An Ardent Heart

An Ardent Heart
Written by Aleksander Ostrovsky
Date premiered 15 January 1869
Place premiered Maly Theatre in Moscow
Original language Russian
Genre comedy

An Ardent Heart (Gorya′chee se′rdtse, Горячее сердце) is a play by Alexander Ostrovsky written in 1858 and first published in the January 1869 issue of Otechestvennye Zapiski. It was premiered on January 15, 1869, in the Moscow's Maly Theatre and on the 29th of the same month performed in Saint Petersburg's Alexandrinka.[1]

History

"I am now working upon a new large play which will be finished in November," Ostrovsky wrote in a letter to friend, Alexandrinka actor Fyodor Burdin in October 1869. Once it was over, Ostrovsky sent the manuskript to Otechestvennye Zapisky magazine which published it in the No.1, January 1869 issue.

Burdin, as usual, has taken it upon himself to take the manuscript through the censorship routine. Fearing the worst, he himself wrote upon the title page: "The action takes place 30 years ago". On January 4, 1869, the comedy was licensed by Imperial theatres of Russia. On January 15 it was premiered in Maly Theatre, as Prov Sadovsky's benefice (he played Koroslepov). It also featured Akimova (as Matryona Kharitonovna), Fedotova (Parasha), A.F.Fedotov (Silan), V.Zhivokoni (Gradoboyev), Dmitrievsky (Khlynov), Shuysky (Aristarkh), D.Zhivokini (Narkis), Muzil (Gavrila), Tretyakov (Vasya the Quick One), Konstantinov (a Landlord), Nikiforov (Sidorenko).[2]

There were conflicting reports as to the play's success or otherwise in Maly. Several Moscow newspapers (like Sovremennaya Letopis) maintained that it flopped. Several years ago Ostrovsky wrote: "Newspaper correspondents wrote that... An Ardent Heart had no success in Moscow but those reports were obviously false. The play has had success and each time the greater, crescendo. I was ill, so I could see only the 12th or 13th performance, don't remember exactly, and how did the public receive it? - it summoned up actors: Sadovsky, Fedotova, Muzil, Zhivokini, Dmitrevsky, Shuysky, Akimova, - several times after each act and sometimes after certain scenes. And after the play finished several times all were called up. Could this be called a flop?"[3] Leo Tolstoy who was present at the performance on January 17, wrote home to his wife that "the performance was excellent".[4]

On January 1869 An Ardent Heart was performed in Saint Petersburg’s Alexandrinsky Theatre, as Yulia Linskaya’s benefice (she played Matryona Kharitonovna). It featured Vasiliev The 2nd (as Kuroslepov), Struyskaya (Parasha), Zubrov (Silan), Samoylov (Gradoboyev), Burdin (Khlynov), Zubov (Aristarkh), Gorbunov (Narkis), Kalugin (Gavrila), Sazonov (Vasya the Quick One), Stepanov (landlord). Here the play indeed flopped and particularly inadequate was the premier, which made Ostrovsky greatly upset.[2] Later he wrote:

“ For the one who's never known what a failure was, experiencing it for the first time is a tragedy. Such grievance struck me for the first time in 1869 in Saint Petersburg, where An Ardent Heart was performed for the first time... Now it looks to me that that for a play to retain its good name it would be better for it never to be submitted to the Petersburg stage. More than one person has told me already that An Ardent Heart would have been much benefited should it have not been produced in Petersburg. Not only are they indifferent to the genre of people's drama there but their production (should the author not take it upon himself to produce his own play) is extraordinary negligent and incompetent, so that people who'd seen the play on another city's stage won't recognize it at all. Painful as it is for me to say, the quality of the production on the capital's theater is lower than that of many a provincial stage.[5] ”

According to The Society of Russian Dramatists, in 1874-1886 the play was absent form the two major cities theatres' repertoires but enjoyed more than 30 productions in the province. In 1887-1917 it was produced all in all 196 times. In 1893 Alexandrinsky Theatre revived the play and this time had success with it.[2] Yury Yuriev remembered:

I left the theatre positively shaken. Whichever figure you take, it’s an open book of human life, and this time the actors’ ensemble was exemplary. Sanina, Varlamov, Davydov, Medvedev, Shapovalenko all together reconstructed this 'realm of darkness' showing the rough force of despotism which made us all wince with horror. Habitual routines, stale customs the whole way of life like a dark heavy cloud was hanging over any an ardent heart, smothering rays of light, making it impossible for a living being to break through this web of harsh reality. The play had enormous success. Up until this very day our theatre veterans remember it as something close to perfection, the finest moment in Aleksandrinka's history. Tchaikovskys were present too. During the break Pyotr Ilych, passing by, said to me: Isn’t it lovely? What a performance. Ostrovsky’s every work is truly golden.[6]

Since 1917 An Ardent Heart became one of the most popular plays of the Soviet theatre. The 1926 Moscow Art Theatre production was being regarded as one of the most successful, with actors like I.M.Moskvin (Khlynov), M.M.Tarkhanov (Gradoboyev), V.F.Gribunin (Kuroslepov), B.G.Dobronravov (Narkis), N.P.Khmelyov (Silan), F.V.Shevchenko (Matryona) involved.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Lakshin, Vladimir (1982). "Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky". Iskusstvo, Moscow. Life in Art series. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 A.I.Revyakin (1950). "The Ardent Heart (Goryachee serdtse)". The Complete A.N.Ostrovsky in 10 Volumes. Khudozhestvennaya literatura. Moscow. Vol.5. 1867-1870 Plays. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
  3. ↑ A.N.Ostrovsky. A Note on the Copyright Ownership for Drama Autors. About Theatre anthology, 1947, p.50
  4. ↑ Lev Tolstoy’s Letters to wife. 1915, p.73.
  5. ↑ A.N.Ostrovsky. A Note on Dramatist's Rights. About Theatre compilation, 1947, p.49.
  6. ↑ Y.Yuriev. Notes. 1948, Moscow, p. 278