2023-11-22 18:29:30
The Moscow Art Theater is the latest of the capital’s theaters to open its 126th season. Gorky. The theater was closed for seven months because it had completely refurbished its stage. And the first to try it are not some modern heroes, but Chekhov’s sisters from the play of the same name “Three Sisters”. However, this is not a new interpretation of the classic material: the director, Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, back in 1940 made his version of the famous Chekhov play, written in 1900 and first staged by him together with Stanislavsky in 1901. So, as they say now at the Moscow Art Theater, this will be a restoration of the legend, but with a new breath. We talked about the sisters of the 21st century, about Tatyana Doronina and the artistic director of another Moscow Art Theater – from Kamergersky – with the general director of the Moscow Art Theater. Gorky Vladimir Kekhman.
— Vladimir Abramovich, renovations at the theater on Tverskoy took seven months. Is the Moscow Art Theater finally completely renovated?
— We have finally completed the auditorium. On the first tier, from where it was always terribly visible, there are now new chairs – a little less than 200 of them, very comfortable, with an excellent view, we call them thrones. In total, the hall now has 1,135 seats.
According to the general director, the stage board has been completely replaced, and new sound and light have appeared. In exactly one month the lower mechanization of the stage will be done. On two floors (men’s and women’s) there will be new dressing rooms, a service canteen, and the service entrance will be changed beyond recognition.
— We will complete all this work by December 27. It is on this day that we will celebrate the 125th anniversary of the Moscow Art Theater. Many theaters and friends associated either with the theater or with me personally will come to congratulate us.
“Three Sisters”: Vera Desnitskaya (Olga), Natalya Medvedeva (Masha) and Valentina Stojilkovich (Irina). Photo: glory of novices
— Are your colleagues from Kamergersky, from Chekhov’s Moscow Art Theater getting together?
– They refused. Yes, we would have celebrated the 125th anniversary with them if Khabensky had not refused. After all, a year ago we seriously discussed the idea of two Moscow Art Theaters finally meeting together…
— It could be a beautiful story, by the way.
– Certainly. Moreover, we were thinking of preparing a joint performance, we wanted to write a play, and the director seemed to have been found. They thought about starting to play the play at Chekhov’s Moscow Art Theater and ending at Gorky’s Moscow Art Theater – that was an interesting idea, but Khabensky refused.
If the Moscow Art Theater in Kamergersky at the end of October celebrated its 125th anniversary with a specially created performance for the occasion, “9th Row, 10th, 11th Place,” for which it received very contradictory reviews, then the Moscow Art Theater on Tverskoy will open with a classic, a legend, “Three Sisters.” One of the founders of the Art Theater, Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko, made the second edition of Chekhov’s play in 1940. And since that time, the production has been performed at the Moscow Art Theater 1107 times. The restoration of the legendary performance is being carried out by actor and director Sergei Desnitsky, who at one time played in “Three Sisters”, and in different years – different roles. He appeared on the Moscow Art Theater stage as Tuzenbach, Vershinin, and Solyony.
As old-timers of the Moscow Art Theater say, Sergei Glebovich has a unique gift: fifteen minutes was enough for him to remember the text of the role several times. Therefore, there is no doubt that all the mise-en-scène will be repeated flawlessly. But in any restoration, even if with the best intentions to follow the letter of the original, there is a danger of turning the production into a museum. Solid, high quality, but a museum.
Moreover, something similar had already happened with “Three Sisters” at Gorky’s Moscow Art Theater, when the previous artistic director released Nemirovich-Danchenko’s edition, but this did not become any event. Meanwhile, Nemirovich-Danchenko himself, when starting work, wrote: “Any play by Chekhov must be staged anew every time. We must approach it with our present-day eyes and feelings. And not through the eyes of a good museum.” Now, under this slogan, the Moscow Art Theater produces its “Sisters”.
“I saw the rehearsals: Sergei Glebovich Desnitsky does everything brilliantly, I am very pleased with him,” says Vladimir Kekhman. — Vladimir Dmitriev’s scenery is also historical. But we must not forget that Nemirovich-Danchenko did that performance for the stage in Kamergersky, and it is two times smaller than here, so Vyacheslav Okunev, like a true Master, scaled Dmitriev’s scenery for our stage. And the costumes performed by Elena Zykova were restored according to the original sketches.
The sisters in the updated version are played by Vera Desnitskaya (Olga), Natalya Medvedeva (Masha) and Valentina Stojilkovich (Irina). The latter is a graduate of the Shchukin Theater Institute, Serbian by nationality, and speaks with a slight accent. So the phrase “To Moscow, to Moscow,” uttered by Irina, today, you see, takes on a slightly different sound.
Less than a month after the premiere, the Moscow Art Theater will celebrate its 125th anniversary. I ask Vladimir Kekhman: “Is Tatyana Doronina expected at the anniversary?”
— Tatyana Vasilievna promised to come on December 26 to celebrate her 90th birthday. In honor of her, we give “Vassa Zheleznova,” her famous performance (let me remind you that “Vassa Zheleznova” was the last performance that Tatyana Vasilievna Doronina played on the stage of the Moscow Art Theater and left it as a sign of disagreement with the previous leadership. — M.R.)
— Since you have been heading the theater, I have heard more than once that Tatyana Vasilievna is about to arrive, but, unfortunately, everything was limited to video communication with part of the team.
– One more attempt will be made.
— Do you keep in touch with her? What can we say about her condition today?
– Constantly in touch. True, now I was very busy holding a cultural forum. I’ll go visit her soon. Her condition is excellent. She lives in the same gerontological center where she moved from Barvikha a year ago. She promised to meet with our chief director Galina Polishchuk. I want her to bless her.
#Vladimir #Kekhman #Khabensky #refused #celebrate #anniversary #Moscow #Art #Theater