Alexander Yakovlevich Tairov (; ; 6 July 1885 – 5 September 1950) was a leading innovator and theatre director in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

before and during the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

era.

Biography

Childhood

Aleksandr Tairov was born Aleksandr Yakovlevich Korenblit on July 6, 1885, in

Romny Romny (, ) is a city in Sumy Oblast, northern Ukraine. It is located on the Romen River. Romny serves as the administrative centre of Romny Raion and hosts the administration of , one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Population: History The city w ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

. His father, Yakov Korenblit, was the headmaster of a primary school in

Berdichev Berdychiv (, ) is a historic city in Zhytomyr Oblast, northern Ukraine. It serves as the administrative center of Berdychiv Raion within the oblast. It is south of the administrative center of the oblast, Zhytomyr. Its population is approximat ...

. At the age of 10, young Tairov moved to

Kiev Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

and settled with his aunt, a retired actress. She introduced him to theatre. He took part in amateur performances and assumed the name Tairov as a pseudonym.

Experience

In 1904 he enrolled in the

Law School A law school (also known as a law centre/center, college of law, or faculty of law) is an institution, professional school, or department of a college or university specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for b ...

Kiev University The Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv (; also known as Kyiv University, Shevchenko University, or KNU) is a public university in Kyiv, Ukraine. The university is the third-oldest university in Ukraine after the University of Lviv and ...

. That same year Tairov married his cousin, Olga. In 1905 Tairov opposed the pogroms of Jews in Kiev. He was arrested by the Tsar's police and imprisoned. His second arrest led him to decide to move from Kiev to St. Petersburg.

Theatrical beginnings

In 1906 Tairov was invited by the famous Russian actress

Vera Komissarzhevskaya Vera Fyodorovna Komissarzhevskaya (; 8 November 1864 – 23 February 1910) was one of the most celebrated actresses and theatre managers of the late Russian Empire. She made her professional debut in 1893, after having acted as an amateur at Co ...

and joined her theatre as an actor under the directorship of

Vsevolod Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (; born ; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre director, actor and theatrical producer. His provocative experiments dealing with physical being and symbolism in an unconventional theatre setting m ...

. Tairov concurrently continued his studies in law at

St. Petersburg University Saint Petersburg State University (SPBGU; ) is a public research university in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and one of the oldest and most prestigious universities in Russia. Founded in 1724 by a decree of Peter the Great, the university from the be ...

. There he started his lifelong friendship with

Anatoli Lunacharsky Anatoly Vasilyevich Lunacharsky (, born ''Anatoly Aleksandrovich Antonov''; – 26 December 1933) was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and the first Soviet People's Commissar (minister) of Education, as well as an active playwright, critic, es ...

. He collaborated with Vsevolod Meyerhold on a joint production of a play by

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. Both directors were creating new experimental models for theatre in Russia. Tairov felt that the work of Meyerhold's actors was dictated by the production concept and that the actors were mere puppets. Soon Tairov left to join Pavel Gaideburov's company as a director.

Chamber Theatre

Tairov created a prototype of his Chamber Theatre as "synthetic theatre" with high goals in mind. As director he experimented with staging, acting, individual and group movements, stage and costume designs, and worked with every detail of theatrical performance in order to break away from the traditional theatre. Tairov's experimental approach spread to all phases of creating a stage show including even the rehearsals and practice. He used the music of

Ludwig van Beethoven Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...

and

Frédéric Chopin Frédéric François Chopin (born Fryderyk Franciszek Chopin; 1 March 181017 October 1849) was a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic period who wrote primarily for Piano solo, solo piano. He has maintained worldwide renown ...

as a way of helping his actors achieve a special state of mind during their performances.

Riga

In 1912 Tairov was invited to direct a play in collaboration with the Russian Drama Theatre in

Riga Riga ( ) is the capital, Primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Latvia, largest city of Latvia. Home to 591,882 inhabitants (as of 2025), the city accounts for a third of Latvia's total population. The population of Riga Planni ...

. There he was once again attacked by the local anti-Semites and was banned by the local authorities from staying and working in the city of Riga. The conflict took two weeks to resolve. Tairov prevailed, he stayed and completed his work for the Russian Drama Theatre in Riga. Upon his return to St. Petersburg, Tairov converted to

Evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

Moscow

In 1913 Tairov moved to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

. There he joined a corporation of attorneys at law and could continue a comfortable career. Instead, Tairov established himself as an important anti-realist director. With his wife, the actress Alisa Koonen, he founded the Kamerny (Chamber) Theatre in 1914; it became the centre of experimental creativity for many Russian actors, artists, writers, and musicians. Tairov was the first director in Russia to stage

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

Bertolt Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known as Bertolt Brecht and Bert Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

. He staged classical play of

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

- " Sakuntala", plays of

Valery Bryusov Valery Yakovlevich Bryusov ( rus, Вале́рий Я́ковлевич Брю́сов, p=vɐˈlʲerʲɪj ˈjakəvlʲɪvʲɪdʑ ˈbrʲusəf, a=Valyeriy Yakovlyevich Bryusov.ru.vorb.oga; – 9 October 1924) was a Russian poet, prose writer, drama ...

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

J.B. Priestley John Boynton Priestley (; 13 September 1894 – 14 August 1984) was an English novelist, playwright, screenwriter, broadcaster and social commentator. His Yorkshire background is reflected in much of his fiction, notably in ''The Good Compa ...

Oscar Wilde Oscar Fingal O'Fflahertie Wills Wilde (16 October 185430 November 1900) was an Irish author, poet, and playwright. After writing in different literary styles throughout the 1880s, he became one of the most popular and influential playwright ...

, and other contemporary writers. Tairov collaborated with such artists as

Alexandra Exter Aleksandra Aleksandrovna Ekster (née Grigorovich; ; ; 18 January 1882 – 17 March 1949), also known as Alexandra Exter, was a Russian and French painter and designer. As a young woman, her studio in Kiev attracted all the city's creative lum ...

Pavel Kuznetsov Pavel Varfolomevich Kuznetsov (1878–1968) was a painter and graphic artist. Life and career He studied at Saratov at Bogolyubov Art School (1891–1896), then Moscow School of Painting, Sculpture and Architecture (1897–1904) and for a y ...

Sergei Soudeikin Sergey Yurievich Sudeikin, also known as Serge Soudeikine (19 March 1882 in Saint Petersburg – 12 August 1946 in Nyack, New York), was a Russian artist and set-designer associated with the Ballets Russes and the Metropolitan Opera. Biograph ...

Mikhail Larionov Mikhail Fyodorovich Larionov (; – May 10, 1964) was a Russian avant-garde painter who worked with radical exhibitors and pioneered the first approach to abstract Russian art. He was founding member of two important artistic groups Knave ...

, Natalya Goncharova, Vladimir Pohl,

Inayat Khan Inayat Khan Rehmat Khan (; 5 July 1882 – 5 February 1927) was an Indian professor of musicology, singer, exponent of the saraswati vina, poet, philosopher, and pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West. At the urging of his students ...

Makovskii Sergei Konstantinovich. "Parnas of the Silver Age" XXI-soglasie, 2000 on Russian language р. 525 and others. Tairov's Acting Studio became extremely popular among aspiring actors such as

Vera Karalli Vera Alexeyevna Karalli (; 27 July 1889 – 16 November 1972) was a Russian people, Russian ballet dancer, choreographer and silent film actress during the early years of the 20th century. Early life and career Born in Moscow, Karalli gradua ...

Yevgeni Lebedev Yevgeni Alekseyevich Lebedev ( rus, Евгeний Алeксeeвич Лeбeдeв, , jɪvˈɡʲenʲɪj ɐlʲɪkˈsʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈlʲebʲɪdʲɪf; January 15, 1917, Balakovo – June 9, 1997, Saint Petersburg) was a Soviet and Russian actor and ...

, and others. He worked with composers

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

, A. Aleksandrov, Georgi Sviridov, and

Dmitri Kabalevsky Dmitry Borisovich Kabalevsky ( ; – 14 February 1987) was a Soviet composer, conductor, pianist and pedagogue of Russian gentry descent. He helped set up the Union of Soviet Composers in Moscow and remained one of its leading figures during ...

After Revolution

After the

Bolshevik Revolution The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of two revolutions in Russia in 1917. It was led by Vladimir L ...

of 1917, Tairov continued development of his independent approach to theatre. His early productions of the Soviet era were Salome by Oscar Wilde and Adrienne Lecouvrer, which became a legendary play and ran more than 800 performances. The Chamber Theatre remained very popular and toured across the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

. The Chamber Theatre's tours of

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

in 1923, and of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

in 1930 were critically acclaimed as "a total victory of the famous Russian innovator and a genius of staging".

Under Stalin in the 1930s

In 1929 Tairov produced Bagrovy Ostrov (The Crimson Island) by

Mikhail Bulgakov Mikhail Afanasyevich Bulgakov ( ; rus, links=no, Михаил Афанасьевич Булгаков, p=mʲɪxɐˈil ɐfɐˈnasʲjɪvʲɪdʑ bʊlˈɡakəf; – 10 March 1940) was a Russian and Soviet novelist and playwright. His novel ''The M ...

. At that time

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

began his total control of culture and labeled the play bourgeois. That was enough to trigger organized attacks on Tairov in the Soviet media. His next production of Vsevolod Vishnevskiy's Optimistic tragedy (1933) was criticized by

Vyacheslav Molotov Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich Molotov (; – 8 November 1986) was a Soviet politician, diplomat, and revolutionary who was a leading figure in the government of the Soviet Union from the 1920s to the 1950s, as one of Joseph Stalin's closest allies. ...

as a slander of Russian history. Tairov tried to defend his theatre, he stated that theatres must be established on the level of research institutes. "Pavlov has an institute on which millions are spent.

Stanislavsky Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( rus, Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj, links=yes; ; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Russian and Sovie ...

must have an institute too", said Tairov. As a punishment, Tairov's Chamber Theatre was sent to work in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. However, unlike many other enemies of the regime, Tairov survived the Great Purges in which millions were imprisoned or executed.

Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee

In August 1941, though his theatre company had returned to Siberia, Tairov joined the

Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, abbreviated as JAC, was an organization that was created in the Soviet Union during World War II to influence international public opinion and organize political and material support for the Soviet fight against ...

in Moscow. It was formed by the group of leading intellectuals to campaign against the Nazis during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The Committee was headed by

Solomon Mikhoels Solomon (Shloyme) Mikhoels ( lso spelled שלוימע מיכאעלס during the Soviet era , – 13 January 1948) was a Soviet actor and the artistic director of the Moscow State Jewish Theater. Mikhoels served as the chairman of the Jewish ...

. Along with Tairov other prominent members were

Emil Gilels Emil Grigoryevich Gilels (19 October 191614 October 1985, born Samuil) was a Soviet pianist. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest pianists of all time. His sister Elizabeth, three years his junior, was a violinist. His daughter Elena ...

David Oistrakh David Fyodorovich Oistrakh (; – 24 October 1974) was a Soviet Russian violinist, List of violists, violist, and Conducting, conductor. He was also Professor at the Moscow Conservatory, People's Artist of the USSR (1953), and Laureate of the ...

Samuil Marshak Samuil Yakovlevich Marshak (alternative spelling: Marchak) (; 4 July 1964) was a Soviet writer of Belarusian Jewish origin, translator and poet who wrote for both children and adults. He translated the sonnets and some other of the works of Willi ...

, Ilja Ehrenburg, and many other leading intellectuals in the Soviet Union. The main driving force of the Committee was represented by the group of

Yiddish Yiddish, historically Judeo-German, is a West Germanic language historically spoken by Ashkenazi Jews. It originated in 9th-century Central Europe, and provided the nascent Ashkenazi community with a vernacular based on High German fused with ...

writers such as Perets Markish, Lev Kvitko, David Gofstein,

Itsik Fefer Itzik Feffer (10 September 1900 – 12 August 1952), also Fefer (Yiddish איציק פֿעפֿער, Russian Ицик Фефер, Исаàк Соломòнович Фèфер) was a Soviet Yiddish poet executed on the Night of the Murdered Poe ...

David Bergelson David (or Dovid) Bergelson (, , 12 August 1884 – 12 August 1952) was a Yiddish language writer born in the Russian Empire. He lived for a time in Berlin, Germany, before moving to the Soviet Union following the Nazi rise to power in Germany. He ...

, and others. The Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee provided over 45 million rubles to the Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

. After the end of the Second World War it was denounced by Joseph Stalin, and many of its members were executed by the Soviet secret service.

Under Stalin after World War II

In 1946 the Soviet Communist Party launched attacks on intellectuals in the Soviet Union. Such leading cultural figures as

Anna Akhmatova Anna Andreyevna Gorenko rus, А́нна Андре́евна Горе́нко, p=ˈanːə ɐnˈdrʲe(j)ɪvnə ɡɐˈrʲɛnkə, a=Anna Andreyevna Gorenko.ru.oga, links=yes; , . ( – 5 March 1966), better known by the pen name Anna Akhmatova,. ...

, Aram Khachaturyan,

Boris Pasternak Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (30 May 1960) was a Russian and Soviet poet, novelist, composer, and literary translator. Composed in 1917, Pasternak's first book of poems, ''My Sister, Life'', was published in Berlin in 1922 and soon became an imp ...

Mikhail Zoshchenko Mikhail Mikhailovich Zoshchenko (; – 22 July 1958) was a Soviet and Russian writer and satirist. Biography Zoshchenko was born in 1894, in Saint Petersburg, Russia, according to his 1953 autobiography. Other sources suggest that he was born i ...

and many others suffered from censorship and severe repression. Tairov's Chamber Theatre was attacked for having little to do with contemporary Soviet life. Tairov tried to make additions to the repertoire and invited writer Alexander Galich, and young director Georgi Tovstonogov, but it was too late. In May 1949, the Soviet Committee for Arts issued an official order to close the theatre. Tairov's Chamber Theatre was accused of "Aesthetism and Formalism". Tairov was granted a personal pension and soon was hospitalized with brain cancer. He died on September 5, 1950, in Moscow, and was laid to rest in the

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

in Moscow, Russia.

Timeline

*1885 - Born Aleksandr Yakovlevich Korenblit, in Berdichev, Ukraine, Russian Empire. *1895 - Moved to Kiev, attended theatrical performances *1904 - Married his cousin, Olga. *1905 - Experienced pogrom in Kiev. *1906 - Moved to

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city had a population of 5,601, ...

and became an actor on invitation from Vera Komissarzhevkaya. *1907 - Directed plays in St. Petersburg in collaboration with

*1912 - Directed a play in Riga, where he was arrested by anti-semitic police. *1913 - Tairov took up legal practice in

. Konstantin Mardzhanov invited Tairov to join him in starting a theatre, but the venture folded after only a year. *1914 - Tairov opened the

Kamerny Theatre The Kamerny Theatre was a chamber theatre in Moscow, founded in 1914 by director Alexander Tairov (1885–1950). Over the next 35 years, this small, intimate theater became "recognized as a major force in Russian theater". Considered among the be ...

, or Chamber Theatre, so named because he wanted to develop a select, appreciative audience. *1918 - Meyerhold and Tairov collaborated on a production of ''The Exchange'' in February, but the production was a failure. *1921 - Published aesthetic philosophy in ''Notes of a Director''. *1923 - Tairov's acting school, which included classes such as improvisation, fencing, gymnastics, juggling, and theatre history, is granted official status. Also this year, the Kamerny Theatre tours to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

Frankfurt Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

, and

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

. *1925 - Kamerny Theatre tours to

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. *1930 - Kamerny Theatre tours to Germany,

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

, Vienna, Italy, Paris,

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, and

Montevideo Montevideo (, ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Uruguay, largest city of Uruguay. According to the 2023 census, the city proper has a population of 1,302,954 (about 37.2% of the country's total population) in an area of . M ...

. Performances include

's ''

Salome Salome (; , related to , "peace"; ), also known as Salome III, was a Jews, Jewish princess, the daughter of Herod II and princess Herodias. She was granddaughter of Herod the Great and stepdaughter of Herod Antipas. She is known from the New T ...

'',

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 original plays, Ostrovsky "almost single-handedly created a Russian national repe ...

's ''Storm'',

's ''

Desire Under the Elms ''Desire Under the Elms'' is a 1924 play written by Eugene O'Neill. Like ''Mourning Becomes Electra'', ''Desire Under the Elms'' signifies an attempt by O'Neill to adapt plot elements and themes of Greek tragedy to a rural New England settin ...

'', and

Charles Lecocq Alexandre Charles Lecocq (; 3 June 183224 October 1918) was a French composer, known for his opérettes and opéra comique, opéras comiques. He became the most prominent successor to Jacques Offenbach in this sphere, and enjoyed considerable su ...

's ''Girofle-Girofla''. *1933 - Produced a socialist realist production of ''Optimistic Tragedy''. *1935 - Awarded title of People's Artist. *1936 - Accused of formalism. *1937 - Merged with Okhlopkov's Realistic Theatre. This collaboration only lasted one year. *1939 - Ten-month tour to Eastern Russia which included performances of ''

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...

'' and ''The Bedbug''. This tour may have saved Tairov from the purge. *1941 - Kamerny Theatre was evacuated to

where they performed for two years. *1945 - Received the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

. *1949 - Kamerny Theatre closed. Tairov and his wife, actress Alisa Koonen transferred to the Vakhantangov Theatre. *1950 - Tairov dies in September. *1974 - Alice Koonen dies.

Aesthetic philosophy

Tairov developed what he called "Synthetic Theatre" which incorporated ballet, opera, circus, music hall, and dramatic elements. He believed theatre was its own art and was not merely a means for transmitting literature. His productions were not subservient to their text. The acting school Tairov developed was to train a company of "master actors" who would excel in all of the elements of Synthetic Theatre and become the primary creators of performances. Tairov's productions employed Constructivist sets. One of his primary designers was

who created sets and costumes for ''Famira Kifared'', ''Salome'' and ''Romeo and Juliet''. Her designs can be seen in the 1924 film ''Aelita Queen of Mars'' for which she used celluloid and metal for the Martian costumes.

Productions

*''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'' - 1921 **This set, designed by Exter, employed seven bridges of various heights as well as rope ladders to depict the lovers' obstacles. The set was inlaid with mirrors which were later replaced with foil. *''

Phaedra Phaedra may refer to: Mythology * Phaedra (mythology), Cretan princess, daughter of Minos and Pasiphaë, wife of Theseus Arts and entertainment * Phaedra (Cabanel), ''Phaedra'' (Cabanel), an 1880 painting by Alexandre Cabanel *House of Phaedra ...

'' by Racine - 1922 **This is the first of Tairov's productions in which emotion was the primary focus. Alice Koonen played Phaedra, and entered draped in a heavy purple cape of velvet. This image was contrasted with her appearance in a red cape for the confession scene. The set was modeled on the image of a listing ship with several off-kilter platforms. *''Girofle-Girofla'' - 1922 **This comic operetta is set around the confusion involving twins, both played by Koonen. The set was made up of folding ladders, revolving mirrors, and trap doors. *''

The Man Who Was Thursday ''The Man Who Was Thursday: A Nightmare'' is a 1908 novel by G. K. Chesterton. The book has been described as a metaphysical thriller. Plot summary Chesterton prefixed the novel with a poem written to Edmund Clerihew Bentley, revisiting the ...

'' - 1924 **Tairov staged this play by

Sigizmund Krzhizhanovsky Sigizmund Dominikovich Krzhizhanovsky ( rus, Сигизму́нд Домини́кович Кржижано́вский, p=sʲɪɡʲɪzˈmunt dəmʲɪˈnʲikəvʲɪtɕ kʐɨʐɨˈnofskʲɪj, ; – 28 December 1950) was a Russian and Soviet writ ...

(1887–1950), based on

G. K. Chesterton Gilbert Keith Chesterton (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936) was an English author, philosopher, Christian apologist, journalist and magazine editor, and literary and art critic. Chesterton created the fictional priest-detective Father Brow ...

's fantastic novel, at the Kamerny theatre in Moscow. Chesterton lamented this "misreading" by the Russians several times later in life, most prominently in his 1936 autobiography. *''Desire Under the Elms'' - 1930 **The Moscow production was followed by a mock trial for Abbie and Eben. Tairov was a witness for the defense and legal experts and psychiatrists took part as well. The trial ended at 2am with the acquittal of the defendants. O'Neill saw the production when it toured to Paris and loved it.

Notes

References

* *Compton, Susan A. ''Alexandra Exter and the Dynamic Stage''. Art in America 62.5 (1974): 100-3. *Frenz, Horst. ''Alexander Tairov and the 1930 World Tour of the Kamerny Theatre''. Brockett, Oscar Gross, ed. ''Studies in Theatre and Drama; Essays in Honor of Hubert C. Heffner''. The Hague: Mouton, 1972, pp. 177-194. *Marshall, Herbert. ''The Pictorial History of the Russian Theatre''. New York: Crown Publishers, 1977. *Roose-Evans, James. ''Experimental Theatre from Stanislavsky to Today''. New York: Universe Books, 1970. *Tairov, Alexander. ''Notes of a Director'', Uniform Title: Zapiski Rezhissera. English. Coral Gables, Fla: University of Miami Press, 1969. *Worrall, Nick. ''Modernism to Realism on the Soviet Stage : Tairov-Vakhtangov-Okhlopkov''. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1989. {{DEFAULTSORT:Tairov, Alexander 1885 births 1950 deaths People from Romny People from Romensky Uyezd Ukrainian Jews Soviet Jews Converts to Lutheranism from Judaism Ukrainian Protestants 20th-century Lutherans Russian theatre directors Soviet theatre directors Saint Petersburg State University alumni People's Artists of the RSFSR Honored Artists of the RSFSR Honoured Workers of the Arts Industry of the Estonian SSR Recipients of the Order of Lenin Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery