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Theater in the 17th century in Russia. The court theater in the 17th century

The theater is a national Russian treasure, which dates back to the 17th century. It was then that the formation of the basic principles of theatrical performances began and the foundation of this art form was laid in Russia.

The origins of the Russian theater

The Russian people have always been famous for their ability to diversify their leisure time. Since ancient times fairs and festivals have been held in Russia, where the main characters were buffoons. This is how the people were called by artists, among whom were singers, musicians and actors.

Usually the theatrical performances were timed to coincide with a church or national holiday. However, over time, festivities could be arranged without any reason. Skomorokhs were people without shelter and money, often they gathered in separate groups and went to towns and villages to earn money. In their presentations, they used various musical instruments (pipes, gusli), dolls, homemade costumes.

A little later, the artists, coming to a new city, erected a special building on its square, where they lived and received spectators. Such a construction began to be called a booth, afterwards all theatrical performances received the same name. In the repertoire of buffoons there were social satire, jokes, ballads, fairy tales.

And although with the advent of the present theater, the attitude towards the farce was sharply negative and negative, we should not forget about the influence that old Russian entertainments had on the establishment of the theater.

Elements of the theater that arose from popular beliefs

Since the theater in the 17th century in Russia was just beginning its long journey, many elements and details were taken over from buffoons and taken from folk representations.

Firstly, these are theater rooms. The first such hall was the Poteshnaya Chamber, where from 1613 invited to perform buffoons. In full view, such performances could not be called a theater, because they wore a circus character with an abundance of humor and various tricks.

Secondly, stage stage. During their speeches buffoons gathered around themselves a large crowd of people, and it became necessary to demonstrate their talents on some elevation so that all people could see it. The first stage was built to show the puppet theatrical performance.

Third, oral drama. Skomorokhs performed works written by people. Thus the famous hero Petrushka was born.

The court theater of the 17th century

Even Tsar Mikhail Fedorovich during his reign thought about the creation of a court theater. However, for the implementation of this idea, foreign specialists were needed, since there were no other great playwrights and artists in Russia capable of serving Melpomene with dignity.

In 1644, a troupe of actors arrived in Strasbourg from Russia, which was preparing its speech for a month. However, for unknown reasons, they were deported from the country.

A full-fledged theater in Russia in the 17th century appeared under Tsar Aleksei Mikhailovich. The idea was voiced by Artamon Matveyev, boyar, who often visited Europe and saw what kind of art could be. The first Russian theater of the 17th century began its work in 1672.

A pastor from the German settlement Johann Gottfried Gregory, on the orders of Matveyev, assembled a cast of actors in a few weeks, consisting of men and boys, and gave them lessons in dramatic art. He also wrote the first play based on the biblical tales of Esther.

A real theatrical stage was built in the village of Preobrazhensky. The premiere took place on October 17th. The presentation lasted ten hours, but also the tsar and the boyars, and the queen and his retinue sat through to the end.

In 1673 the theatrical stage was moved to the Kremlin. The playwright was well rewarded for his work and hastened to begin writing a new play. This time he wrote about Judith, also using the scriptural plot. Theater in the 17th century in Russia became the main entertainment of the king.

After the death of Gregory in 1675 at the head of the court theater was his assistant Givner, who created several successful dramatic productions. However, the court Russian theater of the 17th century ceased to exist in 1676, after the death of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich.

School Theater

The theater in the 17th century in Russia was just beginning its rapid development, including in the spiritual educational institutions. This became possible with the feasible participation of the church, which sought to strengthen its position among the people.

The first school theaters were opened at the Kiev-Mohyla and Slavic-Greek-Latin academies. The basis of the repertoire was a presentation on religious topics, but there was a place for an interlude. Satire affected the interests of the clergy, and eventually the school theaters ceased to exist closer to the 18th century.

The school theater also influenced the traditions. Intermedia became the prototype of modern comedy. Actors obeyed the principles of classicism in their productions, and also used symbols, including in garments.

Foreign tours

Theater in the 17th century in Russia took over invaluable experience from foreign touring companies in Italy, Prussia and France. Thanks to them, the triumph of spiritual thought was achieved, they were the sources of social and creative development.

With the advent of Fyodor Alekseevich, theater, painting, and music of the 17th century were doomed to long stagnation, since the new king was not very interested in art. But fate decreed that the century of his reign was short.

Entering the throne, Peter the First gave a new twist to the development of theater and art in general in Russia.

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