Karatygin V.A., (1802-1853), actor

Categories / Art/Music, Theatre/Personalia
KARATYGIN Vasily Andreevich (1802 - 1853, St. Petersburg), actor, playwright. Studied at the Mining Cadet Corps, and at a gymnasium. Served in the Department of Foreign Trade. First studied acting under Count A.A. Shakhovsky, and, from 1818, under P.A. Katenin. From 1820 until 1853 he was considered the tragedy king of the Russian Imperial Drama Troupe. After the opening of the Alexandrinsky Theatre (1832), he became its principal dramatic and tragic actor. Karatygin's repertoire boasts title roles in tragedies by J. Racine, P. Corneille, V.A. Ozerov, costume pieces by N.V. Kukolnik and N.A. Polevoy; Shakespeare's Hamlet, Othello, Coriolanus; Schiller's Karl and Franz Moors (The Robbers), Ferdinand (Intrigue and Love), and Don Carlos (Don Carlos). Created on-stage masterpieces even with insignificant material, such as Belisarius from the play of the same name by E. Schenk. Karatygin stand out thanks to his spectacular appearance, strong and flexible voice, and refined acting techniques. He mastered a character's most prominent traits (Luis ХI from The Enchanted House by Aufenberg, 1836), and the complicated psychological motivation of a character's behaviour (Lear from King Lear by W. Shakespeare, 1838). He played a lot in melodramas, and was the first to play the parts of Chatsky (1831), Don Juan in The Stone Guest (1847) and Baron in The Miserly Knight (1852) by Alexander Pushkin; and Arbenin in Masquerade by M.Y. Lermontov (1852). In 1845, while living abroad, he studied the works of the most prominent French Romantic actors. Karatygin's developed a simpler approach to his acting, but didn't lose his artistic expressiveness. He translated and adapted for the Russian stage over 40 plays by Alexandre Dumas (Dumas pere), W. Shakespeare, and many other authors. Originally buried at Smolenskoe Cemetery, his remains and tombstone were moved to the Necropolis of the Masters of Arts in 1936.

References: Данилов С. С. Русский драматический театр XIX века. Л.; М., 1957. Т. 1. С. 188-194.

A. A. Kirillov. Aufenberg I.
Corneille Pierre
Dumas Alexandre (Dumas pere)
Karatygin Vasily Andreevich
Katenin Pavel Alexandrovich
Kukolnik Nestor Vasilievich
Lermontov Mikhail Yurievich
Ozerov Vladislav Alexandrovich
Polevoy Nikolay Alexeevich
Pushkin Alexander Sergeevich
Racine Jean
Schenk E.
Shakespeare William
Shakhovskoy Alexander Alexandrovich
Данилов С. С. Каратыгин // Данилов С. С. Русский драматический театр XIX века. Л.; М., 1957 Plekhanov State Mining Institute, St. Petersburg
Necropolis of Artists