“Juno and Avos” is a cult performance not only for Lenkom, but also for theater Moscow for many decades. He was born in 1981 and since then, for more than twenty years go by with a constant full house. We bring to your attention two versions of this magnificent performance... the 1983 version with Elena Shanina in the role of Conchita (this version is considered a classic).. And the 2004 version with Anna Bolshova, in my opinion an even more successful production...
History of creation
Back in the late 70s, Alexey Rybnikov, turning to the poetry of Andrei Voznesensky, created the rock opera “Juno and Avos”. Just like the main characters of this work - the Russian traveler Count Rezanov and the daughter of the governor of San Francisco Conchita - many amazing adventures awaited Rybnikov’s opera, moreover, on an international scale...
Alexey Rybnikov
Few people remember that for the first time the opera was presented not on the Lenkom stage, but in Orthodox church. In February 1981, in the Church of the Intercession in Fili, in the presence of not only music lovers, but also specially invited Western correspondents, as well as representatives of the police and the KGB (who did not need an invitation!). Speakers were installed to the right and left of the altar base to create a stereo effect; in the center, Alexey Rybnikov himself sat at a table with a tape recorder, who uttered several introductory phrases, and then about a hundred people listened to a recording of the rock opera for almost two hours. Everything took place in an unheated room, the listeners did not take off their winter coats. But the goal was achieved: articles appeared in the Western press, after which the authorities decided to figure out what kind of misfortune this was - “Juno and Avos”.
To begin with, the Melodiya company received instructions to suspend the release of a record with Rybnikov’s opera.
Mark Zakharov
Help arrived from the most unexpected direction. Andrei Voznesensky was friends with the world famous designer and couturier Pierre Cardin, who organized creative evenings for the Russian poet in his theater on Champs Elysees. Having received a cassette recording of “Juno” from a friend, Monsieur Cardin was delighted and, having arrived in Moscow, decided to attend the performance. He was shown a draft version, but this was enough for the French guest to invite Lenkom members to Paris. He was not even embarrassed by the fact that Mark Zakharov’s troupe at that time was considered not to travel abroad. The authority of Pierre Cardin in the USSR was so great that he had access not only to the Ministry of Culture, but also to Yuri Andropov himself, where he never tired of repeating that soviet art can be proud not only of ballet and circus, but also of modern opera. Thanks to the efforts of the Parisian celebrity, the go-ahead for the theater's tour to France was received. And thus - the unspoken permission for the premiere of the play on main stage Lenkom.
1981 premiere of the play
20 years later
However, Andrei Voznesensky believes that this could not have happened without intervention higher powers: “All our efforts to break through to the prime minister were frustrated by KGB restrictions. But one day Mark said: “You know, Andrey, there is one person who will help us.” We went to the Yelokhovskaya Church, where Mark said: “Let's light candles to the Kazan Mother of God!” They lit three candles. And I bought three samples. He brought one to Karachentsova (performer of the role of Count Rezanov. - Author's note), the other, maybe to Shanina (Elena Shanina, performer of the role of Conchita. - Author's note), maybe to Rybnikov, I don't remember, and left one for himself. And then everything was allowed to us! Maybe Mark Anatolyevich called someone at night and agreed... But the fact is that they allowed it. It’s like in “Juno and Avos”, after the intervention of the Mother of God, they suddenly give the green light to the trip... So this is a magical story. And the mysticism continues."
AT PREMIERE sp. "JUNO AND PERHAPS" IN PARIS, 1983
It is interesting that the first Soviet rock opera was “Orpheus and Eurydice” by the Leningrad VIA “Singing Guitars”, but still the first Soviet rock opera throughout the world was and will be called “Juno and Avos”... Indeed, Rybnikov’s rock opera was destined experience world fame. By the way, in the early 80s, a record was recorded (not with Lenkom actors, but with guest singers), which sold more than two million (!) copies, for which the Melodiya company awarded Rybnikov the “Golden Disc”.
Monsieur Cardin kept his word and presented “ Russian miracle"on the stages of Paris, New York, Hamburg, Munich, Amsterdam and other cities of the world. In Paris, Pierre Cardin showed a Russian rock opera for two months (!) in his theater on the Champs-Elysees, inviting celebrities there. So, the Rothschilds appeared as a whole clan.
Singer Mireille Mathieu expressed her respect. Arab sheikhs dropped by to see the outlandish opera. All two months were sold out, despite quite expensive tickets- A seat in the stalls cost four hundred francs. Subsequently, the English version was also filmed. documentary about the Moscow performance. The opera was also staged in Hungary, Germany, South Korea, Czech Republic, Mexico. Of course, the creators of Juno dreamed of Broadway. And so the famous Broadway producer Joseph Papp (“Hair”, “Corus Line!”) suggested making “Juno” with American actors. A translation into English was prepared, Rybnikov flew to New York many times, where rehearsals with the actors had already begun. However, Joseph, like the opera hero Count Rezanov, suddenly fell ill and died, and the project stalled.
From time to time Lenkom went on tour around Russia, where something incredible was happening. Alexander Abdulov, I remember, told how the tour in Leningrad took place in the early 80s: “When we first brought “Juno and Avos” to St. Petersburg, several hundred young people broke down the doors of the Gorky Palace, then they were caught for thirty to forty minutes with dogs throughout the DC. One day I was simply stunned: there were about forty minutes left before the start of the performance, I raised my head up, and there, on the grates, were about twenty people lying, waiting to meet art. So specifically, they lie in beams. But they could have easily crashed onto the stage!”
The play “Juno and Avos” became business card theater, and today it is not dilapidated, but quite modern project, where young talented actors are constantly being introduced. Therefore, public interest does not wane. Andrei Voznesensky, at the request of Mark Zakharov, even changed the final line of the play, which now reads like this: “Children of the twenty-first century! Your new century has begun."
In 2005 there was a danger that legendary performance will be curtailed or suspended after being involved in a serious car accident legendary performer the role of Count Rezanov is 60-year-old People's Artist of Russia Nikolai Petrovich Karachentsov. However, the theater found two worthy Rezanovs in Dmitry Pevtsov, who at 45 is in amazing shape, as well as People's Artist of Russia Viktor Rakov, and the show goes on.
In the early 80s, a pirate film-play based on “Juno” was shot, with Karachentsov, Shanina, Abdulov, which walked around the country in a video version. In 2004, a new CD was recorded (the disc was released by Sony Music and Columbia) with Lenkom actors and the Araks group, and a new film based on the play was shot for DVD with Dolby sound. Alexey Rybnikov has repeatedly spoken about the existence of a project for a full-length musical film, but the composer does not yet see worthy candidates among film directors, since musical films have not been professionally shot in Russia for a long time. But it’s impossible to make a film based on “Juno” poorly, or even at an average level!
The magnetism and amazing energy of the performance made it truly eternal... decades pass, actors change, but this performance floats like “Juno” on the waves of time... Stunning acting, soulful music and strong lyrics make this rock opera a real theatrical miracle.
“Juno and Avos” is one of the most famous modern operas by composer Alexei Rybnikov based on poems by poet Andrei Voznesensky. Its first show on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater (Lenkom) took place on July 9, 1981.
Late 1970s famous composer Alexey Rybnikov became interested in creating musical improvisations based on Orthodox chants. One day he demonstrated his work artistic director"Lenkom" to Mark Zakharov, after which he got the idea to create an opera based on them based on "The Tale of Igor's Campaign". It was decided to turn to Andrei Voznesensky to write the libretto for the opera. Voznesensky did not support this idea, but instead suggested using his poem “Maybe,” created in 1970. He managed to convince Rybnikov and Zakharov, after which work began on adapting the poem to the stage. I had to work on many scenes and arias.
Since the word "rock opera" was prohibited at that time (as was rock music in general), the authors called the work "modern opera".
Staging dance numbers was performed by choreographer Vladimir Vasiliev.
The plot of the poem and rock opera is based on romantic story the love of the Russian traveler Nikolai Rezanov and the daughter of the governor of San Francisco, Maria Conchita Arguello de la Concepcion.
Chamberlain Rezanov, having buried his wife, decided to devote all his strength to serving Russia. His proposals on the need to try to establish trade relations with North America For a long time they did not receive a response from the authorities, but finally he was ordered to carry out the desired journey. Before leaving, Rezanov says that with youth he is tormented by one circumstance, the impression that the icon of the Kazan Mother of God made on him - since then he has treated the Virgin Mary more as a beloved woman than as the Mother of God. Appearing to him in a vision, the Mother of God tells him not to be horrified by his feelings and promises to pray for him.
Two ships, Juno and Avos, sail under the St. Andrew's flag to the shores of California. In Spanish California at that time, the wedding of Conchita, the daughter of the governor, and Senor Federico is approaching. Rezanov, on behalf of Russia, greets California, and the governor invites him, as the ambassador of Emperor Alexander, to a ball in honor of his daughter’s sixteenth birthday. At the ball, Rezanov invites Conchita to dance - and this event becomes fatal in their lives and in the life of Federico. The groom is openly jealous, Rezanov’s companions make a cynical bet whether he can “pick a California flower.” The men understand that none of them will step aside without a fight.
At night, Conchita prays to the Virgin Mary in her bedroom. Rezanov comes to her with words of love.
At this moment, a reciprocal feeling arises in Conchita’s soul, and she reciprocates Rezanov’s feelings. But from that moment on, good fortune turns away from Rezanov. Conchita's fiance challenges him to a duel, during which Federico dies. The Russians are forced to urgently leave San Francisco.
Having made a secret engagement with Conchita, Rezanov sets off on his return journey. In Siberia, he falls ill with a fever and dies near Krasnoyarsk. And Conchita remains faithful to her love for the rest of her life. After waiting for Rezanov for thirty-five years - from sixteen to fifty-two - she tonsured herself a nun and ended her days in the cell of the Dominican monastery in San Francisco.
The first cast of the play included Nikolai Karachentsov (Count Rezanov), Elena Shanina (Conchitta), Alexander Abdulov (Federico). Immediately after its release, the opera became the most discussed event in cultural life capitals.
The rock opera "Juno" and "Avos" has successfully passed the test of time - the performance is still on today with constant sell-outs. Over the 30-year history, there have been six performers of the role of Conchita and three chamberlains Rezanov.
Currently, on the stage of the Lenkom Theater, the role of the chamberlain, Count Nikolai Rezanov is performed by People's Artists of Russia and Viktor Rakov; Conchitas - Alla Yuganova and Alexandra Volkova.
There are two television versions of the play - 1983 and 2002. The first version captures the classic look of the performance with Nikolai Karachentsov, Elena Shanina and Alexander Abdulov. The second version, filmed for the 20th anniversary of the play, stars Nikolai Karachentsov, Anna Bolshova and Viktor Rakov.
The material was prepared based on information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Lenkom Theater Performance "Juno and Avos"Summary
Creators "Juno and Avos" defined the genre of this performance as “contemporary opera”. Its plot is based on the fate of the Russian count, chamberlain Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov, who set off in 1806 on the sailing ships “Juno” and “Avos” to the shores of California.
Spiritual suffocation and the unbearability of existence in Russia force Rezanov to look for new lands to fulfill the eternal dream of a free country for the Russian people. Rezanov realizes the utopian nature of his plans, but stubbornly submits one petition after another asking to be allowed to travel to California.
Refusals broke his will. In despair, Rezanov prays to the Mother of God, confessing his most intimate and frightening feeling - love for the Mother of God as a woman. Rezanov is overcome by a painful obsession and hears an unearthly voice blessing him. Following this, Rezanov's dream comes true - he receives highest resolution for a trip.
After a difficult journey across the Pacific Ocean, Rezanov comes into contact with Spanish Franciscan monks and the governor of San Francisco, Jose Dario Arguello. Being invited to a reception with the governor, Rezanov meets his daughter, sixteen-year-old Concepcia de Arguello. At the ball, Conchita's fiancé Federico sings a sonnet about the sad fate of two lovers, and Rezanov sees in Conchita the earthly embodiment of the supernatural passion tormenting him.
At night in the garden, Rezanov hears a conversation between Conchita and Federico about their upcoming engagement. Unable to cope with the feeling that gripped him, he enters Conchita’s bedroom. Rezanov begs her for love, and then, despite all the girl’s despair, takes possession of her... And again a sad, quiet unearthly voice is heard. At this moment, love arises in Conchita’s soul, but in Rezanov’s soul only despair and bitterness remain.
From this moment on, good fortune turns away from Rezanov. His act forces Conchita's fiancé to challenge the chamberlain to a duel, during which Federico dies. The Russians are forced to urgently leave San Francisco.
In his letter to Rumyantsev, Rezanov writes that his dreams of enlightening human souls in the new Russian colonies were shattered, and he dreams of one thing: returning ships and sailors to Russia.
After a secret engagement with Conchita, Rezanov sets off on his return journey. In Siberia, he falls ill with a fever and dies near Krasnoyarsk. Conchita remains faithful to her love for the rest of her life. After waiting for Rezanov for thirty years, she became a nun and ended her days in the cell of a Dominican monastery in San Francisco.
Based on poems by the poet Andrei Voznesensky. The premiere took place on July 9 on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater (director Mark Zakharov, dance choreography by Vladimir Vasiliev, artist Oleg Sheintsis), whose repertoire the performance is still included in.
The title of the play uses the names of two sailing ships, “Juno” and “Avos”, on which Nikolai Rezanov’s expedition sailed.
History of creation
However, after some time, thanks to Pierre Cardin, the theater toured in Paris and on Broadway in New York, then in Germany, the Netherlands and other countries. Subsequently, the opera was staged in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, and South Korea.
Original story source
According to the memoirs of Andrei Voznesensky, he began writing the poem “Maybe” in Vancouver, when he was “swallowing... flattering pages about Rezanov from J. Lensen’s thick volume, following the fate of our brave compatriot.” In addition, Rezanov’s travel diary, which was also used by Voznesensky, has been preserved and partially published.
And after another two centuries, a symbolic act of reunion of lovers took place. In the fall of 2000, the sheriff of the Californian city of Benisha, where Conchita Arguello is buried, brought a handful of earth from her grave and a rose to Krasnoyarsk to lay at white cross, on one side of which the words are embossed I will never forget you, and on the other - I'll never see you again.
Naturally, both the poem and the opera are not documentary chronicles. As Voznesensky himself puts it:
The author is not so consumed by conceit and frivolity as to portray real persons based on scanty information about them and insult them with approximateness. Their images, like their names, are only a capricious echo of known destinies. And the tragedy of the evangelical woman, trampled by the highest dogma, is unprovable, although undoubted. Because the idea that has been corrected is wrong living life and feeling.
Plot
Anniversary performances
| Play | Date | Rezanov | Conchitta | Fernando |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 20.10.1981 | Nikolay Karachentsov | Elena Shanina | Alexander Abdulov |
| 700th | 25.02.1999 | Nikolay Karachentsov | Inna Pivars | Victor Rakov |
| 800th | 03.02.2002 | Nikolay Karachentsov | Anna Bolshova | Victor Rakov |
| 1000th | 10.09.2008 | Dmitry Pevtsov | Alla Yuganova | Stanislav Ryadinsky |
Performance in numismatics
Notes
See also
Links
- "Rezanov and Conchita - a love story in the memory of generations" by O. Nikolaev
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See what “Juno and Avos (rock opera)” is in other dictionaries:Juno and Avos (meanings)- Juno and Avos: Juno and Avos is a rock opera by Alexei Rybnikov based on a libretto by Andrei Voznesensky. Juno and Avos (play, 1981) production of Rybnikov’s rock opera, performed on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater ... Wikipedia Juno and Avos- This term has other meanings, see Juno and Avos (meanings). Opera Juno and Avos ... Wikipedia Rock opera "Juno and Avos"- Juno and Avos is one of the most famous modern operas by composer Alexei Rybnikov based on poems by poet Andrei Voznesensky. Its first show on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater (Lenkom) took place on July 9, 1981. IN… … Encyclopedia of Newsmakers |
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), in whose repertoire the performance is still included. Since December 31, 1985, it has also been performed by the St. Petersburg Rock Opera Theater. Also included in the repertoire of the Irkutsk regional musical theater named after N. M. Zagursky, Krasnoyarsk Musical Theater and Rostov Musical Theater, Altai Regional Theater musical comedy, Orenburg Regional Theater of Musical Comedy.
The title of the play uses the names of two sailing ships, “Juno” and “Avos”, on which Nikolai Rezanov’s expedition sailed.
History of creation
The opera premiered on July 9, 1981 on the stage of the Moscow Lenin Komsomol Theater, starring Nikolai Karachentsov (Count Rezanov), Elena Shanina (Conchita), Alexander Abdulov (Fernando). A few days later, according to Rybnikov’s recollections, scandalous articles about the performance were published in the West, assessing it as anti-Soviet, which made life difficult for its authors:
The Western press reacted as if we were premiering on Broadway, and not in Soviet Moscow. After that, I was pushed into the shadows for a very long time. The play was played, but was not released abroad, the record was not released for a very long time (after all, 800 people go to the performance 2-3 times a month, and the record is mass fame). They didn’t even recognize me as the author, they didn’t sign an agreement with me, and I sued the USSR Ministry of Culture, foreign correspondents came to the trial... Having won the trial, I fell into the category of people with whom it is better not to get involved at all.
However, after some time, thanks to Pierre Cardin, the Lenkom Theater toured in Paris and on Broadway in New York, then in Germany, the Netherlands and other countries.
December 31, 1985 on the stage of the Palace of Culture. Kapranov in St. Petersburg, the premiere of a rock opera performed by the VIA “Singing Guitars” (later became the St. Petersburg Rock Opera Theater) took place. This stage version differed from the Lenkom production. In particular, director Vladimir Podgorodinsky introduced a new character into the play - the Bell Ringer, actually the “materialized” soul of Nikolai Rezanov. The bell ringer is practically devoid of words and only conveys the tossing of the protagonist’s soul with the most complex plasticity and emotional mood. According to recollections, Alexey Rybnikov, who was present at the premiere, admitted that “Singing Guitars” more accurately embodied the idea of the creators of the opera, preserving author's genre mystery operas and original dramaturgy of Voznesensky. In the summer of 2010, the two thousandth performance of “Juno and Avos” took place in St. Petersburg, performed by the Rock Opera Theater.
The opera was also staged in Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic, Germany, South Korea, Ukraine and other countries.
Summer 2009 in France State Theater under the leadership People's Artist Composer Alexey Rybnikov was presented to Russia new production rock opera "Juno and Avos". The main emphasis in it is on the musical component of the performance. Vocal numbers are staged by Honored Artist of the Russian Federation Zhanna Rozhdestvenskaya, choreographic numbers by Zhanna Shmakova. The main director of the play is Alexander Rykhlov. On A. Rybnikov’s website it is noted:
The full author's version... is a serious innovation in the genre of world musical theater and is intended to return the original idea of the authors. IN new version operas combined the traditions of Russian sacred music, folklore, genres of mass “urban” music, with the figurative, ideological and aesthetic priorities of the composer.
Original story source
The plot of the poem “Juno and Avos” (1970) and the rock opera is based on real events and is dedicated to the travel of the Russian statesman Nikolai Petrovich Rezanov to California and his meeting with the young Conchita Arguello, the daughter of the commandant of San Francisco.
According to the memoirs of Andrei Voznesensky, he began writing the poem “Maybe” in Vancouver, when he was “swallowing... flattering pages about Rezanov from J. Lensen’s thick volume, following the fate of our brave compatriot.” In addition, Rezanov’s travel diary, which was also used by Voznesensky, has been preserved and partially published.
Nikolai Rezanov, one of the leaders of the first Russian round-the-world expedition, arrived in California in 1806 in order to replenish food supplies for the Russian colony in Alaska. He fell in love with 16-year-old Conchita Arguello, with whom she became engaged. Rezanov was forced to return to Alaska and then go to the imperial court in St. Petersburg to obtain permission to marry a Catholic woman. However, on the way he became seriously ill and died in Krasnoyarsk at the age of 43 (Rezanov’s life years were 1764-1807). Conchita did not believe the information that reached her about the death of her groom. Only the English traveler George Simpson, having arrived in San Francisco, told her the exact details of his death. Believing in his death only thirty-five years later, she took a vow of silence, and a few years later took monastic vows in a Dominican monastery in Monterrey, where she spent almost two decades and died in 1857.
And after another century and a half, a symbolic act of reunion of lovers took place. In the fall of 2000, the sheriff of the Californian city of Benisha, where Conchita Arguello is buried, brought a handful of earth from her grave and a rose to Krasnoyarsk to lay at the white cross, on one side of which the words “I will never forget you” are embossed, and on the other - “I I’ll never see you.”
Neither a poem nor an opera are documentary chronicles. This is what Voznesensky himself says about it:
The author is not so consumed by conceit and frivolity as to portray real persons based on scanty information about them and insult them with approximateness. Their images, like their names, are only a capricious echo of famous destinies...
In 1810-1812, Davydov G.I.’s notes “A Double Journey to America...” were published, which set out the history of the captains of the legendary ships “Juno” and “Avos”.
A similar story happened with the future Decembrist D.I. Zavalishin during his participation in a round-the-world expedition under the command of M. Lazarev (1822-24) (See Questions of History, 1998, No. 8)
Plot
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Count Rezanov, having buried his wife, decided to devote all his strength to serving Russia. His proposals about the need to try to establish trade relations with North America did not meet with a response from the authorities for a long time, but finally he was ordered to carry out the desired journey. Before leaving, Rezanov says that from a young age he has been tormented by one circumstance, the impression that the Kazan Icon of the Mother of God made on him - since then he has treated the Virgin Mary more like a beloved woman than as the Mother of God. Appearing to him in a vision, the Mother of God tells him not to be horrified by his feelings and promises to pray for him.
- Rezanov - G. Trofimov
- Conchita - A. Rybnikova
- Federico - P. Tils
- Rumyantsev, Khvostov, Father Yuvenaly - F. Ivanov
- Voice of the Mother of God - J. Rozhdestvenskaya
- Soloist in the prologue - R. Filippov
- Davydov, second soloist - K. Kuzhaliev
- Jose Dario Arguello - A. Samoilov
- Praying woman, soloist in the epilogue - R. Dmitrenko
- Praying girl - O. Rozhdestvenskaya
- Sailor - V. Rotar
- Group of worshipers - A. Sado, O. Rozhdestvensky, A. Paranin
- Holy Fool – A. Rybnikov
Juno and Avos. Author's version
In 2009, especially for the Pierre Cardin Festival in Lacoste, composer Alexey Rybnikov and the Alexey Rybnikov Theater created a stage version of “Juno and Avos” in the author’s version, which differs significantly from the Lenkom performance. The director of the production was Alexander Rykhlov.
Performance in numismatics
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Excerpt characterizing Juno and Avos
“I told you,” Natasha answered, “that I have no will, how can you not understand this: I love him!”“Then I won’t let this happen, I’ll tell you,” Sonya screamed with tears breaking through.
“What are you doing, for God’s sake... If you tell me, you are my enemy,” Natasha spoke. - You want my misfortune, you want us to be separated...
Seeing this fear of Natasha, Sonya cried tears of shame and pity for her friend.
- But what happened between you? – she asked. -What did he tell you? Why doesn't he go to the house?
Natasha did not answer her question.
“For God’s sake, Sonya, don’t tell anyone, don’t torture me,” Natasha begged. – You remember that you cannot interfere in such matters. I opened it for you...
– But why these secrets! Why doesn't he go to the house? – Sonya asked. - Why doesn’t he directly seek your hand? After all, Prince Andrei gave you complete freedom, if that’s the case; but I don't believe it. Natasha, have you thought about what secret reasons there could be?
Natasha looked at Sonya with surprised eyes. Apparently, this was the first time she had asked this question and she didn’t know how to answer it.
– I don’t know what the reasons are. But there are reasons!
Sonya sighed and shook her head in disbelief.
“If there were reasons...” she began. But Natasha, guessing her doubt, interrupted her in fear.
- Sonya, you can’t doubt him, you can’t, you can’t, do you understand? – she shouted.
– Does he love you?
- Does he love you? – Natasha repeated with a smile of regret about her friend’s lack of understanding. – You read the letter, did you see it?
- But what if he is an ignoble person?
– Is he!... an ignoble person? If only you knew! - Natasha said.
“If he is a noble man, then he must either declare his intention or stop seeing you; and if you don’t want to do this, then I will do it, I will write to him, I will tell dad,” Sonya said decisively.
- Yes, I can’t live without him! – Natasha screamed.
- Natasha, I don’t understand you. And what are you saying! Remember your father, Nicolas.
“I don’t need anyone, I don’t love anyone but him.” How dare you say that he is ignoble? Don't you know that I love him? – Natasha shouted. “Sonya, go away, I don’t want to quarrel with you, go away, for God’s sake go away: you see how I’m suffering,” Natasha shouted angrily in a restrained, irritated and desperate voice. Sonya burst into tears and ran out of the room.
Natasha went to the table and, without thinking for a minute, wrote that answer to Princess Marya, which she could not write the whole morning. In this letter, she briefly wrote to Princess Marya that all their misunderstandings were over, that, taking advantage of the generosity of Prince Andrei, who, when leaving, gave her freedom, she asks her to forget everything and forgive her if she is guilty before her, but that she cannot be his wife . It all seemed so easy, simple and clear to her at that moment.
On Friday the Rostovs were supposed to go to the village, and on Wednesday the count went with the buyer to his village near Moscow.
On the day of the count's departure, Sonya and Natasha were invited to a big dinner with the Karagins, and Marya Dmitrievna took them. At this dinner, Natasha again met with Anatole, and Sonya noticed that Natasha was saying something to him, wanting not to be heard, and throughout the dinner she was even more excited than before. When they returned home, Natasha was the first to begin with Sonya the explanation that her friend was waiting for.
“You, Sonya, said all sorts of stupid things about him,” Natasha began in a meek voice, the voice that children use when they want to be praised. - We explained it to him today.
- Well, what, what? Well, what did he say? Natasha, how glad I am that you are not angry with me. Tell me everything, the whole truth. What did he say?
Natasha thought about it.
- Oh Sonya, if only you knew him like I do! He said... He asked me about how I promised Bolkonsky. He was glad that it was up to me to refuse him.
Sonya sighed sadly.
“But you didn’t refuse Bolkonsky,” she said.
- Or maybe I refused! Maybe it's all over with Bolkonsky. Why do you think so badly of me?
- I don’t think anything, I just don’t understand it...
- Wait, Sonya, you will understand everything. You will see what kind of person he is. Don't think bad things about me or him.
– I don’t think anything bad about anyone: I love everyone and feel sorry for everyone. But what should I do?
Sonya did not give in to the gentle tone with which Natasha addressed her. The softer and more searching the expression on Natasha’s face, the more serious and stern Sonya’s face was.
“Natasha,” she said, “you asked me not to talk to you, I didn’t, now you started it yourself.” Natasha, I don't believe him. Why this secret?
- Again, again! – Natasha interrupted.
– Natasha, I’m afraid for you.
- What to be afraid of?
“I’m afraid that you will destroy yourself,” Sonya said decisively, herself frightened by what she said.
Natasha's face again expressed anger.
“And I will destroy, I will destroy, I will destroy myself as quickly as possible.” None of your business. It will feel bad not for you, but for me. Leave me, leave me. I hate you.
- Natasha! – Sonya cried out in fear.
- I hate it, I hate it! And you are my enemy forever!
Natasha ran out of the room.
Natasha no longer spoke to Sonya and avoided her. With the same expression of excited surprise and criminality, she walked around the rooms, taking up first this or that activity and immediately abandoning them.
No matter how hard it was for Sonya, she kept an eye on her friend.
On the eve of the day on which the count was supposed to return, Sonya noticed that Natasha had been sitting all morning at the living room window, as if expecting something, and that she made some kind of sign to a passing military man, whom Sonya mistook for Anatole.
Sonya began to observe her friend even more carefully and noticed that Natasha was in a strange and unnatural state all the time during lunch and evening (she answered questions asked to her at random, started and did not finish sentences, laughed at everything).
After tea, Sonya saw a timid girl's maid waiting for her at Natasha's door. She let her through and, listening at the door, learned that a letter had been delivered again. And suddenly it became clear to Sonya that Natasha had some terrible plan for this evening. Sonya knocked on her door. Natasha didn't let her in.
“She'll run away with him! thought Sonya. She is capable of anything. Today there was something especially pitiful and determined in her face. She cried, saying goodbye to her uncle, Sonya recalled. Yes, it’s true, she’s running with him, but what should I do?” thought Sonya, now recalling those signs that clearly proved why Natasha had some terrible intention. “There is no count. What should I do, write to Kuragin, demanding an explanation from him? But who tells him to answer? Write to Pierre, as Prince Andrei asked, in case of an accident?... But maybe, in fact, she has already refused Bolkonsky (she sent a letter to Princess Marya yesterday). There’s no uncle!” It seemed terrible to Sonya to tell Marya Dmitrievna, who believed so much in Natasha. “But one way or another,” Sonya thought, standing in the dark corridor: now or never the time has come to prove that I remember the benefits of their family and love Nicolas. No, even if I don’t sleep for three nights, I won’t leave this corridor and forcefully let her in, and I won’t let shame fall on their family,” she thought.
Anatole lately moved to Dolokhov. The plan to kidnap Rostova had been thought out and prepared by Dolokhov for several days, and on the day when Sonya, having overheard Natasha at the door, decided to protect her, this plan had to be carried out. Natasha promised to go out to Kuragin’s back porch at ten o’clock in the evening. Kuragin had to put her in a prepared troika and take her 60 versts from Moscow to the village of Kamenka, where a disrobed priest was prepared who was supposed to marry them. In Kamenka, a setup was ready that was supposed to take them to the Warsaw road and there they were supposed to ride abroad on postal ones.
Anatole had a passport, and a travel document, and ten thousand money taken from his sister, and ten thousand borrowed through Dolokhov.
Two witnesses - Khvostikov, a former clerk, who was used for games by Dolokhov and Makarin, a retired hussar, good-natured and weak person, who had boundless love for Kuragin, sat in the first room having tea.
In Dolokhov’s large office, decorated from walls to ceiling with Persian carpets, bear skins and weapons, Dolokhov sat in a traveling beshmet and boots in front of an open bureau on which lay abacus and stacks of money. Anatole, in an unbuttoned uniform, walked from the room where the witnesses were sitting, through the office into the back room, where his French footman and others were packing the last things. Dolokhov counted the money and wrote it down.
“Well,” he said, “Khvostikov needs to be given two thousand.”
“Well, give it to me,” said Anatole.
– Makarka (that’s what they called Makarina), this one will selflessly go through fire and water for you. Well, the score is over,” said Dolokhov, showing him the note. - So?
“Yes, of course, so,” said Anatole, apparently not listening to Dolokhov and with a smile that never left his face, looking ahead of him.
Dolokhov slammed the bureau and turned to Anatoly with a mocking smile.
– You know what, give it all up: there’s still time! - he said.
- Fool! - said Anatole. - Stop talking nonsense. If only you knew... The devil knows what it is!
“Come on,” said Dolokhov. - I'm telling you the truth. Is this a joke you're starting?
- Well, again, teasing again? Go to hell! Eh?...” Anatole said with a wince. - Really, I have no time for your stupid jokes. - And he left the room.
Dolokhov smiled contemptuously and condescendingly when Anatole left.
“Wait,” he said after Anatoly, “I’m not joking, I mean business, come, come here.”
Anatole entered the room again and, trying to concentrate his attention, looked at Dolokhov, obviously involuntarily submitting to him.
- Listen to me, I will tell you last time I say. Why should I joke with you? Did I contradict you? Who arranged everything for you, who found the priest, who took the passport, who got the money? All me.
- Well, thank you. Do you think I'm not grateful to you? – Anatol sighed and hugged Dolokhov.
“I helped you, but I still have to tell you the truth: it’s a dangerous matter and, if you look at it, stupid.” Well, you take her away, okay. Will they leave it like that? It turns out that you are married. After all, they will bring you to criminal court...
- Ah! nonsense, nonsense! – Anatole spoke again, wincing. - After all, I explained it to you. A? - And Anatole, with that special passion (which stupid people have) for the conclusion that they reach with their minds, repeated the reasoning that he repeated to Dolokhov a hundred times. “After all, I explained to you, I decided: if this marriage is invalid,” he said, bending his finger, “then I don’t answer; Well, if it’s real, it doesn’t matter: no one abroad will know this, right? And don't talk, don't talk, don't talk!
- Really, come on! You will only tie yourself...
“Get to hell,” said Anatole and, holding his hair, he went into another room and immediately returned and sat down with his feet on a chair close in front of Dolokhov. - The devil knows what it is! A? Look how it beats! “He took Dolokhov’s hand and put it to his heart. - Ah! quel pied, mon cher, quel regard! Undeesse!! [ABOUT! What a leg, my friend, what a look! Goddess!!] Huh?
Dolokhov, smiling coldly and shining with his beautiful, insolent eyes, looked at him, apparently wanting to have more fun with him.
- Well, the money will come out, then what?
- Then what? A? – Anatole repeated with sincere bewilderment at the thought of the future. - Then what? I don’t know what’s there... Well, what nonsense to talk about! – He looked at his watch. - It's time!
Anatole went into the back room.
- Well, will you be there soon? Digging around here! - he shouted at the servants.
Dolokhov removed the money and, shouting to the man to order food and drink for the road, he entered the room where Khvostikov and Makarin were sitting.
Anatole was lying in the office, leaning on his arm, on the sofa, smiling thoughtfully and gently whispering something to himself with his beautiful mouth.
- Go, eat something. Well, have a drink! – Dolokhov shouted to him from another room.
- Don't want! – Anatole answered, still continuing to smile.
- Go, Balaga has arrived.
Anatole stood up and entered the dining room. Balaga was a well-known troika driver, who had known Dolokhov and Anatoly for six years and served them with his troikas. More than once, when Anatole’s regiment was stationed in Tver, he took him out of Tver in the evening, delivered him to Moscow by dawn, and took him away the next day at night. More than once he took Dolokhov away from pursuit, more than once he took them around the city with gypsies and ladies, as Balaga called them. More than once he crushed people and cab drivers around Moscow with their work, and his gentlemen, as he called them, always rescued him. He drove more than one horse under them. More than once he was beaten by them, more than once they plied him with champagne and Madeira, which he loved, and he knew more than one thing behind each of them that an ordinary person would have deserved Siberia long ago. In their revelry, they often invited Balaga, forced him to drink and dance with the gypsies, and more than one thousand of their money passed through his hands. Serving them, he risked both his life and his skin twenty times a year, and at their work he killed more horses than they overpaid him in money. But he loved them, loved this crazy ride, eighteen miles an hour, loved to overturn a cab driver and crush a pedestrian in Moscow, and fly at full gallop through the Moscow streets. He loved to hear behind him this wild cry of drunken voices: “Go! let's go! whereas it was already impossible to drive faster; He loved to pull the man's neck painfully, who was already neither alive nor dead, avoiding him. "Real gentlemen!" he thought.
Anatole and Dolokhov also loved Balaga for his riding skill and because he loved the same things as they did. Balaga dressed up with others, charged twenty-five rubles for a two-hour ride, and only occasionally went with others himself, but more often he sent his fellows. But with his masters, as he called them, he always traveled himself and never demanded anything for his work. Only having learned through the valets the time when there was money, he came every few months in the morning, sober and, bowing low, asked to help him out. The gentlemen always imprisoned him.
“Release me, Father Fyodor Ivanovich or your Excellency,” he said. - He’s completely lost his mind, go to the fair, lend what you can.
Both Anatol and Dolokhov, when they had money, gave him a thousand and two rubles.
Balaga was fair-haired, with a red face and especially a red, thick neck, a squat, snub-nosed man, about twenty-seven, with sparkling small eyes and a small beard. He was dressed in a thin blue caftan lined with silk, over a sheepskin coat.
He crossed himself at the front corner and approached Dolokhov, extending his black, small hand.
- Fyodor Ivanovich! - he said, bowing.
- Great, brother. - Well, here he is.
“Hello, your Excellency,” he said to Anatoly as he entered and also extended his hand.
“I’m telling you, Balaga,” said Anatole, putting his hands on his shoulders, “do you love me or not?” A? Now you've done your service... Which ones did you come to? A?
“As the ambassador ordered, on your animals,” said Balaga.
- Well, do you hear, Balaga! Kill all three and come at three o'clock. A?
- How will you kill, what will we go on? - Balaga said, winking.
- Well, I’ll break your face, don’t joke! – Anatole suddenly shouted, rolling his eyes.
“Why joke,” the coachman said, chuckling. - Will I be sorry for my masters? As long as the horses can gallop, we will ride.
- A! - said Anatole. - Well, sit down.
- Well, sit down! - said Dolokhov.
- I’ll wait, Fyodor Ivanovich.
“Sit down, lie, drink,” said Anatole and poured him a large glass of Madeira. The coachman's eyes lit up at the wine. Refusing for the sake of decency, he drank and wiped himself with a red silk handkerchief that lay in his hat.
- Well, when should we go, Your Excellency?
- Well... (Anatole looked at his watch) let’s go now. Look, Balaga. A? Will you be in time?
- Yes, how about departure - will he be happy, otherwise why not be in time? - Balaga said. “They delivered it to Tver and arrived at seven o’clock.” You probably remember, Your Excellency.
“You know, I once went from Tver for Christmas,” said Anatole with a smile of memory, turning to Makarin, who looked at Kuragin with all his eyes. – Do you believe, Makarka, that it was breathtaking how we flew. We drove into the convoy and jumped over two carts. A?
- There were horses! - Balaga continued the story. “I then locked the young ones attached to the Kaurom,” he turned to Dolokhov, “so would you believe it, Fyodor Ivanovich, the animals flew 60 miles; I couldn’t hold it, my hands were numb, it was freezing. He threw down the reins, holding it, Your Excellency, himself, and fell into the sleigh. So it’s not like you can’t just drive it, you can’t keep it there. At three o'clock the devils reported. Only the left one died.
Anatole left the room and a few minutes later returned in a fur coat belted with a silver belt and a sable hat, smartly put on his side and suiting him very well. beautiful face. Looking in the mirror and in the same position that he took in front of the mirror, standing in front of Dolokhov, he took a glass of wine.
“Well, Fedya, goodbye, thank you for everything, goodbye,” said Anatole. “Well, comrades, friends... he thought about... - my youth... goodbye,” he turned to Makarin and the others.
Despite the fact that they were all traveling with him, Anatole apparently wanted to make something touching and solemn out of this address to his comrades. He spoke in a slow, loud voice and with his chest out, he swayed with one leg. - Everyone take glasses; and you, Balaga. Well, comrades, friends of my youth, we had a blast, we lived, we had a blast. A? Now, when will we meet? I'll go abroad. Long lived, goodbye guys. Here's to your health! Hurray!.. - he said, drank his glass and slammed it on the ground.
“Be healthy,” said Balaga, also drinking his glass and wiping himself with a handkerchief. Makarin hugged Anatole with tears in his eyes. “Eh, prince, how sad I am to part with you,” he said.
- Go, go! - Anatole shouted.
Balaga was about to leave the room.
“No, stop,” said Anatole. - Close the doors, I need to sit down. Like this. “They closed the doors and everyone sat down.
- Well, now march, guys! - Anatole said standing up.
The footman Joseph handed Anatoly a bag and a saber, and everyone went out into the hall.
-Where is the fur coat? - said Dolokhov. - Hey, Ignatka! Go to Matryona Matveevna, ask for a fur coat, a sable cloak. “I heard how they were taking away,” Dolokhov said with a wink. - After all, she will jump out neither alive nor dead, in what she was sitting at home; you hesitate a little, there are tears, and dad, and mom, and now she’s cold and back - and you take it in a fur coat right away and carry it to the sleigh.