A Month in the Country (play)
A Month in the Country (Russian: Месяц в деревне, romanized: Mesiats v derevne) is a play in five acts by Ivan Turgenev, his only well-known work for the theatre.[1] Originally titled The Student, it was written in France between 1848 and 1850 and first published in 1855 as Two Women. The play was not staged until 1872, when it was given as A Month in the Country at a benefit performance for the Moscow actress Ekaterina Vasilyeva (1829–1877), who was keen to play the leading role of Natalya Petrovna.[2]
A Month in the Country
Natalya Petrovna
Mikhail Rakitin
Aleksei Belyaev
Vera
Shpigelsky
Arkadi Islaev
Lizaveta Bogdanovna
Bolshintsov
Schaaf
Anna Semenovna
Kolya
Katya
Matvei
The Islaev country estate in the 1840s
Plot summary[edit]
The setting is the Islaev country estate in the 1840s. Natalya Petrovna, a headstrong 29-year-old, is married to Arkadi Islaev, a rich landowner seven years her senior. Bored with life, she welcomes the attentions of Mikhail Rakitin as her devoted but resentful admirer, without ever letting their friendship develop into a love affair.
The arrival of the handsome 21-year-old student Aleksei Belyaev as tutor to her son Kolya ends her boredom. Natalya falls in love with Aleksei, but so does her ward Vera, the Islaevs' 17-year-old foster daughter. To rid herself of her rival, Natalya proposes that Vera should marry a rich old neighbour, but the rivalry remains unresolved.
Rakitin struggles with his love for Natalya, and she wrestles with hers for Aleksei, while Vera and Aleksei draw closer. Misunderstandings arise, and when Arkadi begins to have his suspicions, both Rakitin and Aleksei are obliged to leave. As other members of the household drift off to their own worlds, Natalya's life returns to a state of boredom.
Acts[edit]
Act 1: The Drawing Room, afternoon
Act 2: The Garden, the following day
Act 3: The Drawing Room, the following day
Act 4: The Estate, the same evening
Act 5: The Veranda, the following day
Production history[edit]
Russian productions[edit]
After its 1872 premiere, A Month in the Country was not performed again until 1879, when it became a regular part of the Russian repertoire.[2]
The Moscow Art Theatre (MAT) production opened on 22 December [O.S. 9 December] 1909.[4] It was directed by Konstantin Stanislavski (who alternated the role of Rakitin with Vasili Kachalov) and Ivan Moskvin.[5] Olga Knipper played Natalya, Nikolai Massalitinov was her husband, Islayev, and Maria Samarova his mother, Anna. Richard Boleslavsky played Belyaev, with Lydia Koreneva as Verochka. The rest of the cast included Elena Muratova as Lizaveta, Nikolai Zvantsev as Schaaf, Ilya Uralov as Bolshintsov, Vladimir Gribunin as Shpigelsky, I. V. Lazarev as Matvei, and Lyubov Dmitrevskaya as Katya.[6] Scenic design was by the World of Art artist Mstislav Dobuzhinsky.[7] This was the first production in which Stanislavski made use of his emerging 'system' of acting, much to the general distress of the actors, and Knipper in particular.[8]