Fortress theaters in the 18th century. Fortress theaters

Fortress theaters of the XVIII-XIX centuries.

Introduction

Interest in the topic Fortress theaters of the 18th-19th centuries. due to the fact that the culture of that time is unique, the period of existence of the fortress theaters in the Russian Empire is only a century, but even this short period of time left a bright imprint in the history of Russian culture, and especially in the theatrical art of Russia.

The purpose of this essay is to systematize, accumulate and consolidate knowledge about the serf theater in Russia.

To achieve this goal, it is necessary to solve the following tasks: 1) consider the history of the serf theater 2) characterize theatrical figures (theater owners and actors) 3) draw a conclusion on the topic under consideration

In the process of writing the essay, I studied textbooks on world artistic culture, essays on the history of Russian culture of the 18th-19th centuries. articles about theatrical figures, as well as articles found on the Internet.

The serf theater existed in Russia for about a century (from the middle of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th century), as well as at about the same time on the territory of Belarus in the Nesvizh estate of the princes Radziwill, and in Ukraine in the village of Kibintsy in the Poltava region in the estate of D Troshchinsky, as well as the theater of the landowner D. Shirai from the village of Spiridonova Buda in the Chernihiv region.

The fortress theater was mainly of two types:

· URBAN

· ESTATE

The first one was arranged premises with a large repertoire, a large troupe of artists trained from childhood for theatrical activities, an orchestra, ballet, choir and soloists. This type also includes the so-called "booth theatres", which showed their performances at large fairs in county towns, in settlements at monasteries.

The second type includes estate theaters, which were closed in nature - for the amusement of the gentlemen themselves and invited guests. Only at first glance such fortress scenes existed in a closed way: their living connection with the social and cultural life of Russia is obvious. The birth of the national professional theater is associated with the name of F.G. Volkov. (1729-1763) and the city of Yaroslavl, where he first staged the dramas of his great countryman D. Rostovsky, and then the first tragedies of A.P. Sumarokov. Since 1756, the public theater has opened its curtain in St. Petersburg. The creator of the repertoire and director of the theater was the playwright Sumarokov. And the brilliant actor and director was Fedor Grigorievich Volkov. The famous actor I.A. began his acting career in the Volkov troupe. Dmitrievsky (1736-1821), who from 1779 directed a private theater in the Tsaritsyn meadow.

There was a university theater in Moscow with the Italian troupe D. Locatelli. And in 1780, the Petrovsky Theater opened, the repertoire of which included both dramatic and opera performances. A peculiar phenomenon of the cultural life of the second half of the 18th century. was a fort theater. At the end of the 18th century The role of the theater in public life has grown significantly and has become the subject of public discussion. All of the above require further detailed consideration and study.

.The history of the appearance of the fortress theater in Russia

Being at first an amusement of the court, the theater at the same time became widespread among the boyars, who stood close to the court. Already under Alexei Mikhailovich, the boyar Matveev arranged a theater similar to the royal one in his house. His example was followed by the boyar Miloslavsky, who, as a result, received the nickname "amusing", Prince. Yak. Odoevsky and the favorite of Princess Sophia, Prince. V.V. Golitsyn. Even one of the close noblewomen of Princess Sophia, T.I. Arsenyeva, arranged theatrical performances in her house, in which her lordly people and lordly ladies were the actors.

In St. Petersburg already in the time of Elizabeth there were theaters in the house of Count Yaguzhinsky and Count Pyotr Sheremetev. This custom of wealthy nobles to start permanent home theaters persisted for a very long time.

The early years, following the emergence of the very idea of ​​using the artistic forces of serfs on the stage, represent, of course, only timid steps in the field of performing arts. However, these years are significant not only by the very fact of testing this idea, but also, for example, by such an event as one of the first public performances of a Russian woman as an actress. This kind of performance took place already in 1744, when in the court theater, on the occasion of the betrothal of the heir to the throne, Peter Fedorovich, with the Anhalt-Zerbt princess, the future Catherine the Great, the Ballet of Flowers was performed. Drizen, in his essay “The 150th Anniversary of the Imperial Theaters” (“Historical Bulletin” for 1900), all these “Rose” - Aksinya, “Renenkul” - Elizabeth, “Anemone” - Agrafena, daisies and iasins were serf girls, maybe , who studied at the school of Lande, a famous choreographer in the reign of Anna Ioannovna, who also taught dancing to Empress Elizabeth, in whose reign the Russian theater was destined to "found" (1756). Our nobles, who were always fond of the fashionable at court, wanted to cultivate an institution in their homes, in which, in addition to the benefit of education, they also saw elegant fun and luxury, which it was pleasant to boast of. Here and there, in rich houses, amateur performances began to be staged from the middle of the 18th century. But being actors themselves, learning roles, smearing the face, worrying about knowing the "place", all this seemed to many too burdensome; and the passion for the theater grew and grew. If earlier this passion was considered reprehensible by some, then already in the reign of Catherine II, the God-fearing people reconciled with it, all the more so when, in the “Decree of the Theater Directorate” (June 12, 1783), it was allowed for anyone to “start decent fun for the public, keeping only state legalizations and regulations in the charter of the police. And for the lazy and shy theater-goers of that time, the only, in its ease, way to satisfy a new passion opened up: to turn the most capable of their serfs into hypocrites.

Forced actors were trained by professional artists, composers, choreographers. Often, serf artists were brought up in state theater and ballet schools, and free artists played next to them on the serf stage. It happened that serfs, rented out by their owners, also appeared on the imperial stage (in such cases, in posters and programs, serfs were not called “master” or “mistress”, but simply wrote their names). There are cases when serf artists were redeemed by the treasury for enrollment on the imperial stage - Stolypin serfs, together with the courtyard actors of the landowners P.M. Volkonsky and N.I. Demidov were included in the troupe of the state theater, which was formed in 1806, now known as the Maly Theater. From the serf artists came M.S. Shchepkin, S. Mochalov, E. Semenova (according to A.S. Pushkin, “the sovereign queen of the tragic scene”, and many others.

In general, we can say that the history of the fortress theater is rooted in Ancient Russia, but, acquiring more and more bright colors over the years, in the 18-19th century the fortress theater reached the highest level of its development.

.Theatrical figures

Theater of Counts Sheremetevs

One of the first and most outstanding was the theater of the Counts Sheremetevs. He began his activity in St. Petersburg in 1765 as an amateur nobleman and finally took shape by the end of the 1770s in Moscow (on Bolshaya Nikolskaya Street). From hundreds of thousands of their serfs, the Sheremetevs carefully selected and trained various masters who took part in the creation of the theater (architects F.S. Argunov, A. Mironov, G. Diushin; artists I.P. and N.I. Argunov, K. Vuntusov, G. Mukhin, S. Kalinin, machinist F. Pryakhin, musicians P. Kalmykov, S. Degtyarev, G. Lomakin and others). They worked under the guidance of and next to renowned European and Russian masters.

In the Moscow estate of the Sheremetevs, Kuskovo, theaters were built: "air" (in the open air), Small and Bolshoi. The troupe included serf actors, musicians, dancers, decorators, etc. (more than two hundred people), among them - an outstanding actress and singer Zhemchugova (P.I. Kovaleva). Artists were supposed to be paid money and food. The serf "His Excellency's librarian" B.G. led the troupe and oversaw its education. Vroblevsky, who was educated at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and visited together with N.P. Sheremetev in the early 1770s abroad. Wroblewski translated plays while reworking them. The theater's repertoire included more than a hundred plays, mostly comic operas, but also comedies, operas and ballets.

The theater reached its peak in the mid-1780s, when N.P. Sheremetev-son is an enlightened nobleman, a talented musician and a selfless lover of theatrical art, who built a magnificent theater-palace in the village of Ostankino in the early 1790s.

Fortress Theater of Prince Yusupov

By the beginning of the 19th century. (about 1818) is the heyday of the serf theater of Prince N.B. Yusupov. In 1819, a theater building was rebuilt in Moscow, which had a stalls, a semicircular amphitheater, a mezzanine and two galleries. In the summer, the theater functioned in the village of Arkhangelskoye near Moscow, where a magnificent theater building built in 1818 is still preserved. The scenery for the theater was painted by Pietro Gonzago. Operas and magnificent ballet performances were given at the Yusupov Theater.

"Theatrical Phenomenon"

Around 1811, “a theatrical phenomenon worthy of special attention” appeared in Moscow - the serf theater of P.A. Poznyakov, located on Bolshaya Nikitskaya Street in Leontievsky Lane. The theater gave mainly lavishly arranged comic operas, the scenery for which was painted by the Italian painter Scotti. The serf actors of this theater, who "played incomparably better than many free artists," were trained by S.N. Sandunov and E.S. Sandunov.

Provincial fortress theaters

By the end of the 18th century serf theaters began to appear in provincial cities and estates, sometimes very remote from the center, including in the Urals and Siberia. Their level was very different: from primitive home-grown performances on hastily knocked together stages with a painted sheet instead of a curtain to perfectly organized performances in specially built theaters with a well-equipped stage. An example of the first is the theater of Prince G.A. Gruzinsky in the village of Lyskovo; the second - the theater of Prince N.G. Shakhovsky in the village of Yusupovo, and then in Nizhny Novgorod; theater I.I. Esipov in Kazan; CM. Kamensky in Orel; S.G. Zorich in Shklov.

Fortress Theater Zoricha

In the 1780s, the favorite of Catherine II, S.G. Zorich, in his estate Shklov, Mogilev province, arranged a theater, which, according to contemporaries, was "enormous". The repertoire included dramas, comedies, comic operas and ballets. In addition to the serfs, cadets of the Shklov Cadet Corps (established by Zorich) and amateur nobles, among whom Prince P.V. was famous, took part in dramatic performances. Meshchersky - M.S. highly appreciated his game. Shchepkin. In the ballets, which "were very good," only serf dancers danced. After the death of Zorich, his ballet troupe in 1800 was bought by the treasury for the St. Petersburg imperial stage.

Fortress Theater of Vorontsov

Among the provincial theaters, the serf theater of Count A.R. Vorontsov, who was in the village of Alabukhi, Tambov province, then - in the village of Andreevskoye, Vladimir province. Vorontsov, one of the most educated people of his time, was an ardent opponent of gallomania, which spread among the Russian nobles in the 18th century. Therefore, the repertoire of his serf theater primarily included plays by Russian playwrights: A.P. Sumarokova, D.I. Fonvizina, P.A. Plavilshchikova, M.I. Verevkin, Ya.B. Knyazhnina, O.A. Ablesimova and others. Such plays by Moliere, P.O. Beaumarchais, Voltaire and other European playwrights.

The total composition of the troupe ranged from 50 to 60 people, including musicians, painters, machinists, tailors, hairdressers, etc. The artists were divided into "first-class" (13-15 people) and "second-class" (6-8 people) and depending on from this they received an annual reward in money and things. There was no ballet troupe in the Vorontsov Theater and, when dance scenes were required, "women who dance" were invited.

Public Fortress Theater

Public fortress theater of Count S.M. Kamensky was opened in 1815 in Orel. It was one of the largest provincial theaters. It lasted almost until 1835. Only in the first year of its activity, about a hundred new performances were staged: comedies, dramas, tragedies, vaudevilles, operas and ballets. The count, who was called by his contemporaries a “magnificent petty tyrant” (primarily for his attitude towards serf actors), bought talented actors from many landowners for his troupe, and also invited famous “free” artists to play the first roles, for example, M.S. Shchepkin (his oral story formed the basis of the plot of A. Herzen's story "The Thieving Magpie"; the atmosphere of this theater is also described by N. Leskov's story "Dumb Artist").

2.2Famous fortress actors and actresses

Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin

In the history of Russian culture, the name of M.S. Shchepkina (6 (18) November 1788 - 11 (23) August 1863)rightfully belongs the glory of theatrical art. “An actor of powerful capabilities, he exhaustively fulfilled the tasks that were put forward by the general course of Russian theatrical history, and the immutability of his discoveries expressed the patterns that determined the main lines of the further development of the Russian theater,” this is how M.S. Shchepkina, the researcher of his work O.M. Feldman. Genus. in the family of a serf, the manager of the count's estate. Father was able to send Shchepkin to a school in the county town of Sudzha. Here the students staged a comedy by A.P. Sumarokov "Squirrel". The role played by Shchepkin in this performance in Feb. 1800 influenced his whole life (“I had such a good time, so much fun that it’s impossible to say”). In 1801 - 1803 he studied at the Kursk provincial school and played in the count's home theater. Since 1805, he combined the duties of the count's secretary with professional artistic activity. In 1818, together with a group of actors, he founded a "free theater" in Poltava. Having played many roles on the provincial scene, he was bought out of serfdom after a subscription "as a reward for the actor's talent." Shchepkin was able to leave for Moscow, where in 1823 he was enrolled in the troupe of the Moscow. (Small) theatre. According to his contemporaries, Shchepkin was a living encyclopedia of Russian life, in the mastery of transmission, which had no equal. A reformer of acting skills, who sought to transform into a stage image, which had a huge impact on the formation and development of realistic theatrical art, Shchepkin was friends with A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen and others. At the insistence of A.S. Pushkin, who wrote the title and the first phrase, Shchepkin created interesting memories. A man of his time, he did not accept A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" and dissuaded A.I. Herzen to engage in politics; did not create completed works on the problems of performing arts, but after his death A.I. Herzen wrote: "... he was a great artist, an artist by vocation and work. He created the truth on the Russian stage, he was the first to become non-theatrical in the theater."

Semenova Ekaterina Semyonovna (1786-1849). Daughter of a serf. Leading tragic actress of the St. Petersburg scene. She made her debut in 1803 and left the stage in 1826. According to a contemporary, "the most ardent imagination of a painter could not have come up with the most beautiful ideal of female beauty for tragic roles."

A.S. himself Pushkin was an ardent admirer of Semyonova. He devoted enthusiastic lines to her game in the article “My remarks about the Russian theater” (1820): “Speaking of Russian tragedy, you are talking about Semenova and, perhaps, only about her. Endowed with talent, beauty, a lively and true feeling, she formed herself ... The game is always free, always clear ... "And in the first chapter of" Eugene Onegin ".

Success and fans spoiled Semyonova: she was sometimes lazy, sometimes capricious, which was facilitated by the fact that she became close to the senator, Prince I.A. Gagarin, a very wealthy man who enjoyed a high position, both in the service and in literary circles. The emergence of a new kind of dramatic works, a romantic direction, often written in prose, significantly damaged the last years of Semyonova's stage career. In an effort to remain the first, she took on roles in these plays, and even comic roles, but to no avail. In 1826, Semenova finally said goodbye to the public in Kryukovsky's tragedy Pozharsky. Having moved to Moscow, Semyonova agreed to marry her patron. The Gagarins' house was visited by many former admirers of Semyonova: Pushkin, Aksakov, Nadezhdin, Pogodin. In 1832 Prince Gagarin died; the last years of Semyonova's life were overshadowed by family troubles.

Ekaterina Semyonova died on March 1 (13), 1849 in St. Petersburg. She was buried at the Mitrofanevsky cemetery. In connection with the complete destruction of the Mitrofanevsky cemetery, E.S. Semenova was reburied in 1936 at the Necropolis of Masters of Arts of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.

Zhemchugova Praskovya Ivanovna

Kovaleva (Zhemchugova) Praskovya Ivanovna (1768-1803), actress of the serf theater of the Counts Sheremetevs. The daughter of a blacksmith from the village of Kuskovo near Moscow, which belonged to the Sheremetevs. At the age of seven, she was taken to a manor house and brought up there among other children assigned to the theater. Possessing a voice of rare beauty (lyric soprano), dramatic talent, excellent stage performance and skill, Kovaleva (based on the stage of Zhemchugov) from n. 1780s became the first actress of the Sheremetev Theater. She performed with great success at the Gretry opera. Marriages of the Samnites . The attraction to the tragic, heroic repertoire, the struggle of strong feelings and big ideas were reflected in the image she created of a courageous Samnite girl who fought for her right to happiness. The personal fate of the serf actress was not easy. Until 1798 she was a serf. Her marriage to Chief Marshal N.P. Sheremetev (1752 - 1809) was officially issued only two years before her death. Hard work in the theater, difficult personal experiences undermined the health of the actress. She died in 1803, shortly after the birth of her son. In memory of her N.P. Sheremetev built the Hospice House (now in this building - the N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute for Emergency Medicine).

Having briefly recounted the fates of the most famous serf actors, I would also like to say that the fates of many other people who participated in theatrical life were broken due to the cruelty of the landowners and the hidden side of the life of serf actors and actresses is so terrible, perhaps that is why not many have achieved all-Russian success.

Conclusion

fortress theater russian

The decline of the era of fortress theaters falls on the second quarter of the 19th century. In the early 1920s, several fairly large serf theaters, including the theater of Prince Yusupov, were still well known, but later the picture began to change. The political and cultural situation in the country changed, and, finally, the abolition of serfdom in 1861 put an end to the phenomenon of the serf theater in Russia.

Pushkin wrote in 1833: “Horn music does not thunder in the groves of Svirlov and Ostankino; bowls and colored lanterns do not illuminate the English paths, now overgrown with grass, but used to be lined with myrtle and orange trees. The dusty backstage of the home theater is smoldering in the hall.

Mikhail Semenovich Shchepkin

In the history of Russian culture, the name of M.S. Shchepkina (6 (18) November 1788 - 11 (23) August 1863) rightfully belongs to the glory of theatrical art. “An actor of powerful capabilities, he exhaustively fulfilled the tasks that were put forward by the general course of Russian theatrical history, and the immutability of his discoveries expressed the patterns that determined the main lines of the further development of the Russian theater,” this is how M.S. Shchepkina, the researcher of his work O.M. Feldman. Genus. in the family of a serf, the manager of the count's estate. Father was able to send Shchepkin to a school in the county town of Sudzha. Here the students staged a comedy by A.P. Sumarokov "Squirrel". The role played by Shchepkin in this performance in Feb. 1800 influenced his whole life (“I had such a good time, so much fun that it’s impossible to say”). In 1801 - 1803 he studied at the Kursk provincial school and played in the count's home theater. Since 1805, he combined the duties of the count's secretary with professional artistic activity. In 1818, together with a group of actors, he founded a "free theater" in Poltava. Having played many roles on the provincial scene, he was bought out of serfdom after a subscription "as a reward for the actor's talent." Shchepkin was able to leave for Moscow, where in 1823 he was enrolled in the troupe of the Moscow. (Small) theatre. According to his contemporaries, Shchepkin was a living encyclopedia of Russian life, in the mastery of transmission, which had no equal. A reformer of acting skills, who sought to transform into a stage image, which had a huge impact on the formation and development of realistic theatrical art, Shchepkin was friends with A.S. Pushkin, N.V. Gogol, V.G. Belinsky, A.I. Herzen and others. At the insistence of A.S. Pushkin, who wrote the title and the first phrase, Shchepkin created interesting memories. A man of his time, he did not accept A.N. Ostrovsky "Thunderstorm" and dissuaded A.I. Herzen to engage in politics; did not create completed works on the problems of performing arts, but after his death A.I. Herzen wrote: "... he was a great artist, an artist by vocation and work. He created the truth on the Russian stage, he was the first to become non-theatrical in the theater."

Semenova Ekaterina Semyonovna

Semenova Ekaterina Semyonovna (1786-1849). Daughter of a serf. Leading tragic actress of the St. Petersburg scene. She made her debut in 1803 and left the stage in 1826. According to a contemporary, "the most ardent imagination of a painter could not have come up with the most beautiful ideal of female beauty for tragic roles."

A.S. himself Pushkin was an ardent admirer of Semyonova. He devoted enthusiastic lines to her game in the article “My remarks about the Russian theater” (1820): “Speaking of Russian tragedy, you are talking about Semenova and, perhaps, only about her. Endowed with talent, beauty, a lively and true feeling, she formed herself ... The game is always free, always clear ... "And in the first chapter of" Eugene Onegin ". (Chereisky., 1999) Pushkin's contemporaries from 93-94

Success and fans spoiled Semyonova: she was sometimes lazy, sometimes capricious, which was facilitated by the fact that she became close to the senator, Prince I.A. Gagarin, a very wealthy man who enjoyed a high position, both in the service and in literary circles. The emergence of a new kind of dramatic works, a romantic direction, often written in prose, significantly damaged the last years of Semyonova's stage career. In an effort to remain the first, she took on roles in these plays, and even comic roles, but to no avail. In 1826, Semenova finally said goodbye to the public in Kryukovsky's tragedy Pozharsky. Having moved to Moscow, Semyonova agreed to marry her patron. The Gagarins' house was visited by many former admirers of Semyonova: Pushkin, Aksakov, Nadezhdin, Pogodin. In 1832 Prince Gagarin died; the last years of Semyonova's life were overshadowed by family troubles.

Ekaterina Semyonova died on March 1 (13), 1849 in St. Petersburg. She was buried at the Mitrofanevsky cemetery. In connection with the complete destruction of the Mitrofanevsky cemetery, E.S. Semenova was reburied in 1936 at the Necropolis of Masters of Arts of the Alexander Nevsky Lavra in St. Petersburg.

Zhemchugova Praskovya Ivanovna

Kovaleva (Zhemchugova) Praskovya Ivanovna (1768-1803), actress of the serf theater of the Counts Sheremetevs. The daughter of a blacksmith from the village of Kuskovo near Moscow, which belonged to the Sheremetevs. At the age of seven, she was taken to a manor house and brought up there among other children assigned to the theater. Possessing a voice of rare beauty (lyric soprano), dramatic talent, excellent stage performance and skill, Kovaleva (based on the stage of Zhemchugov) from n. 1780s became the first actress of the Sheremetev Theater. She performed with great success in Grétry's Marriages of the Samnites. The attraction to the tragic, heroic repertoire, the struggle of strong feelings and big ideas were reflected in the image she created of a courageous Samnite girl who fought for her right to happiness. The personal fate of the serf actress was not easy. Until 1798 she was a serf. Her marriage to Chief Marshal N.P. Sheremetev (1752 - 1809) was officially issued only two years before her death. Hard work in the theater, difficult personal experiences undermined the health of the actress. She died in 1803, shortly after the birth of her son. In memory of her N.P. Sheremetev built the Hospice House (now in this building - the N.V. Sklifosovsky Institute for Emergency Medicine).

Having briefly recounted the fates of the most famous serf actors, I would also like to say that the fates of many other people who participated in theatrical life were broken due to the cruelty of the landowners and the hidden side of the life of serf actors and actresses is so terrible, perhaps that is why not many have achieved all-Russian success.

It is difficult for our contemporaries who are fans of blockbusters and TV series to imagine that once the profession of artists was hard, forced and unpaid work. About the age-old burden that fell on the shoulders of the most dependent profession, in the "home" theaters of serf Russia, and will be discussed further.

When did "fortified theaters" exist?

"Fortress", often called "home", the theater existed for almost a hundred and fifty years. The roots of the phenomenon go back to the time of Peter the Great, when new forms of entertainment for the nobility were actively inculcated. So, one of the Russian researchers of the topic, Tatyana Dynnik, calls the date of birth of the phenomenon - the wedding day of Queen Catherine II, when the actor became the "revision soul". And as evidence, an excerpt from the memoirs of a contemporary describing the day of November 15, 1722 is given with a mention of the order of the Duchess of Mecklenburg to punish one of the guilty actors with two hundred blows of batags applied to serfs. The end of the era is evidenced by the document of 1844 on the meeting of the Committee for the arrangement of the “estate of courtyard people”, at which Nicholas I expressed the opinion that the serfs “theatrical troupes, orchestras, etc., are now almost withdrawn or withdrawn everywhere. In St. Petersburg, as far as I know, only Yusupov and Sheremetev already have this; the latter, however, does not like it, but because he does not know where to go with these people.

Fortress Theater in Kuskovo

What is this phenomenon?

The theater of serfs for eminent families was movable property, which they disposed of on the basis of property rights for the purposes of entertainment and commerce. The poster was filled with operas, ballets, comedies and dramas. And the idea itself turned out to be part of city life, not estate life. By the beginning of the 19th century in Russia, for 155 collectives, only 52 were located in estates, and 103 in city mansions: in Moscow - 53, St. Petersburg - 27, and in other cities - 23. The owners made considerable efforts to make their "homely joys" seem metropolitan".

It is worth noting separately that the subsidies to such groups were considered a luxury and meant significant expenses, which is why such pampering could only be afforded by owners of very large fortunes.

The Sheremetev Fortress Theater in the Fountain House

The most famous fortress theaters

* Prince G.A. Potemkin in the Tauride Palace (Shpalernaya st., house 47, St. Petersburg),
* in the Yusupov Palace on the Moika, house 94 (St. Petersburg),
* in the Naryshkin-Shuvalov Palace on the Fontanka, house 21 (St. Petersburg),
* heir to the throne, Pavel Petrovich (estate in the village of Pavlovskoye),
* Count B.P. Sheremetev in the Fountain House - 34 (St. Petersburg),
* Prince N. B. Yusupov (Arkhangelskoye village near Moscow),
* General S. S. Apraksin (Olgovo),
* Countess D. P. Saltykova (Marfino),
* "Napoleonic Theater" P. A. Poznyakov in the house on Nikitskaya (Moscow), etc.

Fortress theater Gonzago in the village of Arkhangelskoye

Who was selected as an artist?

Acting turned out to be forced labor, cane, often of a temporary nature. The staff of performers was recruited from the serfs according to the main criterion - the applicant must be “prominent”, in the sense, beautifully built, have a stately figure. According to Sheremetev's decree, performers of home theatrical productions were taken from orphans aged 15-16, "they are not corrupted in face and body, and, moreover, they can read and write." However, only the first requirement was often observed, which is why most of the artists were poorly educated. So, in a letter to Sheremetev, one of the recitation teachers in the count's house, the famous actor Ivan Dmitrevsky, noted the students' incredibly low level of Russian language proficiency, without which "it is very difficult to be a good actor."

How were the rehearsals?

Given the fact that not everyone could afford literate serfs, the selected performers were tormented by learning roles “from the voice” and meaningless repetitions of rehearsals, even at night.

Fortress Theater of N. A. Durasov in Lyublino

What else was taught?

Acting skills, recitation, singing, music making, spelling, literary history, foreign languages, general course of natural sciences. For this, young people capable of learning were recruited into the troupe.

Where did the actors live?

The restless people of artists lived in isolation, in separate wings, somewhere in the backyards, "away from the eyes", but under the close eye of strict control and army discipline.

« Nothing to do, - says one owner of the serf theater at A. I. Herzen, - order in our business is half the success; loosen the reins a little - trouble: artists are restless people. You know, perhaps, what the French say: it is easier to manage an entire army than a troupe of actors.».

Fortress Theater of Count Sheremetev in Ostankino

How much did serf artists receive?

Considering that the “receiving” party took upon itself the “full subsidy”, i.e. the cost of accommodation, accommodation and food, the artist did not get his hands on anything. Only wealthy nobles received incentives and gifts, but this was considered a rarity.

A special case is the home theater of Count Sheremetev, where the actors were paid from 10 to 60 rubles a year. So much could receive an experienced valet or steward. The count for the whole servant set three levels of salaries: "grassroots", i.e. the subsidy corresponded to the lowest rate, then "cottage against lackeys", i.e. equal to the lackeys, and the "supreme dacha", which determined the privileged status of those involved in the theater.

Unknown serf artist. Palace in Maryino. 1816

What penalties were applied?

Severe punishments for all sorts of violations and offenses were maintained by strict rules of discipline. Nikolai Leskov in the short story "The Dumb Artist" described several realistic examples of the count's tyranny of the owner of the serf theater in the Oryol province, Count Sergei Kamensky, who was incredibly cruel to the serfs. The count personally worked as a cashier and sold tickets. In addition to entertainment, guests received treats in the form of marshmallow slices, pickled apples and honey. The count wrote down all the remarks on the game and, right during the intermission, went backstage, where with specially prepared whips he carried out calculations with negligent performers so hard that their screams reached the refined ears of honored guests.

However, punishments in the form of corporal vices were more often applied only to men. Women had a different fate. So, for example, Count Sheremetev had a habit of forgetting a scarf while going around the actresses' bed, which he suddenly remembered at night, unexpectedly visiting girls' bedrooms, which is why he soon acquired a large number of illegitimate offspring.

At the same time, he himself severely punished for all sorts of violations of the “decent rules”. So, for example, a student of his home theater, Belyaeva, somehow went to study at the house of the actor Sandunov in the same britzka with his student Travin. The count brought down his passionate anger on the head of both, indignant at the fact that "the girl went with the bachelor", after which they were severely punished.

The serf of the landowner N.N. Demidov, the great Russian actor Stepan Mochalov (1775-1823)

What did the actors fear the most?

There were numerous legends about the horrific incidents that accompanied the punishment of artists for misconduct. So, for example, during one scene, a dog attacked an actor playing an imaginary monster, which tore the performer to pieces. The owner of the house forbade everyone to interfere, allowing "to finish the job", after which he ordered the dog to be hanged and the artist to be sent away.

As I. Arseniev describes, Count N. B. Yusupov had a strange habit, entertaining his Moscow guests after the end of the performance by going out in a light blue tailcoat with a powdered wig with a pigtail, and the corps de ballet appeared in its “natural form”. Another example of how often the "home theater" realized the owner's ideas about entertainment, which he lacked.

Fragment of the Last Judgment Icon

What encouraged real talent?

In addition to valuable gifts and cash prizes, a change of surname was considered a special blessing. So, for example, after passing the recitation lessons of the famous actor Ivan Dmitrevsky, the young girls changed their last names: Kucheryavinkova became Izumrudova, Kovaleva - Zhemchugova, Buyanova - Granatova, Chechevitsina - Yakhontova. And the roughly named men received the names Kamenev, Mramornov, Serdolikov, etc.

The prima of the Sheremetyevo Theater Praskovya Zhemchugova (Kovalev) after a concert before Paul I in February 1797 was so impressed by the beauty and tenderness of the timbre of the lyric soprano that she received an "imperial gift" as a gift - a ring of a thousand rubles. And in 1801, the actress became the wife of Count Sheremetev. However, the secret marriage became known only in 1803, after the birth of the first-born Dmitry, who got untold wealth and one and a half hundred thousand serf souls. But twenty days later, the great actress suddenly died of consumption.

What additional benefits did the owner receive?

After the performance of the famous fortress theater in the Sheremetev estate near the village of Kuskovo, Catherine II expressed incredible surprise at the magnificent spectacle, “ pleasantly standing out from everything that was arranged for her". That allowed Count Nikolai Sheremetev to spend the last decade of the 18th century in St. Petersburg, in his Fountain House, where artists, orchestra members, artists and ballet dancers came with him.

How did "serfs" become "employees"?

In the 1820s, the serf theater groups were gradually disbanded. The ruin of many noble families allowed the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters to acquire several serf performers, musicians, barbers and seamstresses. But the situation did not change during the transition of the serf from the landowner to the professional collective. The law introduced on December 17, 1817 on the “exclusion of artists and other theatrical employees from the head salary”, thanks to which talents received freedom from “revision” dependence, did not change the position of dependent talents. The new leaders from the directorate also treated them as if they were things.

How much is the "serf" talent?

In 1828, the Directorate acquired a group of musicians from Prince Chernyshev for 54,000 rubles. Two thousand per soul. But it turned out that the orchestra performers either “did not play” or “played badly”, which is why some were given for retraining, some - to “Turkish music”, and the rest - to copyists of notes. They determined a salary of 250 to 500 rubles a year (despite the fact that the freemen were paid 1000), quartered in an annex to the Anichkov Palace, plus those married with children added half a hundred rubles. This deplorable state forced the serfs to even write a letter to the Minister of the Court Volkonsky with a request to "take under the protection of the unfortunate", but it had no power and did not bring changes in fate.

What did the "serf" do in the imperial theaters?

The daily routine of an employee of the imperial theater is traditional for today: morning rehearsals, afternoon classes on “improving oneself in art” and evening going out to the public. At the same time, an incredibly short rehearsal period with a large repertoire and no “hacks” or additional earnings.

Why many employees suffered from drunkenness. The case of December 1833 with the oboist Chernikov, who returned naked after a three-day absence, is indicative. In the explanatory note, the perpetrator said that he was drowning in a depraved and riotous life, who turned out to be a debtor in different places, which is why he left with the owners of the taverns “a cloak with Karl Ivanovich, who lives near the Blue Bridge as an apprentice to the master Mils, a waistcoat, a shirt-front and a tie in the Tsaritsyno tavern, trousers - in the Ekateringof restaurant, and a state-owned theatrical oboe - in the Hotel du Nord tavern ... The instrument was pledged at Ivan's marker for 30 rubles, and the money was not more than 14 rubles, the rest is all interest.

Another musician was put in a prison cell at the Bolshoi Theater for drunkenness and given a punishment with lashes with a warning that if such a case occurs again, he will be fired and sent to the soldiers.

How did the tradition die out?

“Guests are listening to a gypsy choir” (engraving by L. Serebryakov based on a drawing by V. Schrader, 1871)

By the time of the abolition of serfdom in 1861, the serf theater was preserved only in the musical version of festive chants, when lackeys and girls who could sing performed. Their work became the source for the circulation of the "folk song", as well as the then incredibly popular sentimental romances. In the ceremony of walks or festivities on boats or outside the city, choirs were considered an obligatory attribute, as well as a group of choristers in the house churches of the nobility. In the case of a special extreme of prosperity, a “footman” was brought in, capable of managing “with a violin” during parties along a river or forest. Here is one typical advertisement from Vedomosti: “For sale is a man of 25 years old, of great stature, who can write and play the violinist and is fit for a lackey position. To see him and find out about the price at the Galley Yard, in the English tavern near the city of Favel. But this tradition was also put to an end by the Decree of Nicholas I in 1841 on the prohibition of the sale of serfs one by one.

What is the Gulag Fortress Theatre?

The term “serf theater” was also used in the 20th century, and denoted an example of the black humor of Soviet dissidence in relation to a phenomenon common in the Soviet repressive system. The unexpected return of the tradition of "serf artists" was formed in a series of mass arrests of the totalitarian regime of imprisoned professional actors, directors, musicians, dancers and other figures of theatrical professions. From the fruits of their labor, the administration of the zone came up with an incentive system, when for the “Stakhanovite” achievements in camp labor, the prisoner received additional benefits in the form of a club ticket with good seats to watch performances and literary evenings. "Fortified troupes of the Gulag" were also considered elements not only of entertainment, but also of prestige.

On March 7 (February 23, old style), 1803, Praskovya Ivanovna Zhemchugova-Kovaleva, the famous actress, serf of the Sheremetyevs, died. Bright dramatic talent, an extraordinary voice and beauty quickly made Praskovya, the daughter of the serf blacksmith Kovalev, inherited by the wife of Sheremetyev Sr., the prima of the serf theater, and later Countess Sheremetyeva. Empress Catherine II herself, admiring Zhemchugova's performance, awarded her with a diamond ring in recognition of her talent. We decided to talk about gifted serfs who became more famous than their masters.

Praskovya Zhemchugova

Praskovya Zhemchugova. Portrait by the serf artist Argunov

The fate of Praskovya Kovaleva could have turned out differently, if not for the fashion of that time for serf theaters and for a rare gift - an unusual bewitching voice. 8-year-old Praskovya was taken to the count's estate in Kuskovo and began to be taught stage skills, dancing, music, playing the harp and harpsichord, and foreign languages. Then she also received the pseudonym Zhemchugova: Sheremetyev wanted to change the peasant surnames of his actresses to pseudonyms formed from the names of precious stones - Zhemchugov, Biryuzov, Granatov. It is believed that the actress received the pseudonym Zhemchugova for her gentle “pearl” voice.

Praskovya played her first role at the age of 11, she appeared as a maid in Gretry's opera The Experience of Friendship. At the grand opening of the Sheremetyev Theater, timed to coincide with the victory in the war with Turkey on June 22, 1795, Praskovya shone in the title role of the Turkish woman Zelmira, who fell in love with a Russian officer, in the musical drama by I. Kozlovsky based on the text of P. Potemkin "Zelmira and Smelon, or the Capture of Ishmael" . At the age of seventeen, Zhemchugova played her best, according to contemporaries, role of Eliana in Marriages of the Samnites. It was for this role that Emperor Paul I granted Praskovya a pearl necklace, and the owner of the theater, by that time the son of Count Sheremetyev had become it, bestowed the title of chief marshal.

In 1798, Count Nikolai Sheremetyev gives freedom to Praskovya and the entire Kovalev family, and in 1801, having received the tsar's permission for an unequal marriage, he marries an actress. At the request of his wife, according to the project of the architect Giacomo Quarenghi, the count built the Hospice House - one of the first institutions in Russia to provide medical care to the poor and orphans. The Sklifosovsky Research Institute for Emergency Medicine traces its history from him.

Praskovya Zhemchugova died in 1803 from consumption at the age of 34, three weeks after the birth of her son Dmitry. She was buried in St. Petersburg in the family tomb of the Sheremetevs in the Alexander Nevsky Lavra.

Praskovya Zhemchugova as Eliana (Marriages of the Samnitians by A. Gretry). Watercolor portrait of C. de Chamisso.

Mikhail Shchepkin

Mikhail Schepkin. Portrait of the artist N.V. Nevrev.

The founder of the Russian realistic theater Mikhail Shchepkin was born in the Kursk province in the family of Count G. S. Volkenstein, who organized a home theater for the entertainment of children, then young Mikhail became interested in acting. In 1805, he made his debut on the professional stage: quite by accident it was necessary to replace the actor in a performance based on the play by L.-S. Mercier. Since that time, with the permission of Count Wolkenstein, the actor began to play in the theater of the Barsov brothers in Kursk.

Prince V. Meshchersky had a great influence on the young actor, whose style of play impressed Shchepkin. He himself believed that his transformation into a real actor occurred under the influence of Meshchersky's game. He "did not play on stage, but lived." Since then, Shchepkin began to implement a realistic style of play, using the principle of "internal justification of the role." Shchepkin advocated getting used to the image of the character being portrayed, so that the audience would feel the sincerity of the game. This new stage style made Mikhail Shchepkin the first actor in the province. In 1822, admirers of his talent collected the necessary amount and bought the actor out of serfdom. In order to raise the required amount, a performance was organized, with a subscription fee. In 1822, the already free Shchepkin was invited to the troupe of the Moscow Maly Theater, which was later assigned the unofficial name "Schepkin's House". In the capital, he brilliantly played the roles of Shylock in Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice, Famusov in Griboedov's Woe from Wit, and the mayor in Gogol's The Government Inspector.

New principles of acting: deep penetration into the character and understanding of the character, which became widespread thanks to Shchepkin, later formed the basis of the famous "Stanislavsky system". The Higher Theater School at the State Academic Maly Theater in Moscow, the Regional Drama Theater in Belgorod and streets in Moscow, Kursk, Alma-Ata were named after Shchepkin.

Taras Shevchenko

The future National Hero of Ukraine Taras Shevchenko was born in the Kyiv province in the family of the serf landowner Engelhardt, who, noticing the boy's talent for drawing, sent him to study in St. Petersburg to the artist V. Shiryaev, intending to make Taras his serf painter. In St. Petersburg, a talented serf was introduced to the secretary of the Academy of Arts V. I. Grigorovich, the artists A. Venetsianov and K. Bryullov, the poet V. Zhukovsky, thanks to whose efforts Shevchenko was redeemed from serfdom. For this, the portrait of Zhukovsky, painted by Bryullov, was raffled off in a lottery, and the 2,500 rubles received went towards Shevchenko's freedom. As a sign of gratitude to Zhukovsky, Shevchenko dedicated one of his largest works to him - the poem "Katerina".

In 1840, "Kobzar" was published in St. Petersburg - the first Ukrainian collection of Shevchenko's poems. Soon he published "Gaidamaki" - his largest poetic work, "Topol", "Katerina", "Naymichka", "Khustochka", "Caucasus". For his poem "Dream", which contained a satire on the empress, Shevchenko was sent into exile with a ban on writing and drawing. He was released by an amnesty after the death of Nicholas I.

Shevchenko, who wrote more than a thousand works of art, is considered the founder of modern Ukrainian literature and the norms of the literary Ukrainian language. In addition, Taras Shevchenko is one of the most famous masters of Ukrainian painting. The National University in Kyiv, the embankment in Moscow, Ukrainian theaters and the Kyiv metro station are named after him.

Andrey Voronikhin

Portrait of Andrei Voronikhin. Engraving by Viktor Bobrov from a painting original from the early 19th century.

The Russian architect Andrey Voronikhin was lucky to be born into a family of serfs, Count A. S. Stroganov, a well-known philanthropist and philanthropist. Stroganov opened several art schools, in one of which Voronikhin also studied painting with the famous icon painter Yushkov. Soon the count himself drew attention to the talent of the young man and sent him to study at the Moscow School of Architecture, where V. I. Bazhenov and M. F. Kazakov became his mentors. Count Stroganov gave freedom to Voronikhin in 1785, and a year later the young man went to study architecture, mechanics, mathematics and natural sciences in France and Switzerland with the count's son.

In 1791, the young architect began his first work - interior decoration of the Stroganov Palace, designed by Rastrelli, an adherent of the Baroque style. Voronikhin preferred the simplicity of classicism. There is an opinion that it was the European trip, during which Voronikhin became acquainted with examples of ancient architecture, that predetermined his love for classicism, which turned to the forms of ancient architecture as a standard of harmony, logic and beauty. In the same style of classicism, he rebuilt the interiors of the Stroganov dacha and several other houses.

The most famous work of Voronikhin was the Cathedral of the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God, made in the Empire style. After the construction was completed, Voronikhin was awarded the Order of St. Anna of the second degree, and went down in history as one of the founders of the Russian Empire style.

Ivan Sviyazev

The serf princess Shakhovskaya architect Ivan Sviyazev was educated at the Imperial Academy of Arts. At the exam in 1817, for his project “Post Yard”, he received a silver medal of the 2nd degree, but a year later Sviyazev was expelled from the academy due to his status as a serf. Sviyazev was released into the wild in 1821, after which he immediately received the title of artist-architect of the Academy of Arts.

For ten years, the architect worked in Perm, where a school for children of clerical workers, a civil governor's house, and a theological seminary were built according to his designs. Sviyazev owns the final draft of the bell tower of the Transfiguration Cathedral, which now houses the Perm Art Gallery. In 1832, Sviyazev moved to St. Petersburg, where he worked as an architect and teacher at the Mining Institute, where he published the first Russian Guide to Architecture, which was accepted for teaching at the Mining Institute and other educational institutions. For this work, Sviyazev was awarded the title of member of the Academy of Sciences, which gave an honorary review of his work, and the architect himself was invited to various educational institutions to lecture on architecture. In addition to this work, Sviyazev also published the "Textbook of Architecture", "Fundamentals of Furnace Art" and a number of articles published in the "Mining Journal", "Journal of the Ministry of State. Property”, “Journal of Fine Arts” and “Proceedings of the Imperial Free Economic Society”.

The serf, i.e., private noble (domestic landowner) theater arose in Russia on a feudal-serf basis. Separate home performances by serf actors began to be arranged as early as the end of the 17th century, but serf theaters became especially widespread in the second half of the 18th - early 19th centuries and existed until the abolition of serfdom (1861).

Home theaters, of which there were about two hundred during all this time, were distinguished by many significant nuances: in some, only the nobles themselves played, often titled and high-ranking, or their children - these are usually called amateur nobles; in others, “brownies”, that is, serf actors, performed next to amateur nobles; in the third, "free" artists of the public imperial stage or private professional entreprise were invited to the main roles, and the rest of the troupe was from their "homegrown" ones; in the fourth - "free" celebrities, Russian and foreign, appeared only as orchestra leaders, choreographers and theater teachers, and the performers were mainly "own" actors; there were also landlord theaters, which turned into public ones, with an entrance fee.

Any such serf theater, intimate home or public, was created at the whim of the landowner, at his expense, thanks to the labor of his own serfs, used as either actors, or orchestra musicians, or attendants of the stage action, which most often took place in his own ( sometimes rented) house, where he was the absolute master on the stage, backstage and in the auditorium, i.e., he determined the artistic and aesthetic level of performances, formed the direction (dramatic or musical), chose the repertoire, distributed roles, etc., placed at its discretion the audience, and also determined the moral face of the theater.

The fortress theater was of two types - manor and city. The first was a well-organized premises with a large repertoire, a large troupe of artists trained from childhood for theatrical activities, an orchestra, ballet, choir and soloists. The so-called "booth theaters" also belong to this type, showing their performances at large fairs in county towns, in settlements at monasteries, etc. The second type includes estate theaters, which were of a closed nature - for the amusement of the gentlemen themselves and invited guests. Only at first glance such fortress scenes existed in a closed way: their living connection with the social and cultural life of Russia is obvious.

Forced actors were trained by professional artists, composers, choreographers. Often, serf artists were brought up in state theater and ballet schools, and free artists played next to them on the serf stage. It happened that serfs, rented out by their owners, also appeared on the imperial stage (in such cases, in posters and programs, serfs were not called “master” or “mistress”, but simply wrote their names). There are cases when serf artists were redeemed by the treasury for enrollment on the imperial stage - Stolypin serfs, together with the courtyard actors of the landowners P.M. Volkonsky and N.I. Demidov were included in the troupe of the state theater, which was formed in 1806, now known as the Maly Theater. From the serf artists came M.S. Shchepkin, S. Mochalov (father of the tragedian P.S. Mochalov), E. Semenov, according to A.S. Pushkin, "the sovereign queen of the tragic scene", and many others.

At first, serf theaters were organized in the city estates of both capitals, especially in Moscow, where more than twenty of them existed in the 1780s and 1790s alone. In winter, home theaters functioned in the city, and in the summer, together with their owners, they moved to country estates.

Widely known are such serf troupes as the theater of Count S.M. Kamensky in Orel. A special building had a stalls, mezzanine, lodges, a gallery. The chaplains were dressed in special livery tailcoats with multicolored collars. In the count's box, in front of his chair, there was a special book for recording the mistakes of artists and orchestra during the performance, and whips were hung on the wall behind the chair for punishment. Within six months in 1817, according to the "Friend of the Russians", in the theater of Count Kamensky "to the amusement of the public of the city of Orel, 82 plays were staged, of which there were 18 operas, 15 dramas, 41 comedies, 6 ballets and 2 tragedies." The count's estate has not been preserved, but in the Oryol Drama Theater. I.S. Turgenev, since the late 1980s, there has been a memorial "stage of Count Kamensky" with a reconstructed stage, a small hall, a curtain, a museum and a make-up room. Chamber performances are played here, and a portrait of the count and a rod for punishment hangs above the chair of the last row.

The theater of Prince Shakhovsky, whose permanent residence was in a specially equipped room in Nizhny Novgorod, belonged to the same type of public serf theaters. Every year in July, the prince brought his theater to the Makariev Fair. The repertoire of the fortress theater included drama, opera and ballet performances. A similar type of theater is depicted in the story of Vl.A. Sologuba Pupil - manners and life of theatrical figures of the early 19th century. conveyed here with the same tragedy as in the story of A.I. Herzen Magpie-thief. There is fairly accurate information about the repertoire of serf theaters in the 1790s, mainly the works of V. Levshin and I. Kartselli: comic operas The King on the Hunt, The Wedding of Mr.

One of the first and most outstanding was the theater of the Counts Sheremetevs. He began his activity in St. Petersburg in 1765 as an amateur nobleman and finally took shape by the end of the 1770s in Moscow (on Bolshaya Nikolskaya Street). From hundreds of thousands of their serfs, the Sheremetevs carefully selected and taught the crafts and art of the masters who took part in the creation of the theater (architects F. L. Argunov, A. F. Mironov, G. Dikushin; artists I. P. and N. I. Argunov, K. Funtusov, G. Mukhin, S. Kalinin, musicians P. Kalmykov, S. Degtyarev, G. Lomakin and others). They worked under the guidance of and next to renowned European and Russian masters.

In the Moscow estate of the Sheremetevs, Kuskovo, theaters were built: Bolshoi, Maly and "air" (in the open air). The troupe included serf actors, musicians, dancers, decorators (more than two hundred people), among them - an outstanding actress and singer Zhemchugova (P. I. Kovaleva). Artists were supposed to be paid money and food. The troupe was led and overseen by the serf “His Excellency’s librarian” V. G. Voroblevsky, who was educated at the Slavic-Greek-Latin Academy and visited abroad with N. P. Sheremetev in the early 1770s. Voroblevsky translated the plays, at the same time reworking them. The theater's repertoire included more than a hundred plays, mostly comic operas, but also comedies, operas and ballets.

The theater reached its peak in the mid-1780s, when N.P. Sheremetev, son, an enlightened nobleman, a talented musician and a selfless lover of theatrical art, who rebuilt a magnificent theater-palace in the village of Ostankino in the early 1790s, became its owner.

The heyday of the activity of the serf theater of Prince N. B. Yusupov dates back to the beginning of the 19th century (about 1818), but its prehistory goes back to the end of the 18th century. The scenery for this theater was painted by the famous P. Gonzago. Operas and magnificent ballet performances were given at the Yusupov Theater.

By the end of the 18th century, serf theaters began to appear in provincial towns and estates, sometimes very remote from the center, including in the Urals and Siberia. Their level was very different: from primitive home-grown performances on hastily put together stages with a painted sheet instead of a curtain (the theater of Prince G. A. Gruzinsky in the village of Lyskovo), to perfectly organized performances in specially built theaters with a well-equipped stage (the theater of Prince N. G. Shakhovsky in the village of Yusupovo, and then in Nizhny Novgorod; the theater of P. P. Esipov in Kazan; S. M. Kamensky in Orel; S. G. Zorich in Shklov).

In the 1780s, the favorite of Catherine II, S.G. Zorich, in his estate Shklov, Mogilev province, staged a theater, which, according to contemporaries, was "enormous". The repertoire included dramas, comedies, comic operas and ballets. In addition to the serfs, cadets of the Shklovsky Cadet Corps (established by Zorich) and amateur nobles, among whom Prince P. V. Meshchersky was famous (M. S. Shchepkin highly appreciated his game), took part in dramatic performances. In the ballets, which "were very good," only serf dancers danced (in 1800, after Zorich's death, his ballet troupe was bought by the treasury for the St. Petersburg imperial stage).

Among the provincial theaters, the serf theater of Count A. R. Vorontsov also stood out, located in the village of Alabukhi, Tambov province, then in the village of Andreevskoye, Vladimir province. Vorontsov, one of the most educated people of his time, was an ardent opponent of the gallomania that spread among the Russian nobles in the 18th century. Therefore, the repertoire of his serf theater primarily included plays by Russian playwrights: A. P. Sumarokov, D. I. Fonvizin, P. A. Plavilytsikov, M. I. Verevkin, Ya. etc. Plays by Moliere, Beaumarchais, Voltaire and other European playwrights were also staged.

Fortress theaters existed in conditions when their owners tried to make the most of the talent of the serfs, as a result, many of them died prematurely. The history of serf theaters in Russia is full of tragic destinies and dramatic conflicts of existence. However, in spite of everything, these theaters made a valuable contribution to the development of national theatrical art, contributed to its wide dissemination - many provincial theaters trace their history back to serf household troupes.