14 October 1898
The Moscow Art Theatre opened
This year Moscow Art Theatre celebrates its 120th anniversary. Since the theatre was established it brought together many people of art - actors, directors, artists, composers. Despite the fact that it once has been “split” in two parts, its connecting function Moscow Art Theatre performed in many periods of its existence. Recently, it was especially noticeable during the period of Oleg Tabakov's artistic leadership...
The very first performance was “Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich” by Alexei Tolstoy; a joint production of Konstantin Stanislavsky and Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko. It began with words that seemed prophetic to its creators: “I hope for this affair very much!” The eponymous part was played by 24-year-old Ivan Moskvin, who became famous after more than a successful premiere. Tsarina Irina was played by 30-year-old Olga Knipper. By the way, almost a year later it was at this performance that her future husband, the writer Anton Chekhov, saw her for the first time and immediately fell in love with her.