Alexander Ostrovsky pondered over the plot of the drama «Without a Dowry» for several years. The play was premiered in Maly Theater in 1878. Here is an excerpt from the book by Vladimir Lakshin about the great dramatist, who is also called the «founding father of Russian theatre»:
« Ostrovsky marked the manuscript of «Without a Dowry» with a note “Opus 40”. He kept a strict record of his original works and had great hopes for the “anniversary” piece. He sent Pavel Fedorov, the Repertoire Director, a note accompanying the manuscript that said «This play opens a new chapter in my work».
The play, according to Lakshin, «remains a timeless reminder of how deep the chasm between the two sides of success, the artistic and the public one, can be.»
The play is marked by protagonist’s special emotional undercurrent and complex feelings, what might be defined as poetical innuendo, the predecessors of Chekhov’s drama.
In the play, the audience meets Larisa, the main character, in the most critical moment of her life. The passions have already burned out, worlds once created, have collapsed, hope has been replaced by disappointment hundreds of times, leaving Larisa’s soul in ashes. The return of former lover Paratov is the last seduction, the deceitful call for happiness, after which come personal crisis and moral breakdown.
The more you live, the more you understand life and the less you are inclined to lecture. In «Without a Dowry» one of the most prominent motifs is the idea of the artist, reinforced by the search for the meaning of life and the desire to unriddle its mysteries, and the attempt to distinguish good from evil.
The idea to recreate the tragedy of a woman's soul - a poetic, dreamy, selfish and proud soul was a task that seemed like a very attractive and modern task to Ostrovsky. Larisa is a victim of the world – a world where everything can be bought and sold and where people are all strangers to each other. But she is also a part of that world.
Lakshin, Vladimir (1982). "Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky". Iskusstvo, Moscow. Life in Art series. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
Performance Director – Yuri Solomin
Designer – Alexander Glazunov
Composer – Eduard Gleizer
Costume Designer – Alexei Trefilov
Lighting Designer – Damir Ismagilov
Сhoirmaster, vocal coach - Galina Guseva
Assistant Directors – Natalia Demidova, Vladimir Egorov
Premiere – October 20th, 2012
Running Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Suitable for 12+yrs
A drama in 4 acts
The performance runs with one intermission
Roles and actors:
Harita Ignatyevna Ogudalova, a middle-aged widow народная артистка России Lyudmila Titova народная артистка России Elena Kharitonova
Larisa, her daughter, a maiden Alexandra Ivanova
Mokiy Parmenych Knurov, major dealer, an elderly man with a huge state Vyacheslav Ezepov
Vassiliy Danilitch Vozhevatov, a very young man, one of the representatives of a rich trading firm Sergey Potapov Maksim Khrustalyov
Julius Kapitonitch Karandyshev, a young man, a clerk of modest means Dmitriy Marin
Sergei Sergeyevich Paratov, a brilliant landlord, a shipowner заслуженный артист России Aleksey Faddeev
Robinson, a provincial actor народный артист России Aleksey Kudinovich
Evfrosinia Potapovna, Karandyshev's aunt Lyudmila Pashkova
Gavrilo, a counterman, an owner of the coffee house on the boulevard заслуженный артист России Pyotr Skladchikov Viktor Andrianov
Ivan, a servant in the coffee house
Ilya, a gypsy Mikhail Fomenko Konstantin Yudaev
A servant in Ogudalova's house Andrey Manke Stanislav Soshnikov
Alexander Ostrovsky pondered over the plot of the drama «Without a Dowry» for several years. The play was premiered in Maly Theater in 1878. Here is an excerpt from the book by Vladimir Lakshin about the great dramatist, who is also called the «founding father of Russian theatre»:
« Ostrovsky marked the manuscript of «Without a Dowry» with a note “Opus 40”. He kept a strict record of his original works and had great hopes for the “anniversary” piece. He sent Pavel Fedorov, the Repertoire Director, a note accompanying the manuscript that said «This play opens a new chapter in my work».
The play, according to Lakshin, «remains a timeless reminder of how deep the chasm between the two sides of success, the artistic and the public one, can be.»
The play is marked by protagonist’s special emotional undercurrent and complex feelings, what might be defined as poetical innuendo, the predecessors of Chekhov’s drama.
In the play, the audience meets Larisa, the main character, in the most critical moment of her life. The passions have already burned out, worlds once created, have collapsed, hope has been replaced by disappointment hundreds of times, leaving Larisa’s soul in ashes. The return of former lover Paratov is the last seduction, the deceitful call for happiness, after which come personal crisis and moral breakdown.
The more you live, the more you understand life and the less you are inclined to lecture. In «Without a Dowry» one of the most prominent motifs is the idea of the artist, reinforced by the search for the meaning of life and the desire to unriddle its mysteries, and the attempt to distinguish good from evil.
The idea to recreate the tragedy of a woman's soul - a poetic, dreamy, selfish and proud soul was a task that seemed like a very attractive and modern task to Ostrovsky. Larisa is a victim of the world – a world where everything can be bought and sold and where people are all strangers to each other. But she is also a part of that world.
Lakshin, Vladimir (1982). "Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky". Iskusstvo, Moscow. Life in Art series. Retrieved 2012-03-01.
Performance Director – Yuri Solomin
Designer – Alexander Glazunov
Composer – Eduard Gleizer
Costume Designer – Alexei Trefilov
Lighting Designer – Damir Ismagilov
Сhoirmaster, vocal coach - Galina Guseva
Assistant Directors – Natalia Demidova, Vladimir Egorov
Premiere – October 20th, 2012
Running Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Suitable for 12+yrs
Roles and actors
Harita Ignatyevna Ogudalova, a middle-aged widow народная артистка России Lyudmila Titova народная артистка России Elena Kharitonova
Larisa, her daughter, a maiden Alexandra Ivanova
Mokiy Parmenych Knurov, major dealer, an elderly man with a huge state Vyacheslav Ezepov
Vassiliy Danilitch Vozhevatov, a very young man, one of the representatives of a rich trading firm Sergey Potapov Maksim Khrustalyov
Julius Kapitonitch Karandyshev, a young man, a clerk of modest means Dmitriy Marin
Sergei Sergeyevich Paratov, a brilliant landlord, a shipowner заслуженный артист России Aleksey Faddeev
Robinson, a provincial actor народный артист России Aleksey Kudinovich
Evfrosinia Potapovna, Karandyshev's aunt Lyudmila Pashkova
Gavrilo, a counterman, an owner of the coffee house on the boulevard заслуженный артист России Pyotr Skladchikov Viktor Andrianov
Ivan, a servant in the coffee house
Ilya, a gypsy Mikhail Fomenko Konstantin Yudaev
A servant in Ogudalova's house Andrey Manke Stanislav Soshnikov