Uncle Vanya

Descriere de la o altă ediție sau format:

Uncle Vanya (1898) is a four-act play by Russian short story writer and playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1899, directed by acclaimed actor Konstantin Stanislavski--who also played the role of Astrov. Reviews were lukewarm at first, but as the play continued to run, Uncle Vanya gained both popularity and critical prowess, and has since become one of the most influential dramas ever produced. When retired Professor Aleksandr Serebryakov and his young second wife Yelena arrive at their country estate, they disrupt the mundanity and relative boredom of provincial life for its inhabitants. While the elderly Serebryakov enjoys life in the city, Sonya, his daughter, and Vanya, his first wife's brother, remain at the estate to manage its daily upkeep. Vanya, whose only companion is Mikhail Astrov, a doctor dissatisfied with his life and role in the rural community, regrets his failure to become a man of letters, and blames Serebryakov for saddling him with responsibility for the estate. He also loves the beautiful Yelena and wishes he had realized it before she married his brother-in-law. Meanwhile, Sonya secretly loves Astrov, but fears he thinks of her as only a friend. As Serebryakov's decision to sell the estate in order to increase his income is revealed, Vanya--incensed by years of disappointment and disrespect, as well as his by own mother's idolization of the Professor--reaches his breaking point, bringing the play to its startling, powerful conclusion. Uncle Vanya is a masterful drama that illuminates the intersecting obligations of family while dissecting the bitterness and ambition which so often define the relationships of men. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Anton Chekhov's Uncle Vanya is a classic of Russian literature reimagined for modern readers.

Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), Russian physician, dramatist and author, is considered to be one of the greatest writers of short stories and modern drama. Born in Taganrog, a port town near the Black Sea, he attended medical school at Moscow University. He began writing to supplement his income, writing short humorous sketches of contemporary Russian life. A successful literary careered followed, before his premature death of TB at the age of 44. He is best-remembered for his four dramatic masterpieces: The Seagull (1896), Uncle Vanya (1899), Three Sisters (1901) and The Cherry Orchard (1904).Michael Frayn read Russian, French and Moral Sciences (Philosophy) at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He began his career as a journalist on the Manchester Guardian and the Observer. His award-winning plays include Alphabetical Order, Make and Break and Noises Off, all of which received Best Comedy of the Year awards, while Benefactors was named Best Play of the Year. Two of his more recent plays, Copenhagen and Democracy, also won numerous awards (including, for Copenhagen, the Tony in New York and the Prix Molière in Paris). In 2006 Donkeys' Years was revived in the West End thirty years after its premiere and was followed in 2007 by The Crimson Hotel, at the Donmar, and by Afterlife, at the National Theatre, in 2008. Frayn has translated Chekhov's last four plays, dramatised a selection of his one-act plays and short stories under the title The Sneeze, and adapted his first, untitled play, as Wild Honey. Frayn's novels include Towards the End of the Morning (in the USA, Against Entropy), The Trick of It, A Landing on the Sun, Headlong and Spies.

Featuring an introduction by the translator, acclaimed playwright Michael Frayn

It is the element of might-have-been in Chekhov's characters that makes their sense of waste so tragic ... I know of no more moving climax in world drama.
Michael Frayn has left his signature upon our contemporary enjoyment of Chekhov...this Uncle Vanya possesses all the scrupulous, subtly idiomatic life we have come to expect from his hand, allied with - and this is the true mark of Frayn - a fine sense of Chekhovian complexity.