Az Egri Ho Si Minh Tanárképző Főiskola Tud. Közleményei. 1973. (Acta Academiae Paedagogicae Agriensis : Nova series ; Tom. 11)

II. Tanulmányok a nyelv-, az irodalom-és a történettudományok köréből - Dr. Hekli József: Csehov drámái a moszkvai és leningrádi színpadokon 1950—1970 között

A. P. CHEKHOV'S PLAYS AT THE THEATRES OF MOSCOW AN LENINGRAD BETWEEN 1950 AND 1970 by Dr. József Hekli This article deals with the innovations of Chekhov's dramatic art, with the understanding and interpretation of Chekhov's plays, and with their traditional and modern presentation. Chekhov's plays developed from short stories. In his dramatic works there are few events; he concentrates on things that seem to be the most customary and topical. In everyday life, when seemingly nothing happens, Chekhov reveals the real drama of life. For him the peaceful course of life does not seem to be a delayed transition to events, but the real drama of life, which is the main subject of his dramatic works. Contrary to all traditions, events play a minor part in Chekhov's plays and the greatest part of the plots of his plays is mainly concerned with the everyday, simple life. Chekhov's conflicts have their own special feature. The conflicting situations of this dramatist are not the confrontations of different strong-willed personalities but the objective conflicts before which individual will is powerless. In Chekhov's plays we can speak about „conflicts without conflicts". Another characteristic feature of Chekhov's dramatic art is the so-called „subaquatic current". The main part of the article is devoted to the performances of Chekhov's dramatic works which have broken away from traditional staging and set themselves the task of interpreting Chekhov in a modern way bringing him nearer up to the audience of our day. At the beginning of the 1960s M. Knebel put „Ivanov" on the stage, which was one of the first modern interpretations of Chekhov's dramatic works. After this there have been many experiments, successful and less successful. In the middle of the 1960s A. Efros — a talented young manager — staged „Mew" and „Three Sisters" at Moscow's theatres. Both productions called forth a violent tempest. A. Efros's new, modern devices have been received by critics in different ways. The play „Three Sisters" has been put also on the stage of the Gorki Dramatic Theatre of Leningrad. G. Tovstonogov, one of the most outstanding stage-managers combined in his production the most important features of traditional presentation with modern devices, and so Chekhov's plays have been given a contemporary and modern tone. Each experiment between 1950 and 1970 in some way or other contributed to the revaluation of the works of the great dramatic genius, A. P. Chekhov. 17 257