Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilievich - experimental director

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilievich is a famous Russian and Soviet director and actor, an outstanding theatrical figure. There are not so many creative personalities who could boast such a rich biography as Meyerhold's.

Early years

Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilievich was born in 1874 in the Russian city of Pumice into a poor family of Germanic Lutheran Jews. Real name - Karl Casimir Theodor Meyergold. A huge influence on the education of Karl and the development of his love for the theater was exerted by his mother, Alvina Danilovna. She staged musical evenings and impromptu performances in which all her children took part.

Studying was very hard for Karl. He stayed a few times for the second year, so he graduated quite late. After graduating from high school, he enters Moscow University with the intention of obtaining a law degree. In the same year, after reaching the age of majority (21 years old), Karl decides to change Prussian citizenship to Russian. He also decides to change his name. Since that time, they began to call him Vsevolod, as well as hisfavorite writer Garshin. Along with the name, he slightly changes the surname. In accordance with the rules of the Russian language, she now sounds like Meyerhold.

In his student years, Vsevolod Emilievich marries his contemporary Olga Munt. By the time they graduate from university, their first child is born.

Work at the Moscow Art Theater

Since 1898, Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilievich begins his service in the troupe of the Moscow Art Theater. There he meets the school of psychological theater, but cannot agree with its teaching and accept it.

During his work at the Moscow Art Theater, he takes part in such productions as The Death of Ivan the Terrible, The Merchant of Venice, Antigone, Lonely People, The Seagull, Three Sisters. However, dissatisfaction with Stanislavsky's system forces him to leave the troupe and leave the theater.

New Drama Fellowship

Since 1902, Meyerhold's independent creative activity began. He moved to the province, where for two years he performed dual duties: an actor and a director. During this time, he managed to work in several theater groups.

Even during his work in such provincial cities as Nikolaev and Sevastopol, the studio "Partnership of the New Drama" was organized, headed by Meyerhold.

The biography of the director is rich in events. After returning to Moscow in 1905, he received an offer from Stanislavsky to begin service in the studio theater on Povarskaya. Together with the actorsIn his studio, he puts on the play "The Death of Tentagil" based on the play by M. Maeterlinck. In this production, Meyerhold managed to combine drama and ballet, as well as to create an original musical and color scheme. However, six months after the start of work, Stanislavsky refused to continue the experiment he had planned, and the studio theater in which Meyerhold worked was closed.

Work in St. Petersburg

In the autumn of 1906 Meyerhold's Petersburg period began. He received an offer to become the chief director of the Drama Theater, which was organized by Vera Fedorovna Komissarzhevskaya.

However, director Meyerhold seeks to try his hand not only in staging dramatic plays. In order to master the conventions of stage play, he puts on several pantomimes. Gradually, separate, special scripts are being written for such representations.

While working in St. Petersburg, Vsevolod Meyerhold does not forget about his love of acting on stage. As an actor, he takes part in dramatic plays and ballet performances. For example, in 1910 he played the role of Pierrot in the performance of Mikhail Fokin's Carnival.

Gradually, Meyerhold's performances began to appear on the stage of European theaters. The first step on the road to fame was the ballet performance "Pisanello", which was staged at the Chatelet Theater in Paris.

And one more important touch. Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilievich was one of those artists who supported the October Revolution.

Meyerhold Theater (TIM)

In 1924, the director organized his own theater. He gets the opportunity to travel abroad on tour with the troupe. They visited countries such as Germany, England, France, Italy, Czechoslovakia.

It was in TIM that the classical plays of the 19th century were first staged. Among them are the famous "Inspector General" by N. Gogol and "Forest" by A. Ostrovsky. Work on them was a special stage in the creative biography of Meyerhold. To achieve greater entertainment and satire, the techniques of the Russian booth were used. Thanks to his talent as a director, Meyerhold was able to turn the stage space upside down.

He also experimented with contemporary plays. Each new production was perceived by critics and viewers as a scandalous incident.

Obviously, the current regime could not like this activity of the experimental director, because his work did not fit into the framework of the new art. Therefore, at the end of the thirties, he, like many contemporaries, was repressed. And in February 1940 he was shot.