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Marco KropivnitskiyUkrainian playwright, actor, director
Date of Birth: 07.05.1840
Country:  Ukraine |
Content:
Biography of Mark Kropyvnytskyi
Mark Lukich Kropyvnytskyi (1841-1910) was a Ukrainian playwright, actor, and director. He was born in the Kherson Governorate and completed his education at the Kyiv Gymnasium. Kropyvnytskyi briefly attended the Historical and Philological Faculty at Kyiv University. In 1880, he formed his own theater troupe which included talented actors and actresses such as Zankovetska, Zatyurkevich, and Sadovsky. This troupe elevated Ukrainian theater and received enthusiastic reception in St. Petersburg and Moscow. Eventually, the troupe disbanded into several independent troupes.
Dramatic Works
Kropyvnytskyi's collection of dramas, including "Let the Heart Be Free - Lead it to Freedom", "Glitai", "The Slave", and "Reconciled", was published in Kyiv in 1882. The second edition (Kharkiv, 1885) included "Stitched by Fools" and "Misery Befalls Everyone". Later, "Until the Sun Rises - Dew on the Eyes" and the vaudeville "Under Revision" were released. This vaudeville, highly dynamic and lively, gained great popularity. In 1911, the fourth edition of Kropyvnytskyi's works, titled "Collection of Works", was published, consisting of nine plays.
Recognition
As a playwright, Kropyvnytskyi earned a respected place in the works of Professor N.I. Petrov, Efremov, and Frank. His acquaintance with the life of the people and his good, clean language have been noted and appreciated from various perspectives. Even more significant is Kropyvnytskyi's contribution as an actor. Kotlarevsky and Kvitka created Ukrainian dramatic literature, but Kropyvnytskyi created the Ukrainian stage, excluding the forgotten Solyanik. A.S. Suvorin dedicated an entire book, "Khokhly and Khokhlushki", to Kropyvnytskyi and his companions on stage. "I saw Shchepkin in "Natalka-Poltavka"," says Suvorin, "and I boldly say that Kropyvnytskyi is no less than the famous actor." When analyzing the performance of "Nazar Stodolia" on the St. Petersburg stage, Suvorin said in 1886, "Kropyvnytskyi is not only an incomparable actor but also an equally incomparable director." In the play "The Wise and the Foolish", Kropyvnytskyi was magnificent. According to Suvorin, "the combination of keen observation with expressiveness and unmatched makeup, alongside the variety of characters, makes Kropyvnytskyi such an actor that cannot be found on any other Russian stage." In "The Hired Girl", Kropyvnytskyi "created a masterpiece out of a retired soldier, making types out of hints and creating them with incredible conscientiousness and understanding."
