The Cherry Orchard (1903) is Russian playwright and short story writer Anton Chekhov’s final play. It was first performed at the Moscow Art Theatre in 1904, directed by acclaimed actor Konstantin Stanislavski—who also played the role of Leonid Gayev, the bizarre and uninspired brother of Madame Ranevskaya. It has since become one of twentieth century theater’s most important—and most frequently staged—dramatic works.
After five years of living in Paris with her lover—where she fled following the death of her young son—Madame Ranevskaya is brought back to her Russian estate by her daughter Anya. In her absence, Varya, Ranevskaya’s adopted daughter, has cared for the estate to the best of her ability, but the family’s debts have forced them to put the house and its renowned cherry orchard up for auction. Leonid Gayev, Madame Ranevskaya’s brother, hopes to keep the estate, while Yermolai Lopakhin—a wealthy neighbor despite being born a peasant—encourages the family to sell. Although they initially shelter Madame Ranevskaya, she soon discovers the truth and decides—against the family’s wishes—to throw a party none of them can afford. As the play reaches its tragic conclusion, the wealthy are forced to acknowledge their circumstances have changed, and the characters who depend on them for employment must do what they can to survive. The Cherry Orchard is a powerful drama that takes an unsparing appraisal of the massive shift in political and social circumstances undergone by Russians in the early twentieth century.
This edition of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard is a classic of Russian literature reimagined for modern readers.
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About the author
Anton Chekhov (1860-1904) was a Russian doctor, short-story writer, and playwright. Born in the port city of Taganrog, Chekhov was the third child of Pavel, a grocer and devout Christian, and Yevgeniya, a natural storyteller. His father, a violent and arrogant man, abused his wife and children and would serve as the inspiration for many of the writer’s most tyrannical and hypocritical characters. Chekhov studied at the Greek School in Taganrog, where he learned Ancient Greek. In 1876, his father’s debts forced the family to relocate to Moscow, where they lived in poverty while Anton remained in Taganrog to settle their finances and finish his studies. During this time, he worked odd jobs while reading extensively and composing his first written works. He joined his family in Moscow in 1879, pursuing a medical degree while writing short stories for entertainment and to support his parents and siblings. In 1876, after finishing his degree and contracting tuberculosis, he began writing for St. Petersburg’s Novoye Vremya, a popular paper which helped him to launch his literary career and gain financial independence. A friend and colleague of Leo Tolstoy, Maxim Gorky, and Ivan Bunin, Chekhov is remembered today for his skillful observations of everyday Russian life, his deeply psychological character studies, and his mastery of language and the rhythms of conversation.
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