A triptych from the Russian theatre : an artistic biography of the Komissarzhevskys /

This big, biographical triptych of opera star-paterfamilias Fedor Komissarzhevskii (F.P.), his daughter, the neuresthenic actress and symbolist eidolon Vera, and her half-brother, designer-director Fyodor (F.F.) doubles as a three-way study of the artistic self. The father, who personified "truth in singing," influenced Stanislavsky, whose system F.F. brought, along with the innovations of Russian director's theater (previewed in opera), to England and the US. Vera, whose professional acting career began relatively late and ended early, first worked with Stanislavsky in opera, anticipated his ensemble playing and "theatre of mood," and excelled at performing her real-life dreams in the metaphoric disguises of gawky-graceful, sorrowful-experienced girls. All three Komissarzhevskiis were restless in their personal lives and in their art, with father and daughter in particular needing to feel tormented and independent of anyone else's artistic control (e.g., the celebrated Komissarzhevskaya-Meyerhold conflict at the actress's self-named theater). F.F., who outside of Russia developed a metaphysically but not literally real synthetic theater, became a charismatic mentor to actors like John Gielgud and Peggy Ashcroft. Borovsky (University College London) has compiled a logically readable narrative from an impressive array of Russian and English sources. Includes photos. All academic and professional collections. S. Golub Brown University