|
The foundation of the Moscow Arts Theater in 1898 marked the birth
of modern drama. By bringing together the radically new plays of
Anton Chekhov and the method-acting techniques of Konstantin
Stanislavsky, the MKhAT broke radically with the classical tradition
of European drama and invented a fresh, realistic theater that
continues to influence theatrical production all over the world.
Although the advent of the Soviet state rapidly constrained the
artistic inventiveness of the MKhAT, it maintained its commitment to
the finely-modulated dramatic style first developed by Stanislavsky
and his co-founder Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. A century later,
the MKhAT is no longer on the cutting edge of Russian theater, but
it maintains its position as the premier method-acting company in
the world.
|