Nekrasov was offered to take a selfie – MK

Established 22 years ago, exactly in the year of the 250th anniversary of the First Russian professional public theater, this forum in the capital of the Golden Ring changed its motto twice, which largely determined the focus of the festival. This year it is dictated by the agenda – “Russian Literature on the Stage of the First Russian Theatre”. For the first time, only performances based on Russian classical and modern literature in Russian are presented in its playbill.

The opening ceremony itself is quite short: first, a choreographic performance of the Anton Kosov Dance Theater and the Utah show-ballet conducted by a seemingly insane conductor, whose tailcoat sparkled with raspberry sequins under the spotlights, was on stage. And then – the official part, which seems to have broken all records for brevity. Three representatives from government, business and theatrical art seem to have kept within seven minutes in their speeches. In particular, the artistic director of the Volkovsky Theater Sergei Puskepalis in his speech emphasized: “In the context of sanctions and the abolition of Russian culture in the world, who else, if not us, should remember and feel pride in our writers, in our literature, theater and culture. I am especially pleased that the festival opens with Nikolai Nekrasov’s poems. His poems are relevant today more than ever.”

“From Nekrasov to Nekrasov” – this is the name of the musical and poetic performance – a co-production of the First Russian Theater and the Cultural and Historical Museum of the village of Vyatskoye, in the Yaroslavl region. The poet Nekrasov, whose childhood was spent in the Yaroslavl province (the village of Greshnevo), appeared in a completely unexpected way. More precisely, in many at once, but for starters, a couple of young people who, by chance, moved from the present to the past and met there with the great Russian poet, suggested that he quickly “take a selfie”. They washed down for three – Nekrasov, he, she – and immediately posted a photo on social networks. On this, the guests left the future, giving way to the past, interestingly played out in the present.

The director of the performance, Valery Kirillov, did not reconstruct the life of the classic, who played an important role in the public life of his time, but went in the open, offering to play with his life and creative heritage. Without aminos, but also without a textbook panegyric (a successful staging by Oleg Grisevich), having tried to put Nekrasov’s lines into rap, they lay down. Or test them with modern rhythms (music by Igor Esipovich), electric guitar, drum kit, polyphony – Nikolai Alekseevich endured everything, that’s why he is a classic, no matter how shamelessly you approach him with modern instruments. Here, with all due respect.

Nekrasov on the stage of the Volkov Theater has many faces – famous, unknown, in love, folk, bilious, childish, revolutionary, outgoing. The well-known (artist Nikolai Zubarenko) argued with the rest of the Nekrasovs, citing the facts of his own biography and his family as evidence. For example, how the father of the future poet, who served in the military department, arriving in some city where no one knew him by sight, dressed up a courtyard servant in his costume and instead sent himself on official business, while he himself got acquainted with the travelers and sat down to play with them into cards. It must be said that interest in gambling was passed from father to son – little Kolya, to tell the truth, did not study very well at the gymnasium, preferring playing maps to geographical maps, and also practiced playing billiards.

What was the dream of the boy Kolya, who wrote poetry, and by the time he left for St. Petersburg, a whole notebook had already been compiled? “Who shed tears in a time of trial / And trembled under the yoke of grave troubles / And did not endure suffering meekly / He is not a poet!”

This is what little Kolya wrote about, years later he grew into a great poet. And he might not have become one if he had broken down at the beginning of the journey, when critics led by Belinsky destroyed his first collection Dreams and Sounds. The strong one turned out to be a spirit. He could repent of his delusions, excesses addressed to his father and family, which did not deserve the causticity of his verse.

Or Nekrasov, already in love with the married Panaeva (their romance lasted 15 years), listened to the testimonies of his contemporaries about himself. Like, he lived in a strange house with a strange wife, and even made scenes for her husband. And he married a serf, renaming her from Fyokla Anisimovna to Zinaida Nikolaevna. A simple girl, who was much younger than the poet, appreciated his poems, read them by heart, perhaps inspiring her, but he did not devote a single line to her. The famous “There are women in Russian villages” was written before Fyokla-Zinaida.

For each facet of the poet, the directors found their own and exact tonality. Mischievous or thoughtful, sassy or gentle, proud, childish and even fashionable. Nekrasov, the lyricist, is decorated with a fashion show (choreographer Elena Soboleva-Pugacheva): send sundresses on actresses even to the catwalk – they are so good.

The exception was, perhaps, the people’s Nekrasov – here the pathos went off scale. “Come out to the Volga, whose groan is heard over the great Russian river / we call this groan a song – then barge haulers go towing” – with a literal illustration of both tow, and groaning, and suffering on the faces of the actors, in which they themselves did not particularly believe.

However, the pathos redeemed the ending – it was quiet and bright, which happens in nature after a terrible thunderstorm. Or in life after a big disaster, when the truth is clearly realized, tested for centuries and at one time brilliantly formulated by Nikolai Nekrasov in his poem “Who Lives Well in Russia”.

You are poor
You are abundant
You are powerful
you are powerless
Mother Russia!

Saved in bondage
Free heart –
Gold, gold
The heart of the people!

The strength of the people
mighty force –
Conscience is calm
The truth is alive.

Strength with untruth
Doesn’t get along
Victim of untruth
Not called…

Today you can’t say for sure.