Don Juan (drama)
Encyclopedia
Don Juan is an 1862 drama
by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
, first published in the April issue of Russky Vestnik magazine. Don Juan never appeared on stage during its author's lifetime. In 1891, its production was deemed "unsuitable" by censors. The play was staged for the first time ever in 1905 by the Brothers Adelgeim troupe. Later incidental music
was written for the play by E. F. Napravnik. P. I. Tchaikovsky
set the "Distant Apuljara's lights..." piece to music; it is known as "The Don Juan Serenade".
the he's "written and re-written the drama, then read it to V.P.Botkin
and N.F.Kruze", who gave him their approval. Markevich in his letters criticised many aspects of the play (the need for prologue, the fact that Don Juan doesn't appear in the epilogue, etc) but his opinions were by and large ignored. In the autumn of 1961, though, while in Moscow, Tolstoy recited the piece to Mikhail Katkov
and Ivan Aksakov
; their remarks were found to be to the point and some amends have been made to the text. In the end of March 1862 A.K.Tolstoy sent the manuscript to Russky Vestnik wishing to see "not a single word being crossed out" from this final version. His demand was instantly accepted and the poem appeared in the April issue of the magazine.
Tolstoy dedicated his Don Juan drama to Mozart and E. T. A. Hoffmann, since the latter (whose short story inspired by Mozart music) was "the first to see in this character not a philanderer but a seeker of high ideal". As a Romanticist Tolstoy attributed to love the divine meaning, believing it to serve as a link between human soul and higher spheres.
Unlike the Tirso de Molina
hero, his Don Juan
acts in a fashion of a true romantic, looking for love "that helps us see through this wonderful set of universal laws, things of our world's hidden beginnings". Tolstoy made Don Juan closer to Faust
; some scene and characters (like that of Satan) point to Goethe influence too.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
by Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy
Count Aleksey Konstantinovich Tolstoy, often referred to as A. K. Tolstoy , was a Russian poet, novelist and playwright, considered to be the most important nineteenth-century Russian historical dramatist...
, first published in the April issue of Russky Vestnik magazine. Don Juan never appeared on stage during its author's lifetime. In 1891, its production was deemed "unsuitable" by censors. The play was staged for the first time ever in 1905 by the Brothers Adelgeim troupe. Later incidental music
Incidental music
Incidental music is music in a play, television program, radio program, video game, film or some other form not primarily musical. The term is less frequently applied to film music, with such music being referred to instead as the "film score" or "soundtrack"....
was written for the play by E. F. Napravnik. P. I. Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
set the "Distant Apuljara's lights..." piece to music; it is known as "The Don Juan Serenade".
Background
The origins of the play trace back to the end of 1857, when Aleksey K. Tolstoy first got the initial idea. By the summer of 1858 he's written Don Juans first rough version. On March 20, 1860, he informed his friend Boleslav MarkevichBoleslav Markevich
Boleslav Mikhailovich Markevich 1884, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian writer, essayist, journalist, and literary critic of Polish origin; author of a number of popular novels, including: Marina of the Aluy Rog , A Quarter of a Century Ago , The Turning Point and The Void .-Biography:Boleslav...
the he's "written and re-written the drama, then read it to V.P.Botkin
Vasily Botkin
Vasily Petrovich Botkin was a Russian essayist, literary, art and music critic, translator and publicist.-Early life:Vasily was the son of a wealthy merchant and the brother of the well known physician Sergey Botkin...
and N.F.Kruze", who gave him their approval. Markevich in his letters criticised many aspects of the play (the need for prologue, the fact that Don Juan doesn't appear in the epilogue, etc) but his opinions were by and large ignored. In the autumn of 1961, though, while in Moscow, Tolstoy recited the piece to Mikhail Katkov
Mikhail Katkov
Mikhail Nikiforovich Katkov was a conservative Russian journalist influential during the reign of Alexander III.Katkov was born of a Russian government official and a Georgian noblewoman...
and Ivan Aksakov
Ivan Aksakov
Ivan Sergeyevich Aksakov was a Russian littérateur and notable Slavophile. He was the son of Sergey Aksakov and younger brother of Konstantin Aksakov. He was born in what is now Bashkortostan....
; their remarks were found to be to the point and some amends have been made to the text. In the end of March 1862 A.K.Tolstoy sent the manuscript to Russky Vestnik wishing to see "not a single word being crossed out" from this final version. His demand was instantly accepted and the poem appeared in the April issue of the magazine.
Tolstoy dedicated his Don Juan drama to Mozart and E. T. A. Hoffmann, since the latter (whose short story inspired by Mozart music) was "the first to see in this character not a philanderer but a seeker of high ideal". As a Romanticist Tolstoy attributed to love the divine meaning, believing it to serve as a link between human soul and higher spheres.
Unlike the Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina
Tirso de Molina was a Spanish Baroque dramatist, poet and a Roman Catholic monk.Originally Gabriel Téllez, he was born in Madrid. He studied at Alcalá de Henares, joined the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy on November 4, 1600, and entered the Monastery of San Antolín at Guadalajara,...
hero, his Don Juan
Don Juan
Don Juan is a legendary, fictional libertine whose story has been told many times by many authors. El burlador de Sevilla y convidado de piedra by Tirso de Molina is a play set in the fourteenth century that was published in Spain around 1630...
acts in a fashion of a true romantic, looking for love "that helps us see through this wonderful set of universal laws, things of our world's hidden beginnings". Tolstoy made Don Juan closer to Faust
Faust
Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend; a highly successful scholar, but also dissatisfied with his life, and so makes a deal with the devil, exchanging his soul for unlimited knowledge and worldly pleasures. Faust's tale is the basis for many literary, artistic, cinematic, and musical...
; some scene and characters (like that of Satan) point to Goethe influence too.