Martynov, Alexander Evstafevich

Born in St. Petersburg in the family of landowner Sukhozanet. He was educated at the Petersburg Drama School (1827–1835) - first in the ballet class of S. Didelot , with Didelot’s departure, he studied for some time with Konopi decorator, but successfully played the role of lackey in P.V. Karatygin ’s valedevil “Familiar strangers” drew the attention of the leadership the imperial theaters and the director A. M. Gedeonov were entrusted to the actor Ya. G. Bryansky , but he said: “there’s no sense in the paint machine”; as a result, Martynov moved to the dramatic class of P. A. Karatygin ^[3] .

He began performing on stage in 1831 ^[4] or 1832, making his debut at the Alexandrinsky Theater in St. Petersburg in the vaudeville of P. G. Grigoriev, “Filatka and Miroshka are rivals”. Over the years of apprenticeship, they played about 70 roles.

In 1836, after graduating from college, he was enrolled in the troupe of the Alexandrinsky Theater , in which he soon occupied the position of the first comic actor. Under the comic shell often showed the fate of a small, downtrodden man. Especially strongly this line of interpretation of the characters was expressed in the images of minor officials, apprentices, yard people. According to the memoirs of A. Ya. Panaeva ,

Martynov very soon became a favorite of the public, she always met him with applause, which caused envy to him behind the scenes. I saw the time when the sovereign laughed loudly, looking at some vaudeville where Martynov played; this very rarely happened to the sovereign ^[5]

Upon the death of Dura in 1839, he inherits his roles, but represents them quite differently. For example, in the image of Khlestakov, Dyur was having fun and laughing at the comedic situation (Gogol himself didn’t like this interpretation. "In the" Extract from a letter to one writer "Gogol wrote:" The main role was gone; I thought so. Dyur didn’t understand, what is Khlestakov. "Then, as you know, Gogol examines in detail the shortcomings of this actor's game, finding that Dura Khlestakov was one of" a whole line of vaudeville shaluhn who came to us to turn around from the Paris theaters ",” cited from memories of Nick. Smirnova-S Okol'skij Stories about books. M., “The Book”, 1983 ), while Martynov generalized this image, showed a typical social phenomenon of imperial centralization, into which the country flowed.

Roles

In total, Martynov performed over 600 roles for his artistic biography, including:

• 1836 - Emelyan (“Good and bad, and stupid, and smart” by D. Lensky ), Naumich (“The Cavalier 's Wife, or Four Against One” by P. Grigoriev ), Fock (“New Stern” by Shakhovsky ), Sidorka (“Lesson to Daughters » I. Krylov ); Bobchinsky (" Auditor ") Gogol ; Mitrofan (“The Minority ” of Fonvizin ),
• 1837 - Gryphonar (“The Bridegroom in Hot Cakes ” by D. Lensky );
• 1838 - Jacques (“ Miserly ” Moliere ), Volcanoes (“First-tier lodge on Taloni’s last debut” Karatygina ), Freytag (“Hussar-girl” Kony );
• 1839 - Sinichkin (“ Lev Gurych Sinichkin, or Provincial debutante ” by D.T. Lensky ), Puzin (“Father, what a little” Korovkin ), Biryulkin (“Own family, or Married Bride” by Shakhovsky , Griboedov and Khmelnitsky ), Khomov ( “Grandfather and Granddaughter” by Korovkin );
• 1840 - Pokhlebov (“Petersburg Apartments” Koni ), Ogurchikov (“Kharkov Bridegroom” of Lensky );
• 1841 - Pryndik ("In people - an angel, not a wife, at home with her husband - Satan" of Lensky );
• 1842 - Podkolesin , first performer (Gogol's “ Marriage ”); Alain ( Moliere's " School of Women ");
• 1843 - Carlosha (“Bakery, or Petersburg German” by P. Karatygin ), Morkovkin (“What we have, we don’t keep, we lose — we cry” by S. Solovyov ), Jourdain (“ Bourgeois nobleman ” by Moliere ); Ikharev (" Players "); Khlestakov (" Auditor " Gogol);
• 1844 - Lisichkin (“The daughter of the Russian actor” P. Grigoriev ), Antropka (“The Fashion Store” by I. Krylov ), Bartolo (“The Barber of Seville ” by Beaumarchais );
• 1845 - Rag (“Bouquets, or St. Petersburg Flower Abomination” of Sologub ), 1st Gravedigger (“ Hamlet ”);
• 1846 - Drazhkin in the play “Kashchei, or the Lost Ring” by Efimovich ;
• 1847 - Thaddeus (“ Miller is a sorcerer, deceiver and matchmaker ” by Alesimov , music. Sokolovsky's processing);
• 1848 - Ergachev (“Ay yes French” Onyx );
• 1849 - Shpundik (“The Bachelor” by Turgenev ), Mirvolin (“Breakfast at the leader” of Turgenev);
• 1851 - Studendeev (Turgenev Provincial);
• 1852 - Fadinar ( Labish and Marc-Michel 's Straw Hat );
• 1853 - Khlystykov (“ They died before, then they got married” by Maximov ), Malomalsky (“ Don't sit in your sleigh ” by Ostrovsky ), Benevolensky (“ Poor Bride ” by Ostrovsky ), Sharov (“A crow in peacock feathers” of Kulikov );
• 1854 - Korshunov (“ Poverty is not a vice ” by Ostrovsky), Kristerfors (“Markitanka” of the Kukolnik ), Skripunov (“Court of the people is not of God” Potekhin );
• 1855 - driver Mihailo (“Alien Good For Good doesn’t Go ” Potekhina , Yeremka (“ Do not live as Ostrovsky as you want ”), Deryugin (“Unknown Friends” Onyx ), Rooster (“Pavel Ivanovich Chichikov’s Adventures” by Kulikov and Grigoriev by “ Dead souls "Gogol);
• 1856 - Tit Titych Bruskov (" In a strange feast of hangover " by Ostrovsky, Rasklyuev (" Krechinsky's Wedding "));
• 1857 - Balzaminov (“Holiday Dream - Before Dinner” by Ostrovsky), Famusov (“ Woe from Wit ”); Zhelvakov (“Provincial originals” based on Shchedrin's work), Ivanchikov (“The light is not without good people” by N. Lvov );
• 1858 - Ladyzhkin (“The Bridegroom from the Debt Department” by I. E. Chernyshev ),
• 1859 - Hawthorn (“Money does not Happiness” by I. E. Chernyshev ), Semyon Mikhaylych (“Company in Shares” by N. Lvov ); Tikhon , the first performer in turn with S. V. Vasilyev / at the premiere played Vasilyev (“The Storm ” by Ostrovsky), Counselor (“The Brigadier” of Fonvizin );
• 1860 - Trubin-Razladin (“The Father of the Family”, I. E. Chernysheva ) and still very many others. others

The value of creativity

The development of realistic images corresponded to the creative aesthetics of Martynov, he sought in each character to look for living human traits, to reveal the complexity of the spiritual world, to show the insults and sufferings of a small person ^{[6] [7]} . He belonged to a new raznochchinnogo generation of cultural figures, finally abandoned the pomp of the actors of the school V. A. Karatygin ^[8] .

But M. faced the routine scene with a routine, bad traditions; The nobility and philistine-philistine circles of the audience stubbornly wanted to see him as a comic-farcer and did not understand the progressive, innovative essence of the art of M. Socio-accusatory, satiric. the direction in the work of M., which already appeared in the performance of vaudeville roles (Mordashov - “Az and Firth” Fedorov, 1849, and others), was vividly revealed in the plays of Gogol. Belinsky wrote about the "great talent", with M. M.'s mouth playing the role of Ikharev (The Players, 1843). In “The Inspector-General” and “The Marriage” M. played in different years the roles of Bobchinsky (1836), Khlestakov (1843), Osip (1851), Podkolesina (1842). L.N. Tolstoy noted that M. was the first real Khlestakov. M. rejected the tradition of vaudeville execution of this role, marching from N. O. Dyura , and created a realistic image of Khlestakov, who embodied vulgarity, emptiness, the insignificance of the bureaucratic world of Nikolaev Russia. Distinguishing depth and boldness of the characteristics differed in the images created by M. in the plays “Nedorosl” by Fonvizin (Mitrofan, 1836), “Woe from Wit” (Famusov, 1857), “Miserly” by Moliere (Garpagon, 1843). / / Theatrical Encyclopedia, s . 408-409

“The breath of the tragic determined the sad character of the Martynov comic, a comic in which there was hidden pain,” wrote theater critic Boris Nikolayevich Aseev (B. Aseev “Alexander Evstafyevich Martynov”, 1946, p.12) (quoted in the Theater Encyclopedia ). His characters are not only psychologically authentic. Even in comic situations, Martynov primarily felt and showed the tragedy of the characters caused by social phenomena that dominated Russia.

V. G. Belinsky, the first of the critics, noticed the great talent of M. and constantly helped him with advice. Belinsky was especially noted for the performance of M. Sinichkin's role in vaudeville "Lev Gurych Sinichkin" by D.T. Lensky (1840). The socially accusatory, satirical trend in the art of M. was vividly revealed in the plays of N. V. Gogol — the image of Khlestakov (Revizor, 1843) and others. New period of creativity M. associated with his performances in the plays of I. S. Turgenev and A. N. Ostrovsky. The role of Moshkin (Turgenev's The Bachelor, 1859) is one of the greatest achievements of psychological realism on the Russian stage. A bright trace in the history of the Russian theater was left to M. the role of Tikhon (Ostrovsky’s The Thunderstorm, 1859), which the artist played as a person who was ruined by the cruel Domostroi regime. ... The activity of M. marked a qualitatively new stage in the history of the Russian theater, associated with the struggle of the revolutionary democrats V. G. Belinsky , N. A. Dobrolyubova , N. G. Chernyshevsky for aesthetics of stage realism ^[9] .

Being a shy man, alien to self-conceit, he did not demand a salary increase from the directors of the imperial theaters; constantly in need, Martynov worked without rest, often toured and, by the mid-1850s, tore up his poor health. Has developed a consumption. In the spring of 1860, accompanied by Ostrovsky , he went for treatment to the Crimea , making a trip in Moscow, Voronezh, Kharkov, Odessa. Tension of forces led to deterioration ^[10] . He died at the hands of Ostrovsky from tuberculosis in the same 1860 in Kharkov , on the way back. Martynov’s funeral in St. Petersburg turned into a multi-thousand-day demonstration of the democratic community, which perceived the artist’s death as a national loss.

At first he was buried in the Smolensk cemetery . In 1936, the dust was transferred from the Smolensk cemetery to the Necropolis of artists with the installation of a new monument. See. Monument on the grave of A. E. Martynov ^[11] .

• Martynov, Alexander Evstafevich // Encyclopedic dictionary of Brockhaus and Efron : in 86 tons (82 tons and 4 extra). - SPb. , 1890-1907.
• Martynov Alexander Evstafevich (Neopr.) . Great Russian Encyclopedia - electronic version . The appeal date is January 6, 2019.