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[THE CHERRY ORCHARD IN KHARKIV] Dramaturgiya Chekhova : K postanovke p'yesy «Vishnevyy sad» v Khar'k. teatre dramy [i.e. Chekhov’s Dramaturgy: «The Cherry Orchard» on the Stage of the Kharkov Theatre of the Russian Drama]

Balukhaty, S., Petrov, N.

Item #2106

[Kharkiv]: Khar'k. teatr rus. dramy, 1935. 206, [2] pp., 3 ill.: ill. 20x14 cm. In original publisher’s cloth binding. Fine condition.

Scarce. First edition. 1 of 3,200 copies. Binding and bass-relief of Anton Chekhov by the noted Russian graphic artist and book illustrator Vladimir Konashevich (1888-1963).
In the period from 1922 to 1924, Vladimir was the member of Mir Iskusstva artistic organization and later the Society of Painters. After changing a number of occupations in the 1920s, Konashevich finally focused his interests on graphic art and started collaborating with different publishing houses including Raduga [i.e. Rainbow]. Some of his most famous works in book design include Korney Chukovsky’s Mukha-Tsokotukha [i.e. Fly Tsokotukha] (1924), Samuil Marshak’s Pozhar [i.e. Fire], etc.

The Cherry Orchard (1903) was the last play written by the noted Russian playwright Anton Chekhov (1860-1904). It was first published in Znaniye (Book Two, 1904) almanac and came out as a separate edition later that year in Saint Petersburg, via A.F. Marks Publishers. The play revolved around an aristocratic Russian landowner who returned to the family estate (which included a large and well-known cherry orchard) just before it was auctioned to pay the mortgage.
The Cherry Orchard premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre on 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Konstantin Stanislavski (1863-1938) and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (1858-1943). Widely regarded as a classic of 20th-century theatre, the play is identified as one of the four outstanding plays by Chekhov, along with The Seagull, Three Sisters, and Uncle Vanya.
This book was published on the occasion of the production of the Cherry Orchard at the Kharkov Theatre of the Russian Drama by the Soviet theatre director Nikolay Petrov (1890-1964) in 1935. The edition contains four articles: Chekhov's Dramaturgy by the Soviet literary critic Sergey Balukhaty (1893-1945), About the Cherry Orchard by Nikolay Petrov (the director of the play at the Kharkov Theatre in 1935), Bibliography by the Soviet literary critic Ksenya Muratova (1904-1998), and an Appendix to Balukhaty’s article.
In the book, the authors offer readers a general outline of Chekhov's dramaturgy and a detailed description of the play The Cherry Orchard. The text starts with Chekhov’s biographical brief and proceeds with the examination of his plays from the earliest through the latest: Bezottsovshina [i.e. Fatherless], humorous one-act plays of vaudeville, the play Ivanov, Leshy [i.e. The Wood Demon], Chayka [i.e. The Seagull], Dyadya Vanya [i.e. Uncle Vanya], Tri Sestry [i.e. Three Sisters], and Vishnevyy sad [i.e. The Cherry Orchard]. The edition features lesser-known correspondence between Chekhov and Stanislavsky (founder of the Moscow Art Theatre), the director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko (founder of the Moscow Art Theatre), O. Knipper (Chekov’s wife), etc. The letters reveal interesting details regarding Chekhov’s work on the plays and show the playwright’s concerns about the production of The Cherry Orchard in the Moscow Art Theatre. The text reveals the correlation between the dramaturgical style of the playwright and the socio-political changes in different time periods.
Special attention is given to Chekhov’s last play, which according to the authors greatly influenced Russian theatre and bolstered the introduction of original stage principles as well as the new perception of directors’ work in the theatre.
The edition features a bibliography of works dedicated to the playwright and includes numerous black and white illustrations showing Chekhov, his correspondence with Nemirovich-Danchenko and scenes from his plays staged at different times at the Moscow Art Theatre.
Overall, an interesting study of the dramaturgy of one of the greatest playwrights in world theatre history.

Price: $450.00