''The Storm'' (, sometimes translated as ''The Thunderstorm'') is a
drama
Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...
in five
acts by the
19th-century 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 ...
n
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
Aleksandr Ostrovsky. As with Ostrovsky's other plays, ''The Storm'' is a work of
social criticism, which is directed particularly towards the Russian
merchant class.
History
Ostrovsky wrote the play between July and October
1859. He read it in
Lyubov Nikulina-Kositskaya's Moscow flat to the actors of the
Maly Theatre to a great response. To make sure the play makes it through
censorship
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...
barrier the author made a trip to the capital where he had hard time convincing censor Nordstrom that in Kabanikha he hadn't shown the late Tsar
Nikolai I. It was premiered on November 16, 1859, as actor
Sergey Vasiliev's benefit and enjoyed warm reception.
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 ...
the play was being produced, as in Moscow, under the personal supervision of its author. Katerina there was played by young and elegant
Fanny Snetkova who gave lyrical overtones to the character. In both cities the play angered most of the theatre critics but appealed to audiences and was a tremendous box office success.
Reception
''The Storm'' provoked fierce debate in the Russian press of the time concerning moral issues. While
Vasily Botkin was raving about "the elemental poetic force emerging from secret depths of a human soul... for Katerina's love is a woman's nature thing exactly in the way that any of climatic cataclysm is a thing of physical nature", critic Nikolai Filippov lambasted the play as an "example of vulgar primitivism", calling Katerina "shameless" and the scene of rendezvous in Act III "scabrous".
Mikhail Shchepkin was highly skeptical too, especially about "those two episodes that take place behind the bushes".
Stepan Shevyryov wrote about the decline of a Russian comedy and drama, which was "sliding down the ranking stairs" to the bottom of social hierarchy.
Adaptations
Cinematic adaptations
*
Vladimir Petrov's 1934 Russian film ''
Groza''.
[Se]
Groza at IMDB
Musical adaptations
* 1864:
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky wrote an
overture
Overture (from French ''ouverture'', "opening") is a music instrumental introduction to a ballet, opera, or oratorio in the 17th century. During the early Romantic era, composers such as Beethoven and Mendelssohn composed overtures which ...
, ''
The Storm'', which was first performed in 1896. He also reworked this music into his ''Concert Overture in C minor'', which was first performed in 1931.
* 1867: ''The Storm'',
Vladimir Nikitich Kashperov (
libretto
A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...
based directly on the play)
* 1921: ''
Káťa Kabanová'',
Leoš Janáček (libretto by
Vincenc Červinka)
* 1940: ''The Storm'',
Boris Asafiev
* 1940: ''The Storm'',
Ivan Dzerzhinsky
* 1941: ''The Storm'',
Viktor Nikolayevich Trambitsky (February 11, 1895–August 13, 1970)
* 1952: ''The Storm'',
Lodovico Rocca
* 1962: ''The Storm'',
Venedikt Pushkov (October 31, 1896–January 25, 1971)
References
Sources
* Marsh, Cynthia. 1982. "Ostrovsky's play ''The Thunderstorm''." In ''Leoš Janáček, Káťa Kabanová'' by
John Tyrrell. Cambridge: Cambridge UP. .
{{DEFAULTSORT:Storm, The
1859 plays
Plays by Alexander Ostrovsky
Plays adapted into operas
Russian plays adapted into films
Plays set in Russia
Plays set in the 19th century