Richard Stites
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108897
- eISBN:
- 9780300128185
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108897.003.0007
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
This chapter examines the history of theater in the provinces in imperial Russia. It explains that during the imperial period, theater ruled provincial cultural life and reached out to many more ...
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This chapter examines the history of theater in the provinces in imperial Russia. It explains that during the imperial period, theater ruled provincial cultural life and reached out to many more consumers than did literature, classical music, or fine art. The chapter also discusses the transformation of the theater from an elite engine of amusement and enlightenment in the capitals and on rural estates to a network of public entertainment centers open to all in scores of provincial and district towns. It suggests that the network of provincial theaters represented an expansion of public cultural space at the expense of the private sphere.Less
This chapter examines the history of theater in the provinces in imperial Russia. It explains that during the imperial period, theater ruled provincial cultural life and reached out to many more consumers than did literature, classical music, or fine art. The chapter also discusses the transformation of the theater from an elite engine of amusement and enlightenment in the capitals and on rural estates to a network of public entertainment centers open to all in scores of provincial and district towns. It suggests that the network of provincial theaters represented an expansion of public cultural space at the expense of the private sphere.
Richard Stites
- Published in print:
- 2005
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300108897
- eISBN:
- 9780300128185
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300108897.001.0001
- Subject:
- History, Cultural History
Serf-era and provincial Russia heralded the spectacular turn in cultural history that began in the 1860s. Examining the role of arts and artists in society's value system, this book explores this ...
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Serf-era and provincial Russia heralded the spectacular turn in cultural history that began in the 1860s. Examining the role of arts and artists in society's value system, this book explores this shift in a history of visual and performing arts in the last decades of serfdom. Provincial town and manor house engaged the culture of Moscow and St. Petersburg while thousands of serfs and ex-serfs created or performed. Mikhail Glinka raised Russian music to new levels and Anton Rubinstein struggled to found a conservatory. Long before the itinerants, painters explored town and country in genre scenes of everyday life. Serf actors on loan from their masters brought naturalistic acting from provincial theaters to the imperial stages. The book offers new perspectives on the origins of Russia's nineteenth-century artistic prowess.Less
Serf-era and provincial Russia heralded the spectacular turn in cultural history that began in the 1860s. Examining the role of arts and artists in society's value system, this book explores this shift in a history of visual and performing arts in the last decades of serfdom. Provincial town and manor house engaged the culture of Moscow and St. Petersburg while thousands of serfs and ex-serfs created or performed. Mikhail Glinka raised Russian music to new levels and Anton Rubinstein struggled to found a conservatory. Long before the itinerants, painters explored town and country in genre scenes of everyday life. Serf actors on loan from their masters brought naturalistic acting from provincial theaters to the imperial stages. The book offers new perspectives on the origins of Russia's nineteenth-century artistic prowess.
GILLIAN RUSSELL
- Published in print:
- 1995
- Published Online:
- October 2011
- ISBN:
- 9780198122630
- eISBN:
- 9780191671500
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198122630.003.0007
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama
Although Tate Wilkinson was found to be one of the most respected and successful people in provincial theatre, his thoughts regarding the performance of The Fair Penitent demonstrate that he had to ...
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Although Tate Wilkinson was found to be one of the most respected and successful people in provincial theatre, his thoughts regarding the performance of The Fair Penitent demonstrate that he had to experience struggles so that his personal and professional respectability became recognized. The façade of the dominant theatrical culture in Britain, exhibited through the various patent houses in the provinces and in London, hides a different kind of rural theatre which involves staging performances in fairground booths, in barns, and in the open-air. In 1788, a change in the law classified all actors, regardless of their status, as craftsmen, yet acting was still associated with criminality and immorality. In this chapter, the author considers looking into the American War of Independence, the British administration of the Cape of Good Hope, and the War of 1812 to analyse the significance of amateur theatricals.Less
Although Tate Wilkinson was found to be one of the most respected and successful people in provincial theatre, his thoughts regarding the performance of The Fair Penitent demonstrate that he had to experience struggles so that his personal and professional respectability became recognized. The façade of the dominant theatrical culture in Britain, exhibited through the various patent houses in the provinces and in London, hides a different kind of rural theatre which involves staging performances in fairground booths, in barns, and in the open-air. In 1788, a change in the law classified all actors, regardless of their status, as craftsmen, yet acting was still associated with criminality and immorality. In this chapter, the author considers looking into the American War of Independence, the British administration of the Cape of Good Hope, and the War of 1812 to analyse the significance of amateur theatricals.
Janice Norwood
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781526133328
- eISBN:
- 9781526155467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526133335.00009
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama
This chapter examines the actress’s working life in the UK, looking particularly at the material business of touring and showing how women’s careers reflected and were impacted by changes in the ...
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This chapter examines the actress’s working life in the UK, looking particularly at the material business of touring and showing how women’s careers reflected and were impacted by changes in the industry and the environmental circumstances in Victorian cities. The nature of nineteenth-century travel meant that accidents and injury were common while working conditions in the theatre placed arduous demands upon the actress’s body, stamina and mental health. Featured examples demonstrate that the performer’s ability to accommodate bouts of ill health while working depended partly on her wealth and status within the profession. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is used to analyse how the actress’s engagements were organised. To explore the advantages of different modes of touring, the practicalities negotiated by a ‘star’ performer operating in provincial theatres is contrasted with those of an actress in a touring company, revealing disparate patterns of financial remuneration, mileage and agent employment.Less
This chapter examines the actress’s working life in the UK, looking particularly at the material business of touring and showing how women’s careers reflected and were impacted by changes in the industry and the environmental circumstances in Victorian cities. The nature of nineteenth-century travel meant that accidents and injury were common while working conditions in the theatre placed arduous demands upon the actress’s body, stamina and mental health. Featured examples demonstrate that the performer’s ability to accommodate bouts of ill health while working depended partly on her wealth and status within the profession. Actor-Network Theory (ANT) is used to analyse how the actress’s engagements were organised. To explore the advantages of different modes of touring, the practicalities negotiated by a ‘star’ performer operating in provincial theatres is contrasted with those of an actress in a touring company, revealing disparate patterns of financial remuneration, mileage and agent employment.
Janice Norwood
- Published in print:
- 2020
- Published Online:
- January 2021
- ISBN:
- 9781526133328
- eISBN:
- 9781526155467
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Manchester University Press
- DOI:
- 10.7765/9781526133335.00007
- Subject:
- Literature, Drama
This chapter illustrates various routes into the dramatic profession in the Victorian period and analyses the potential advantages of different means of learning acting and stagecraft through ...
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This chapter illustrates various routes into the dramatic profession in the Victorian period and analyses the potential advantages of different means of learning acting and stagecraft through examination of the early performance history of selected actresses. Some commenced work as child performers while others began as adults after receiving private tuition from a professional, performing on the amateur stage or giving dramatic readings. Discussion of the strategy of gaining experience in provincial or minor London theatres before risking appearing on the more prestigious West End stages reveals multiple benefits in terms of skill enhancement and press and audience response. The examples are used to argue for the importance of British provincial theatres, not only as training grounds for performers but also as instrumental to the economic health and stability of both the actress and the theatrical industry.Less
This chapter illustrates various routes into the dramatic profession in the Victorian period and analyses the potential advantages of different means of learning acting and stagecraft through examination of the early performance history of selected actresses. Some commenced work as child performers while others began as adults after receiving private tuition from a professional, performing on the amateur stage or giving dramatic readings. Discussion of the strategy of gaining experience in provincial or minor London theatres before risking appearing on the more prestigious West End stages reveals multiple benefits in terms of skill enhancement and press and audience response. The examples are used to argue for the importance of British provincial theatres, not only as training grounds for performers but also as instrumental to the economic health and stability of both the actress and the theatrical industry.
Erik Ryding and Rebecca Pechefsky
- Published in print:
- 2001
- Published Online:
- October 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780300087130
- eISBN:
- 9780300129274
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Yale University Press
- DOI:
- 10.12987/yale/9780300087130.001.0001
- Subject:
- Music, History, Western
Bruno Walter, one of the greatest conductors in the twentieth century, lived a fascinating life in difficult times. This book starts by describing Walter's early years in Germany, where his successes ...
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Bruno Walter, one of the greatest conductors in the twentieth century, lived a fascinating life in difficult times. This book starts by describing Walter's early years in Germany, where his successes in provincial theaters led to positions at the Berlin State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. It then tells of his decade-long term as Bavarian music director and his romantic involvement with the soprano Delia Reinhardt; his other positions in the musical community until he was ousted from Germany when the Nazi Party came to power in 1933; and his return to Vienna, where he was artistic director of the Opera House until he was again forced out by the Nazis. Finally it examines his career in the United States, where he led the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras and in his last years made numerous recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble created especially for him. The book makes use of the thousands of unpublished letters in the Bruno Walter Papers, now in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.Less
Bruno Walter, one of the greatest conductors in the twentieth century, lived a fascinating life in difficult times. This book starts by describing Walter's early years in Germany, where his successes in provincial theaters led to positions at the Berlin State Opera and the Vienna State Opera. It then tells of his decade-long term as Bavarian music director and his romantic involvement with the soprano Delia Reinhardt; his other positions in the musical community until he was ousted from Germany when the Nazi Party came to power in 1933; and his return to Vienna, where he was artistic director of the Opera House until he was again forced out by the Nazis. Finally it examines his career in the United States, where he led the New York Philharmonic and other orchestras and in his last years made numerous recordings with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra, an ensemble created especially for him. The book makes use of the thousands of unpublished letters in the Bruno Walter Papers, now in the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.