was organized in Yaroslavl by Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov. At first they played in the Polushkinsky stone barn, where they built a platform, illuminated by bowls of oil, and placed benches for the “caretakers.” And then Fyodor Volkov opened a real theater, into which he invested a lot of his own money. Apparently, this happened after the decree of the “imp. Elizaveta Petrovna on permission to establish private theaters": "The Most Serene, Most Sovereign, Great Empress Empress Elisaveta Petrovna, Autocrat of All Russia, on this date... deigned to indicate by verbal decree: at the request of the local inhabitants who want to entertain honest companies and parties with decent music or for this previous holiday, Russian comedies should be given permission and not prohibited... December 21, 1850.”
Apparently, other wealthy Yaroslavl residents also helped him build the theater building. In any case, the first biographer of F. G. Volkov II. I. Novikov points this out directly: “Each of them agreed to give a certain amount of money for the construction of a new theater, which, through the efforts of Mr. Volkov, was built; it was so spacious that it could accommodate up to a thousand people.”
The theater created by Volkov met the needs of broad democratic sections of the population. Meeting the interests of the public, Volkov took a decisive step towards transforming amateur performances into a professional city public theater. “Soon the small theater became cramped for the increasing number of spectators,” writes II. I. Novikov. “It should have been extended or made completely new.” Created on Volkov's initiative and with the support of the Yaroslavl population, the theater gave regular performances, which required a permanent troupe and professionalization of amateur actors.
The theater had modern Russian national drama in its repertoire. This gives grounds to assert that in Yaroslavl, with the support of broad sections of the population, a big step was taken towards the creation of a Russian national theater.
Yaroslavl residents in St. Petersburg
In 1751, news of the Yaroslavl theater reached St. Petersburg. On January 5, 152, the “highest decree” was issued: “... the Yaroslavl merchants Fyodor Grigoriev, son Volkov, aka Polushkin, with the brothers Gavril and Grigory (who run a theater in Yaroslavl and play comedies) and whoever else they need for this, bring to St. Petersburg..."
At the end of January 1752, the Yaroslavl residents arrived in Tsarskoe Selo. Work by P. I. Sumarokov “On the Russian theater from the beginning to the end of the reign of Catherine II”: “They were brought directly to Tsarskoe Selo and when the empress was informed about their arrival, they were ordered to present them the next day Khoreva . They then gave four performances: Khoreva next time Sinawa , Artistons and Hamlet ».
The performance of tragedies by Yaroslavl actors immediately after their arrival from Yaroslavl means that these tragedies were in their repertoire even before the call of F.G. Volkov with his theater in St. Petersburg.
The Yaroslavl residents were brought to St. Petersburg on February 3 and “at court... announced,” as Prosecutor General N.Yu. reported in his report to the Empress. Trubetskoy. At the beginning of February of the same year, a public performance by actors of the Yaroslavl theater took place in St. Petersburg.
The performances of the Yaroslavl actors were unlike the performances of the French court troupe and cadets, who introduced the court to the performing arts of classicism. The empress, spoiled by theatrical spectacles, did not like the performances of the Yaroslavl comedians. In contrast to the “noble” manner of the cadets, the playing of the Yaroslavl players, as Novikov would later say, “was just natural and not very decorated with art.” And the provincial actors themselves - factory owners and clerks, or even just “posad” people - devoid of external gloss and rich clothing, were strikingly different from her pampered and mannered court.
Common actors emerging from the provincial democratic theater had to be exposed to the interaction of noble ideology and noble culture. The most talented actors of the Yaroslavl theater were sent to study at the Noble Corps, where they took a general course of the sciences taught there, with the exception of special military disciplines. Sumarokov and former participants in cadet performances worked with Yaroslavl residents, teaching them how to “present tragedies.”
On February 1754, Elizabeth ordered Fyodor and Grigory Volkov to be assigned to the Cadet Corps for training “and to support and train in everything against the singers and comedians who are now in that corps” (that is, the Volkovs’ comrades - Dmitrevsky and Popov), Moreover, in contrast from the latter, Volkov determined the salary: Fedor - 100 rubles, and Gregory - 50. Since March 1754, the Yaroslavl factory owner Fedor Volkov with his younger brother Gregory began to be listed as students of the Land Gentile Corps.
Soon, however, they ceased to be listed as breeders: their half-sister Matryona Kirpicheva filed a petition with the Berg College in order to transfer the Polushkin inheritance received by the Volkovs to her, her own daughter.
Fyodor Grigorievich did not stay in the Gentry Corps for long. From January 1755, he and his comrades began to play on the court stage again.
Establishment of the Russian State Public Theater
On August 1756, on behalf of Empress Elizabeth, a decree was given to the governing Senate: “We have now ordered the establishment of a Russian theater for the presentation of tragedies and comedies, for which we will give the Golovkinsky stone house, which is on Vasilyevsky Island near the cadet house. And for this purpose, it was ordered to recruit actors and actresses: actors from the student singers and Yaroslavl students in the cadet corps, who will be needed, and in addition to them, actors from other non-service people, as well as a decent number of actresses... The Directorate of that Russian The theater is entrusted from us to the foreman Alexander Sumarokov...”
The new theater began to be called the “Russian Theatre”. Unlike court theaters, intended for a narrow circle of aristocratic spectators, it was open to the public and gave paid performances designed for relatively wide sections of the urban public. The basis of the theater's repertoire was Russian dramatic works, mainly plays by Sumarokov. The core of the troupe consisted of Russian professional actors from among Yaroslavl comedians: F. G. Volkov, I. A. Dmitrevsky, Ya. D. Shumsky and others. One of the first Russian actresses was A. M. Dmitrevskaya (Musina-Pushkina); documentary evidence of her performances in the Russian Theater dates back to the late 50s. Somewhat later, actress T. M. Troepolskaya appeared on the Russian stage.
Elizaveta Petrovna, having issued a decree on the creation of a Russian troupe, was not very generous with this content. Only 5,000 rubles were allocated for the maintenance of the theater. Of these, 1000 rubles went towards the director’s salary, and 250 - towards the warden. The situation in which the fragile Russian theater was placed, which had not yet risen to its feet, turned out to be very difficult.
There was not enough money not only for costumes, but even for tallow candles and bowls. Russian actors never dreamed of wax “illuminations” illuminating the performances of foreigners.
Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov became the closest assistant to the director of the Russian Theater. Together with Dmitrevsky, he met future actors. Fyodor Grigorievich drew sketches of costumes, worked on props, helped with rehearsals (and perhaps even conducted rehearsals himself), and was the main performer of the main roles.
His relationship with Sumarokov was uneven. Fyodor Grigorievich read monologues written by Sumarokov. He followed his advice. Smart and educated Sumarokov was the main teacher and mentor of the actor. At the same time, the ever-restless, unbalanced character of the director of the Russian Theater brought a lot of grief to Fyodor Grigorievich.
Sumarokov stood for simplicity in literary language, in poetry and in the art of acting. Volkov, brought up in the traditions of democratic art, in oral folk drama, in the traditions of urban democratic theater, also stood for artlessness and simplicity. But their understanding of simplicity was different: Sumarokov instilled a classicistic game, Volkov overcame classicism, striving for realism.
Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was neither a nobleman nor an officer, nor was he revered as a poet. Therefore, all the “dirty” work fell on him.
The theater's repertoire in the early 1760s was very poor. The lack of comedies reflecting Russian life was especially acute. They staged mainly Sumarokov’s tragedies: “Khorev”, “Sinav and Truvor”, “Hamlet”, “Semira”, “Dimiza”, “The Hermit”; they also played comedies: translated ones - by Moliere, Golberg, Dancourt, Rousseau, as well as two three successful comedies by Kheraskov and A. A. Volkov.
The theater was poorly attended; This was explained by the fact that the classic, especially tragic repertoire was of little interest to the democratic public. The introduction of Russian people to the theater was not easy and painless. The Russian troupe had a very diverse audience. Some listened with greedy attention and sympathetic delight to the passionate monologues of tragedies and the mocking remarks of comedies. Others, with naive curiosity, “got used to” a sight they still did not understand. Still others (and there were plenty of them too) looked with arrogant distrust at the theatrical “fun” and the comedians who “produced” them.
Often, during the events of the tragedy, the inappropriate and cheeky laughter of some noble ignoramus was heard. In the stalls they tirelessly gnawed nuts and apples, and even fought with fists. In the boxes, ladies and gentlemen armed with lorgnettes often looked not at the stage, but at the audience, and spoke loudly, regardless of the actors, to each other.
The lessons that the audience received in the theater bore fruit. The Russian public gradually became familiar with the performing arts. Under the influence of the theater, minds developed, a complex process of “catharsis” took place - “purification” of the audience themselves through “compassion” for the fate of the stage characters. Since ancient times, people have seen this as the purpose and purpose of art.
Volkov's roles
Four Yaroslavl residents formed the main core of the created troupe. Fyodor Grigorievich enjoyed unquestioned authority among them. Not only as the most talented and leading leading actor, but also as a senior comrade - the most intelligent and educated.
Upon the establishment of the Russian Theater, F. Volkov “was appointed its first actor.” Novikov called the years 1756-1762 the heyday of Volkov the actor. “Then Mr. Volkov showed his talents in full radiance, and then they saw him as a great actor; and his glory was confirmed by foreigners: in a word, he exercised himself in this position until the end of his life with great praise for himself.”
He amazed his contemporaries with the noble spirituality of his beautiful face, the majestic dignity of his manners, and at the same time the passion of his acting talent. Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was an actor-citizen in the full sense of the word. He knew how to breathe real life into the lengthy and sometimes overly verbose monologues of his tragic heroes.
Fyodor Grigorievich, like Sumarokov, apparently placed the tragic muse “loving Melpomene” above the comedic muse Thalia. Russian comedy of that time ridiculed morals and human vices, but did not even rise to the acute political problems that Sumarokov’s tragedy had already posed.
Of course, comedy was closer to everyday life. It was clearer to the common people. By the way, contemporaries considered Volkov not only a tragic actor, but also an excellent comedic actor. And yet his tragic roles brought him fame. And the Russian theater of those years went down in history primarily as a tragic theater, a theater of noble civic feelings and lofty and tragic ideas.
Volkov played on stage the roles of tragic heroes opposing tyrant rulers, and with his interpretation of the roles he aroused hatred of tyranny and thereby called for the fight against despotism. It is known for certain that Volkov played the role of Mars in “New Laurels” and the American (Indian) in “Refuge of Virtue” (1759). Sumarokov wrote these roles for Volkov. According to Novikov, Volkov played Oskold in Semir. (All these were roles, according to the division into roles in the 18th century, of a tragic hero.) By analogy, we can assume that in “Sinav and Truvor” Volkov played Truvor, in “Khorev” and “Hamlet” he played the title roles. In "Dimiza" (later called "Yaropolk and Dimiza") - Ostrozora (Yaropolk).
Volkov's roles in the early tragedies written before his arrival differ somewhat from the later ones in the predominance of personal motives over public ones. Khorev, Truvor, Yaropolk - young boys - hero-lovers. Fiery love binds them with their lovers. In “Khorev” and “Sinavs and Truvor” this love is unhappy, but in “Yaropolk and Dimiz” the outcome is happy. In all these tragedies, a lot of space is given to love dialogues, full of passion, despair, and hopelessness. And only in the role of Hamlet is the love theme relegated to the background; in the first place is a loving son fighting his father’s murderers.
Of all Volkov's roles, the role of Mars stands out. Essentially, this is a long monologue in which the god of war speaks about the victory achieved by Russian weapons in the Seven Years' War. The monologue is filled with a feeling of true patriotism; speech flows in an uncontrollable stormy stream.
"Minerva Triumphant", last days of life
In 1762, a palace coup took place. One of the participants in the coup was Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov. His participation is confirmed by memoirists and documentary material,
During the days of coronation celebrations, Volkov organized a street masquerade “Triumphing Minerva”, using in it the means of expressiveness of folk carnivals, booths and carnivals, buffoon games,
In Russian life of the 18th century, this was not the first street masquerade; There were several similar masquerades during the reign of Peter I; they were organized to celebrate victories and served as one of the means of political propaganda. Thus, street masquerades had their own tradition. But Volkov imbued the masquerade with new, unusual content - democratic ideas, announced publicly.
"Minerva Triumphant" was designed for the urban masses. The masquerade was timed to coincide with Maslenitsa, that is, it was close to Maslenitsa folk festivities and processions.
F. G. Volkov acted in this carnival as an author, director and leader.
An eyewitness to the masquerade, A. T. Bolotov, wrote that the masquerade “had the purpose of ridiculing all the most common vices among people.” “The procession was great and very long: many and various kinds of chariots and carts were transported, partly on huge sleighs, partly on wheels with naked people sitting on them, dressed in different ways and representing something, and singing decent satirical songs composed for each subject.”
But the same Bolotov adds that the songs sung in that masquerade “were so loved that for a long time and for several years in a row they entertained the people with them, forcing the factory workers to sing them again, who were used in the mentioned choirs and taught them the songs.”
The direct participants in the masquerade were comedians, university and theological academy students, schoolchildren, singers, commoners and factory workers, regimental musicians, horn players, horn players, balalaika players “with snouts and bagpipes, trumpeters, timpani players,” etc. Only composers were not mentioned. Most likely, the new words were based on popular folk motifs of that time by Volkov himself; a similar technique was very common in the 18th and first half of the 19th centuries in comic operas and vaudevilles.
Volkov borrowed masquerade images from a wide variety of areas. There were images from ancient mythology: Apollo, Minerva, Venus, Cupid, Bacchus, Silenus; historical images: Diogenes, Heraclitus, Democritus. There were masks of Italian folk comedy: Harlequin and Pantalone. But the greatest interest was represented by the images of Russian reality: tax farmers, kissers, sneakers, chicanists, Krivosud, Obiralov, Vzyatkolyub, Obdiralov, walkers, lackeys, haiduks, fist fighters, farmers and others.
The masquerade participants made noise, rattled rattles, sang, played various musical instruments, and laughed. They were all dressed up in colorful fancy dresses and theatrical costumes.
“Minerva Triumphant” reveals the worldview and talent of Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov not only as an author, teacher and director, but especially as a public figure.
Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov died on April 4, 1763; It remains unknown where he died and where he was buried. Catherine II was still in Moscow in April, where the “Cabinet of E. I.” was located. V.". Consequently, the decree on the issuance of money took place in Moscow and the money was issued in Moscow. But the sick Volkov could have lived and died both in Moscow and in St. Petersburg.
N.I. Novikov in his “Experience in a Historical Dictionary” (1772) reports: “His death was caused by the following circumstance: he received orders to invent and arrange a public masquerade for the amusement of the people, which he composed under the name of Triumphant Minerva. After preparing the dress and cars for it, according to his instructions, this masquerade was presented with a public procession on January 30, February 1 and 2, 1763. Mr. Volkov, wanting order to be observed everywhere in it, rode on horseback and supervised all its parts, which is why he got a severe cold, and then soon a fever; Finally, the Antonov fire began to burn in his stomach, from which he died on April 1763, 4 days old, at the age of 35, to the great and common regret of all. His body was buried with magnificent and rich ceremony in the presence of the most noble court gentlemen and a great multitude of people of various status in the Androniev Monastery...”
Two hundred years later, there, in Moscow, in the Andronievsky Monastery, a tombstone to Fyodor Volkov was erected. But at that time there was still a legend that he was buried in the wrong place, that his body was then transported to St. Petersburg, and he found his last refuge on Vasilievsky Island, near the Church of the Annunciation... Material found not so long ago by modern researchers tells a different story . It allows us to believe that on April 8, 1763, Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was buried not in St. Petersburg or the Andronievsky Monastery, but in the Moscow Chrysostom Monastery, as evidenced by the large contribution made there by his relatives.
Folk dramatic art, Yaroslavl and especially Moscow performances undoubtedly had a great influence on the emergence and development of Volkov’s interest in the theater.
Getting acquainted with folk and church-school theaters, Volkov understood what great potential the theatrical art has and therefore, presumably, when organizing his theater he had in mind not simple entertainment, but the creation of a socially useful institution.
Volkov’s case is measured not by the scale of the city of Yaroslavl, but by the whole of Russia. Yaroslavl served only as a starting point for Volkov.
The need to create a Russian state public theater was dictated by a number of reasons. The National Theater was needed to raise the prestige of the Russian Empire as an enlightened European state. Professional Russian theater was also needed to replace amateur cadet performances at court. The establishment of a state theater, accessible to city audiences, could successfully counteract the further spread of the performances of “eager comedians,” who were difficult to control by censorship. And such a theater was created. The empress's decrees played no small role in this.
Familiarity with Volkov's roles gives reason to believe that his work was closely connected with the ideological problems of classicism, which were progressive for that time. “The great actor,” as the educator Novikov called Volkov, created images on the Russian stage that expressed the thoughts and feelings of the leading people of the Russia of that time.
Volkov did not live long, but he managed to fulfill the dream of his life: the temple of the treasury of the “national spirit” - the Russian national theater - stands tall, and its greatness is grandiose and indestructible, for it is firmly entrenched on the foundation laid by its great creator.
Bibliography
1.F. G. Volkov and the Russian theater of his time. Collection of materials. Ed. Yu.A. Dmitrieva, - M.: All USSR, 1953. - vol.2.
2.K. Kulikov Russian Theater first actors. - L., 1991.
3.K. Kulikova Dagger of Melpomene. - M.-L.: Art, 1963.
4.B. N. Aseev Russian Drama Theater of the 17th-18th centuries. - M.; Art, 1958.
5.K. Evgrafov, Fedor Volkov. - M.: Mol. Guard, 1989. (ZhZL)
6.L. I. Kulakova, Denis Ivanovich Fonvizin. Biography of the writer. - M.-L.: Education, 1966.
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For theaters in our country, 2019, declared the Year of Theater in Russia, began ahead of schedule. On December 13, 2018, representatives of Russian theaters gathered at the Russian State Academic Theater named after F.G. Volkov in Yaroslavl, the homeland of the first Russian professional actor Fyodor Volkov. At the grand opening of the Year of Theater, theater workers were greeted by Russian President Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin: “I would like to congratulate everyone on this event. We love, appreciate and are rightfully proud of the theater, our actors, playwrights, who at all times have made a significant contribution, and a contribution of the highest standard, to national and world culture.”
It is no coincidence that such an important event took place in Yaroslavl. It was in this city that the first Russian professional theater was created, and its founder was the great actor Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov, whom V.G. Belinsky called “ father of Russian theater».
Fyodor Volkov was born in Kostroma on February 20 (9 according to the old style) February 1728 and lived in Kostroma until he was 7 years old. He was the eldest son of the Kostroma merchant Volkov. Then Fyodor’s mother, Matryona Yakovlevna, having become a widow, moved to Yaroslavl, where she married a local merchant F. Polushkin. Yaroslavl at that time was a large commercial and industrial city. In its vicinity there were serf theaters, and in the city itself, in the houses of landowners and merchants, performances were given. Residents of Yaroslavl could see folk dramas “Petrushka”, “King Herod”, etc.
In 1741, Fedor’s stepfather sent him to Moscow “to study science.” It was in the capital that Volkov became acquainted with theatrical art: he attended performances of German and Italian troupes that were then touring Russia. This is how he himself recalled it later: “... I was in such admiration that I didn’t know where I was: on earth or in heaven, then the idea was born in me to start my own theater in Yaroslavl.”
In 1748, Volkov returned to Yaroslavl, where he began to realize his dream. In his first year in the city, he gathered “comedy hunters” and formed a theater troupe.
The theater created by Volkov went through two stages in its development: initially it was home, amateur, and later professional, with regular paid performances. The performances were given in a barn for storing leather, but it was very crowded there, and Fyodor Volkov managed to raise funds for the construction of a new building. Relying on the help of noble patrons of the arts, Volkov built a new theater building on the banks of the Volga. Performances there began in January 1751. This theater had a well-equipped stage, a supply of scenery and costumes. There were wooden benches in the hall, the stage was lit by greasy bowls.
This theater performed works by Dmitry Rostovsky, tragedies by Lomonosov and Sumarokov, as well as satirical plays by Fyodor Volkov himself.
The Fyodor Volkov Theater did not exist in Yaroslavl for long. One of the St. Petersburg officials, who came to the city on official business, attended Volkov’s performances, and then reported about the theater to the capital. A decree from Empress Elizabeth Petrovna was delivered to the Yaroslavl chancellery: “... Yaroslavl merchants Fyodor Grigoriev, son of Volkov... with brothers Gavril and Grigory. Who run a theater in Yaroslavl and play comedies... bring them to St. Petersburg". On nineteen carts, eight Yaroslavl comedians traveled to the northern capital at government expense. The Yaroslavl residents, summoned by Elizaveta Petrovna, spent about two weeks in Tsarskoe Selo, where they performed two performances. In St. Petersburg they played on February 6 and 9 at a private German theater on Bolshaya Morskaya Street. This is how the first tour of a provincial theater in the capital took place in Russian history.
On February 6, 1752, Elizaveta Petrovna attended a performance by the Yaroslavl people. She generally liked the performance of the troupe. The Empress decided that they lacked education. Three Yaroslavl residents, including Fyodor Volkov himself, were left in St. Petersburg, sent to study at a privileged noble educational institution - the Land Noble Cadet Corps. The rest of the Yaroslavl residents, rewarded with gifts, were released to Yaroslavl. After completing their studies, they entered the troupe of the “Russian Theater for Presenting Tragedies and Comedies” created by decree of Elizabeth Petrovna in 1756. Fyodor Volkov headed the first Russian state troupe. There were only 12 people in it, and at first they had to do without actresses - female roles were given to young actors.
F.G. Volkov and his comrades bore the brunt of the first years of the theater’s existence on their shoulders. Fyodor Volkov himself was a director (replacing A. Sumarokov in 1761), director, architect, decorator, bandmaster, he himself composed texts and music and, of course, above all, an actor, presenter, “the first actor of the Russian theater.” He wrote 15 plays. TVolkov also wrote solemn odes, one of which was dedicated to Peter the Great, songs ("You are passing by a cell, dear" about someone forcibly tonsured as a monk and "Let us, brother, begin to sing an old song, as people lived in the first century."
On stage, Volkov performed primarily in the role of a tragic hero. His repertoire was extensive, but not all of his roles are known. The main place was occupied by Sumarokov’s tragedies - “Khorev”, “Sinav and Truvor”, “Semira”. In Volkov’s game, he was amazed by the power of passion and temperament. In those years, Russian theatrical classicism, although formed under the influence of French, had its own features and characteristics associated with national traditions. Duty, honor, and patriotic feelings were revered in tragedies as the highest virtues.
The last and one of the most significant works of Fyodor Grigorievich was the preparation of a masquerade in honor of the coronation celebrations of Catherine II in Moscow. The whole city was turned into a stage. Up to 5 thousand performers took part in the celebration. Volkov wrote the script for the masquerade called “Triumphing Minerva” himself. He personally participated in the production of “masquerade items and masks.” He organized and led the carnival procession. Enormous strain and a cold undermined the actor’s health; he died in April 1763 at the age of thirty-five. In a solemn ceremony, with great honors, the first Russian actor was buried in the cemetery of the Androniev Monastery in Moscow. Unfortunately, no traces of his grave remain. After his death, many documents related to his biography disappear irretrievably, and important moments in the actor’s life slip away.
Details of character, appearance, and everyday information about Volkov are few. According to surviving descriptions, he was of average height; some plumpness, however, did not spoil his figure; his pleasant face with soft features was adorned with dark brown hair. He had a “quick gaze” and “a clear voice.” There was “much majestic and noble” in his entire appearance. This is how Volkov is captured in a famous portrait made by the artist A.P. Losenko shortly before the actor’s death (two author’s versions of the portrait have been preserved: one of them is in the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg, the other in the Tretyakov Gallery).
Fyodor Volkov was a cheerful and witty interlocutor. Throughout all the years he remained a bachelor and had a penchant for an ascetic lifestyle. " Life was sober and strict virtue"- N.I. Novikov wrote about the actor.
Novikov, Fonvizin, Derzhavin and many other outstanding contemporaries spoke highly of Fyodor Volkov: “ This man was... rare talents, adorned with much learning and diligent reading of the best books.”
...Fyodor Volkov died young - he was only 35 years old. But he managed to complete the main work of his life - through his efforts the first Russian permanent, professional, publicly accessible state theater arose and established itself.
After the death of F.G. Volkov on April 4, 1763, his place was taken by the outstanding Russian actor Ivan Afanasyevich Dmitrievsky.
Yaroslavl residents carefully preserve the memory of the glorious days of the birth of Russian theater in the city. On the former Proboynaya Street stands, although heavily rebuilt, the house of the merchant Polushkin, in which Fyodor Volkov lived. The church of Nikola Nadein, of which the great actor was a parishioner, has survived to this day. There was a legend in the city that the iconostasis of this temple was made according to Volkov’s sketches, and perhaps he himself participated in its production.
Once upon a time, traveling along the Golden Ring, I visited Kostroma and Yaroslavl with a group of tourists. These ancient cities amaze with their preserved antiquity - golden domes, museums, ancient streets... In Yaroslavl we visited the art museum, where I purchased the album “Yaroslavl Portraits XVIII - XIX v.v.” A square and one of the streets of Yaroslavl are named after Volkov. In 1973, a monument to Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was erected near the city theater. ButThe best memory of the actor is the theater named after him - the Russian State Academic Drama Theater named after Fyodor Volkov in Yaroslavl.
Russian actor, director, theater figure.
Creator of the first Russian theater.
Born on February 9, 1729 in Kostroma into a merchant family. After the death of his father, he moved to Yaroslavl, where he was raised by his stepfather, a Yaroslavl merchant and industrialist. Yaroslavl residents were familiar with different types of theatrical performances. Since childhood, Volkov has seen folk games, amateur performances and performances of school dramas. He had a variety of talents, but his main passion was the theater. His youth coincided with the heyday of theatrical amateurism, which was already approaching in its forms the professional theater.
In 1741-1748 Volkov studied in Moscow. The time of study coincided with the ascension to the throne of the daughter of Peter I, Elizaveta Petrovna, who greatly contributed to the development of culture. The Empress loved masquerades, spectacles, and theatrical performances. In Moscow, Volkov attended his first theatrical “universities”. He played at Christmas time in spiritual dramas and translated comedies. I got acquainted with the Italian opera and ballet theater, which gave performances during coronation celebrations. This acquaintance was continued in St. Petersburg, in 1746, when Volkov not only examined theater architecture and stage mechanisms in more detail, but also made drawings, drawings and models for everything, studied the nature of decorative art and technology - everything that determined the type of theater building and stage decoration in the European theater of the 18th century.
Volkov approached the creation of his own theater with a large stock of theatrical knowledge, including familiarity with the tragedies of A.P. Sumarokov. The first performances of the theater he organized in Yaroslavl date back to approximately 1750. Having led a troupe of amateur commoners, he created a theater that met the needs of the public. This was a decisive step towards transforming amateur theater into publicly accessible professional theater. The Volkov Theater opened with a performance of Sumarokov's tragedy Khorev and Moliere's comedy The Reluctant Doctor. The theater's repertoire was extensive and complex. This is a school drama by Dimitry Rostovsky, and dramatization plays, and tragedies by Sumarokov.
The formation of the Russian national theater was rapidly gaining momentum. The need to create a theater at the state level was dictated by many reasons, and primarily by the fact that the Russian Empire needed to raise its own prestige as an enlightened European state. Therefore, when in 1851 the news about the Yaroslavl Theater reaches St. Petersburg, an imperial decree is issued demanding that the Volkov brothers and their troupe be brought to St. Petersburg. At the end of January 1852, Yaroslavl residents, arriving in Tsarskoe Selo, performed several plays: Khorev, Sinav and Truvor, Hamlet by Sumarokov and Comedy about the repentance of a sinful man of Rostov. The acting of the Volkov troupe was distinguished by its natural talent of performance. The most gifted actors of the Yaroslavl theater, including Volkov, were sent to study in the gentry corps, where they were taught the art of performing tragedies. On August 30, 1756, Empress Elizabeth issued an order to establish “a Russian theater for the presentation of tragedy and comedy.” Unlike the court theaters, intended for a narrow circle of aristocratic spectators, the Russian Theater was open to the public and gave paid performances to a wide range of urban audiences. The main repertoire of the theater consisted of Russian dramatic works, mainly plays by Sumarokov. The core of the troupe consisted of professional actors from among Yaroslavl comedians: F.G. Volkov, I.A. Dmitrevsky, Ya.D. Shumsky and others.
1756-1762 - the flowering of F. Volkov’s creativity. The actor also took part in the political life of Russia. He was one of the initiators of the conspiracy to overthrow Peter III. For many services to the empress, he was elevated to the nobility. However, he refused the position of cabinet minister and the Order of St. Andrew the First-Called offered by Catherine II. Outstanding public figure of the second half of the 18th century. writer N.I. Novikov wrote: “This man had a great and insightful mind, solid and sound reasoning and rare talents, adorned with many teachings and diligent reading of the best books.”
Contemporaries called Volkov a great actor, but there is no exact information about Volkov’s extensive repertoire. It is known that Volkov, possessing a colossal acting temperament and excellent appearance, played both comic and tragic roles. For the aesthetics of classicism, to which Volkov’s theatrical work generally corresponded, such universalism was surprising. The scope of the role and the strict division into genres presupposed the observance of rules when assigning roles to actors. By violating this canon, unshakable for classicists, Volkov laid the foundation for the uniqueness of the national acting art: almost all outstanding actors of the 18th century. played both tragic and comic roles, which made their performance closer to life models.
Volkov's performing style is characterized by a combination of melodious declamation with increased emotionality of the game, overcoming the schematic structure of classical tragedies. The actor’s work affirmed the special character of Russian classicism. Volkov's fame was brought mainly by three roles in Sumarokov's dramatic works: Oskold in the tragedy of Semira, the American in the ballet with scenes of Refuge of Virtue, Mars in the prologue of New Laurels. All these works, written in different genres, were in fact united by the heroic-patriotic nature of the main roles and civic themes, undoubtedly close to Volkov with his state mentality and the qualities necessary for an actor-tribune, an educator, showing the viewer examples of morality.
At the beginning of 1763, Volkov acted as director of the Triumphant Minerva masquerade, organized in Moscow in honor of the coronation of Catherine II. The meaning of this magnificent spectacle was to justify the palace coup and the overthrow of Peter III, explaining it as a victory of justice and reason, as well as glorifying the new empress as the “triumphant Minerva” (goddess of wisdom and justice, patroness of art, science and crafts). The purpose of the masquerade was also to ridicule human vices, such as bribery of judges, chicanery of officials, lawlessness and arbitrariness. “Minerva Triumphant” promised to eradicate these vices, patronize peaceful labor, and promote the development of science and art. Volkov was passionate about the opportunity to express, in a mass spectacle addressed to the people, the most important thoughts and feelings for them, dreams of a golden age. Instead of mythological figures, he introduces images and techniques borrowed from folk ideas, games and songs. Thus, one of the parts of the masquerade, “Transforming Light,” was based on folklore motifs. Another masquerade scene celebrated Peace burning the weapons of war. The lyrics of some satirical songs were attributed to Volkov. All the theatrical forces of Moscow, both amateur and professional, troupes of “eager comedians,” and artists from foreign theaters took part in the grandiose spectacle. The excellent organization of a complex mass spectacle testified to Volkov’s exceptional directorial abilities.
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