Ten years ago, this premiere would have been considered a very radical gesture - with howls from opponents and ecstasy from supporters. The active expansion of the Mariinsky Theater into the field of American neoclassical art of the 20th century seemed like a harbinger of the end of the world for some and the beginning of a new era for others. As a result, however, neither one nor the other happened. Balanchine's ballets have become a normal repertoire routine. Well, another Balanchine ballet now - so what? Here's what.
A Midsummer Night's Dream does not belong to the collection of golden hits that are required in the set of every self-respecting theater that wants to be respected by others. This is not “Serenade”, “Jewels”, “Four Temperaments” or “Agon”. If he ends up on DVD in Balanchine’s collections, it’s only on the principle of “he could also do this.” Hand on heart, “The Dream” cannot be called a great performance. But it can be outstanding: from the general corpus of Balanchine’s texts, he really stands out, along with several more of his brothers. The average “Balanchine ballet” is a plotless composition for half an hour to forty minutes, dance alone with music, no decorations, the entire design is focused on light and tutus, and often instead of tutus there are simple black rehearsal leotards. And in “The Dream” the great ascetic is unleashed in full: there is a libretto based on Shakespeare, and various costumes, and pantomime, and comic acting, and the desire to be “understandable” and “understandably beautiful” (dragonfly girls on pointe shoes gracefully fold their arms) , and even a spark of vulgarity - they say, this is folk art, it doesn’t turn up its nose. It’s not that this case, described by Nabokov as “an ascetic dreams of a feast that would make a glutton sick,” is not at all sickening from “The Dream,” although at first it seems so. Balanchine was an emigrant and Russian fugitive, to whom his second homeland gave both fame and a rich life, its embrace was warm. But it is apparently impossible to become a “former emigrant”, just like a former count. All his life, Balanchine, who was building the American ballet, no, no, but stopped - and built himself a small Russian ballet: for example, “Diamonds” or “Ballet Imperial” - a sparkling, slightly frost-touched dream of an ideal Russian imperial ballet in a parallel world where it did not happen revolution, and Georgy Melitonovich Balanchivadze became the chief choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater in the capital of the constitutional monarchy. But those were palaces. And “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” is his Russian dacha, built according to the recipes of ancient extravaganzas and Petipa comedies. Like Don Quixote, only shorter. And if you look closely, you can see that the author was, in the words of another emigrant, Joseph Brodsky, “not a redneck, not a snob, not a liberal, but a general of sad thoughts.”
Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream was written between 1594 and 1596. It is considered the most romantic of all the comedies of the writer, who used all his rich imagination when writing it. Shakespeare filled the play with amazing creatures and presented events in an unreal, fantastic light.
For a reading diary and preparation for a literature lesson, we recommend reading online a summary of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” by acts and scenes. You can test your knowledge using a test on our website.
Main characters
Theseus- Duke of Athens, a kind and fair ruler.
Lysander, Demetrius- young men, rivals in love.
Hermia- Demetrius's bride, in love with Lysander.
Elena- a girl unrequitedly in love with Demetrius.
Oberon- good king of fairies and elves.
Other characters
Aegean- Hermia's father, a powerful and cruel man.
Hippolyta- Queen of the Amazons, bride of Theseus.
Pigwa– carpenter, play organizer.
The basis- a weaver, one of the central characters in the play.
Titania- wife of Oberon, mistress of elves and fairies.
Pack- a little elf, a prankster.
Philostratus- entertainment manager.
Act I
Scene 1
Theseus is looking forward to his wedding with the Amazon queen Hippolyta, which is to take place in four days. He orders Philostratus to stir up “all the youth in Athens” and organize a merry celebration in honor of the upcoming marriage.
Aegeus comes to the ruler with “grief, with a complaint.” He wants to give his daughter in marriage to Demetrius, but the rebellious Hermia refuses this union because she loves Lysander.
Theseus reminds the girl that she must unquestioningly obey her father, reading him “as if he were a god.” Otherwise, she will face death or imprisonment in a monastery.
Lysander invites his beloved to get married in secret, and she agrees. They share their secret with Elena. However, she decides to tell Demetrius, with whom she is unrequitedly in love, about her upcoming escape.
Scene 2
On the eve of the wedding of Theseus and Hippolyta, the carpenter Pigva gathers the townspeople to play in a festive production called “The Pitiful Comedy and the Very Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.”
Pigva distributes the roles, gives texts to the homegrown actors and schedules a rehearsal for the next night.
Act II
Scene 1
In a magical forest near Athens, a quarrel occurs between the ruler of fairies and elves, Oberon, and his wife Titania. The subject of the dispute is a baby who was “kidnapped from the Indian Sultan” and to whom Titania became strongly attached. The jealous king wants to take the baby away from his wife to make him his page, but she refuses him and leaves with the elves.
Subordinate to Oberon is the little elf Peck - “a cheerful spirit, a naughty night tramp.” The king orders him to find a flower that was accidentally hit by Cupid’s arrow - “His name is “Love in Idleness.” If you smear the juice of this flower on the eyelids of a sleeping person, he will fall in love with the first person he sees immediately after waking up. In this way, Oberon wants to distract his wife’s attention from the boy and take him away.
Seeing Demetrius and Helena, the king of the elves turns invisible in order to “eavesdrop on mortal conversation.” Elena confesses her love to the young man, but he rejects her. Oberon decides to help the unfortunate girl, and orders Peck to smear Demetrius’s eyelids with the magic juice of a flower, and he will fall in love with Elena.
Scene 2
The Elf Lord applies the remaining magic juice to Titania's eyelids. Meanwhile, Hermia and Lysander lose their way and, tired, fall asleep in the forest.
Little Peck, having confused Demetrius with Lysander, wets the latter’s eyelids while he sleeps. Elena walks through the forest, upset by Demetrius’s behavior, and stumbles upon the sleeping Lysander. As soon as he sees Elena in front of him, the young man unleashes a flurry of declarations of love on her. Elena is sure that Lysander is mocking her and runs away into the forest.
Hermia has a terrible dream. She asks Lysander to come to the rescue, but, not finding her lover nearby, she goes in search of him.
Act III
Scene 1
The citizens of Athens, who have been chosen to take part in the play, gather in the forest. The plot involves suicide, “and ladies can’t stand that at all.” Therefore, the Foundation decides to write two prologues to the play and emphasize the fiction of everything that happens.
Elf Peck watches the actors' rehearsal. He decides to play a prank on them and enchants the Base, turning his head into that of a donkey. Basic's friends run away in fear, and the prankster Peck rushes after them to "grunt and neigh, burn, roar and growl" and scare them even more.
Titania wakes up and falls wholeheartedly in love with the Base, who was wandering alone not far from her. She summons the “light swarm of elves” to serve the new master.
Scene 2
Peck reports to his master that “Titania fell in love with a monster” - a man with a donkey’s head. Oberon is pleased with this state of affairs. But, having learned that Pek mixed up the young men, the king is angry and goes in search of Demetrius to correct the mistake of his servant. Pek flies “faster than all the Tatar arrows” to Elena in order to lure her into the wilderness.
Hermia finds Demetrius and accuses him of murdering his beloved Lysander. Tired of proving his innocence to the girl, Demetri falls asleep. Waking up, he sees Elena in front of him and, bewitched by the juice of the flower, falls in love with her. However, the girl is not at all happy: she is sure that Lysander and Demetrius, who suddenly had feelings for her, are only mocking her, and are ready to “joke at the defenseless - for the sake of a game.”
The young people, who have now become rivals, are ready to fight a duel to find out “who has more rights to Elena.” Puck is “glad that it turned out so funny,” but Oberon orders him to lead the young people into the thicket of the forest, then separate them and lead them in circles for a long time. When the exhausted rivals fall asleep, the elf smears Lysander's eyelids with an antidote to the magical love juice.
Act IV
Scene 1
Having received the baby and having had a lot of fun with his wife, who is in love with a donkey, Oberon decides to free her from the spell and “drive away her empty delusion from her eyes.” The lord of the elves also orders the faithful Peck to remove the donkey's head "from the head of the Athenian tramp" and send all the actors back to the city.
Theseus enters the clearing, accompanied by Hippolyta and his subjects. He wants to show off his beautiful hounds to his beloved, but suddenly he notices sleeping young people. Theseus is surprised to see them together - after all, these are long-time “rivals in love.”
Lysander honestly tells the ruler that he planned to run away with his beloved Hermia and secretly get married. Demetrius, in turn, admits that from now on “passion, purpose and joy of the eyes” are Helena, not Hermia.
Theseus graciously agrees to these unions and reports that today “two couples of lovers will unite in the temple.”
Scene 2
The actors gather at Pigva's house. After the night rehearsal, no one can find the Basis - “no other than that he was carried away by evil spirits.”
The Base enters and informs his friends that he has been ordered “to all converge at the palace.” He asks everyone to repeat their roles once again, put on clean underwear, but most importantly, not to eat “neither onions nor garlic” in order to “emit a sweet fragrance” during the game.
Act V
Scene 1
Theseus is wary of the lovers' story - he does not believe “fables and fairy tales.” Hippolyta shares the opinion of her future husband, and believes that “in the events of this night there is more than one play of the imagination.”
Theseus asks the lovers how they would like to brighten up their leisure time “from dinner to bed.” He summons the entertainment manager Philostratus, and he offers the Duke “a list of all ready-made entertainments.” Theseus chooses a play by Athenian artisans, but Philostratus considers this production unsuccessful, since “there is not a worthwhile word in it, nor a worthwhile actor.”
Having learned that the actors in the play are “ordinary people, artisans from Athens,” the Duke wants to support his subjects and insists on his choice.
During the performance, the actors say outright nonsense, distorting the text and making their own amendments to the plot. Such absurdity amuses the Duke and his guests, and they are satisfied with the play. At midnight everyone goes home.
Scene 2
At the site of the theatrical performance, Obreon appears with Titania and his retinue. The lord of the elves allows his subjects to have a lot of fun. Finally, he decides to bring “as a gift to the beautiful newlyweds” prosperity, happiness and good luck.
Conclusion
This play is strikingly different from other dramatic works of Shakespeare, in which realism has always dominated. This is a real magical extravaganza, light and ironic, which naturally ends with a happy ending.
For a more qualitative analysis of Shakespeare's work, after reading a brief retelling of A Midsummer Night's Dream, we recommend reading the play in its full version.
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Scene 1
Athens, Ducal Palace. Theseus can't wait to get closer to his wedding day with the queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta. He orders the entertainment manager, Philostratus, to organize a holiday for the Athenian youth.
Aegeus complains to Theseus about his daughter, who is in love with Lysander. He wants to give Hermia as his wife to Demetrius and, if the girl does not agree to this, then, in accordance with Athenian laws, put her to death. Theseus explains to Hermia that her father has the right to control her body and destiny. He gives her four days (until the New Moon - the day of her wedding) for her to decide what she will choose: marriage with Demetrius, death or a vow of celibacy given at the altar of Diana. Lysander tries to convince Theseus of his rights: he is equal to Demetrius in wealth and superior to him by birth, he is loved by Hermia and loves himself, while his rival is fickle (he once fell in love with the beautiful Helen, and then abandoned him).
Lysander consoles the pale Hermia, explaining that the path of true love is never easy. He suggests going to his widowed aunt, who lives seven miles from Athens, to get married there. Hermia agrees to meet him at night in the forest three miles from the city.
Elena asks her friend how she bewitched Demetrius? Hermia explains that she was always strict with him, but this only attracted the young man to her even more. Lysander shares his escape plan with Helen. Elena decides to tell Demetrius everything in order to get at least a drop of gratitude from him.
Scene 2
Carpenter Peter Pigva announces the list of actors chosen for the production of the sideshow “The Piteous Comedy and the Very Cruel Death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Weaver Nick Osnova has been cast as Pyramus, bellows blower repairman Francis Dudka has been cast as Thisbe, tailor Robin Zamorysh has been cast as Thisbe's mother, and coppersmith Thomas Rylo has been cast as Pyramus' father. Peter Pigva himself is going to play Thisbe's father. Carpenter Milyaga gets the role of Leo. The cast is eager to replay all possible roles, even those that are not in the play. Pigva gives the townspeople the texts and schedules a rehearsal for the next night in the palace forest, one mile from Athens.
Act II
Scene 1
In a forest near Athens, the little elf Peck asks the fairy where she is going? The airy creature explains that he serves the fairy queen, who will soon appear at the place of their conversation. Peck warns the fairy that his king “will have fun here at night,” and since Oberon is angry with Titania because of the child she cares for, kidnapped from the Indian Sultan, it would be better for the latter not to show herself here. The fairy recognizes Peck as the Good Little Robin, the jester Oberon, who frightens the village needlewomen. The conversation of the spirits is interrupted by the appearance of Oberon and Titania - each with his own retinue.
Titania reproaches her husband for cheating with Phyllida and Hippolyta. Oberon reminds his wife of her passion for Theseus. Titania denies cheating. She explains to Oberon that because of their quarrel, the seasons have become confused, which is not good for mortals. Oberon says that Titania has the power to change everything - it’s enough just to give him a boy born to a priestess and friend of the fairy queen as a page. Titania refuses to do this and leaves so as not to quarrel with her husband even more.
Oberon orders Peck to bring from the West a small scarlet flower - “Love in Idleness”, which was once hit by Cupid’s arrow. He explains that the juice of the plant has magical properties: if you smear it on the eyelids of a sleeping person, the first person he sees when he opens his eyes will become his favorite. Thus, Oberon plans to intoxicate Titania in order to take the child away from her. Seeing Demetrius with Elena, he becomes invisible and overhears a conversation in which the girl confesses her love to the young man, and he drives her away. Oberon decides to help Helen and, when Peck brings a magic flower, orders him to make the arrogant rake in Athenian robes fall in love with the beauty who is in love with him.
Scene 2
In another part of the forest, Titania gives instructions to her servants, after which she orders them to lull her to sleep. When the queen falls asleep, the elves fly off to their own affairs. Oberon squeezes a flower onto his wife's eyes. Hermia and Lysander, having lost their way, fall asleep far from each other so as not to compromise the former’s maiden honor. Peck squeezes the juice of the flower onto Lysander's eyes. Demetrius runs away from Helena, who stumbles upon Hermia's lover, wakes him up and receives a flurry of love confessions. The girl, offended in her best feelings, hides in the forest. Lysander follows her. Hermia wakes up from a bad dream, does not find her groom next to her and goes into the forest to look for him.
Act III
Scene 1
Actors appear on the green lawn where Titania sleeps. The Foundation is worried that the suicide of Pyramus and Leo may frighten the ladies at the Duke's court. He doesn’t want everyone to be hanged for this, so he proposes to write an additional Prologue to the play, explaining that everything that happens is fiction. At the same time, each of the actors could introduce themselves so that the audience understands that they are people just like everyone else. Instead of moonlight, Pigva suggests using a man with a bush and a lantern; the role of the wall, according to Osnova, can also be played by one of the actors.
Peck watches the rehearsal. The base in the role of Pyramus goes into the bushes, after which it returns to the clearing with a donkey's head. The actors run away in horror. Peck leads them in circles through the forest. Every now and then each of them returns to the clearing to the Base. The latter takes what is happening for a prank. He begins to sing loudly, which awakens Titania. The fairy queen tells the Foundation that she loves him, and summons four elves - Mustard Seed, Sweet Pea, Cobweb and Moth, whom she orders to fulfill all the weaver's whims. The base speaks politely to the elves and finds a kind word for everyone.
Scene 2
Peck tells Oberon about the rehearsal of the Athenian mob, Pyramus’s donkey’s head and Titania who fell in love with him. Hermia accuses Demetrius of killing Lysander. Peck does not recognize Demetrius as a young man bewitched by a flower. Oberon orders the elf to bring Helen from Athens, while he himself enchants the sleeping Demetrius.
Lysander swears his love to Helen. The girl thinks that he is laughing at her. The awakened Demetri showers Elena with compliments and asks permission to kiss. Elena perceives everything that is happening as a cruel prank. Lysander argues with Demetrius for the girl's heart. Hermia, who finds them, is horrified by her lover’s words. Elena believes that her friend is at one with the young people. Hermia, on the contrary, is sure that it is Elena who is mocking her.
Elena wants to stop the joke by leaving the forest. Demetrius and Lysander argue over who loves her more. Hermia tries to find out from her beloved what is going on, but he insults her and drives her away. Realizing that she is hated, Hermia calls Helen a thief who stole Lysander's heart. Elena accuses her ex-friend of hypocrisy and compares her to a doll. Hermia is offended by the indication of her short stature and is eager to claw out Elena’s eyes. The latter asks for protection from Lysander and Demetrius. She says that she is tired of everything that is happening. Hermia invites Helen to return to Athens.
Demetrius and Lysander go into the forest to fight for Helen's heart. The latter runs away from Hermia. Satisfied Pak laughs. Oberon orders him to darken the night, separate the young people from each other, put them to sleep, and then smear Lysander’s eyelids with an herb that removes flower love spells. Peck carries out the order exactly. Next to the sleeping Lysander and Demetrius, Elena also falls asleep.
Act IV
Scene 1
Hermia, Lysander, Helena and Demetrius are sleeping in the forest. Titania caresses the donkey's head. Weaver orders Gossamer to kill the red-legged bumblebee and bring him a honey bag. He asks Mustard Seed to join Sweet Pea in order to properly scratch his overgrown head. Titania invites Osnova to listen to music and eat. The weaver expresses a desire to eat “dry sheep” or “sweet hay.” Tired of the worries of the night, he falls asleep.
Oberon, having received a child from Titania, removes the love dope from his wife. The fairy queen makes peace with her husband. They fly off along the globe following the darkness of the night.
With the ringing of larks and the sound of horns, Theseus, Hippolyta, Aegeus and the ducal retinue appear in the forest. Theseus plans to show off to his bride the “music of the hounds.” Hippolyta remembers hunting with Hercules and Cadmus in Crete.
Hunters wake up the sleeping ones. Theseus asks how it happened that rivals who hated each other ended up next to each other on a sleepy bed? Lysander tries to remember what happened the day before and begins his story with an escape. Demetrius tells his part of the story and renounces Hermia, saying that he was once engaged to Helen, and that night he realized that he loved her, and not the daughter of Aegeus.
Theseus believes that the latter needs to come to terms with the current situation, and invites young people to the temple to arrange a triple marriage. When everyone leaves, the Base wakes up. It seems to him that he is still rehearsing the play. The basis takes the night incident for a dream.
Scene 2
Craftsmen engaged in performances gather in Pigva's house. The owner asks if the Basis has been found? Gentleman brings news of the Duke's wedding. The Basis, who appears, does not tell anything about his adventures, but says that Theseus has already dined and is waiting for the start of the promised play.
Act V
Scene 1
Theseus does not believe the lovers' story, believing that in the revelry of their imagination they are like madmen. What happened seems strange to Hippolyta, but she feels that “in the events of this night there is more than one play of the imagination.” Theseus asks Philostratus what he can do to brighten up the hours from dinner to bedtime. The entertainment manager hands him a list. The Duke chooses a play by Athenian artisans. Philostratus dissuades Theseus from viewing the production, calling it ridiculous. The Duke decides to show attention to the devotion of his subjects. Hippolyta doubts that the idea will be successful. The Duke asks her to be patient.
Philostratus invites Prologue. Pigva reads the text, regardless of punctuation marks. Then he calls the actors onto the stage, introduces them and tells in detail the plot of the upcoming tragedy. The wall talks about who is playing her and why she is in the play. Pyramus, who did not see Thisbe through the crack, accuses her of treason. Theseus thinks the Wall should be scared. Pyramus explains to him why this is not happening. He whispers to Thisbe and makes an appointment with her at Ninya's tomb.
Leo appears on the stage. He asks the ladies not to be afraid, since we are actually not an animal, but an ordinary carpenter. Moonlight explains why he came out with a lantern. The audience makes fun of the actors, but watches the play patiently. The lion tears off Thisbe's cloak. Pyramus finds him and, thinking that the girl is dead, stabs himself with a blade. Thisbe stumbles upon her dead lover and kills herself with a sword. The base asks the Duke if the audience wants to watch the Bergamo dance or the epilogue? Theseus chooses to dance. The actors are dancing. At twelve everyone goes to bed.
The action takes place in Athens. The ruler of Athens bears the name of Theseus, one of the most popular heroes of ancient legends about the conquest by the Greeks of the warlike tribe of women - the Amazons. Theseus marries the queen of this tribe, Hippolyta. The play was apparently created for a performance on the occasion of the wedding of some high-ranking officials.
Preparations are underway for the wedding of Duke Theseus and the Amazon queen Hippolyta, which is to take place on the night of the full moon. An angry Aegeus, Hermia's father, appears at the duke's palace, accusing Lysander of bewitching his daughter and cunningly forcing her to love him, while she had already been promised to Demetrius. Hermia confesses her love for Lysander. The Duke announces that according to Athenian law, she must submit to her father's will. He gives the girl a reprieve, but on the day of the new moon she will have to “either die / For violating her father’s will, / Or marry the one he chose, / Or take forever at the altar of Diana / A vow of celibacy and a harsh life.” The lovers agree to escape from Athens together and meet the next night in a nearby forest. They reveal their plan to Hermia's friend Helena, who was once Demetrius' lover and still loves him passionately. Hoping for his gratitude, she is going to tell Demetrius about the plans of the lovers. Meanwhile, a group of rustic craftsmen are preparing to stage a sideshow on the occasion of the Duke's wedding. The director, carpenter Peter Pigwa, chose a suitable work: “A pitiful comedy and the very cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Weaver Nick Osnova agrees to play the role of Pyramus, as well as most other roles. Bellows repairman Francis Dudke is given the role of Thisbe (in Shakespeare's time women were not allowed on stage). The tailor Robin Hungry will be Thisbe's mother, and the coppersmith Tom Snout will be the father of Pyramus. The role of Leo is assigned to the carpenter Milaga: he “has a memory for learning,” and for this role you only need to roar. Pigva asks everyone to memorize the roles and tomorrow evening come to the forest to the ducal oak tree for a rehearsal.
In a forest near Athens, the king of fairies and elves Oberon and his wife Queen Titania quarrel over a child whom Titania adopted, and Oberon wants to take for himself to make him a page. Titania refuses to submit to her husband's will and leaves with the elves. Oberon asks the mischievous elf Puck (Good Little Robin) to bring him a small flower on which Cupid's arrow fell after he missed "the Vestal reigning in the West" (an allusion to Queen Elizabeth). If the eyelids of a sleeping person are smeared with the juice of this flower, then when he wakes up, he will fall in love with the first living creature he sees. Oberon wants to make Titania fall in love with some wild animal and forget about the boy. Peck flies off in search of the flower, and Oberon becomes an invisible witness to the conversation between Helen and Demetrius, who is looking for Hermia and Lysander in the forest and rejects his former lover with contempt. When Peck returns with the flower, Oberon instructs him to find Demetrius, whom he describes as an “arrogant rake” in Athenian robes, and anoint his eyes, but so that when he awakens, the beauty in love with him will be next to him. Finding Titania sleeping, Oberon squeezes the juice of the flower onto her eyelids. Lysander and Hermia got lost in the forest and also lay down to rest, at Hermia’s request - away from each other, since “for a young man and a girl, human shame / Does not allow intimacy...”. Peck, mistaking Lysander for Demetrius, drips juice onto his eyes. Elena appears, from whom Demetrius ran away, and stopping to rest, wakes up Lysander, who immediately falls in love with her. Elena believes that he is mocking her and runs away, and Lysander, abandoning Hermia, rushes after Elena.
Near the place where Titania sleeps, a company of artisans gathered for a rehearsal. At the suggestion of Osnova, who is very concerned that, God forbid, he should not scare the female spectators, two prologues are written for the play - the first that Pyramus does not kill himself at all and that he is not really Pyramus, but a weaver Osnova, and the second - that Lev is not a lion at all, but a carpenter, Milag. Naughty Peck, who is watching the rehearsal with interest, casts a spell on the Foundation: now the weaver has a donkey's head. The friends, mistaking the Base for a werewolf, run away in fear. At this time, Titania wakes up and, looking at the Base, says: “Your image captivates the eye. I love you. Follow me!” Titania summons four elves - Mustard Seed, Sweet Pea, Gossamer and Moth - and orders them to serve "her darling." Oberon is delighted to listen to Peck's story about how Titania fell in love with the monster, but is very dissatisfied when he learns that the elf sprinkled magic juice into the eyes of Lysander, and not Demetrius. Oberon puts Demetrius to sleep and corrects the mistake of Peck, who, on the orders of his master, lures Helen closer to the sleeping Demetrius. As soon as he wakes up, Demetrius begins to swear his love to the one he recently rejected with contempt. Elena is convinced that both young men, Lysander and Demetrius, are mocking her: “There is no strength to listen to empty ridicule!” In addition, she believes that Hermia is at one with them, and bitterly reproaches her friend for her deceit. Shocked by Lysander's rude insults, Hermia accuses Helen of being a deceiver and a thief who stole Lysander's heart from her. Word for word - and she is already trying to scratch out Elena’s eyes. The young people - now rivals seeking Elena's love - retire to decide in a duel which of them has more rights. Peck is delighted with all this confusion, but Oberon orders him to lead both duelists deeper into the forest, imitating their voices, and lead them astray, “so that they will never find each other.” When Lysander collapses exhausted and falls asleep, Peck squeezes the juice of a plant on his eyelids - an antidote to the love flower. Elena and Demetrius were also euthanized not far from each other.
Seeing Titania asleep next to the Base, Oberon, who by this time had already acquired the child he liked, takes pity on her and touches her eyes with an antidote flower. The fairy queen wakes up with the words: “My Oberon! What can we dream about! / I dreamed that I fell in love with a donkey!” Peck, on Oberon's orders, returns his own head to the Base. The Elf Lords fly away. Theseus, Hippolyta and Aegeus appear hunting in the forest. They find sleeping young people and wake them up. Already free from the effects of the love potion, but still stunned, Lysander explains that he and Hermia fled into the forest from the severity of Athenian laws, while Demetrius admits that “Passion, purpose and joy of the eyes are now / Not Hermia, but dear Helen.” Theseus announces that two more couples will be married today with them and Hippolyta, after which he leaves with his retinue. The awakened Base goes to Pigwa's house, where his friends are eagerly awaiting him. He gives the actors the last instructions: “Let Thisbe put on clean underwear,” and let Lev not try to cut his nails - they should look out from under the skin like claws.
Theseus marvels at the strange story of the lovers. “Madmen, lovers, poets - / All created from fantasies alone,” he says. The entertainment manager, Philostratus, presents him with a list of entertainments. The Duke chooses the workmen's play: "It can never be too bad, / Which devotion humbly offers." Pigva reads the prologue to the audience's ironic comments. Snout explains that he is the Wall through which Pyramus and Thisbe are talking, and therefore is smeared with lime. When the Pyramus Base looks for a crack in the Wall to look at his beloved, Snout helpfully spreads his fingers. Lev appears and explains in verse that he is not real. “What a meek animal,” Theseus admires, “and what a reasonable one!” Amateur actors shamelessly distort the text and say a lot of nonsense, which greatly amuses their noble viewers. Finally the play is over. Everyone leaves - it’s already midnight, a magical hour for lovers. Peck appears, he and the rest of the elves first sing and dance, and then, by order of Oberon and Titania, scatter around the palace to bless the beds of the newlyweds. Pak addresses the audience: “If I couldn’t amuse you, / It will be easy for you to fix everything: / Imagine that you fell asleep / And dreams flashed before you.”
Retold
The action takes place in Athens. The ruler of Athens bears the name of Theseus, one of the most popular heroes of ancient legends about the conquest by the Greeks of the warlike tribe of women - the Amazons. Theseus marries the queen of this tribe, Hippolyta. The play was apparently created for a performance on the occasion of the wedding of some high-ranking officials.
Preparations are underway for the wedding of Duke Theseus and the Amazon queen Hippolyta, which is to take place on the night of the full moon. An angry Aegeus, Hermia's father, appears at the duke's palace, accusing Lysander of bewitching his daughter and cunningly forcing her to love him, while she had already been promised to Demetrius. Hermia confesses her love for Lysander. The Duke announces that according to Athenian law, she must submit to her father's will. He gives the girl a reprieve, but on the day of the new moon she will have to “either die / For violating her father’s will, / Or marry the one he chose, / Or take forever at the altar of Diana / A vow of celibacy and a harsh life.” The lovers agree to flee Athens together and meet the next night in a nearby forest. They reveal their plan to Hermia's friend Helena, who was once Demetrius' lover and still loves him passionately. Hoping for his gratitude, she is going to tell Demetrius about the plans of the lovers. Meanwhile, a group of rustic craftsmen are preparing to stage a sideshow on the occasion of the Duke's wedding. The director, carpenter Peter Pigwa, chose a suitable work: “A pitiful comedy and the very cruel death of Pyramus and Thisbe.” Weaver Nick Osnova agrees to play the role of Pyramus, as well as most other roles. Bellows repairman Francis Dudke is given the role of Thisbe (in Shakespeare's time women were not allowed on stage). The tailor Robin Hungry will be Thisbe's mother, and the coppersmith Tom Snout will be the father of Pyramus. The role of Leo is assigned to the carpenter Milaga: he “has a memory for learning,” and for this role you only need to roar. Pigva asks everyone to memorize the roles and tomorrow evening come to the forest to the ducal oak tree for a rehearsal.
In a forest near Athens, the king of fairies and elves Oberon and his wife Queen Titania quarrel over a child whom Titania adopted, and Oberon wants to take for himself to make him a page. Titania refuses to submit to her husband's will and leaves with the elves. Oberon asks the mischievous elf Puck (Good Little Robin) to bring him a small flower on which Cupid's arrow fell after he missed "the Vestal reigning in the West" (an allusion to Queen Elizabeth). If the eyelids of a sleeping person are smeared with the juice of this flower, then when he wakes up, he will fall in love with the first living creature he sees. Oberon wants to make Titania fall in love with some wild animal and forget about the boy. Peck flies off in search of the flower, and Oberon becomes an invisible witness to the conversation between Helen and Demetrius, who is looking for Hermia and Lysander in the forest and rejects his former lover with contempt. When Peck returns with the flower, Oberon instructs him to find Demetrius, whom he describes as an “arrogant rake” in Athenian robes, and anoint his eyes, but so that when he awakens, the beauty in love with him will be next to him. Finding Titania sleeping, Oberon squeezes the juice of the flower onto her eyelids. Lysander and Hermia got lost in the forest and also lay down to rest, at Hermia’s request - away from each other, because “for a young man and a girl, human shame / Does not allow intimacy...”. Peck, mistaking Lysander for Demetrius, drips juice onto his eyes. Elena appears, from whom Demetrius ran away, and stopping to rest, wakes up Lysander, who immediately falls in love with her. Elena believes that he is mocking her and runs away, and Lysander, abandoning Hermia, rushes after Elena.
Near the place where Titania sleeps, a company of artisans gathered for a rehearsal. At the suggestion of Osnova, who is very concerned that, God forbid, he should not scare the female spectators, two prologues are written for the play - the first that Pyramus does not kill himself at all and that he is not really Pyramus, but a weaver Osnova, and the second - that Lev is not a lion at all, but a carpenter, Milag. Naughty Peck, who is watching the rehearsal with interest, casts a spell on the Foundation: now the weaver has a donkey's head. The friends, mistaking the Base for a werewolf, run away in fear. At this time, Titania wakes up and, looking at the Base, says: “Your image captivates the eye […] I love you. Follow me!” Titania summons four elves - Mustard Seed, Sweet Pea, Gossamer and Moth - and orders them to serve "her darling." Oberon is delighted to listen to Peck's story about how Titania fell in love with the monster, but is very dissatisfied when he learns that the elf sprinkled magic juice into the eyes of Lysander, and not Demetrius. Oberon puts Demetrius to sleep and corrects the mistake of Peck, who, on the orders of his master, lures Helen closer to the sleeping Demetrius. As soon as he wakes up, Demetrius begins to swear his love to the one he recently rejected with contempt. Elena is convinced that both young men, Lysander and Demetrius, are mocking her: “There is no strength to listen to empty ridicule!” In addition, she believes that Hermia is at one with them, and bitterly reproaches her friend for her deceit. Shocked by Lysander's crude insults, Hermia accuses Helen of being a deceiver and a thief who stole Lysander's heart from her. Word for word - and she is already trying to scratch out Elena’s eyes. The young people - now rivals seeking Elena's love - retire to decide in a duel which of them has more rights. Peck is delighted with all this confusion, but Oberon orders him to lead both duelists deeper into the forest, imitating their voices, and lead them astray, “so that they will never find each other.” When Lysander collapses exhausted and falls asleep, Peck squeezes the juice of a plant on his eyelids - an antidote to the love flower. Elena and Demetrius were also euthanized not far from each other.
Seeing Titania asleep next to the Base, Oberon, who by this time had already acquired the child he liked, takes pity on her and touches her eyes with an antidote flower. The fairy queen wakes up with the words: “My Oberon! What can we dream about! / I dreamed that I fell in love with a donkey!” Peck, on Oberon's orders, returns his own head to the Base. The Elf Lords fly away. Theseus, Hippolyta and Aegeus appear hunting in the forest. They find sleeping young people and wake them up. Already free from the effects of the love potion, but still stunned, Lysander explains that he and Hermia fled into the forest from the severity of Athenian laws, while Demetrius admits that “Passion, purpose and joy of the eyes are now / Not Hermia, but dear Helen.” Theseus announces that two more couples will be married today with them and Hippolyta, after which he leaves with his retinue. The awakened Base goes to Pigwa's house, where his friends are eagerly awaiting him. He gives the actors the last instructions: “Let Thisbe put on clean underwear,” and let Lev not try to cut his nails - they should look out from under the skin like claws.
Theseus marvels at the strange story of the lovers. “Madmen, lovers, poets - / All created from fantasies alone,” he says. The entertainment manager, Philostratus, presents him with a list of entertainments. The Duke chooses the workmen's play: "It can never be too bad, / Which devotion humbly offers." Pigva reads the prologue to the audience's ironic comments. Snout explains that he is the Wall through which Pyramus and Thisbe are talking, and therefore is smeared with lime. When the Pyramus Base looks for a crack in the Wall to look at his beloved, Snout helpfully spreads his fingers. Lev appears and explains in verse that he is not real. “What a meek animal,” Theseus admires, “and what a reasonable one!” Amateur actors shamelessly distort the text and say a lot of nonsense, which greatly amuses their noble audience. Finally the play is over. Everyone leaves - it’s already midnight, a magical hour for lovers. Peck appears, he and the rest of the elves first sing and dance, and then, by order of Oberon and Titania, scatter around the palace to bless the beds of the newlyweds. Pak addresses the audience: “If I couldn’t amuse you, / It will be easy for you to fix everything: / Imagine that you fell asleep / And dreams flashed before you.”
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