''Tatiana Repina'' () is a one-act drama by

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; ; 29 January 1860 – 15 July 1904) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer, widely considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career as a playwright produced four classics, and his b ...

, written in 1889, as a

sequel A sequel is a work of literature, film, theatre, television, music, or video game that continues the story of, or expands upon, some earlier work. In the common context of a narrative work of fiction, a sequel portrays events set in the same ...

Alexey Suvorin Aleksei Sergeyevich Suvorin (; , Korshevo, Voronezh Governorate – , Tsarskoye Selo) was a Russian newspaper and book publisher and journalist whose publishing empire wielded considerable influence during the last decades of the Russian Emp ...

's play ''Tatiana Repina'', with the dedication to the author. The play was written as a private joke from Chekhov to his friend Suvorin and it was not published or performed in Chekhov's lifetime. The only printed copy was discovered among Suvorin's papers in 1912, after his death. Chekhov's ''Tatyana Repina'' was published for the first time in 1924.Commentaries to Татьяна Репина
Чехов А. П. Полное собрание сочинений и писем: В 30 т. Сочинения: В 18 т. / АН СССР. Ин-т мировой лит. им. А. М. Горького. — М.: Наука, 1974—1982. Т. 12. Пьесы. 1889—1891. // М.: Наука, 1978. — С. 77—95.

Background

In November 1881 Russia was shocked by the death of the young actress Yevlaliya Kadmina, who, while being engaged in the leading role of ''Vasilissa Melentyeva'', the play by

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 ...

, spotted her estranged fiance in the audience with his new girl, went to take poison during the break, then collapsed on stage and six days later died in hospital. Among the several authors who felt inspired enough to recreate this story in their work (

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

and

Alexander Kuprin Aleksandr Ivanovich Kuprin (; – 25 August 1938) was a Russian writer best known for his novels ''The Duel'' (1905)Kuprin scholar Nicholas Luker, in his biography ''Alexander Kuprin'', calls ''The Duel'' his "greatest masterpiece" (ch ...

included) was

, whose drama ''Tatyana Repina'', premiered at the

Alexandrinka The Alexandrinsky Theatre () or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial troupe was founded in 1756). Since 1832, the theatre ...

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 ...

in December 1888 and at the Moscow's Maly Theatre on 16 January 1889. Chekhov was friends with Suvorin and actively participated in the production of his "Tatyana Repina" play in Moscow.

History

Chekhov's version of "Tatiana Repina" (which features the same characters but a different plotline) tells the story of a church wedding of Olenina and Sabinin, and the hysteria in the crowd of "The Lady in Black", who was mistaken for Tatiana Repina (the actress who dies of poison in the final act of Suvorin's drama). The demonstration of a religious service on stage made the publication of Chekhov's play impossible.

Characters

* Olenina * Kokoshkina * Matveyev * Sonenstein * Sabinin * Kotelnikov * Kokoshkin * Patronnikov * Volgin, a young officer * Student * Young lady * Father Ivan, cathedral archpriest, and old man of 70 years * Father Nicholas * Father Alexey * Deacon * Sexton * Kuzma, the church watchman. * The Lady in Black * Prosecutor * Actors and actresses

References

{{Authority control Plays by Anton Chekhov 1889 plays