Ivan Afanasyevich Dmitrevsky () (February 28, 1734 in

Yaroslavl Yaroslavl (; , ) is a city and the administrative center of Yaroslavl Oblast, Russia, located northeast of Moscow. The historic part of the city is a World Heritage Site, and is located at the confluence of the Volga and the Kotorosl rivers. ...

– October 27, 1821 in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

) is generally regarded as the most influential actor of Russian

Neoclassicism Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative arts, decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiq ...

and "Russia's first great tragedian". Together with his friend Fyodor Volkov he inaugurated the first Russian theatre in his native

(1750), later moving with the rest of the troupe to

St Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

(1756). His tragic parts in

Alexander Sumarokov Alexander Petrovich Sumarokov (; , Villmanstrand – ) was a Russian poet and playwright who single-handedly created classical theatre in Russia, thus assisting Mikhail Lomonosov to inaugurate the reign of classicism in Russian literature. L ...

's plays were admired by

Catherine the Great Catherine II. (born Princess Sophie of Anhalt-Zerbst; 2 May 172917 November 1796), most commonly known as Catherine the Great, was the reigning empress of Russia from 1762 to 1796. She came to power after overthrowing her husband, Peter I ...

and her friend Ekaterina Dashkova. Later, he delivered lectures on theatre in the Russian Academy, of which he was a member. In his writings and plays, Dmitrevsky emphasized reason over emotions, propagating "the loud, artificial declamatory acting style" of French Neoclassicism. Stage actress and singer Agrafena Musina-Pushkina (1740–1782/86) studied with him, and later became his wife.

References

Members of the Russian Academy Russian male stage actors 1734 births 1821 deaths 18th-century male actors from the Russian Empire Dramatists and playwrights from the Russian Empire Burials at Tikhvin Cemetery People from Yaroslavl {{Russia-actor-stub