based on the novella by leo tolstoy

Transcription

STATE ED
The Kreutzer
Sonata
In a new adaptation by Sue Smith
singer & jess winfield
duration Approx 80 minutes suitable for Years 9 - 12
warning Haze effects used in this production
Day With State performances - Post Show Q & A session
p.2
Study Guide The Kreutzer Sonata
By Alison Howard © 2013
Table of Contents
About the Play
5
Plot and Major Characters
6
Adaptation Writer 7
Sue Smith8
From the Director
9
Geordie Brookman9
Actor Profile
10
Renato Musolino10
Synopsis11
Themes
12
Critical Reception
13
Censorship
13
Count Tolstoy not obscene - New York Times
14
Epilogue16
Biographical Note
16
About Leo Tolstoy
17
The Works of Leo Tolstoy
18
Novels18
Novellas18
Short Stories
18
Plays
19
Non-fiction
19
Works on Art & Literature
20
Pedagogical Works
20
Interesting Reading
21
The Hidden Weakness in Sexual Union21
Definition of a Novella23
State Theatre Company Scenic Workshop - SA Life Magazine
24
Music
25
Set Design
26
Geoff Cobham26
Stephanie Fisher26
Charcoal Drawings
28
Thom Buchanan
28
Essay Questions
28
English Questions29
Drama Questions30
Design Question31
Performance Question31
Further Resources
32
References
32
p.3
State Theatre Company of South Australia presents
The Kreuzter Sonata
In a new adaptation by Sue Smith
cast & creative team
the narrator
Renato Musolino
director
Geordie Brookman
set designer & lighting designer
Geoff Cobham
associate lighting designer & video designer
Chris Petridis
drawings by
Thom Buchanan
associate designer
Stephanie Fisher
musical director
Gabriella Smart
sound designer
Andrew Howard
violin
Elizabeth Layton
stage manager
Melanie Selwood
alternative violin
Lachlan Bramble (23 February)
head mechaniset
Lee Shiers
head electrician
Chris Petridis
sound operator
Frank Castel
p.4
About The Play
The Kreutzer Sonata is a novella by Leo Tolstoy, named after Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No. 9,
alternatively known as ‘The Kreuzter Sonata’. The novella was published in 1889 and promptly
censored by the Russian authorities. The work is an argument for the ideal of sexual abstinence and an
in-depth first-person description of jealous rage. The main character, Pozdnyshev, relates the events
leading up to his killing his wife; in his analysis, the root cause of the deed were the “animal excesses”
and “swinish connection” governing the relation between the sexes.
Written during the closing years of the 1880s, issues from the later period of Tolstoy’s literary career,
which followed his moral and spiritual crisis of the late 1870s and culminated in works of fiction
largely defined by his moral preoccupations. The Kreutzer Sonata emphasizes Tolstoy’s controversial
view on sexuality, which asserts that physical desire is an obstacle to relations between men and
women and may result in tragedy. Although the moral stance on sexual relations presented in The
Kreutzer Sonata has been criticized as simplistic or severe, the novella also has been recognized as
among the best examples of Tolstoy’s art of storytelling. Russian dramatist and contemporary Anton
Chekhov wrote: “You will hardly find anything as powerful in seriousness of conception and beauty of
execution.”
p.5
Plot & Major Characters
The Kreutzer Sonata opens as a third-person narrative by an anonymous gentleman making his way
across Russia by train. When the conversation among the passengers turns to the subjects of sex, love,
and marriage, a lawyer claims that many couples live long, content married lives. But Pozdnyshev,
another passenger, violently contradicts his statement and announces that he has murdered his
wife in a jealous rage, a crime of which a jury has acquitted him. Citing that the deterioration of their
marriage began on their honeymoon when they first began a sexual relationship, Pozdnyshev reveals
himself as a man with an insane sexual obsession—he links sex with guilt, regards it as a ‘fall’ from an
ideal purity, and describes sexual intercourse as a perverted thing. He tries to persuade his captive
audience that all marriages are obscene shams, and that most cases of adultery are occasioned by
music, the infamous aphrodisiac. This latter idea explains the title of the story, which is also a musical
composition by Ludwig van Beethoven, his Violin Sonata No. 9.
Pozdnyshev explains the circumstances
that led to his tragedy: after marrying a
pretty woman who bore him children, he
came to hate but lust for his wife. One day a
musician named Trukachevsky, accepting
Pozdnyzhev’s invitation to visit their
house, accompanied Pozdnyshev’s wife
on the violin while she played the piano.
Convinced that the pair were having an
affair, Pozdnyshev went into the country
to attend a meeting of the local council,
often recalling the look on their faces as
they played Beethoven’s Violin Sonata No.
9, The Kreutzer Sonata. He returned home
early, thinking that he would find the lovers
in bed and consequently kill them; instead
he found them sitting in the drawing room
after they had played some music. Enraged
nevertheless, Pozdnyshev killed his wife
after Trukachevsky had escaped.
p.6
Sue Smith
Writer of the stage adaptation of ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’
Sue is a multi-award winning screenwriter, playwright and script editor. In 2012
Sue was Playwriting Australia’s playwright in residence at The Sydney Theatre
Company and in 2013 will be resident playwright at Griffin Theatre. Her credits
include ABC telemovie MABO (also screened SFF), winning an AWGIE and Queensland Literary
Award, ABC miniseries Bastard Boys (won AFI Award for Best Screenplay in Television), feature film
Peaches (nominated AWGIE Award) and SBS miniseries RAN, which Sue co-wrote with John Alsop
and Alice Addison, receiving another AFI Award for Best Screenplay in Television.
Other credits include telemovies Temptation and The Road From Coorain, and, in partnership with
John Alsop, ABC series Bordertown, and miniseries The Leaving of Liverpool (won AFI Award for Best
Screenplay in Television) and Brides of Christ. Her first stage play Thrall was produced by Tamarama
Rock Surfers in 2006 and In the Violet Time was showcased at the National Play Festival 2008. Sue’s
professional theatre debut, Strange Attractor, received a very successful premiere at the Griffin
Theatre in 2009. Sue also wrote the libretto for Rembrandt’s Wife, which premiered at the Victorian
Opera, for which she won the 2010 AWGIE award for Music Theatre.
the process of adaptation
When Geordie Brookman first approached me to do the adaptation for his theatrical vision of Tolstoy’s
The Kreutzer Sonata, he said he’d selected me for several reasons: chief among them that I would be
able to do the job with the speed he needed, and that, with my television writing background, I would
have the necessary ruthlessness to be appropriately savage with one of the greatest writers in human
history. I took this as a great compliment, and when I stopped laughing, I proceeded with suitable
savagery.
The Kreutzer Sonata is a dark, troubled, deeply sad work. Even, we might say, a “savage” work. It
was written in the later period of Tolstoy’s life, when he had embraced a rather extreme version of
Christianity, and the personal and gender politics of that period in his life are very much embedded in
the work.
The process of adapting any work is, in principle, to achieve two things: pay great respect to the work
of the original writer (in this case “one of the greatest writers in human history” – pretty daunting,
actually!); and shape a work that will resonate with a contemporary audience.
I worked very very closely with Geordie. The Kreutzer Sonata was his vision, and so I made sure
that I listened carefully to his reasons for wanting to stage it, and the themes and resonances of the
piece that spoke to him and that he was keen to tease out and develop. Among many other things,
he was very interested in what lies in the very darkest layers of male sexuality, beneath the layers of
civilisation and “correct line” feminist rhetoric. Are issues of possession, control and domination still
as potent as they ever were? We discussed and explored this at length. Geordie took pains to listen to
my own take on the material, and to demonstrate to me everything he had in mind for the design and
directorial approach to the piece. He was hugely supportive throughout the process, and his notes on
every stage of the writing process made the piece better.
p.7
I read about Tolstoy, and especially about this period of his life. And I read some of the diaries of his
wife, Sonya. It was clear that Tolstoy had based a great deal of the Podznyshev marriage on his own
with Sonya.
I wrote a “scene breakdown” – a prose version of what would happen in each scene or chapter of the
piece. In the finished text, there are seven such scenes or chapters. I then, with Geordie’s guidance,
wrote two drafts. We then had two days of readings with Barry Otto, during which we cut, focussed
and refined the text, and I did a third draft based on this. We made further cuts, refinements and
clarifications in the first two weeks of rehearsal.
There are probably four key areas that presented the greatest challenges:
1. making sure that a story set in nineteenth century Russia, with its history, culture, politics and
sexual morality would make sense to a contemporary Australian audience, and not feel archaic or
irrelevant
2. ensuring that Tolstoy’s rather “unusual” views on sex, gender and marriage did not swamp the
piece or overwhelm an audience’s ability to relate to Podznyshev.
3. finding a way to humanise the character of Pozdnyshev’s wife, whom Tolstoy quite deliberately
left voiceless. She remains largely voiceless, but I hope that we now understand something of
what she is feeling throughout the story. This was a delicate balance between making it clear that
Pozdnyshev himself does not really know and understand her, and offering the audience enough
information about her not to be frustrated. Because Pozdnyshev is what we call an “unreliable
narrator”, it is necessary to make it clear to the audience that what Pozdnyshev is telling them is
often the total opposite to what might be the truth as perceived by his wife
4. finding the layers of joy and the wry humour in what is essentially a very very intense piece, and
where necessary allowing them more breathing space
These issues were where I placed most of my focus in the process of cutting and reshaping the
material. Then, of course, come the equally important stage of shaping a narrative with rhythm,
momentum and flow, and finding a language that both honours Tolstoy’s formality, but is comfortable
for a contemporary actor to get his mouth around. Fortunately – miraculously – in the person of Barry
Otto we have an actor who can make the difficult language constructions and the verbal formality
sound not only natural, but quite beautiful.
Ultimately, the greatest challenge for me was Pozdnyshev himself. It would be easy to present him as
a madman, whom the audience could dismiss easily as a man who commits a terrible crime of passion
because he’s “nuts”. This is the last thing I wanted. Geordie and I wanted to present a character with
whom an audience can relate; about whom they can think “there but for the grace of God, that could be
me”. We’ve all felt jealousy. We’ve all been angry, irritated, spiteful, self justifying, self deluded. Most
of us don’t murder our spouse, but how much is any of us capable of saying, honestly, in our hearts,
“no, I am nothing like that man”? I wanted an audience to ask themselves “do I, in my heart of hearts,
think like that?” “are there fundamental imbalances in the gender relationships in my life”? “are there
elements of this man that are like me”? I wanted Pozdnyshev to be a slightly more extreme version
of “everyman” – he has some unusual views, sure, but he no more wanted to be a murderer than
anyone else. And yet it happened to him. I want us to, yes, feel sympathy for Pozdnyshev, to relate to
him, not to condemn him. And this underpinned every aspect of how I approached adapting him for
performance. This involved finding the keen-ness of his intellect, his unusual physical beauty, the
sharp wryness of his sense of humour, and the acuteness of the pain of his jealousy, disappointment
and self loathing. We wanted the audience to be able to enjoy him, and to feel for and with him.
Finally, it has been an immense privilege to be able to work with three of the greats in my personal
firmament – the Master himself, Count Leo Tolstoy; Geordie Brookman; and Barry Otto. I’ve had a
ball.
p.8
From The Director
geordie brookman
Director
. . . that’s how I saw it and what other way could it be . . .
Pozdnyshev, The Kreutzer Sonata
As I write we have just begun our third week of rehearsals carving a solo theatrical work from Tolstoy’s
imposing and complex novella. Tolstoy was an impressive intellect and a highly idealistic man, but he
carried many internal conflicts and deep flaws. In The Kreutzer Sonata he gives voice not only to some
of the more extreme strands of his thinking about human behaviour but also to some of the darker
parts of his own heart.
In Pozdnyshev Tolstoy created what A. N. Wilson refers to as ‘a soul on fire’, a man so consumed
by the conflict between his baser instincts and his unrealistic ideals that he commits a horrific and
unforgivable act. One of the hardest elements of the production has been dealing with a story told
from only a single point of view. Pozdnyshev can be highly intelligent and roughly charming and yet
is also a deeply deluded egoist and misogynist. We cannot always be sure we are being told the whole
truth and, even when we are, we can never quite fill the absence that forms around his unnamed wife
and the violinist Troukachevsky. But in following Pozdnyshev’s dark and compromised path hopefully
we get a glimpse of the destructive and domineering undercurrents that exist in so many men and
touch on the deep human needs for power, forgiveness and love.
p.9
Actor Profile
renato musolino
The Narrator
Renato Musolino is a graduate of the Centre for the Performing Arts (now
AC Arts). His State Theatre Company credits include IN THE NEXT ROOM
or the vibrator play, Three Sisters, The Zoo Story, The Misanthrope, King Lear, Mnemonic and Blue/
Orange. He has also just appeared with Griffin Theatre in Rust and Bone.
In 2003 he undertook a mentorship/observership at The Actors Studio in New York City. Credits
include Amadeus, Romeo and Juliet, Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Carboni (Urbino Italy, Canberra
Multicultural Festival and Eureka Week Ballarat). For Holden Street Theatres credits include What I
Heard About Iraq, The Homecoming and Bash (The Advertiser Oscart Award – Best Actor 2006).
For Flying Penguin Productions credits include Assassins and True West (Adelaide Theatre Guide Best
Actor Professional 2009, The Advertiser Award for Performer of the Year). Windmill Theatre credits
include Helly’s Magic Cup. Feature film credits include The Caterpillar Wish. ABC National credits
include Clark in Sarajevo, The Ruby, The Death of Napoleon, Blood on My Hands, Clerk Ascending and
Joshua’s Book.
p.10
Synopsis
Late 19th century Russia. A man travelling alone on a long train journey finds himself becoming the
witness and confessor to a strange and sad tale. A fellow traveller, Vasily Pozdnyshev, a man with light,
intense, strangely beautiful eyes, tells the story of his marriage. It is a story of an idealistic young
man who dreams of marital happiness, just as was experienced by his parents. He falls into sexual
debauchery at a young age, but resolves to leave all of this behind when he falls in love with the perfect
woman. They marry. But the best laid plans often go astray. Pozdnyshev finds that the demon of
jealousy begins to haunt his life, and when his wife begins to play duets with a charming violinist, he is
driven close to frenzy. A musical soiree, at which the pair perform Beethoven’s great and passionate
Kreutzer Sonata leads, with tragic inevitability, to Pozdnyshev’s downfall …
p.11
Themes
Critics observe that The Kreutzer Sonata presents Tolstoy’s moral ideals through the medium of an
artistic narrative, and that its principal theme is the corrupting power of sex and attendant jealousy.
The novella summarizes Tolstoy’s disgusted attitude toward sex, which he completely denounces,
and reflects his new faith in celibacy and chastity after his conversion to a radical Christianity. The
narrative is also said to manifest Tolstoy’s belief that since Christ was not and could not be married,
total chastity is the ideal state. The Kreutzer Sonata rests on the premise that carnal love is selfish
and that unselfish love needs no physical consummation. For Pozdnyshev and Tolstoy alike, sex is
repulsive and destructive, even in marriage. Pozdnyshev’s story highlights this premise by suggesting
that sexual love degrades a human being and results in hostility to others and to one’s self.
Pozdnyshev also dismisses love, or what the world calls love as distinct from sensuality, as nonexistent between the sexes. To him traditional marriage has lost meaning and represents a cover
for vice, fostering misunderstanding, jealousy, lies, and criminal passions. Finally, the title suggests
that music provokes lechery, especially in the context of Beethoven’s sonatas, which are often
characterized by their intensity of feeling and violent contrasts of mood and emotion. Overall,
commentators find that The Kreutzer Sonata represents Tolstoy’s iconoclastic renunciation of social
institutions, accepted conventions, and the lifestyle of the cultured class.
p.12
Critical Reception
The initial reception of The Kreutzer Sonata generated a great deal of controversy, especially since
some readers perceived Pozdnyshev’s story as advocating free love. Censored by government and
church officials, Tolstoy’s novella circulated widely in manuscript, both in Russia and abroad, before
it was published. Since then The Kreutzer Sonata has become one of Tolstoy’s most read works,
sometimes referred to as his “crowning achievement.” However, many commentators have criticized
the novella for its unrealistic plot, inconsistent method, and the unsound principles espoused by
Pozdnyshev (“How would the human race survive?” they have asked), and others have criticized its
aesthetic imperfections, noting Tolstoy’s failure to connect diverse points and direct contradictions
in Pozdnyshev’s arguments. Attempts by such critics as Dorothy Green and Bettina L. Knapp to relate
the structure of the story to the structure of Beethoven’s sonata have been successful, and such critics
as Ruth Crego Benson and John M. Kopper have approached the various aspects of sexuality in the
novella, including the relations between men and women and the position of women in modern
society. Above all, The Kreutzer Sonata is often discussed in terms of the author’s personal life. R.
F. Christian has described the appeal of Tolstoy’s novella: “Few other novelists could have made
compelling reading out of sentiments and arguments which are irritating and manifestly unjust. Few
other novelists could have given pathos and poignancy to the ending of a story whose limits appear to
be laid down by the advice proffered in its opening chapters: ‘Do not trust your horse in the field, or
your wife in the house’.”
Censorship
After the work had been forbidden in Russia by the censors, a mimeographed version was widely
circulated. In 1890, the United States Post Office Department prohibited the mailing of newspapers
containing serialized installments of The Kreutzer Sonata. This was confirmed by the U.S. Attorney
General in the same year. Theodore Roosevelt called Tolstoy a “sexual moral pervert.” The ban on its
sale was struck down in New York and Pennsylvania courts.
p.13
p.14
Published: September 25, 1890
Copyright © The New York Times
p.15
By AlisonSeptember
Howard © 2013
Published:
25, 1890
Epilogue
In the Epilogue To The Kreutzer Sonata, published in 1890, Tolstoy clarifies the intended message of
the novella, writing:
Let us stop believing that carnal love is high and noble and understand that any end worth our
pursuit -- in service of humanity, our homeland, science, art, let alone God -- any end, so long as we
may count it worth our pursuit, is not attained by joining ourselves to the objects of our carnal love
in marriage or outside it; that, in fact, infatuation and conjunction with the object of our carnal
love (whatever the authors of romances and love poems claim to the contrary) will never help our
worthwhile pursuits but only hinder them.
Countering the argument that widespread abstinence would lead to a cessation of the human race, he
describes chastity as an ideal that provides guidance and direction, not as a firm rule. Writing from a
position of deep religiosity (that he had explained in his Confession in 1882), he points out that not
Christ, but the Church (which he despises) instituted marriage. “The Christian’s ideal is love of God
and his neighbor, self-renunciation in order to serve God and his neighbour; carnal love, marriage,
means serving oneself, and therefore is, in any case, a hindrance in the service of God and men”.
During the international celebration of Tolstoy’s 80th birthday in 1908, G. K. Chesterton would
criticize this aspect of Tolstoy’s thought in an article in the September 19th issue of Illustrated London
News, writing: “Tolstoy is not content with pitying humanity for its pains: such as poverty and prisons.
He also pities humanity for its pleasures, such as music and patriotism. He weeps at the thought of
hatred; but in ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’ he weeps almost as much at the thought of love. He and all the
humanitarians pity the joys of men.” He went on to address Tolstoy directly: “What you dislike is being
a man. You are at least next door to hating humanity, for you pity humanity because it is human.”
Tolstoy went on to explain his novella further in his essay Lesson of The Kreutzer Sonata which begins:
I have received, and still continue to receive, numbers of letters from persons who are perfect strangers
to me, asking me to state in plain and simple language my own views on the subject handled in the story
entitled ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’. With this request I shall now endeavor to comply.
My views on the question may be succinctly stated as follows: Without entering into details, it will be
generally admitted that I am accurate in saying that many people condone in young men a course of
conduct with regard to the other sex which is incompatible with strict morality, and that this dissoluteness
is pardoned generally. Both parents and the government, in consequence of this view, may be said to wink
at profligacy, and even in the last resource to encourage its practice. I am of opinion that this is not right.
Full text available on line at www.ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/t/tolstoy/leo/t65kr/postscript.html
biographical note
Along with Fyodor Dostoevsky, one of the giants of 19th Century Russian literature, and widely
regarded as among the greatest of novelists. His masterpieces War and Peace and Anna Karenina
represent in their scope, breadth and vivid depiction of 19th-century Russian life and attitudes, the
peak of realist fiction. Tolstoy’s further talents as essayist, dramatist, and educational reformer made
him the most influential member of the aristocratic Tolstoy family.
p.16
About Leo Tolstoy
lev nikolaevich (leo) tolstoy (1828–1910)
Russian novelist, reformer and modern thinker
Tolstoy was born at Yasnaya Polyana, the Tolstoy family estate a hundred miles
south of Moscow, on August 28. He died on November 20, 1910 at a nearby
railroad station, having fled in the night from an increasingly contentious marriage and a set of
familial relationships that had been hardened in large part by Tolstoy’s attempts to apply his radical
moral beliefs to his own life. In the intervening eighty-two years Tolstoy became perhaps the most
prominent novelist in an age and place of great authors as well as a vociferous critic of science and
modernization.
Tolstoy’s international fame rests primarily on two novels, War and Peace (1865–1869) and Anna
Karenina (1875–1877). His fictional works also include short masterpieces such as The Death of
Ivan Ilyich (1886), The Kreutzer Sonata (1889), and Master and Man (1895). In addition he wrote
autobiographical accounts of his childhood (Childhood, Boyhood, Youth [1852–1857]) and his
experiences as a soldier in the Crimean War (Sevastopol Sketches [1855]). With regard to issues of
science, technology, and ethics Tolstoy’s most relevant writings include a variety of short, passionate
non-fiction works, particularly What I Believe (1884), What Then Must We Do? (1887), On the
Significance of Science and Art (1887), What Is Art? (1898), and I Cannot Be Silent (1908), all of which
address a confluence of moral and intellectual errors he perceived in modern life and thought at the
turn of the twentieth century.
Like his contemporary Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821–1881), whom he never met, Tolstoy was broadly
concerned with the spiritual future of the human race. He attempted to confront the gradual
movement away from traditional values with an almost Aristotelian emphasis on the permanent
relationships of things, promoting the universality of natural and religious values of love and labour
to which he believed the human heart responds. Although the West now knows him as the writer of
large and perhaps infrequently read novels, his influence on writers and political dissidents such as
Mohandas Gandhi (1869–1948) and Alexander Solzhenitsyn (b. 1918) has been enormous, and his
thought provides resources for ethical assessments of science and technology that have not yet been
explored fully.
p.17
The Works of
Leo Tolstoy
novels
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Childhood (Детство [Detstvo], 1852) - Volume 1 of ‘Autobiographical Trilogy’
Boyhood (Отрочество [Otrochestvo], 1854) - Volume 2 of ‘Autobiographical Trilogy’
Youth (Юность [Yunost’], 1856) - Volume 3 of ‘Autobiographical Trilogy’
The Cossacks (Казаки [Kazaki], 1863)
War and Peace (Война и мир [Voyna i mir], 1869)
Anna Karenina (Анна Каренина [Anna Karenina], 1877)
Resurrection (Воскресение [Voskresenie], 1899)
novellas
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Family Happiness (Семейное счастье [Semeynoe schast`e], 1859)
The Death of Ivan Ilyich (Смерть Ивана Ильича [Smert’ Ivana Il’icha], 1886)
The Kreutzer Sonata (Крейцерова соната [Kreitserova Sonata], 1889)
The Forged Coupon (Фальшивый купон [Fal’shivyi kupon], 1911)
Hadji Murat (Хаджи-Мурат [Khadzhi-Murat], 1912)
short stories
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p.18
“The Raid” (“Набег” [“Nabeg”], 1852)
“The Wood-Felling” (“Рубка леса” [“Rubka lesa”], 1855)
“Sevastopol Sketches” (“Севастопольские рассказы” [“Sevastopolskie rasskazy”], 1855–1856)
“Sevastopol in December 1854” (1855)
“Sevastopol in May 1855” (1855)
“Sevastopol in August 1855” (1856)
“A Billiard-Marker’s Notes” (“Записки маркера” [“Zapiski markera”], 1855)
“The Snowstorm” (“Метель” [“Metel”], 1856)
“Two Hussars” (“Два гусара” [“Dva gusara”], 1856)
“A Landlord’s Morning” (1856)
“Meeting a Moscow Acquaintance in the Detachment” (1856)
“Lucerne” (“Люцерн” [“Lyutsern”], 1857)
“Albert” (“Альберт” [“Al’bert”], 1858)
“Three Deaths” (“Три смерти” [“Tri smerti”], 1859)
“The Porcelain Doll” (1863)
“Polikúshka” (“Поликушка” [“Polikushka”], 1863)
“God Sees the Truth, But Waits” (“Бог правду видит, да не скоро скажет” [“Bog pravdu vidit, da ne skoro skazhet”], 1872)
“The Prisoner in the Caucasus” (“Кавказский пленник” [“Kavkazskii plennik”], 1872)
“The Bear-Hunt” (1872)
“What Men Live By” (“Чем люди живы” [“Chem lyudi zhivy”], 1881)
“Memoirs of a Madman” (1884)
“Quench the Spark” (“Упустишь огонь, не потушишь” [“Upustish ogon’, ne potushish”], 1885)
“Two Old Men” (1885)
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“Where Love Is, God Is” (“Где любовь, там и бог” [“Gde lyubov’], 1885)
“Ivan the Fool” (“Сказка об Иване—дураке” [“Skazka ob Ivane—durake”], 1885)
“Evil Allures, But Good Endures” (1885)
“Wisdom of Children” (1885)
“Ilyás” (1885)
“The Three Hermits” (1886)
“Promoting a Devil” (1886)
“How Much Land Does a Man Need?” (“Много ли человеку земли нужно” [“Mnogo li cheloveku zemli nuzhno”], 1886)
“The Grain” (1886)
“The Godson” (1886)
“Repentance” (1886)
“Croesus and Fate” (1886)
“Kholstomer” (“Холстомер” [“Kholstomer”], 1888)
“A Lost Opportunity” (1889)
“The Empty Drum” (1891)
“Françoise” (1892)
“A Talk Among Leisured People” (1893)
“Walk in the Light While There is Light” (1893)
“The Coffee-House of Surrat” (1893)
“Master and Man” (“Хозяин и работник” [“Khozyain and rabotnik”], 1895)
“Too Dear!” (“Дорого стоит” [“Dorogo stoit”], 1897)
“Father Sergius” (“Отец Сергий” [“Otetz Sergij”], 1898)
“Esarhaddon, King of Assyria” (1903)
“Work, Death, and Sickness” (1903)
“Three Questions” (“Три вопроса” [“Tri voprosa”], 1903)
“After the Ball” (1903)
“Feodor Kuzmich” (1905)
“Alyosha the Pot” (“Алеша Горшок” [“Alyosha Gorshok”], 1905)
“What For?” (1906)
“The Devil” (“Дьявол” [“Dyavol”], 1889)
plays
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The Power of Darkness (Власть тьмы [Vlast’ t’my], 1886)
The First Distiller (1886)
The Fruits of Enlightenment (Плоды просвещения [Plody prosvesheniya], 1891)
The Living Corpse (Живой труп [Zhivoi trup], 1900)
The Cause of it All (1910)
The Light Shines in Darkness
non-fiction
philosophical works
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p.19
A Confession (1879)
A Criticism of Dogmatic Theology (1880)
The Gospel in Brief, or A Short Exposition of the Gospel (1881)
The Four Gospel Unified and Translated (1881)
Church and State (1882)
What I Believe (also called My Religion) (1884)
What Is to Be Done? (also translated as What Then Must We Do?) (1886)
On Life (1887)
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The Love of God and of one’s Neighbour (1889)
Timothy Bondareff (1890)
Why Do Men Intoxicate Themselves? (1890)
The First Step: on vegetarianism (1892)
The Kingdom of God is Within You (1893)
Non-Activity (1893)
The Meaning of Refusal of Military Service (1893)
Reason and Religion (1894)
Religion and Morality (1894)
Christianity and Patriotism (1894)
Non-Resistance: letter to Ernest H. Crospy (1896)
How to Read the Gospels (1896)
The Deception of the Church (1896)
Letter to the Liberals (1898)
Christian Teaching (1898)
On Suicide (1900)
Thou Shalt Not Kill (1900)
Reply to the Holy Synod (1901)
The Only Way (1901)
On Religious Toleration (1901
What Is Religion? (1902)
To the Orthodox Clergy (1903)
Thoughts of Wise Men (compilation; 1904)
The Only Need (1905)
The Grate Sin (1905)
A Cycle of Reading (compilation; 1906)
Do Not Kill (1906)
Love Each Other (1906)
An Appeal to Youth (1907)
The Law of Love and the Law of Violence (1908) complete text
The Only Command (1909)
A Calendar of Wisdom (Путь Жизни [Put’ Zhizni]; compilation; 1909)
works on art & literature
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What Is Art? (1897)
Art and Not Art (1897)
Shakespeare and the Drama (1909)
pedagogical works
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p.20
Articles from Tolstoy’s journal on education, “Yasnaya Polyana” (1861-1862)
A Primer (1872)
On Popular Instruction (1874)
A New Primer (1875)
Interesting Reading
the hidden weakness in sexual union
Article by Marnia Robinson and Gary Wilson
Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonata is a gut-wrenching tale of the hidden weakness in sexual union. A
brilliant observer and recorder of human nature, Tolstoy realized that there was indeed an addictive
cycle to conventional sex.
I had become what is called a voluptuary; and to be a voluptuary is a physical condition like the
condition of a victim of the morphine habit, of a drunkard, and of a smoker.
He also recorded how the “hangover” part of sex’s addictive cycle was at the heart of the disharmony
that erupts between men and women. Had Tolstoy known more about neurochemistry, he might have
put it all together for himself, because he realized that the mood shifts in his marriage correlated with
passionate encounters, both in number and intensity.
These periods of irritation depended very regularly upon the
periods of love. Each of the latter was followed by one of the
former. A period of intense love was followed by a long period
of anger; a period of mild love induced a mild irritation. We did
not understand that this love and this hatred were two opposite
faces of the same animal feeling.
How right he was! He perfectly describes the symptoms of high
dopamine and the subsequent shutdown after over-stimulation of the pleasure/reward center of the
primitive brain. Sadly, like most lovers, he concluded that the flashes of love between him and his wife
were illusory, and their recurring post-passion antipathy was the reality.
Love was exhausted with the satisfaction of sensuality… I did not realize that
this cold hostility was our normal state, and that this first quarrel would soon
be drowned under a new flood of the intensest sensuality. I thought that we had
disputed with each other, and had become reconciled, and that it would not happen
again. But in this same honeymoon there came a period of satiety, in which we
ceased to be necessary to each other, and a new quarrel broke out. It became evident
that the first was not a matter of chance.
Indeed he says,
ninety-nine families out of every hundred live in the same hell, and … it cannot
be otherwise.” “But… all, like myself, imagine that it is a misfortune exclusively
reserved for themselves alone, which they carefully conceal as shameful, not only to
others, but to themselves, like a bad disease...
Tolstoy never found the solution (making love in a way that preserves the
magnetism - and love - between partners). Yet he wisely recognized that the
constant bickering was not about the issues of the moment, and that the root cause
of his disharmony with his wife was passion.
p.21
[After the honeymoon] the periods of what we call love arrived as often as formerly. They were
more brutal, without refinement, without ornament; but they were short, and generally followed by
periods of irritation without cause, irritation fed by the most trivial pretexts. We had spats about
the coffee, the table-cloth, the carriage, games of cards, - trifles, in short, which could not be of the
least importance to either of us. As for me, a terrible execration was continually boiling up within
me.
And what was marriage like for his wife, Sonya? Although The Kreutzer Sonata is fiction, scholars
believe it is largely autobiographical - a conclusion borne out by Sonya’s diary. She endured his
outbursts of passion...always followed by long periods of coldness. She hated, his coldness, his terrible
coldness, which only changed when he wanted intercourse again. However, back to the tale of The
Kreutzer Sonata: husband and wife barely spoke. She grew obsessed with details of running the
household.
I saw clearly that to her all this was, more than anything else, a means of forgetting, an intoxication,
just as hunting, card-playing, and my functions at the Zemstvo [senate] served the same purpose
for me. It is true that in addition I had an intoxication literally speaking - tobacco, which I smoked
in large quantities, and wine, upon which I did not get drunk, but of which I took too much. Vodka
before meals, and during meals two glasses of wine, so that a perpetual mist concealed the turmoil
of existence.
Sometimes the turmoil surfaced.
All husbands who live the married life that I lived must either resort to
outside debauchery, or separate from their wives, or kill themselves, or
kill their wives as I did. If there is any one in my case to whom this does
not happen, he is a very rare exception, for, before ending as I ended,
I was several times on the point of suicide, and my wife made several
attempts to poison herself.
To his credit, Tolstoy recognized that nothing short of a fundamental
change would heal the situation. He insited that mankind would have to
overcome the obstacle of sexual passion in order to reach enlightenment.
The object of Man, as of Humanity, is happiness, and, to attain it,
Humanity has a law which it must carry out. This law consists in the
union of beings. This union is thwarted by the passions. And that is why,
if the passions disappear, the union will be accomplished. Humanity then
will have carried out the law, and will have no further reason to exist….
In the meantime it will have the sign of the unfulfilled law, and the existence of physical love. As long
as this love shall exist, and because of it, generations will be born, one of which will finally fulfill the
law. When at last the law shall be fulfilled, the Human Race will [evolve into a state it is impossible
for us to conceive of.
Perhaps because of the influence of the Church, he saw only one possible path toward this higher
union: celibacy within marriage - a goal he was never able to achieve. He supports his conclusion with
a mixture of Marxist analysis about the exploitation of women and religious
guilt. Possibly because of his Marxist bent (and condemnation of treating
women like property), the possibility of sexual continence during intercourse
as a path to unity (and harmony) never occurred to him. He should have read
his own writing more closely:
‘Let those who can, contain,’ said Christ [sic. St. Paul said this]. And I take
this passage literally, as it is written. That morality may exist between people
in their worldly relations, they must make complete chastity their object. In
tending toward this end, man humiliates himself. When he shall reach the last
p.22
degree of humiliation, we shall have moral marriage. But if man, as in our society, tends only toward
physical love, though he may clothe it with pretexts and the false forms of marriage, he will have
only permissible debauchery….
Tolstoy met Alice Bunker Stockham, author of Karezza. Yet he
apparently never read her book recommending lovemaking without
orgasm, which was published nearly a decade after The Kreutzer Sonata.
It is tragic how close he came to the answer without hearing it. However,
from behind the heavy cloud of misery in the saga of Leo and Sonya,
shines a glimmer of the potential that lies in the magnetism between
yin and yang. Despite their hostility, they continued having sex until a
year before his death at age 82. He reproached himself for his desire, and
felt like a dreadful hypocrite, but he had sex with her anyway. Possibly
he sensed that his wellbeing was tied to union. In retrospect, Sonya
must have benefited from their intimate contact too, although she had left his bedroom a dozen
years earlier. Certainly her condition grew far worse when at last he pulled away from her sexually.
Ultimately she was unable to sleep or eat properly, cried uncontrollably, was even more irritable,
hostile and nervous, and finally diagnosed as paranoiac and hysterical. I believe there is a link between
their powerful connection - marred as it was by painful turmoil - and their incredible productivity. He
was a prolific writer of extraordinary genius. She transcribed most of his diaries and books (including
The Kreutzer Sonata). She also managed his estates, his money, his copyrights, and published his
books - pleading with the censors, and even the Czar, when necessary. In addition, she endured 13
pregnancies, fed, nursed, and educated her children, suffered the death of 6 of them, and for most of
their marriage remained in the marital suite despite the emotional friction. Truly, one wonders what
they might have accomplished together had they enjoyed more harmony and the control of their
procreative powers.
definition of a novella
A novella, too short for a novel and too long for a short story, is
considered to be about 17,500 words to 40,000 words, though some
scholars considers a novel to be at least 50,000 words. In Russian,
novella is ‘povest’ (повесть), while novel is ‘roman’ (роман); short
story is ‘rasskaz’ (рассказ) and it is the extremely brief form that
is called ‘novella’ (новелла).” Perhaps more to the point, a novel
has more characters, subplots and development of ideas whereas a
novella has more focus on one unified plot from a single point of view.
p.23
state theatre company scenic workshop
sa life magazine
p.24
Music
Beethoven: von Biber: Chopin: Alfred Schnittke: Alvin Curran: Phillip Glass: Ross/Reznor (Nine Inch Nails):
Carl Vine: Beethoven: Alfred Schnittke: von Biber: Carl Vine: Sonata no. 32 in C minor (2nd movement)
Passacaglia in G minor
Nocturne Op. 9 No. 2 in E flat major
Suite in the Old Style (5th movement) “Pantomime”
For Cornelius
Metamorphosis I
1 Ghosts I
Bagatelle No. 1 Darkly
Violin Sonata No. 9 (Kreutzer)
Violin Sonata No. 1 (3rd movement)
Passacaglia in G minor
Bagatelle No. 5 Threnody (for all the innocent victims)
Pictured: Musical Director & Pianist Gabriella Smart and Violinist Elizabeth Layton
p.25
Set Design
geoff cobham
Set Designer & Lighting Designer
Geoff is a State Theatre Company Artistic Associate (Design and Production)
and has worked as a Production Manager, Lighting Designer, Set Designer,
Event Producer and Venue Designer. Most recently he was the Producer of Special Events/Designer
for the Adelaide Festival 2012. Other recent theatre lighting designs include: Speaking in Tongues,
Romeo & Juliet, Attempts on Her Life, Metro Street, The Goat, Night Letters (State Theatre Company).
G, Vocabulary, Nothing (Australian Dance Theatre). Incognita, Burning Daylight (Stalker), Beetle
Graduation, Skip Miller’s Hit Songs, The Hypochondriac, Drums in the Night, This Uncharted Hour,
The Duckshooter (Brink), Impulse, Stayagraha, Einstein on the Beach Pt 1&2, Quick Brown Fox,
Ahknaten (Leigh Warren & Dancers), Landmark, Rebel Rebel, Starry Eyed, In The Blood (Restless
Dance Theatre), The Tragical Life of Cheeseboy, Wolf (Slingsby), Pinocchio, Plop! and The Wizard of Oz
(Windmill Theatre).
stephanie fisher
Associate Designer
Stephanie was the Production and Props Coordinator at State Theatre Company
during 2011/12. She has very much enjoyed the opportunity to work with Geoff
Cobham as Design Associate on The Kreutzer Sonata.
Stephanie is a designer and builder of props and puppets with experience in television, theatre and
film. Her most recent credentials include the feature film The Babadook, due for release in 2013, and
an up-coming San Remo YouTube animation. Stephanie has designed a giant puppet for the 2013
Adelaide Credit Union Christmas Pageant and will be involved with its construction over the coming
months.
Stephanie is also a successful photographer, having exhibited both as a solo artist and with the Artists
of Anifex. “Anifex-Life, 25 frames per second” is currently open as part of the Adelaide Fringe at the
Norwood Town Hall. She also has a piece in the newly published A4 Book with fellow artists from
Adelaide and Melbourne.
p.26
Set Design
Q. Can you tell us about your role as Associate Designer on ‘The Kreutzer Sonata’?
As Associate Designer I was involved in creative discussions about the overall design elements of the
production including initial ideas for Thom’s drawings. I worked with Geoff and Geordie to clarify
elements of the design before I built the white card model. A white card model is a 1:25 scale model
used as a general guide to the final set.
I researched a wide variety of materials for the set. Most interestingly I sourced and trialled many
options to create the ‘oil’ in the tank. During production week I worked with Geoff to dress the venue
and set with debris and the upper office with a variety of props. I also completed scenic art on the chair
and different parts of the set.
Richard Wilson’s 20:50 installation at the Saatchi Gallery in London and the works of Andrei Tarkovsky
were major influences for Geoff Cobham’s set design.
p.27
Charcoal Drawings
thom buchanan
Visual Artist
Thom is a painter and cross-disciplinary artist residing in Adelaide.
Thom graduated from Adelaide Central School of Art and then completed a
Bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) degree in 2010 at the School of Art, Architecture and Design, UniSA.
An exciting young emerging artist, he has exhibited extensively locally and nationally. He has also
been a finalist and winner in numerous art prizes and the recipient of a number of grants.
In 2011 Thom developed his practice through community projects and new collaborations including
the performance Worldhood with Australian Dance Theatre at Her Majesty’s Theatre.
His next major collaborations are Moving Music and The Centenery of Canberra 2013.
Follow Thom Buchanan on Twitter: @scribble moth
or on Facebook: facebook.com/pages/Thom-Buchananam
p.28
EssayQuestions
english questions
1. Late last year Julia Gillard accused Tony Abbot of being sexist and a misogynist stating
He has said, ‘If it’s true that men have more power, generally speaking, than women, is that a bad thing?’ [and] ‘What if men, by physiology or temperament, are more adapted to exercise authority or to issue command?’.
Compare and contrast Tony Abbot’s comments with Pozdneyshev’s views on women.
2. Tolstoy has been described as “a professional troublemaker” with “an abiding capacity to irritate
his reader”. He was renowned for asking his readers the ‘difficult questions’ and had a knack
for “getting under peoples skin”. The Kreutzer Sonata certainly caused much controversy when
published. Discuss why a contemporary response to the themes and issues in the play may differ.
3. What contemporary playwright could you compare to Tolstoy considering both his writing and his
reputation? What other literary character would you compare to Pozdneyshev?
4. Despite the recurring feature in Tolstoy’s early diaries being his sexual appetite, he wrote “I
know for certain that copulation is an abomination”. Describe how Tolstoy’s views on ‘the sexual
question’ permeate The Kreutzer Sonata.
5. The Kreutzer Sonata is told in the first person narrative. How does using this narrative device
enhance our enjoyment and experience of the play?
6. The Kreutzer Sonata was written in the later period of Tolstoy’s life, when he had embraced a
rather extreme version of Christianity. How are the personal and gender politics of that period in
his life embedded in the play.
7. Although this story tells us of the tragic outcome of the relationship between Podzneyshev and his
wife; his spouse remains nameless and voiceless. Why do you think Tolstoy decided to leave her
silent and not to create the character of Podzneyshev’s wife?
8. Podzneyshev is what is called an ‘unreliable narrator’, often telling us the opposite of the truth, as
perceived by his wife. Discuss.
p.29
EssayQuestions
drama questions
1.
How do the projected images by Tom Buchanan and music played by Gabriella Smart and Elizabeth Layton add to the theatrical experience and dramatic tension of the play?
2.
Discuss the various elements of the set in relation to what they represent.
3.
Think about the set design for the production. How was the set used effectively to:
•
Support the text?
•
Emphasise themes?
•
Draw focus to an emotion or idea?
•
Provide a space for the actor?
4.
How many roles or characters does the actor play? What differentiates these characters from each other and the Narrator?
5.
Considering the scope of digital sound technology and the capabilities of contemporary music production in performance, why do you think the Director decided to have music in The
Kreutzer Sonata played live and have the musicians visible?
6.
Aside from the live music, what sounds did you hear in this production? How did the sound support the action, create mood or signal change?
7.
How can theatre invite an audience into the emotional and personal experiences of its characters in a sympathetic or empathetic way? How does Sue Smiths adaptation leave you feeling towards Podzneyshev? Sympathetic? Apathetic? Did you relate to this character despite his irrational behaviour?
8.
Despite the intensity of this play, there are moments of humour and joy. What role does humour play in this piece and what is it’s purpose?
9.
In discussing how she approached adapting The Kreutzer Sonata, Sue Smith has said; “I want us to, yes, feel sympathy for Podzneyshev, to relate to him, not to condemn him”. Do you think the writer succeeded in producing this response in her audience?
10.
The lighting and projection are key elements of the design concept, creating layers that combine to enrich the audiences experience and understanding of the play. Describe your personal reponse to these elements and how they enhanced the production.
p.30
EssayQuestions
design questions
State Theatre Company’s Scenic Workshop has been transformed into a performance venue for The
Kreutzer Sonata. Divide into small groups, decide on a play and design the set for a non-performance
venue of your choice. Consider public spaces and buildings, or areas within your school.
Deliver a short design presentation to the class that details how your design concept is supported
and enhanced by your choice of venue, and how the space informed you design. What practical
considerations are there in transforming your space?
performance
Form groups and devise or write a scene that depicts Podzneyshev’s wife as one of the characters.
What is her name? What is her version of the events that led to her untimely death? Show each of
these scenes to the whole group and discuss the work in relation to The Kreutzer Sonata.
p.31
Further Resources
• Review of the 2008 film adaptation of The Kreutzer Sonata
www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/mar/11/the-kreutzer-sonata-review
• Lesson of The Kreutzer Sonata by Leo Tolstoy
www.online-literature.com/tolstoy/kreutzer-sonata/29/
• Interesting review of Tolstoy’s The Kreutzer Sonata
www.inverarity.livejournal.com/71685.html
• Thoughts on a Train
www.dickstrawser.blogspot.com.au/2011/09/tolstoy-kreutzer-sonata-literature.html
• Sex and depression: In the brain, if not the mind
www.nytimes.com/2009/01/20/health/20iht-20mind.19507430.html?_r=0
• Cupids Poisoned Arrow – Biology has plans for your love life
www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cupids-poisoned-arrow/200908/the-passion-cycle
• An epidemiological Survey of Post-Coital Psychological Symptons in a UK Population Sample of
Female Twins www.reuniting.info/download/pdf/Postcoital_Def.pdf
• Leo Tolstoy on Film www.youtube.com/watch?v=9XjN4DCNt6E
• Tolstoy biography www.biography.com/people/leo-tolstoy-9508518
• Leo Tolstoy www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Tolstoy
• The Kreutzer Sonata and Other Stories www2.hn.psu.edu/faculty/jmanis/tolstoy/kreutzer.pdf
References
•
•
•
•
p.32
Bartlet, Rosamund. Tolstoy: A Russian Life. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011
Porter, Cathy. The Diaries of Sofya Tolstoy. Harper Perennial; Original edition, 2010
www.enotes.com
www.en.wikipedia.org

based on the novella by leo tolstoy

Transcription

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