The Reception of Gerhart Hauptmann's Dramas in Russia

Abstract

The reception of Gerhart Hauptmann's dramas in nineteenth-century Russia began in 1889 with the Russian review of Vor Sonnenaufgang as performed in Germany. Hanneles Himmelfahrt was the first play by Hauptmann to be staged in Russia (1895), performed by the troupe of the St. Petersburg Theater of the Literary Arts Circle; the play ran quite successfully, largely due to its social content, which appealed to both the progressive and reactionary factions of the intelligentsia. Hannele, followed by Die versunkene Glocke and Michael Kramer, was the most successful of the six Hauptmann plays performed by the St. Petersburg company. By 1901, Novoe Vremia had proclaimed Hauptmann as Germany's leading dramatist. Despite the early gains for Hauptmann's dramatic works at the St. Petersburg Theater, where there were serious deficiencies in directing and stage technique, the prominance of Hauptmann's plays would have been unthinkable without the main vehicle which conveyed them, the Moscow Art Theater, without the significant artistic support from Anton Chekhov or the repertory inclinations of Nemirovich- Danchenko, and most of all, without the inestimable talents and favor of Russia's greatest actor-director, Konstantin Stanislavsky. Approximately 1905-06 both a literary trend away from Naturalism and, more importantly, political considerations worked to the detriment of continued popularity for Hauptmann's plays. Following the end of World War I, Russian interest in Hauptmann's works increased significantly, as Die Weber drew considerable attention for possible use in promoting political ends; Lenin himself directed that this play be performed on Soviet stages. Russian interest in Hauptmann's works declined noticeably in the late 1920s, largely due to the disfavor of Stalin's Commissar of Education Lunacharsky, who greatly admired Hauptmann, but now viewed the vacillations and symbolism of the author as negative. The early 1930s saw a culmination of attention to, and publication of, Hauptmann's dramas, but, overall, a lengthy loss of interest ensued thereafter due to political hostilities with Germany. Soviet scholarship and dramatic representation mainly concerned Die Weber and Vor Sonnenuntergang after the war. Post-Soviet Russia continues to hold Hauptmann in high regard, as indicated by its foremost institution of higher learning, Moscow State University.