A.N. Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden": description, characters, analysis of the work. Stage history of the play "The Snow Maiden Theatrical Snow Maiden Ostrovsky

The first dramatic performance of The Snow Maiden took place on May 11, 1873 at the Maly Theater in Moscow. The music for the play was commissioned by P.I. Tchaikovsky Ostrovsky in the process of working on the play in parts sent its text to Tchaikovsky. “Tchaikovsky's music to The Snow Maiden is charming,” the playwright wrote. ""Snow Maiden"<...>was written by order of the directorate of theaters and but at the request of Ostrovsky in 1873, in the spring, and then it was given, - later, in 1879, Tchaikovsky recalled. - This is one of my favorite brainchildren. Spring was wonderful, I felt good in my soul, as always when summer and three-month freedom were approaching.

I liked Ostrovsky's play, and in three weeks I wrote the music without any effort. It seems to me that in this music there should be noticeable joyful spring mood, which I was then imbued with ”.

All three troupes of the then Imperial Theater were involved in the performance: drama, opera and ballet.

“I stage the play myself, as a complete master,” Ostrovsky reported with joy, “it is very well understood here that only under this condition will it go well and be successful. Tomorrow I will read The Snow Maiden to the artists for the third time, then I will play the roles with each one separately ”. The scene of the Snow Maiden's melting was discussed for a long time. Assistant stage driver K.F. Waltz recalled: "It was decided to surround the Snow Maiden with several rows of very small holes in the floor of the stage, from which trickles of water were to rise, which, thickening, should hide the figure of the performer, who descends imperceptibly into the hatch under the beam of a searchlight."

In connection with the renovation of the Snegurochka Theater in the Maly Theater, it was decided to play in the Bolshoi Theater. For dramatic actors, the stage of the Bolshoi Theater turned out to be uncomfortable. It was too large and acoustically not adapted for a natural, everyday sounding voice. This largely hindered the success of the performance. Actor P.M. Sadovsky wrote to Ostrovsky, who was not present at the premiere: "The audience listened to the play with great attention, but did not hear much at all, so the scene of Kupava with the Tsar, despite all Nikulina's efforts to speak loudly and clearly, was only half audible." On the day after the performance, playwright V.I. Rodislavsky sent a detailed "report" to Ostrovsky, in which he reported on the same shortcomings of the performance: ... Leshy's adorable monologue was completely gone. Spring's flight was quite successful, but her poetic monologue seemed long. The witty folk song about birds disappeared, because the music did not allow to hear the words, so sharp that the censors thought about them. The dancing birds were applauded. Frost's wonderful story about his amusements disappeared, because it was started not by a story, but by singing with music that drowned out the words. Maslyanitsa's monologue failed, because Milensky spoke it from behind the curtains, and not hidden in a straw effigy ... In the first act, Lelya's lovely song was repeated ... The phenomena of the Snow Maiden's shadow were unsuccessful ... My favorite story is about the power of flowers. .. was not noticed, the procession disappeared, the disappearance of the Snow Maiden was not very skillful ... The theater was completely full, there was not a single empty space ... The cry of the privet was very successful. "

The reviewer wrote about the attitude of the public to The Snow Maiden: “... some immediately turned away from her, because she was beyond their understanding, and declared that the play was bad, that it had failed, etc. Others, to their surprise, noticed that, when they watched it for the second time, they began to like it ... The music ... is both original and very good, the main thing is that it perfectly matches the character of the whole play. "

During Ostrovsky's lifetime, The Snow Maiden was performed at the Moscow Maly Theater 9 times. The last performance took place on August 25, 1874.

In 1880 N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov asked Ostrovsky for permission to use the text of The Snow Maiden to create an opera. The composer himself composed the libretto, coordinating it with the author. Subsequently, Rimsky-Korsakov recalled: “The first time I read The Snow Maiden around 1874, when it had just appeared in print. In reading, I did not like it very much then; the kingdom of the Berendei seemed strange to me. Why? Were the ideas of the 60s still alive in me, or the demands of plots from the so-called life, which were in use in the 70s, kept me in chains?<...>In a word, Ostrovsky's wonderful, poetic tale did not impress me. In the winter of 1879-1880, I again read The Snow Maiden, and it was as if I saw her amazing beauty. I immediately wanted to write an opera based on this story. "

The first performance of the opera by Rimsky-Korsakov took place in St. Petersburg, at the Mariinsky Theater, on January 29, 1882.

In the winter of 1882/83, The Snow Maiden was performed in a dramatic production by amateurs in the Mamontovs' house. Prominent representatives of the artistic intelligentsia were attracted to it. The performance marked an attempt at a new reading of the play. The artistic part of the production was taken over by V.M. Vasnetsov. The artist's talent manifested itself in this work with the greatest force: he managed not only to imbue with the poetry of Ostrovsky's wondrous fairy tale, reproduce its special atmosphere, its Russian spirit, but also to captivate other participants in the performance. In addition, he perfectly played the role of Santa Claus.

The play in the Mamontovs' house was the prologue to the production of "The Snow Maiden" by N.А. Rimsky-Korsakov on the stage of the Private Russian Opera S.I. Mamontov in Moscow on October 8, 1885. The decoration was carried out by V.M. Vasnetsov, I.I. Levitan and K.A. Korovin. In the work of artists, first of all, this new perception of Ostrovsky's fairy tale and Rimsky-Korsakov's opera was expressed, which contributed to the revival of public interest in these works. After the premiere, a number of newspapers insistently demanded that the opera The Snow Maiden be included in the Bolshoi Theater's repertoire. However, on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater "The Snow Maiden" was performed only on January 26, 1893.

In 1900, The Snow Maiden was shown in two theaters in Moscow - in the New Theater and in the Moscow Art Theater. The wonderful Russian actor and director V.E. Meyerhold wrote about the performance of the Moscow Art Theater: “The play was staged amazingly. So many colors that it seems they would be enough for ten plays. " It should be noted that the brilliance of the performance was based on the study of the ethnographic content of the play; it reflected an attempt to convey the true picturesqueness of ancient life and to approach this task seriously, to study, as far as possible, real forms of folk applied art: costume, the situation in the life of peasants.

The play "Snow Maiden" in the New Space of the Theater of Nations

"Snow Maiden" at the Theater of Nations

Children are the most unbiased viewers who do not look at the name of the director or the fame of the actors ... Therefore, it is especially difficult to captivate and interest them. Oleg Dolin even set himself a difficult task - he decided to show everyone the well-known play by Ostrovsky "The Snow Maiden" from a completely different perspective, primarily as a kind and instructive fairy tale.

About the play "Snow Maiden"

The Snow Maiden is a performance that opens a new and original project for children. It, unlike many other productions, involves a serious conversation, during which difficult questions have to be answered. In addition, Oleg Dolin seeks to bring the fairy tale closer to the present, showing that it may well be relevant.

The premiere of the play "The Snow Maiden" at the Theater of Nations is one of the highlights of the fall of 2018.

Other events of the director

Oleg Dolin, despite the fact that he is better known as a film and theater actor, is not the first time he pleases young spectators with his performances. His play "Morozko" is already on the stage of the RAMT. And now he surprised the guys with a modern and unusual "Snow Maiden".

How to buy tickets for a show

Oddly enough, there are far fewer good and really bright performances for children on the theater stage than for adults. That is why it is not easy to buy tickets for Snegurochka. We are ready to help you please your child. Why from all the companies you need to contact us? Because, unlike our competitors, we:

• we understand how important a competent organization of family leisure is for you - a personal manager works for each request, who will answer all your questions and help you choose the best places;
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The play "Snow Maiden" will surely attract not only the young spectators of Moscow, but also their parents - if only because everyone wants to instill in their child a love of fairy tales. And if this fairy tale is not divorced from modern reality, then you want to see it doubly stronger!

Play for the theater A. N. Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden"

Culturology and art history

The work of Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden" is an amazing fairy tale, which shows the beauty of the surrounding world, love, nature, youth. In The Snow Maiden, the main place is occupied by human relations. At first glance, the plot looks absolutely fantastic. But then it turns out that living human characters are visible in this phantasmagoria.

MBOU LYCEUM №8

abstract

On the topic: “A play for the theater by A.N. Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden" "

Completed:

Pupils of 8 "A" class

Savvateeva Irina

Olga Bogdanova

Akishina Maria
Malaeva Elena

Teacher:

V.P. Yudakova

Solnechnogorsk, 2015

History of creation

In 1873, A. N. Ostrovsky, under the influence of A. N. Afanasyev's ideas, wrote a play so famous and beloved by the Russian people - The Snow Maiden.While working on the play, Ostrovsky carefully studied numerous folklore, historical, ethnographic sources. Among the folklore sources of the "Snegurochka" are folk tales, ritual poetry, folk conspiracies, folk songs. He, combining fairy tales, legends and songs together, gave folk art a very original flavor. Therefore, the plot basis of the story of the Snow Maiden in the play by A.N. Ostrovsky does not entirely coincide with any of the versions of the tale that exist in the folk environment.

Plot

The work of Ostrovsky "Snow Maiden" is an amazing fairy tale, which shows the beauty of the surrounding world, love, nature, youth. In The Snow Maiden, the main place is occupied by human relations. At first glance, the plot looks absolutely fantastic. But then it turns out that living human characters are visible in this phantasmagoria.

In the spring fairy tale by A. N. Ostrovsky "The Snow Maiden" from a little girl - a granddaughter, the heroine turns into a beautiful girl, capable of igniting the hearts of young Berendeys with an ardent feeling of love. Sheappears as the daughter of Santa Claus and Spring-Red, who dies during the summer ritual of worshiping the sun god Yarila. Outwardly, she appears in the work as a beautiful pale, fair-haired girl, dressed in blue and white clothes with fur trim (fur coat, fur hat, mittens). This whole appearance represents winter with its snow-white snow and cold frost. The spring side of the character of the heroine is represented by her extraordinary emotionality and the desire to know human feelings, albeit destructive for her.
The action takes place in a fabulous place - the kingdom of Berendey. Describing the laws of this country, Ostrovsky seems to be drawing his ideal of social structure. In the kingdom of Berendey, people live according to the laws of conscience and honor, trying not to arouse the anger of the gods. Beauty is very important here. The beauty of the surrounding world, the beauty of girls, flowers, songs are appreciated. It is no coincidence that the singer of love Lel is so popular. He kind of personifies youth, ardor, ardor.

Reviews

Surprisingly, initially the play was not successful with the public, it seemed rough and ineptly written. But that was only at the beginning ...

A spring tale by A.N. Ostrovsky was highly appreciated by A.I. Goncharov and I.S. Turgenev, however, many responses of his contemporaries were sharply negative. The playwright was reproached for departing from social problems and "progressive ideals." Thus, the caustic critic V.P. Burenin lamented about A.N. Ostrovsky to the false, "ghostly senseless" images of the Snow Maidens, Lelya, Mizgirey. In the great Russian playwright, the critic wanted to see, first of all, the denouncer of the "dark kingdom".

Staging in the theater

The theatrical production of The Snow Maiden by the Moscow Maly Theater (May 11, 1873) actually failed. Despite the fact that all three troupes were involved in the performance: drama, opera and ballet, and the music for it was written by P.I. Tchaikovsky, despite the use of technical curiosities: moving clouds, electric lights, gushing fountains hiding the disappearance of the "melting" Snow Maiden in the hatch, - the play was mostly scolded. The audience, like the criticism, was not ready for the poetic pirouette of the author of "The Thunderstorm" and "The Abyss". Only at the beginning of the twentieth century, the dramatic concept of A.N. Ostrovsky was appreciated. A.P. Lensky, who staged The Snegurochka in September 1900 in Moscow, remarked: “Ostrovsky would have had enough imagination to overflow his fairy tale to the brim with native devilry. But he, apparently, deliberately saved the fantastic elements, saved in order not to overshadow the enchantingness of another, more complex element - the poetic one ”.

In St. Petersburg, on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theater, the production took place only on December 27, 1900, at the benefit performance of the artist Varlamov.

In 1881, composer N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov wrote the opera The Snow Maiden to the text of the play. The opera was staged in St. Petersburg on January 29, 1882.

ON. Rimsky-Korsakov opera "Snow Maiden"

Opera "" was not immediately liked by musicians and listeners. Like the play, it reveals its facets only to the most sensitive perception. But once having managed to comprehend her true cosmic beauty, no one can stop loving her. Like a young heroine, out of modesty, she does not show all the depth at once. But the most valuable thoughts have been transmitted through the fairy tale in Russia since ancient times.

Summary of the opera Rimsky-Korsakov "Snow Maiden", the history and interesting facts about this work read on our page.

Summary of "Snow Maiden"

The libretto is based on Alexander Ostrovsky's play The Snow Maiden. The second title of the work is "A Spring Tale". There is a lot of allegorical things in it - in the spring, nature undergoes such transformations that this process can be compared to magic. The fairy tale is inhabited by fairy-tale characters, and the development of the plot is not built on the canons usual for that time.

The daughter of Spring and Frost Snegurochka grew up in the forest under the protection of mystical forest creatures. But for a long time he has been watching people, and with all his might seeks to understand their world. She begs her parents to allow her to live among people.

Once in the house of Bobyl and Bobylikha, she begins to learn the world of human relations. It turns out that people are looking for love and get married when they meet it. The heart of the Snow Maiden is cold from birth. She listens to Lelya's songs, talks to her friend Kupava, but does not feel anything.

The measured course of village life is disturbed by the appearance of Mizgir, Kupava's fiancé. A wedding has already been scheduled, when suddenly Misgir meets the Snow Maiden and is captivated by her coldly restrained beauty. He rushes after the Snow Maiden, begging to become his wife.

Kupava is disgraced and cannot recover from grief. Neighbors advise her to go to the wise king Berendey. Their philosophical conversation about whether to love and believe is touching and compassionate. Having summoned Mizgir to trial, Berendey cannot solve the dilemma: how can one force a person to love against his will? To which Mizgir invites the tsar to look at the Snow Maiden, the culprit of the trouble. From one glance at her, the king understands who is standing in front of him. She is the reason that God Yarilo sends trials to the kingdom. Berendey gives a decree: until the morning of the next day (the day of Yarila's holiday), someone must melt the icy heart of the Snow Maiden - to make her fall in love with him. The task is taken by Lel, a shepherd who sings sweet songs. Mizgir begs permission to try too.

The Snow Maiden reaches out to Lelya, with whom she made friends. But he suddenly turns his gaze to Kupava. And it hurts Snegurochka painfully. She begins to experience hitherto unknown feelings. She fervently begs her mother to endow Spring with the ability to love. Spring comes to meet her, but warns that from now on the rays of the sun are dangerous for the Snow Maiden, she can melt under them.

Awakened for love, the Snow Maiden meets Mizgir and now looks at him with different eyes - she loves, and asks him to be with her. Together they go to Yarilina Polyana, where the wedding ceremony is already taking place - Tsar Berendey consecrates the union of all comers.

And Mizgir and Snegurochka ask for blessings. At this moment, the sun is already high, and the Snow Maiden begins to melt. Until the very last minute, she says how happy she was able to love. Misgir rushes into the lake out of grief.

Now Berendey is confident that the hardships of his people are behind. Life goes on. The opera ends with a choral scene depicting a happy people freed from the curse, singing the hymn "Light and Strength, God Yarilo!"

Photo:

Interesting Facts:

• Work on the opera was completed on March 31, 1881, on the composer's fiftieth birthday.
• This is one of the forerunners of the fantasy genre - fabulous (Leshy, Frost, Spring) and realistic (Lel, Kupava, Mizgir) characters are involved in the plot, the plot itself has an archetypal structure.
• The image of the Snow Maiden is unique in the entire world culture - nowhere else is there anything like it, except for Russian folklore. It is shrouded in mystery, there are no clear ideas about its origin, but this image is present in the fine arts, legends, songs.
• V. Dal mentioned that snow maidens, bullfinches, snowmen were called "boobies folded from snow", having the image of a person.
• It is believed that the image of the Snow Maiden appeared after the baptism of Rus.
• For Viktor Vasnetsov, the image of the Snow Maiden has become a key one in his work.
• In 1952, a cartoon was shot to music from the opera ON. Rimsky-Korsakov .

Famous arias and numbers from the opera "Snow Maiden"

Snegurochka's aria "Walking berries with friends" (prologue) - listen

the third song of Lelya "The cloud with thunder conspired" (III act) - listen

chorus "Ay, in the field there is lipenka" (III act) - listen

duet of the Snow Maiden and Mizgir "Wait, wait!" (IV action) - listen

final chorus "Light and Power, God Yarilo" (Act IV) - listen

The history of the creation of "Snegurochka"

He began work on the opera in the summer of 1880. As a basis for the plot, he took the poetic play by Alexander Ostrovsky "The Snow Maiden", which was published in 1873. The play itself caused a great resonance in society. Few appreciated it. The fairy tale was admired by F.M. Dostoevsky, A.I. Goncharov, I.S. Turgenev. Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, young at that time, at the author's request, was invited to write music for the theatrical production of The Snow Maiden.

But most of the audience and especially critics greeted the play coldly. Her images and allegories were incomprehensible to her contemporaries. Oral Russian folk art, ritual and song folklore and mythology, the cult and beliefs of the ancient Slavs were something distant and uninteresting for the then audience. Having superficially perceived the play, critics immediately accused the author of escaping reality. Having become accustomed to his already established role as a denouncer of the vices of Russian society, the audience was not ready to plunge into the complex world of fairy tale allegories.

Ostrovsky was accused of being seduced by decorative images and a light fabulous object, “fantastic” and “meaningless”. The perception was also complicated by the poetic style in which the play was written. The brilliant Russian playwright traveled to the most distant provinces, collecting motives and rhythms of folk songs and legends, there are many Old Slavonic words and phrases in the play. Only a true connoisseur and connoisseur of Russian folklore can truly understand and appreciate the beauty of the style of these poems.

And even Rimsky-Korsakov himself, when he first met the play, was not too deeply imbued with it. Only after a while, when re-reading it (in the winter of 1879-1880), he suddenly "regained his sight", the whole depth and poetry of the work was revealed to him. He was instantly kindled with the desire to write an opera based on this plot. This desire led him first to Ostrovsky - to ask permission to write music for his magical work, and then to the Stelevo estate, where the opera was written in a single impulse.

The composer himself acted as a librettist, making changes to the original text of Ostrovsky. All work was completed in a matter of months. By the end of March 1881 the opera was completed, and already in January 1882 the premiere took place. Rimsky-Korsakov himself described the period of the creation of the opera as creatively filled, he wrote extremely quickly and easily, with inspiration. The Snow Maiden became his favorite opera.

First performances

Despite the fact that Ostrovsky spoke about Rimsky-Korsakov's music to his "Spring Tale" very enthusiastically, but music was much closer to him Tchaikovsky written for the play. And the thrill that Nikolai Andreevich himself felt for his opera was not supported by the musicians and spectators of the first performances. So the first performances were filled with disappointment.

Scenery for the stage was done by Viktor Vasnetsov, an Itinerant artist, and he designed both theatrical production of the play and the opera. Using specific elements of Russian architecture, architecture, embroidery motifs, he achieved a realistic embodiment of the atmosphere of peasant life.

Music

From early childhood he was very fond of Russian folk music, its special rhythm, close to colloquial, expressive intonations, melodious melodies. In The Snow Maiden, he expressed this love with the skill of a mature composer. He practically does not use direct quotes from folk songs, but he stylizes very accurately, creating his songs that are stunningly similar in spirit to folk songs.

This music is very picturesque - the imagination vividly draws pictures of the winter forest, the chirping of birds, the appearance of Spring-Red, the cold and aloofness of the Snow Maiden. The gradual awakening of nature and the Snegurochka's aspiration for human warmth and love are also shown in music, she becomes passionate, even expressive. At the same time, the fantastic character of the tale is sustained.

The opera opens with a prologue, in which the main characters are presented by musical means - the forces of nature, severe Frost, gentle Spring, fragile Snow Maiden. The orchestra imitates bird trills, ringing streams, natural metamorphoses. The Shrovetide scene at the end of the prologue almost completely illustrates the ancient rite of meeting spring with winter, the choral episodes colorfully describe the festivities. The scene is so vivid that it is often performed in gala concerts.

Creating the images of the main characters, the author carefully thought out the melodic and dramatic characteristics of each. For each category of characters (fairy-tale characters, real people, representatives of the elements), a separate intonation-rhythmic and timbre sphere has been created. Rimsky-Korsakov's operatic vocal numbers are distinguished by melody combined with simplicity. His chorus is often another character - the people, and also brings additional flavor to the whole sound. At the same time, the richness of the orchestration never argues with the vocal principle, but on the contrary, it complements and enriches it.

The composer has a special attitude to the female lyrical image. His Snow Maiden, Martha from "The Tsar's Bride" , Olga from "Pskovityanka" are examples of touching, sublime, quivering femininity, the embodiment of captivating ideal beauty. The transformation of the Snow Maiden's image is also reflected in her vocal part. If at the beginning of the opera its melody is close to instrumental (and is accompanied by the play of flute ), then the more she reaches out to people, the more melodiousness, melodiousness, ardor appears in the music (there are now more strings in the orchestra).

In general, the composer himself provided a complete musical analysis of the opera in the book "Chronicle of my musical life" and the article "Analysis of the Snow Maiden". In it, the author spoke in detail about the artistic concept and its implementation. It should be noted that the need for such documents was caused by the author's dissatisfaction with the first productions. Like Ostrovsky's play itself, the opera production did not initially meet with a response from the performers, conductor, and critics. Later, after explanations appeared, a more successful performance, close to the author's interpretation, took place.

It is amazing how mathematically accurate he designed the drama and the development of the action. The composer's depth and innovation could not be met with instant acceptance of this music. They did not coincide with the main themes in the art of the time. However, a decade later, it becomes the locomotive of artistic transformation in national art.

Allegories in fairy tales and opera

Rimsky-Korsakov's music is often said to be light, pure, sublime. The fairy tale "Snow Maiden" has a truly naive plot, which attracted the composer. It contains a description of the everyday life of an ideal society, the Berendeys, with a surprisingly wise and unusual ruler - Tsar Berendey, who teaches his people to live according to their hearts, to preserve moral purity and nobility. This is a utopian picture even for a 19th century inhabitant. However, in the Russian ancient epic it was not rare.

Russian land can be fertile and productive. But the climate is harsh and unpredictable. They experienced a long winter due to the summer harvest. And the yield depended on the whims of nature, and not on the hard work or talent of the peasant. In such conditions, the sun, which gives warmth and growth to plants and animals, became the main deity. But he was not just worshiped, people were looking for (and finding) a connection between their behavior and thoughts - and the answer of the Sun God. Therefore, Berendey was worried and complained that the god Yarilo turned away from the Berendey kingdom, believing that its inhabitants began to think too much about self-interest.

Allegories in a fairy tale:

Opera "Snow Maiden" can be called a national treasure. was a real patriot of his homeland, having traveled half the world while serving in the navy, his thoughts invariably returned to the greatness of the Russian people. His aesthetic ideal and desire was to preserve the traditions of Russian folklore, to emphasize it. Inventing new artistic techniques and composing techniques, he strove to place the people's sense of beauty at the center of his work. And in "Snegurochka" he did it wonderfully well.

Nikolai Andreevich Rimsky-Korsakov "Snow Maiden"

“If there are thirteen at the table, then there are lovers here,” - noted in Chekhov's Three Sisters. Thirteen characters in the play testify to the same thing. On the stage of the M.N. Ermolova played a love story, in which there were no sacrifices - "The Snow Maiden". A fairy tale? Lie! Musical performance. If the first is indisputable, then the second is for growth.

Santa Claus, according to Ostrovsky the father of the Snow Maiden, has been removed from the play. Spring-red appears before the audience in a quilted jacket and felt boots - in our northern lands Spring would not have reached it in a different outfit. With a large janitor's shovel, she collects from the stage the traces of her husband's stay - snowdrifts. However, the story is fabulous, and therefore the snowdrifts come to life and turn into berendeas asleep under the snow: it is warmer under the snow. They also want to warm Yermolovsky's viewers with the "Spring Tale", but it is perceived with coolness.

Alexey Kuzmin-Tarasov in this performance is one in three persons - the author of the idea, embodiment and music. There is enough music in the performance and the audience is completely satisfied with it. "The Snow Maiden" is defined as "Scenes from the Backwoods in 12 Songs", so that the operatic creation of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov remained untouched. But the text of A.N. Ostrovsky, written 140 years ago, freely fit into the rhythms of folk, reggae and rock and roll, performed by musicians of Garik Sukachev's group "The Untouchables". After all, the author of the play also provided songs, and therefore such a musical interpretation does not seem alien to the original source. The music in the performance is lively and incendiary, and the singers do not rouse any complaints - everything is in time: the sounds, and the voices, and the swinging of the audience's legs. And yet "Snow Maiden" is far from a musical, because twelve songs are diluted with "scenes".

The Snow Maiden is a winter, festive character, but A.N. Ostrovsky wrote a spring fairy tale, and therefore the daughter of Frost, who has gone in soul to her father, will not celebrate for long. Veronica Ivashchenko, who plays this role, appears either as an angular, disheveled (from the forest) "blue stocking" (in a blue dress), or as a spectacular cold blonde, on which field wreaths fade every now and then - a sharp temperature drop. Well, and without the motives of a children's matinee and a white and blue fur coat with an inventory number, it was not done here. The Snow Maiden wants love, having no idea about her. For her, in the play, an arrogant and arrogant person, love is something like a dress code, without which she will not be allowed to a party on the occasion of Yarilin of the day. Because the words: "Mom, give me love!" - she says with a dispassionate everyday intonation like: "Mom, give me money!" The Snow Maiden will dress up both the camp and the heart, but this outfit is akin to what Medea gave Creusa a dress soaked in poison (in this case, love). The finale is known - "melts, melts, disappears." The Snow Maiden will be left with a wet place and dry eyes of the audience.

The twists and turns of The Snegurochka, for reasons that come from childhood, cannot surprise, so you expect a reason for surprise from the actors. And you get it. The actors of the play, recent graduates of theatrical universities, did not bring the heat and energy of youth into the play, oddly enough. On the contrary, they play according to the weather - "the sun is shining, but not warm." Not that they could be called "Thugs" (performance by Kirill Serebrennikov), but their reaction and dynamics leave much to be desired. The performers are slow, relaxed, relaxed, and yet their characters lack the sun, "golden laziness" does not flow from the sky here, and severe frosts, it would seem, should have stirred up the Berendei. Sbiten is not boiled, and it is not clear how they get warm. With a soulful flame? But his sparks do not reach the audience. The words in "Snegurochka" do not "sound", but songs do sound.

Lel (Artem Efimov), the first guy in the village (and the village, judging by the scenery of Leonid Shulyakov, is in the same house) sings too, with an overweight guitar (from which, however, does not extract a sound), together with Spring (a wonderful work by Elizabeth Pashchenko) and Snegurochka. A barely noticeable competition for the heart of a shepherdess is outlined between mother and daughter. Good and "guys from our yard" like the Smoking-room (Anton Kolesnikov), a kind of street bully with chains on jeans, twirling the keys to ... an idle motorcycle on his finger, or the big guy Brusila (Nikolai Zozulin). Remarkable are the girlfriends of the resentful Kupava (Anna Kuzmina) - Radushka (Margarita Tolstoganova) and Malusha (Valentina Oleneva), the funny-strange Beautiful Elena (Kristina Pivneva). Only the eastern youth Mizgir (Rustam Akhmadeev) and his unforeseen bodyguard in the play, named with a simple "Slavic" name Emil (Yegor Kharlamov), stand out from the general motley canvas of the play. If Berendeyevka's Slobozhanians would have been quite easy to talk to, then Mizgir does not at all suit an obvious accent. However, Mizgir is a stranger in Berendeyev Posad, and therefore his oriental flair as an addition opposing him to the townspeople guys. Another excellent feature of the actor is deliberate seriousness in the interpretation of the proposed circumstances: the actor presents his hero with an anguish, a sharp gesture, a tragic grimace, which makes him ridiculous against the background of relaxed, calm “colleagues”. And this is not so much a problem of the performance as of an actor who makes an easy production heavier. "The east is burning," notes the Snow Maiden and, judging by the ardor of Mizgir, it seems that he will answer her; "Juliet is the sun."

"Snow Maiden", set to music, is pleasant to listen to, but strange to see. No folklore, at least folk. They saved money on the costume designer - he is not in the program, you cannot find his traces on the stage either. The actors are dressed in everyday clothes devoid of a uniform style, some in what - in a summer sundress, in a sweater, in a dress. Musicians in hats (though they take them off), actors with thermoses and plastic cups, outsiders (not from Ostrovsky) remarks ... In combination with student signs of the performance, a complete illusion of an open rehearsal is created, which the audience was allowed to attend. People on the stage, that people are from the street, at least in external characteristics, and this "democracy" "Snow Maiden" is not good. The lack of a unified style can only justify the Bohemian region mentioned in the program with a capital letter. There is such a “haven of tranquility, work and inspiration” on the map of the Pskov region, but the costumes are hardly written from the local residents there.

For all the lightness of the concept and the significant editing of the text, there are interesting, but undeveloped (by the director) moments in the play. Thus, the dialogue between the Tsar (Sergei Badichkin) and the "close boyar" Bermyaty (Yuri Kazakov) turns out to be very consonant with the time (not stage, local). The tsar complains that the people "have lost the service to beauty", in general, the decline in morals, for which the adviser offers a universal means for those in power at all times: "Issue a decree!" “Will we wait for the benefit?”, The Tsar clarifies, “None,” he hears in response, “Cleaning for us.”

The state of affairs in Berendey's kingdom is akin to Karamzin's diagnosis - "They steal," however, this kingdom is "not enough, there is nowhere to roam," and therefore Bermyata clarifies: "Little by little." “And do you catch it?” His Majesty asks without much interest; - “Why catch them, / Losing your work? / Let them steal themselves, / Someday they will get caught ... ”. But, judging by the simple decoration of the royal chambers, everything has already been plundered. And the king himself, who exchanged the scepter and the orb (or maybe with a capital letter?) For a massive clock and an ax, which he thrust into the platform on the stage, does not look too much like a king. Although it so happened, they are kings or with, or under the ax. In a different way - only in fairy tales, where "porridge from the ax." For The Snow Maiden, both the porridge is a mixture of genres, and the ax - the editing of text and meanings - are symbolic.
“The people are generous in everything,” - the Tsar sings in the finale of the performance a fervent song. Sadly they sing along to the king of the Berendei. As befits the people under the Tsar - in chorus. Several scenes before the finale, the “generous people” rejoiced at the death sentence handed down to Mizgir, shouting: “And when? At what time?". Winter crops with spring crops - in the field, and you need to nourish your soul - with spectacles. But the execution will be canceled, however, Mizgir's death cannot be avoided. People's sacrifice is manifested here in every minute readiness to make a sacrifice. Rather, the sacrifice of those who do not live "in the Berendei way", those who are not used to bowing "more often, but lower."

Musical numbers go in the performance "with a bang", but it is necessary for those who voted to get lost on a recitative record as if it jams. The style of the performance is a kind of jam session (not musical, but artistic), which is performed without any special preparations, thoughts and effort. It seems that the artists are having a good time on stage, the audience, in general, is also happy with everything. Both those who are on stage and those who are in the hall for about two hours manage to spend their leisure quite tolerably. The Snow Maiden is not an evening at the theater, but a theatrical evening. There is no need to talk about interpretations of images, super-tasks and relevance, but such an evening cannot be called lost either. "Snegurochka" in combination with the democratic and hospitable buffet of the theater is an ideal option for meetings, while away evenings and moments when there is a keen desire to be in public. Nice, intelligent, not expensive. Not your heart, but not your wallet either. But this kind of theater, which is “not low, not high,” not only can, but must exist. “Drive your worries away: there is a time for care,” they sing in the play and they are right.

"The Snow Maiden", according to the director, is playing in "timelessness", but this is probably due to her temporary presence in the theater's repertoire. Its appearance, however, is quite justified - the theater is not afraid to open its doors to young directors, and this is worth a lot. This, of course, is not about losses. "Snegurochka" is a universal, family-run, lightweight and spring project. “Spring is coming”, “mind and heart are out of tune”, but “Snegurochka” has every chance not to melt, but to tune in the right way.

"Komsomolskaya Pravda", "Teatron"