Pavel Mochalov

Pavel Mochalov among his admirers by Nikolai Nevrev.

Pavel Stepanovich Mochalov (1800-1848) was thought to be the greatest tragedian of Russian Romanticism, much admired by Alexander Herzen, Mikhail Lermontov and other contemporaries.

During his prolonged career at the Malyi Theare of Moscow, Mochalov excelled in the Shakespearean parts, playing Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth, and King Lear. His acting had a Byronic flavour and relied heavily upon inspiration. He was frequently compared with his St Petersburg rival, Vasily Karatygin, whose acting was more poised and calculated.