Hello dear friends. Today, on December 20, Konstantin Stanislavsky, a Russian theater director, actor and teacher, and a theater reformer, was born many years ago.
Actually, he was the creator of the famous system of acting training, which is very popular in Russia and in the world. In 1936, Stanislavsky became the first People’s Artist of the USSR. In truth, he was one of the most influential theatrical figures of the 20th century.
In 1888 he became one of the founders of the Moscow Artistic and Literary Society. In 1898, together with Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, he founded the Moscow Art Theater.
Konstantin Sergeevich Stanislavsky (real name Alekseev) was born on January 17, 1863 in Moscow. He was born into a large family (he had nine brothers and sisters) of a well-known industrialist. Nikolai Alekseev, mayor of Moscow, was his cousin. Konstantin’s younger sister Zinaida Sokolova was an Honored Artist of the RSFSR.
In 1878-1881 he studied at the gymnasium of the Lazarev Institute. His excellent classical education included lessons in singing, ballet and acting, as well as regular visits to the opera and theater.
In 1886, Konstantin was elected a member of the Directorate and treasurer of the Moscow branch of the Russian Musical Society. Together with the singer and teacher F. Komissarzhevsky and the artist F. Sollogub, Alekseev developed a project for the Moscow Artistic and Literary Society. At that time, in order to hide his real name, he took the stage name Stanislavsky. The first performance took place on December 20, 1888. For ten years on stage, Stanislavsky became a famous actor. In addition, his performance of a number of roles is compared with the best professionals.
In January 1891, Stanislavsky officially became the director of the Literary and Artistic Society. He directed Uriel Acosta (1895), Othello (1896), The Polish Jew (1896), Much Ado About Nothing (1897), Twelfth Night (1897), Sunken Bell (1898).
In 1897, Nemirovich-Danchenko and Stanislavsky decided to create a new theater. On June 26, 1898, the troupe of the Art Theater began its work. The premiere of the play «Tsar Fedor Ivanovich» by Alexei Tolstoy in October 1898 was a huge success due to its realism. «The Seagull» by Anton Chekhov (1898) brought fame to the company.
The first Studio, founded in 1911, became his most famous laboratory as it laid the foundation for the System.
After the 1917 revolution, he traveled with his company in Western Europe and the United States from August 1922 to September 1924.
After a massive heart attack, which happened on the anniversary evening at the Moscow Art Theater in 1928, the doctors forbade Stanislavsky to speak.
In 1937, the director was awarded the Order of Lenin, and in 1938 — the Order of the Red Banner of Labor.
Konstantin Stanislavsky died on August 7, 1938 in Moscow.
“Stanislavsky was not afraid of death,” says Yuri Bakhrushin, the son of the founder of the Moscow Theater Museum, in his memoirs, “but he hated it as the opposite of life.”
Despite the cardinal changes in the country and society, as well as the social status and origin of the director, Stanislavsky’s activities found the most ardent support and approval from the Soviet authorities. Joseph Stalin himself often attended the performances of the Moscow Art Theater, which by that time had received the status of a state theater.
Personal life
Konstantin Sergeevich was married to Maria Petrovna Lilina (stage name), nee Perevoshchikova. The couple was together until the death of Stanislavsky.
The director also had an illegitimate son, Vladimir Sergeevich (1883-1941), who was adopted by the director’s father. Vladimir became a famous historian of antiquity, a professor at Moscow State University. His grandson Yu. Bromley became a well-known historian and ethnographer, an academician of the USSR.
His daughter Kira Alekseeva-Falk (1891-1977) was married to the artist Robert Falk.
Streets in Lipetsk, Moscow, Chelyabinsk, Ufa, Tula, Rostov-on-Don, Novosibirsk, Nizhny Novgorod, Sochi, Adler, Kazan, Tosno, Khimki, Kyiv, Orsk, Minsk and some other cities are named after Stanislavsky.
On January 10, 2010, a monument to Konstantin Stanislavsky was unveiled in front of the building of the Russian Drama Theater in Karaganda.
His phrase «I do not believe!» became popular in the world of cinema, theater and in the domestic sphere.
The autobiographical book «My Life in Art» was published in 1924 in Boston. The book was published in Russian only in 1926. It has been translated into many languages.
It has nothing to do with jewelry, but is a real treasure!
Happy birthday, Konstantin Sergeevich!