Anton Chekhov revolutionized Russian theater through his inimitable portrayals of characters faced with complex moral dilemmas.
This Norton Critical Edition includes five of Chekhovs major playsIvanov, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, Three Sisters, and The Cherry Orchardand three early one-act farces that inform his later workThe Bear, The Wedding, and The Celebration. Laurence Senelicks masterful translations closely preserve Chekhovs singular stylehis abundant jokes and literary allusions and his careful use of phrase repetition to bind the plays together.Letters is the largest collection of Chekhovs commentary on his plays ever to appear in an English-language edition.
Criticism includes eleven essays by leading European and Russian Chekhov scholars, most appearing in English for the first time, including those by Boris Zingerman, Maria Deppermann, and Lev Shestor. This volume also provides discussion of Chekhovs plays by some of the twentieth centurys great directors, including Konstantin Stanislavsky, Peter Brook, and Mark Rozovsky.
A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.
