Veniamin Zalmanovich Dodin. Director Lev Dodin: "I struggle with the fact that I am a Soviet person" An excerpt characterizing Dodin, Lev Abramovich

Until now, I deliberately did not give any comments on the construction of the future building of the new stage of the Maly Drama Theater - the Theater of Europe, because I think the matter is still in such a problematic state that any comment in this situation can only worsen the situation. Nevertheless, I cannot but respond to the remark of the head of the North-Western Directorate for Construction, Reconstruction and Restoration, Mrs. Volynskaya, which surprised me greatly. When asked by a journalist how she interacts with the Maly Drama Theater, she literally answers that Lev Abramovich creative person, and he has a lot of different new ideas and desires, some of which we try to take into account as much as possible.

So, I would like to say that maybe Lev Abramovich is a creative person, but neither the theater nor I have had a single new desire, not a single new proposal on this matter since the approval of the theater project. In the course of working with one of the co-authors of the project, Alexander Borovsky, and then with the second co-author of the project, Mikhail Mamoshin, and with the staff of his workshop, everything was thought out and discussed to the smallest detail. And all this is expressed in a layout made by one of the co-authors of the project Alexander Borovsky on a scale of 1:50 with an accuracy of one centimeter. All the materials from which the theater should be built were selected and coordinated with the theater: the type and color of wood, the type and color of bricks, St. Petersburg limestone was selected, it is known from which quarry it should be taken ... and so on and so on.

Somehow, a version was submitted for examination that was not fully agreed with the theater and violated whole line what was agreed. For example, from the very beginning it was agreed that the space of the main rehearsal room would be absolutely identical to the main stage space, which would allow the performance to be rehearsed until the last generals in the rehearsal room, and then transferred to the stage - this was how it should have been, and not the way for some reason it turned out to be in the documents submitted for examination, where the required depth and the required footage of the rehearsal room were absent. For example, we said from the very beginning that the entrance to the roof of the theater at the main entrance could not end for the viewer with the absence of a roof, forcing the viewer to again go out under the open St. Petersburg sky with its rain and snow - accordingly, this interval-hole in the roof should not have been be.

I want to emphasize once again that we do not express, have not expressed and will not express new ideas and wishes, since all the ideas that we wanted to put into this project, we put into it from the very beginning. But we will certainly demand the fulfillment of this initial agreement, not to ask, but to demand, because the initial agreement with the state represented by the Ministry of Culture - first of all, of course, with Vladimir Rostislavovich Medinsky, who, fortunately, is showing great interest in implementing of this project - consisted precisely in the fact that not just another typical “not a theater, not a station, not a palace of culture” is being built, that we are all together trying to build an exemplary (I apologize for this expression) Russian repertory Theatre of Drama. In any case, such as it seems today to my colleagues in the theater, the best artists and to specialists in the drama theater of Russia and Europe, and, finally, to myself. If this condition is not met, then - as I have repeatedly explained to the previous and current leadership of the North-Western Directorate for Construction, Reconstruction and Restoration - we will have to give up this building with great regret for other numerous theatrical and entertainment needs of St. Petersburg. We are not solving a housing problem, we want to leave the city with a building that it could still be proud of long years after U.S.

In her interview, Natalia Vladimirovna convincingly explains why construction should not be done by the “end user” - this is the bureaucratic language for the theater for which they are building new scene, - the "end user" should only set tasks and control their execution, and the management and general contractors should carry out these projects. “We have gathered professional personnel,” Natalya Vladimirovna rightly notes, “who can fully and efficiently implement all projects.”

This is the only creative wish of MDT - the Theater of Europe: please implement our project "fully and efficiently".

Born in 1924 in the Moscow German Sloboda. The five-year-old parents were taken away - father Zalman Dodin, a metallurgical scientist and mathematician, and mother Stasi Fanny van Menk Dodina, a field surgeon in five wars of the early twentieth century (1904-1922).
He was kept for 7 years in a prison orphanage. After his release, he lived for 4 years with his great-grandmother Anna Rosa Gaase, a descendant of General Chambers Petrov. He graduated from high school by his own arrest. Following the pastoral of childhood in the Mother See - 14 years of hard labor exoticism of the Samara Volga region, the island Arctic, Chukotka, eastern Kolyma, the lower Amur region, the northern Baikal region ...
In exile - a reward of peace - the happiness of a lonely life with a wolf in the Ishimba winter hut of the Angara-Tunguska Highlands. As a caisson worker, he participated in the laying of communications communications and transport tunnels of the new imperial capital near the Zhiguli. In the Arctic, on Bunge Land - in the punching of sedimentation tanks for submarines. To the east - in the construction of mine shafts, supports of railway crossings, in the installation of foundations and underground structures ... Everywhere - in permafrost surveys - absorbing the beginning of a future profession.
The acquired knowledge eventually resulted in the materials of the diploma (1957), dissertations (1963 and 1969), the first monograph (1965), the foundations of the discoveries in the Deep Thermodynamics of Rock Masses (1971 and 1974). Without finishing the term, remaining to work in the Altai Mountains, he graduated in absentia from the Moscow Polytechnic Institute and postgraduate studies of the State Construction Committee of the USSR. Later, in its head research institute, he directed the Laboratory of Construction on Far North(1958-1988) and a special course at the Military Engineering Academies (1961-1982), led special. research on Novaya Zemlya. At the same time he was an expert of the Soviet-American Commission for Construction in Cold Climate Regions; member of the HAC; Correspondent of the Commission under the Presidents of the USSR (Russia) and the USA on prisoners of war and missing persons; member of the Geographical Society of the Russian Academy of Sciences; adviser to the Commission (I.P. Aleksakhina) for rehabilitation under the Central Committee of the CPSU ... Author of books and scientific discoveries in the field of geocryology, physics of the Earth.
Having changed his parents in their many years of service to people, he helped his fellow prisoners (mainly foreigners, tragically helpless, doomed) as a prisoner. Returning to Moscow, settling down and starting cooperation with the Higher Attestation Commission, in development of the tasks of the "Salvation" society organized by his parents (1918), he organized unrestricted, not prohibited, not persecuted systems of food, medical and legal support for convicts, doctors, teachers and clergymen (saviors) . In the fall of 1991, he was one of the initiators of the creation in Tokyo of the "Independent Association of Volunteers to Help Victims of Natural and Man-Made Disasters."
Since 1991 lives in Israel.
(From the author)

Born on May 14, 1944 in the city of Stalinsk (now Novokuznetsk) of the Kemerovo region, in evacuation.

Honored Artist of the RSFSR (06/27/1986).
People's Artist of Russia (26.10.1993).

Immediately after school he entered the Leningrad Theatre Institute, in the class of the outstanding St. Petersburg theater teacher Boris Vulfovich Zon. The first production - in 1966, the TV show "First Love" based on the novel by Turgenev.
In 1967, he began teaching acting and directing at LGITMiKa, educated more than one generation of actors and directors, professor, and headed the directing department at SPGATI.
He worked at the Leningrad Youth Theater, where he staged, in particular, "Own people - let's settle" by A. N. Ostrovsky (1973) and several performances together with Zinovy ​​Korogodsky.
In 1975-1979 he worked at the Leningrad Regional Drama and Comedy Theater (now the Theater on Liteiny).
In 1975, his cooperation with the Leningrad MDT began.
Since 1983 - artistic director Academic Maly Drama Theatre, and since 2002 - director.
In 1992, Lev Dodin and the theater led by him were invited to join the Union of Theaters of Europe, and in September 1998 the Maly Drama Theater received the status of the "Theater of Europe", the third, after the Odeon Theater in Paris and the Piccolo Theater by Giorgio Strehler.

Lev Dodin's performances were performed in 27 countries of the world, including the USA, Australia, Japan, France, Germany, Great Britain, Switzerland, Italy, Finland, Czech Republic, Spain, Sweden, Brazil, Israel, Greece, Denmark, Ireland, Finland, Poland , Romania, Norway, Portugal, Canada, Holland, Austria, Yugoslavia, New Zealand, Belgium, Hungary. In the autumn of 1999, a festival of performances by Dodin was held in Italy.
The performance "Gaudeamus" was awarded the "UBU" award in Italy, the diploma of Laurence Olivier in England, the award for best performance on foreign language in France. After a tour in England in 1988, the Maly Drama Theater (for the play "Stars in the Morning Sky") was awarded the Laurence Olivier Prize.

Honorary Doctor of St. Petersburg State Unitary Enterprise (2006).
Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts.
Honorary President of the Union of Theaters of Europe (2012).

Brother - Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences, Corresponding Member Russian Academy Sciences David Dodin (b. 1935).
He was married to actress Natalya Tenyakova.
Spouse - People's Artist Russian Tatyana Shestakova.

theatrical work

Productions (in brackets - stage designers)

Leningrad Youth Theater
1967 - “After the execution, I ask ...” V. Dolgoy. Staged by Z. Korogodsky, director L. Dodin (G. Berman)
1968 - "Our Circus" Composition and production by Z. Korogodsky, L. Dodin, V. M. Filshtinsky (Z. Arshakuni)
1968 - "The Master" based on the stories of M. Gorky "The Master" and "Konovalov". Staged by Z. Korogodsky, director L. Dodin (A.E. Poray-Koshits)
1968 - "Model 18-68" B. Goller. Staged by Z. Korogodsky, director L. Dodin (N. Ivanova)
1969 - “Ours, only ours ...” Composition and production by Z. Korogodsky, Dodin, V. Filshtinsky (M. Azizyan)
1970 - "Tales of Chukovsky" ("Our Chukovsky"). Composition and staging by Z. Korogodsky, Dodin, V. Filyshtinsky (Z. Arshakuni, N. Polyakova, A. E. Poray-Koshits, V. Solovyov, under the direction of N. Ivanova)
1970 - "Death of the squadron" by A. Korneichuk. Staged by Z. Korogodsky, director L. Dodin (V. Dorrer)
1971 - " Public lesson". Composed and directed by Z. Korogodsky, L. Dodin, V. Filshtinsky (A. E. Poray-Koshits)
1971 - “But what would you choose? ..” A. Kurgatnikova (M. Smirnov)
1973 - "Mess-Mend" by V. Menshov based on the novel by M. Shaginyan. Staged by Z. Korogodsky, director L. Dodin (M. Kitaev)
1973 - “Own people - we will settle down” by A. Ostrovsky (E. Kochergin)

Maly Drama Theater
1974 - “Robber” by K. Chapek (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1977 - “Tattooed Rose” by T. Williams (M. Kataev, costumes by I. Gabay)
1978 - "Appointment" by A. Volodin (M. Kitaev)
1979 - “Live and Remember” based on the novel by V. Rasputin (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1980 - "House" based on the novel by F. Abramov (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1984 - "The Bench" by A. Gelman (artistic director of the production). Director E. Arie (D. A. Krymov)
1985 - “Brothers and Sisters” based on the trilogy “Pryasliny” by F. Abramov (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1986 - "Lord of the Flies" based on the novel by W. Golding (D. L. Borovsky)
1987 - "Toward the Sun" based on one-act plays by A. Volodin (M. Kitaev)
1987 - "Stars in the Morning Sky" A. Galina (stage director). Director T. Shestakova (A. E. Poray-Koshits)
1988 - "The Old Man" based on the novel by Y. Trifonov (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1988 - "Returned Pages" ( literary evening). Dodin's production. Director V. Galendeev (A. E. Poray-Koshits)
1990 - "Gaudeamus" based on the story by S. Kaledin "Stroybat" (A. E. Porai-Koshits)
1991 - "Demons" by F. M. Dostoevsky (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1992 - “The Broken Jug” by G. von Kleist (stage director). Director V. Filshtinsky (A. Orlov, costumes by O. Savarenskaya)
1994 - "Love under the Elms" by Y. O'Neill (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1994 - "The Cherry Orchard" by A.P. Chekhov (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1994 - "Claustrophobia" based on modern Russian prose (A. E. Poray-Koshits)
1997 - “A play without a title” by A.P. Chekhov (A.E. Poray-Koshits, costumes by I. Tsvetkova)
1999 - "Chevengur" by A.P. Platonov (A.E. Poray-Koshits, costumes by I. Tsvetkova)
2000 - “Molly Sweeney” by B. Friel (D. L. Borovsky, costumes by I. Tsvetkova)
2001 - “The Seagull” by A.P. Chekhov (A.E. Poray-Koshits, costumes by H. Obolenskaya)
2002 - "Moscow Choir" by L. Petrushevskaya (stage director) (A. Poray-Koshits, costumes by I. Tsvetkova)
2003 - "Uncle Vanya" by A.P. Chekhov (D.L. Borovsky)
2006 - "King Lear" by W. Shakespeare (D. L. Borovsky)
2007 - "Life and Fate" by V. S. Grossman, staged by L. Dodin (A. E. Poray-Koshits)
2007 - " Warsaw melody» L. Zorina (stage director) (Scenography idea by D. L. Borovsky; Artist A. E. Porai-Koshits)
2008 - "Long Journey into the Night" by Y. O'Neill (A. Borovsky)
2008 - "The Fruitless Labors of Love" by W. Shakespeare (A. Borovsky)
2009 - “Lord of the Flies” by W. Golding (Scenography and costumes by D. L. Borovsky; implementation of scenography by A. E. Poray-Koshits)
2009 - "Beautiful Sunday for broken heart» T. Williams (Alexander Borovsky)
2010 - "Three Sisters" by A.P. Chekhov (A. Borovsky)
2011 - "Portrait with rain" based on the screenplay by A. Volodin (A. Borovsky)
2012 - "Deceit and love" by F. Schiller (A. Borovsky)
2013 - "Enemy of the People" by G. Ibsen (A. Borovsky)
2013 - “He is in Argentina” by L. Petrushevskaya (stage director). Directed by T. Shestakova (A. Borovsky)

Leningradsky Regional Theater dramas and comedies
1975 - "Rose Bernd" G. Hauptmann (L. Mikhailov)
1977 - "Undergrowth" by D. Fonvizin (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)

Moscow Art Theater M. Gorky
1984 - "Lord Golovlyovs" by M. E. Saltykov-Shchedrin (Design by E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)
1985 - "The Meek" by F. M. Dostoevsky (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)

Leningrad Comedy Theater
1980 - "Continuation of Don Juan" by E. Radzinsky (M. Kitaev, costumes by O. Savarenskaya)

Leningrad Bolshoi Drama Theatre. M. Gorky
1981 - "The Meek" by F. M. Dostoevsky (E. Kochergin, costumes by I. Gabay)

Educational theater LGITMiK
1978 - "Brothers and Sisters" based on the trilogy of F. Abramov "Pryasliny". Staged by A. Katsman and L. Dodin (N. Bilibin)
1979 - "Love's Labour's Lost" by W. Shakespeare. Staged by A. Katsman and L. Dodin (N. Bilibin)
1979 - "If only, if only..." Staged by A. Katsman and L. Dodin
1983 - "The Brothers Karamazov" based on the novel by F. Dostoevsky. Staged by A. Katsman, L. Dodin and A. Andreev (N. Bilibin)
1983 - "Oh, these stars!" Staged by A. Katsman, L. Dodin and A. Andreev

Productions abroad
1986 - “Bankrupt” (“Our people - we will settle!”) A. N. Ostrovsky (E. Kochergin, costumes I. Gabay) - National Theater, Helsinki, Finland
1995 - "Electra" by R. Strauss. Conductor C. Abbado (D. L. Borovsky) - Salzburg Easter Festival
1996 - "Electra" by R. Strauss. Conductor C. Abbado (D. L. Borovsky) - Teatro Comunale, Florentine Musical May
1998 - "Lady Macbeth Mtsensk district» D. D. Shostakovich. Conductor S. Bychkov (D. L. Borovsky) - Communale Theatre, Florentine Musical May
1998 - " Queen of Spades» P. I. Tchaikovsky. Conductor S. Bychkov (D. L. Borovsky) - Netherlands Opera (Stopera), Amsterdam
1999 - "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky. Conductor V. Yurovsky (D. Borovsky) - Paris National Opera
1999 - "Mazepa" P.I. Tchaikovsky. Conductor M. Rostropovich (D. Borovsky) - La Scala Theater
2003 - "Demon" by A. Rubinstein. Conductor V. Gergiev (D. Borovsky, costume designer H. Obolenskaya) - Paris, Theater Chatelet
2003 - "Otello" by G. Verdi. Conductor Z. Meta (D. Borovsky) - Florence, Teatro Comunale
2003 - "Salome" by R. Strauss. Conductor James Conlon (David Borovsky) - Paris, Opéra de Bastille
2005 - "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky. Conductor G. Rozhdestvensky (D. Borovsky) - Paris National Opera
2012 - "The Queen of Spades" by P. Tchaikovsky. Conductor D. Yurovsky (D. Borovsky) - Paris National Opera

prizes and awards

State Prize of the USSR (1986) - for the performances "House" and "Brothers and Sisters" based on the works of F. A. Abramov at the MDT.
State Prize Russian Federation(1992) - for the play "Young years are given to us for fun" based on S. Kaledin's story "Stroybat" in MDT.
State Prize of the Russian Federation (2002) - for the performance of the AMDT-Theater of Europe "Moscow Choir".
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" III degree (March 24, 2009).
Order "For Merit to the Fatherland" IV degree (May 9, 2004).
Prize of the President of the Russian Federation in the field of literature and art (2000).
Independent Russian Prize in the field of art "Triumph" (1992).
French Theater and music critics (1992).
Regional English theater award (1992).
Officer of the Order of Arts and Letters (France, 1994).
Prize of the K.S. Stanislavsky "For outstanding achievements in pedagogy" (1996), "For contribution to the development Russian theater» (2008).
Golden Soffit Award (1996, 2007, 2008, 2011).
National Theater Award golden mask» (1997, 1999, 2004).
The highest European theater award "Europe to the Theater" (2000).
Prize named after Georgy Tovstonogov "for outstanding contribution to the development of theatrical art" (2002).
Independent Moscow theater award "The Seagull" (2003).
National Association Award theater critics Italy for the 2003/2004 season.
Prize of the Government of St. Petersburg in the field of culture, literature and architecture (2004).
Awarded with the medal of the Hungarian government "For contribution to the development of the culture of Hungary" (2005).
International award for the development and strengthening of humanitarian ties in the countries of the Baltic region "Baltic Star" (2007).
Prize of the Federation of Jewish Communities of Russia "Person of the Year" (2007).
Breakthrough Award in the nomination "Master" (2011).
Prize to them. Andrei Tolubeev in the nomination "For the preservation and development of the methodology of live theater" (2011).
Platonov Prize in the field of literature and art "For the preservation of the traditions of the Russian repertory theater and outstanding productions recent years" (2012).
St. Petersburg Theater Award "Golden Soffit" in the nomination "Best Director" (2013).
Russian National Acting Prize named after Andrey Mironov "Figaro" in the nomination "For Service to the Russian Repertory Theater" (2013).
Badge of Honor "For services to St. Petersburg" (2013).
Tsarskoye Selo Art Prize "For outstanding contribution to the world theatrical art" (2013).

Born in 1944 in Siberia, in the city of Stalinsk (Novokuznetsk). Began theatrical biography at the age of 13 in the Leningrad Theater of Youth Creativity under the direction of Matvey Dubrovin. At the age of 22 he graduated from the Leningrad State Theater Institute, class of Professor B.V. Zone.

The directorial debut - the television play "First Love" based on the novel by I. S. Turgenev - took place in 1966. This was followed by work in the Leningrad Youth Theater. In collaboration with Zinovy ​​Korogodsky and Veniamin Filshtinsky, he composed the performances “Our Circus”, “Our, Only Ours”, “Our Chukovsky”, in 1972 - the first independent author's performance “Our people - we will get along”. After these works in Leningrad they started talking about the birth of a serious director. In 1975, Lev Dodin was forced to embark on a " free swimming”, in the “time of wanderings” carried out more than 10 productions on the stages of various theaters. The performances of The Gentle One with Oleg Borisov at the Bolshoi Theater and the Moscow Art Theater and The Lord Golovlev at the Moscow Art Theater with Innokenty Smoktunovsky are today recognized as major milestones in the history of the Russian theater.

Cooperation with the Maly Drama Theater began in 1974 with "The Robber" by K. Chapek. The play "House" based on the prose of Fyodor Abramov, which appeared in 1980, determined the subsequent creative destiny Lev Dodin and MDT. Today, the main part of the troupe consists of graduates of six courses and three trainee groups of Dodin. The first of them joined the Dodin team in 1967, the last - in 2012. Since 1983, Dodin has been the chief director, and since 2002, the artistic director-director of the theater. In 1998, the founder and president of the Union of Theaters of Europe, Giorgio Strehler, invited Lev Dodin and the Maly Drama Theater to the Union.

In September 1998, the Dodin Theater received the status of the Theater of Europe - the third after the Odeon Theater in Paris and the Piccolo Theater in Milan. Lev Dodin is a member of the General Assembly of the Union of Theaters of Europe. In 2012 he was elected Honorary President of the Union of Theaters of Europe. Lev Dodin is the author of more than 70 performances, including a dozen and a half operas, created at leading European opera venues, such as Parisian Theater Bastille, La Scala in Milan, the Communale Theater in Florence, the Netherlands Opera in Amsterdam, the Salzburg Festival and others.

The theatrical activity of Lev Dodin and his performances are marked by many state and international awards and awards. Including State Prizes Russia and the USSR, the Prize of the President of Russia, the orders "For Merit to the Fatherland" III and IV degrees, the independent award "Triumph", the awards named after K. S. Stanislavsky, national awards"Golden Mask", Laurence Olivier Award, Italian Abbiati Award for the best opera performance, awards from French, English and Italian theater and music critics. In 2000, he, while the only one of Russian directors, awarded the highest European theatrical award "Europe - Theatre".

Lev Dodin is an honorary academician of the Academy of Arts of Russia, officer of the Order of Arts and Letters of France, commander of the Order of the Star of Italy, laureate of the Platonov Prize in 2012, honorary doctor of St. Petersburg University for the Humanities. Head of the Directing Department of the St. Petersburg Academy of Theater Arts, professor, permanent member of the jury professional competition literary works"Northern Palmyra", "Golden Soffit", the editorial board of the almanac "Baltic Seasons".

The tour of the St. Petersburg Maly Drama Theatre, the Theater of Europe, in Chicago in March is an exceptional event! For the first time in many years, we saw not another entreprise, not amateur and semi-amateur troupes with actors who make up for the lack of professionalism with passion and youth, but a real, serious, Russian drama theater. A theater where they do not flirt with the audience, but respect them; a theater in which they are not afraid to stage Shakespeare, Chekhov, Grossman, O'Neill without modernizing and cheap tricks; a theater that manages to remove the stamps and layers of decades and return to the living author's word; a theater whose actors are distinguished by the most honest, responsible and serious attitude to their profession. During the years of emigration, we almost forgot that such a theater is possible, and the younger generation of spectators did not know this.

For almost three decades, Lev Abramovich Dodin has been the permanent chief director of the theater. Two-thirds of the actors of the Maly Drama Theater are his students. Actors respect their director, trust him, are not afraid to experiment, try themselves in the most unexpected roles, and Lev Abramovich himself calls his theater acting and dissolves in the actors, giving them the opportunity to express themselves.

Much in the Maly Drama Theater is unusual for an ordinary theater group. For example, the distribution of roles is far from the main event. The main thing is to work on the material, discuss the characters of the characters, their behavior, actions. It takes months or even years of conversations, sketches, rehearsals. At the beginning of the rehearsal process, everyone tries out different roles, and only as the general idea of ​​the performance crystallizes, does the distribution of roles take place.

In the Maly Drama Theater they don’t put on one-day shows, the theater’s performances live for years, or even decades. The performances “Brothers and Sisters” by F. Abramov (premiere - 1985), “Stars in the Morning Sky” by A. Galin (premiere - 1987), “Demons” by F. Dostoevsky (premiere - 1991) are still in the repertoire of the MDT. g.), “A play without a title” by A. Chekhov (premiere - 1997).

Work on the performance does not end after the premiere and does not stop on tour. Rehearsals continue, search continues optimal solution so the show continues to evolve. Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" was no exception. Arriving in Chicago, the actors got acquainted with the stage of the Shakespearean theater and held the usual rehearsal. Not a performance run, but a full rehearsal.

And then there were five amazing performances. Your correspondent visited two of them and is ready to confirm that he saw different performances. Different not in Chekhov's text and mise-en-scenes, but in the atmosphere and behavior of the characters. Both times the actors of the Maly Drama Theater performed spellbindingly, and each time, as a necessary element of real Art, there was a feeling of a Miracle.

The scenery is simple: wooden walls, a window, several doors, three haystacks on the second tier of the stage. And our beloved, painfully familiar, such close Chekhov heroes. Each with his own biography, with his own tragedy, with his own life...

“Uncle Vanya” by Lev Dodin and artist David Borovsky is a surprisingly lively and incredibly beautiful performance. This is a performance in which “the pulse beats modern life” (an expression by V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, which he said about Chekhov’s “The Seagull”), a performance with “ easy breathing and love for the author's word. Chekhov's plays are so poetic that they read like good poetry. No wonder Leo Tolstoy called the playwright "Pushkin in prose." It doesn't matter that they have no action - they have a mood! “Uncle Vanya” is a conversational play in which nothing happens except the arrival and departure of Professor Serebryakov and his young wife Elena Andreevna. Walking in the garden, drinking tea, drinking vodka to the accompaniment of a guitar - that's all the entertainment. It is very easy to make the audience bored. And boredom is not even a diagnosis, it is a sentence for the play. Boring performances were made by the greatest directors. There is a story in the Moscow Art Theater about how Gorky, who had dropped in to see the play “Petty Bourgeois” in the theater, left during the intermission with the words “What a boring thing!”. And the director of that performance was none other than Stanislavsky. How often in Lately we saw a boring Chekhov, and how wonderful, bright, lively they play Chekhov in MDT! No false intonations, no painful inner emptiness. Before us is the ordinary human life in which the main events take place in silence. At these moments, the emotion of the previous scene is played out and the emotional outburst of the next one is anticipated. “A shot is not a drama, but an accident ... the drama will be after ...” - Chekhov explained. The shot doesn't solve anything. Life's catastrophe happens every day, in a series of identical days, in rattling accounts and counting food supplies: “February 2nd lean butter 20 pounds ... February 16 again lean butter 20 pounds ... Buckwheat ...”

Lev Abramovich Dodin did not set himself the goal of showing Russia late XIX century. The story told could have happened anywhere - in the French countryside, in the state of Michigan, or on a farm near Melbourne. Voinitsky, Astrov, Serebryakov, Sonya, Elena Andreevna... - these and other Chekhov's heroes are out of time, out of geographic references, out of national characteristics. Unless, according to Russian tradition, they drink tea and vodka, and the nanny all the time reminds of the cooling samovar. And the rest - a play about life, where people, in the words of Anton Pavlovich, "lunch, just dine, and at this time their happiness is built up and their lives are broken ...".

During the break between performances and rehearsals, I was lucky to talk with theater actors Sergei Kuryshev and Ksenia Rappoport, as well as with the theater’s deputy director for working with foreign partners, Dina Dodina.

Sergey Kuryshev: “Ideally, every performance is a rehearsal”

Sergey Vladimirovich Kuryshev Leading actor of the Maly Drama Theatre. Born in the city of Katta Kurgan. In 1989 he graduated from the Leningrad state institute theater, music and cinematography in the class of L.A. Dodin. In the same year, he was accepted into the troupe of the Maly Drama Theater - the theater of Europe. Honored Artist of Russia (2002). Plays: Kirillov - "Demons", Platonov - "A play without a title" (Golden Soffit award in 1998), Kopenkin - "Chevengur", Frank Sweeney - "Molly Sweeney", Gloucester - "King Lear", Viktor Pavlovich Shtrum - "Life and Fate", Lukashin - "Brothers and Sisters", Edmund Tyrone - "Long Journey into the Night". In the play "Uncle Vanya" plays leading role- Ivan Petrovich Voynitsky. For this role, he received the Golden Mask award in 2004.

Uncle Vanya Sergei Kuryshev appears in a wrinkled jacket, sleepy, lethargic, cynical. What a Schopenhauer, what a failed Dostoevsky! Before us - long worn out by life Chekhov man. The appearance in the house of a beautiful and inaccessible woman crushed him. For twenty-five years he served this "old biscuit", "worked for him like an ox", and now he is confused, does not know where to go. “Life gone!”

Sergey Kuryshev says:

- What is the difference between the state of love, passion, hatred, longing for a better life the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 21st? Nothing! There is no progress. People love the same way, they feel the same way. Yes, they wear different costumes, but that's all. In this sense, Chekhov, like even more distant Shakespeare, are absolutely modern authors.

– How do you feel about the role?

- Differently. The most interesting thing is when you immediately liked a play or a novel. Then there is a creative inner feeling of the role and understanding that you can do something. Then it's more interesting and easier to work. It is much more difficult when you do not quite understand the nature of the character. For example, in “A play without a title”, when Lev Abramovich suggested that I rehearse Platonov, for a very long time, before the premiere, I did not understand my hero. Rehearsals were agonizing...

– Do you understand Voinitsky? Do you accept?

“I think I understand and accept and sympathize. I started playing the role of Uncle Vanya when I was forty years old. I was younger than my hero. But the realization that it was possible to live life better, more interesting, in a different place, in different circumstances - these thoughts can arise in a person at twenty-six or thirty-seven years. Platonov is twenty-seven, Ivanov is thirty-five (turning thirty-six), and Uncle Vanya is forty-seven. And, in general, the thoughts of the characters are about the same thing. About a better life and that this better life will no longer exist.

– What is the most important part of working on a role?

- Sympathy. If you sympathize, then you understand your hero, and his feelings somehow resonate in you. Why does the audience react to the performance? Because he suddenly begins to recognize himself in the characters. Even if this is a different situation, even if it is about other people from another country, but if the viewer recognizes himself in the characters, the response to the performance is guaranteed.

– In preparation for the role, did you see the performances of your colleagues? For example, “Uncle Vanya” by Tovstonogov, where Oleg Basilashvili played Voinitsky?

I have only seen the television version of the play. Professor Serebryakov was wonderfully played by Lebedev, but it was a completely different Serebryakov in relation to Igor Ivanov. The first Sonya in the BDT was Tanya Shestakova. They say she played great. She is no longer in the TV movie ... We have a different performance according to the director's reading. These are different performances. different worlds. At Louis Malle I remember very much good film"Uncle Vanya from 42nd Street". It is also completely different from our performance ... It all depends on the personality of the director and the company of actors. We played “The Cherry Orchard” for many years, where I had the role of Petya Trofimov, and with Peter Brook I saw an amazing performance, but completely different. Performances may vary. The main thing is that they are alive.

– Chekhov did not accept Stanislavsky's production, Chekhov did not like Meyerhold - the first Treplev, Chekhov did not like Leonidov-Lopakhin in The Cherry Orchard so much that the playwright exclaimed to the message that one of the actresses of the Art Theater became pregnant: “It is a pity that I did not become pregnant Leonidov”…

- Chekhov did not like Stanislavsky in the role of Trigorin. This is in Chekhov's correspondence with Knipper and others...

– What do you think Anton Pavlovich would say about your performance?

- Don't know. I would be scared. Chekhov, of course, would have questions. But Chekhov had huge claims to the Moscow Art Theater, and nevertheless he chose the Moscow Art Theater. So, I felt the novelty and vitality of this theater.

– Sergey Vladimirovich, you can be called an actor of one director - Lev Abramovich Dodin ...

- Yes, I have been with him all my life, since my student years. His course was completed by sixteen people, and eight of them, including myself, ended up at the Maly Drama Theatre.

– It's great to work with one director all your life, especially if it's such great director like Dodin. But, on the other hand, have you ever wanted to “walk on the side”, work with another master in a different style?

– One Dodin has so many styles! The Gaudeamus we brought to Chicago sixteen years ago is nothing like Uncle Vanya, and Claustrophobia is neither Gaudeamus nor Uncle Vanya. If, as you say, "on the side" ... If there was an opportunity to work out with Peter Brook or with the late Strehler, or with Mnushkina - that's one thing. And to deal with Tyutkin is not very interesting. I met with young directors, I know the state of affairs in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Maybe in the future there will be new bright personalities, but so far, except for Pyotr Naumovich Fomenko, I don’t see such people.

– Of all the variety of roles, could you choose the most significant role for yourself?

– I can name my first great job, which gave impetus to future roles. This is Kirillov in Possessed. After Kirillov, an understanding of the theater came to me.

– Please tell us about Dodin's rehearsals. I know that he tries several actors for one role, and actors try for several roles ...

- Usually. We read a novel or a play in its entirety, and Lev Abramovich offers to make sketches for any role, including a female one. For example, in "Demons" in etudes, we rehearsed several characters with our wonderful artist Pyotr Mikhailovich Semak. And only closer to the premiere it became clear who was playing whom. Semak played Stavrogin, and I played Kirillov. Then this decision came as a surprise to me, although now I can not imagine myself in a different role. Everything becomes clear during rehearsals. Ideally, every performance is a rehearsal.

– In "Uncle Vanya" I was struck by the ensemble cast. How well do you understand each other!

- We have a big team. A small company came to America - nine people. I really like our team. We are friends with each other in life, treat each other with tenderness and love, and this is naturally transferred to the stage. Discord in the theater, which I know about theoretically, because we don’t have it, doesn’t allow ensemble acting. Only a good atmosphere in life and at rehearsals allows you to interact on stage. An example sets older generation. Tatyana Vladimirovna Schuko plays Maman with us. She once played with Lev Abramovich in Fonvizin's "Undergrowth" and for many years was in the theater on Liteiny. Amazing actress! She practically did not act in films, she worked only in the theater. Her attitude to the role, her behavior at rehearsals is an example for all of us. Sasha Koshkarev, who plays the Worker in Uncle Vanya, is her son. We studied together with him and with Astrov - Igor Chernevich. Three classmates in one performance!

– You said that Tatyana Vladimirovna Schuko practically did not act in films. So you have an affair with the cinema did not work out. Do you not notice the cinema, or does the cinema not notice you?

- It didn’t happen in the nineties, although there were samples and they took it to some films. But the timing did not match ... I would like to act in a film that would be good. ( Laughs.) But you'll never guess... I have quite enough work in the theater, and interesting work. Not every season there were premieres, but we always rehearsed something. I have always been busy with Lev Abramovich. Now I have nine roles in my repertoire. This is a serious burden.

– You can be the envy of thousands of actors who have been waiting for a new role for years!

- I think, yes. And now we're talking about new performance- "Three Sisters" by Chekhov. I play there too.

– Has there been a distribution yet?

- No. Honestly, in "Three Sisters" I would play any role. Tuzenbach is, of course, a young man for me...

– Well, why, you play young people in “Brothers and Sisters”!

- “Brothers and Sisters” guys started rehearsing when they were young themselves ... No, there was a different story. "Brothers and Sisters" in 1979 was the graduation performance of Dodin's first year. And the premiere of the theatrical version, which is seriously different from the student version, took place in 1985. That year I just entered the institute. I did not rehearse in "Brothers ..." When I graduated from college, I played the shadow of the main character's father for several years. I went out for one minute and did it with pleasure. I really like this performance. I would even work as a fitter in it! In 2000, our wonderful artist Nikolai Lavrov died. He played in "Brothers and Sisters" of the Chairman of the collective farm. He was replaced by Sergei Kozyrev. A year and a half ago, he left the theater for a while, and Dodin offered me to play this role. So now I’m already close in age, and maybe even a little older. ( Laughs.) I really like that they let me in wonderful world Fedor Abramov. Many years have passed, and for many reasons, including tragic ones, the actors had to be replaced, but the backbone remains the same. Peter Semak, Igor Ivanov. Natalia Akimova, Tanya Shestakova ...

– You play completely different roles: Tyrone in Long Journey Into Night, Strum in Life and Fate, Gloucester in King Lear… How do you move from one material to another, from one topic to another?

- If we talk about these three roles, they are very different, and I hope that I play them differently. Although, as Mikhail Chekhov said, the natural idea exists in all roles. But this does not contradict Stanislavsky. During the rehearsal period, immersion in the role is complete. It's harder if you play Tyrone today, Gloucester tomorrow, Platonov the day after tomorrow. Here, especially with age, difficulties begin. If possible (and my family gives me such an opportunity), I come to the theater early, and while there is no one, I concentrate and thus reorganize for the performance. Although it is not an easy process. Playing only "Uncle Vanya" on tour is easier and more interesting - you see the development of the performance.

– Have you had situations when you internally disagreed with the role pattern that Lev Abramovich offers you?

- There were no conflicts. I quickly realized that it was better to first listen to the director - especially one like Dodin - and try to understand what he offers. If something doesn’t suit me or I don’t understand something, I can always approach the director and talk. In this sense, Dodin never refuses! On the contrary, he is always happy to analyze the role.

– Do you have time on tour to go to theaters, see the work of colleagues?

- Rarely. In the nineties, on our day off, we watched the dress rehearsal of Béjart, and once in New York, Baryshnikov invited us to the dress rehearsal. In Israel, I managed to watch Brook's performance. At home I sometimes go to the theatre. Not to say that often, but I go.

– You mentioned Pyotr Naumovich Fomenko. And what happens in theatrical St. Petersburg?

– In my opinion, with the advent of Valery Fokin to the Aleksandrinka (Pushkin Theatre), the theater began to revive. And outwardly - a colossal repair and re-equipment of the stage was carried out - and in creative sense. The theater has become much more alive.

– Looking from afar at theatrical Petersburg, I see the Maly Drama Theater as a kind of cultural reserve. Are you not afraid that this may lead to some conservation in the future?

- In 1980, the play “The House” was released, a few years later Lev Abramovich became the chief director of the theater. And for so many years, conservation has not happened. Not only that... We've been playing Possessed since 1991. Our hall is small, and when the lights are on, the faces of the audience are visible. The younger generation is coming to the theater! The performance, which starts at twelve o'clock in the afternoon and ends with two breaks at about ten in the evening, arouses the interest of the young! Vulgarity, of course, grows with terrible force, but such foci as we have, Fomenko, exist, and they are not conserved. Performances are alive! Try to cheat with our director or play “deadly”. ( Laughs.) “Ogrebet” and make feelings arise. In order not to die, you need to study all the time and, if possible, rehearse.

– How much do you have to sacrifice for acting?

- For me, for my wife and to some extent for my son, this has become familiar. Although I miss, especially when there is a big tour. But nevertheless, having spent twenty years in the theater, I no longer consider it a victim. It is interesting for me to work, and if it is interesting in work, then what kind of sacrifice is this? ..

At a reception at the Shakespeare Theater dedicated to the start of the tour of the Maly Drama Theater, Sergey Kuryshev wished that “the impressions of the audience from Uncle Vanya would not be blown away by the wind into Lake Michigan, but would remain with them.”

Ksenia Rappoport: “Fate sets priorities”

Ksenia Alexandrovna Rappoport. Born in Leningrad. In 2000 she graduated from the St. Petersburg state academy theatrical art (class of V.M. Filshtinsky). In the same year, she was accepted into the troupe of the Maly Drama Theater - the Theater of Europe. She made her debut in the role of Nina Zarechnaya in L.A. Dodin’s play “The Seagull” by A.P. Chekhov. Laureate of the independent youth award "Triumph" (2004). Honored Artist of Russia (2009).

Plays: Sophia - "A play without a title." In the theater "On Liteiny" plays: Jocasta - "Oedipus Rex", Ismena - "Antigone", Beatrice - "Servant of Two Masters".

She starred in the films: “Calendula Flowers” ​​(Russia, 1998), “I Cry Forward!” (Russia, 2001), “Stranger” (Italy, 2006), “Liquidation” (Russia, 2007), “Swing” (Russia, 2008), “St. George's Day” (Russia, 2008), “The Man Who Loves” ( Italy, 2008), “Italians” (Italy, 2009), “Double Hour” (Italy, 2009) and others. In the play “Uncle Vanya” A.P. Chekhova plays the role of Elena Andreevna. For the performance of this role, she was awarded the theatrical award "Golden Soffit" (St. Petersburg, 2003).

One of the best scenes in "Uncle Vanya" is the night scene of Sonya and Elena Andreevna's explanation. The window is wide open and the soul is wide open ... Elena Andreevna wants to play the piano and tells Sonya to ask the permission of her old husband: “Go and ask. If he's okay, then I'll play. Go." Sonya, returning, utters one word: "It is impossible." Further, Chekhov wrote: “Curtain”. Sonin “No!” the second act of the play ends. But Dodin's performance continues, and we see a brilliant sketch of Ksenia Rappoport - Elena Andreevna. The actress is great in her character's short, furious, silent rebellion. Can't you play the piano? Then I will play on the table! She takes some kind of stick and starts knocking on jars, flasks, bottles, on her own head, then knocks over all the medicines in one fell swoop. She threw everything off, destroyed this order of life, sat down, in a second she came to her senses, again put everything in order, in its place. The riot has passed. Now everything will be as before ... “Life is gone!”

– You play the explanation scene differently with Sonya. Your rebellion is different! At one performance, you violently throw all these medicine jars off the table, and at another, you just knock them over, but leave them on the table.

– It depends on the night scene with the husband. If she was painful, implacable or offensive, then this gives some kind of one emotion. Yesterday she was painful, I was very sorry for him. From this scene there was a trail of him real illness so it was hard to make a hard move.

– That is, every time you act completely impulsively. Do you have a rigid directorial canon?

“Of course, we have a drawing of the scene, and I will knock these flasks down anyway. I once came up with this. But how, with what movement I will do it, depends on the performance, on the previous scene ... In repertory theater a big plus is that one company is working on various works, and all works influence each other. Shakespeare begins to penetrate into Chekhov, Chekhov into Shakespeare. There is only one circle of thoughts, and long-term wandering in this circle yields its results.

– And if you were offered to swap with Elena Kalinina and play Sonya ...

“I would love to do it.” Elena Kalinina is a wonderful actress, and if we change places, I think it will also be interesting.

– Ksenia, in ten years of your work at the Maly Drama Theater you have played three Chekhov's roles: Nina Zarechnaya, Sophia and Elena Andreevna. Why? Does Lev Abramovich see you only as a Chekhov heroine?

No, it just happened. Actually, I played in “Claustrophobia”, rehearsed Goneril in “King Lear”, but then there was a movie romance with Italy, and Lev Abramovich let me go. I do not think that he sees me in some strictly limited role. What is a Chekhov heroine? It is like a Turgenev girl: something so speculative.

– And how does Lev Abramovich feel about your film novels?

- I think he is not happy with this, but he understands and lets go. I'm not doing anything wrong...

– Well, they would have played Goneril if the Italian romance had not happened. How do you prioritize for yourself?

- It's not me who sets priorities - fate sets priorities.

– But the choice is still yours. Lev Abramovich offers you a role in the theater, and the next day he calls Giuseppe Tornatore and offers you a role in the cinema ...

“First of all, it wasn’t the next day. By that moment, we had already been rehearsing “King Lear” for a year and a half… Well, yes, there was a choice, but, you know, there are such offers that are not refused. There is an actor's destiny, an actor's path in which some things happen. If you refuse them, do not accept them, then you are turning in some other direction. You have to be responsible for your destiny.

– Ksenia, you graduated from LGITMiK in the class of Filshtinsky. How did you meet Dodin?

- We have been friends with the Maly Drama Theater since the first year. And when Lev Abramovich began to look for Nina Zarechnaya, he invited me. I participated in rehearsals, and then played this role on stage. I was still studying at the moment.

– It was a trainee group?

- I never look where they wrote me down on a piece of paper. I don't care what my name is. If I play Nina, I can even be called a barmaid.

– Do you play as a guest actress at the Liteiny Theater?

- I play there as an impudently come actress! After graduating from the institute, our friendly company of classmates really did not want to leave. We wanted to keep playing together. At that moment, I was already rehearsing and releasing The Seagull, I understood that I wanted to work at the Maly Drama Theater, but after my student days there was a lot of energy, and my classmates and I began to make Sophocles' Oedipus Rex at night. We had no premises, we wandered around different apartments, basements, attics, until, finally, without saying anything to anyone, we came to the theater on Liteiny. There you could go through the watch, and no one would ask you anything. And the rooms are all vacant. We came and started rehearsing there. Then loud screams attracted the attention of the public. The director of the theater came to us and asked: “What are you doing here?” We said, "We're rehearsing." "Show". We showed, the director gave us an artist, and we released a performance, with which we then traveled half the world.

– Do you still play it?

- Yes, we still play it, and besides, in the same theater, by the same company, we made two more performances. We are not actors of this theatre. We are prodigal children. It's a completely different acting space for me.

– Is this the space where you go away from Dodin for a while?

- I'm not leaving. I manage to put it together. There is also a part of me.

– What names in the Russian theater are the most significant for you?

- Pyotr Fomenko. He has a completely unique intonation in theater world. I love him and his artists very much, I admire them. Recently, an amazingly talented director Sergei Zhenovach appeared. From the old guard - Freindlich, Demidova, Neyolova ... In my native theater there are so many wonderful artists from whom to learn, learn and learn.

– I noticed that you have a young troupe. There are no old people.

“It’s just that our old people are so cheerful that you can’t even classify them as old people. ( Laughs.)

– Do you always agree with Lev Abramovich at rehearsals?

– When we make a performance, we all think together. Of course, all defining thoughts are his. Maybe I am very happy man, but somehow I never encountered the fact that I disagreed with what I was doing. I have seen the actor suffer on stage several times. I asked the actors, and they said: “This directorial decision infuriates me, I don’t understand why I’m doing this.” I have never been in such a situation. It happens that Lev Abramovich and I do not agree on some things, but as a result, we get such a fusion in the work, which includes both, and it becomes ten times more interesting. Working with him is such a pleasure! Just grow, understand, think, get ...

– Is the drinking period obligatory for you?

- Yes. This is not an on-duty analysis of character. Rather, it general circle reflections, circle of problems. It does not happen that one actor plays one thing, the other - another, the third - the third. Lev Abramovich never pulls the whole into pieces. This is a common pain, a common hope, and in all this we are looking for our place. Sometimes it takes years.

– Is the Dodin Theater your home?

- A house is a house. Home is where the children and parents are. A theater is a theater after all. The Dodin Theater is my favorite director and my favorite partners, people I deeply respect, wonderful artists. We have a wonderful team. Absolutely amazing people work for us in all workshops: artists, props, costumers, fitters. We all feel each other's elbow.

– Do you have a favorite theatrical role?

I will not choose one role. I love them all.

– And in the cinema?

Cinema is different. In movies, I'm almost never satisfied with the result. I try to enjoy the filming process as much as possible and do my job as honestly as possible. The movie comes out and I move on. How can you love it or not love it? It's not something I do every day.

– Do you review your old work?

- Never.

– It seems to me that Kirill Serebrennikov's St. George's Day stands apart in your filmography ...

I remember working on this film very well. It was a completely unique experience in terms of intensity, physical costs, and unbearable conditions for creating a picture. Everything was not easy: the script is not easy, and the role is not easy, and this film was given to Kirill Semenovich with great difficulty. The work was hard, but incredibly interesting. I hope the film was of interest to someone.

– How do you feel about serials?

- Unfortunately, the reality is that in the harsh conditions of the series it is unrealistic to do something interesting. Or I don't have the ability. I need a long, serious process. There are artists who do everything easily and shine even in TV shows, but I am not one of them. Therefore, as soon as I had the opportunity not to act in serials just to survive, I stopped doing it.

– A“ liquidation”?

“Liquidation” is not “soap” after all. This is a feature film, only serial. We worked on this picture in a way that sometimes we don't work in a big movie in terms of time, rehearsals, discussion, approach. Sergei Vladimirovich Ursulyak is simply a wonderful director. He will never do a "freebie".

– You once said that when you agreed to Tornatore's proposal, you only knew Italian "Si". If suddenly you are offered a role, say, in Portuguese, will you play?

- With pleasure. The material is important to me. Does it excite you, is it interesting, does it excite you.

– Does language matter?

- If the accent is appropriate in the picture, then no. Because, as you understand, it is impossible to learn a language in two weeks and speak it so that everyone thinks that I am Portuguese. But if it's an interesting role, why not?

– And in the theatre? Would you work on stage in another language?

- With pleasure.

– How do you feel about the genre of comedy, absurdity?

- Very good. I have been working in the absurd genre for a long time. ( Laughs.) I liked Ionesco at the institute, and I dream of doing something like that in this genre. And I have comedy. Beatrice in "The Servant of Two Masters" at Liteiny. There I “come off” in full…

Dina Dodina: “We do not do “projects” - we do good performances”

Dina Dodina. Born in Leningrad. Graduated from the Faculty of Philology of St. Petersburg state university. Second education (Diploma of cultural management) received in London.Deputy director of the theater for work with foreign partners.

– Dina Davydovna, you run a family business: your uncle puts on plays, and your niece sells them.

– (Laughs.) Yes, we have the same estate with Uncle Vanya and his niece Sonya ...

– Please tell us how your collaboration with the Maly Drama Theater began?

- To be honest, I was not going to connect my life with the theater. When I was in my second year at the university, the Small Drama Theater urgently needed a title operator on large English tour. A man fell ill two days before the departure. And Lev Abramovich remembered his niece, who "seems to speak English." This is how it all started, this is how it all continues, and I have absolutely no regrets about it. The Maly Drama Theater is an amazing place where art is seriously practiced. I am not afraid of such lofty words, simply because Lev Abramovich teaches us not to be afraid of them. There is no other way to art but seriousness.

– What, in your opinion, is the phenomenon of recognition of Dodin's theater in the West?

– The phenomenon of recognition lies in our “brand”, in the highest reputation of the theater. Without recognizing any of our actors by name, the West knows that the Maly Drama Theater is one of the best theaters in the world. This is the rare case when the audience forgets to check who is playing there, in which films whom we have seen, and comes to look at the ensemble. This, in principle, is Stanislavsky's system at its best, when the ensemble makes a name for the performance and the theater. There is no star system in our theater, everyone is devotedly and unitedly doing a common cause.

– Where is it harder to organize tours: in Europe or America?

- There are certain problems with financing, but they are all over the world. There is, of course, fear, but it is the same for any country. “Uncle Vanya” lasts three hours and ten minutes, in Russian, with subtitles, nothing happens in the performance. Apart from unconditional artistic quality, there are no other “selling points”. The quality of the performance is what the producers fall in love with and decide to show in different countries.

– And then it turns out, as in Chicago and New York, that all tickets are sold out a month before the start of the tour ...

- And then the producers begin to “bite their elbows” and say: “Why do we show so few performances?” Due to the fact that there is no repertory troupe of their own, and therefore there is no jealousy, Americans have a rare ability to fall in love with the theaters that come to them. If the performance is good, then the technicians, administrators, and all the attendants treat it like their own.. Here we are in Chicago for only a week, and it's already a pity to leave! We met a black Labrador who comes to Shakespeare theater with an American make-up artist. And since all the artists left for five weeks, left their dogs at home and miss them very much, we all immediately fell in love with this Labrador.

– Maybe the success of this tour will encourage the organizers not to wait the next sixteen years to invite you again?

- I will answer you with the cynicism of a person who has been in similar situations more than once. On foreign tours, the same story always happens with the Maly Drama Theater. The halls are full, all tickets are sold out, everyone says: “You must come again, you don’t have to wait sixteen years”, etc., etc. And usually this leads to a break of sixteen years. With funding foreign theater America is very hard. But we will hope. In sixteen years Chicago has seen tremendous changes for the better. If we come back in another sixteen years, Chicago will be even more beautiful.

– I would still like the next meeting to take place much earlier. How can our newspaper help you?

- All you need is money. We have a big troupe. We bring the same scenery, the same costumes in which we play at home. We want the performance to be as technically equipped as on the home stage, so that one person does not run and try to do the work of eight, as is often the case at tour performances. We are expensive and hard to bring. Therefore, I can only applaud our longtime friend and partner, David Eden, who brought us to Chicago sixteen years later. Apparently, in order to gather his strength and means, he needed so much time. And, of course, our theater is infinitely grateful to the Ministry of Culture of Russia, whose financial support made these tours possible.

– But in New York last time you were quite recently - in 2008 - with the play "Life and Fate". I envied the New York theatergoers and asked: "Can't they come to Chicago"?

- Two questions always amuse me: why did you bring this or that performance, and why didn’t you stop by here and there? We do not address these issues. This is decided by the inviting party. “Life and Fate” is an amazing, missionary performance that Dodin dreamed of staging for decades. Unfortunately, in the current financial situation, other theatrical venues in America, except for the hall at Lincoln Center in New York, were unable to find funds to show this performance. Fifty people are involved in the performance. This is a very expensive pleasure. You know, I work a lot with Western partners, and it seems to me that if I take their point of view in business matters, we will save a lot of time and energy. We are always glad to see the Russian-speaking audience in the hall - our compatriots and American spectators born in Russian-speaking families in America - but, basically, in every country we play for local residents. We are trying to convey the word of Chekhov, the word of Grossman in the form in which we convey it to the Russian audience at home. We don't make "projects" - we make good performances. Artistic compromise is inappropriate here.

A week has flown by, the tour of the Maly Drama Theater - the theater of Europe - has ended. We returned to our usual life, vanity, worries. Life is still the same and conversations are still the same, and thoughts, and words, and deeds ... But I would like to hope that the impressions of the audience from the great performance of Lev Abramovich Dodin "did not blow away into Lake Michigan, but remained with them." Let not forever, but at least for a short time ... Until the new arrival of the theater in Chicago.

I express my gratitude to Dina Dodina for her help in organizing the interview.

Photos for the article:

Photo 1. St. Petersburg Academic Maly Drama Theater - Theater of Europe

Photo 2. Main director Theater Lev Dodin

Photo 3. Sergey Kuryshev - Voinitsky

Photo 4. Scene from the play "Uncle Vanya". Sergei Kuryshev - Voinitsky, Elena Andreevna - Ksenia Rappoport

Photo 5. Scene from the play "Uncle Vanya". Tatyana Shuko -Maman, Sergei Kuryshev - Voinitsky

Photo 6. Ksenia Rappoport

Photo 7. Scene from the play Uncle Vanya”. “Ksenia Rappoport – Elena Andreevna

Photo 8. Dina Dodina with MDT chief director Lev Dodin

Photo 9. Dina Dodina at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater