The exhibition presents a portrait of Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov, the founder of the first Russian theater. The colored pectoral portrait shows a young man with shoulder-length curly hair.
Fyodor Grigorievich Volkov was born on February 9, 1729 in Kostroma. His father, a Kostroma merchant, died early. His mother married the merchant Fyodor Polushkin in 1735 and moved to Yaroslavl with her children. During his stay in Moscow, and then in St. Petersburg, Fyodor Volkov became interested in theater and began to study scenic art. In 1748, after the death of his stepfather, he returned to Yaroslavl and inherited the factories, but soon left the business, passing the management to his brother. He gathered around himself creative Yaroslavl youth and on June 29, 1750 gave his first public performance, showing the drama “Esther” and the pastoral “Eumon and Berfa”.
Volkov’s first amateur performances were held in the house and stone barn of Fyodor Polushkin, and the next year a wooden theater was built on the bank of the Volga River, which opened on January 7, 1751 showing Alexander Sumarokov’s tragedy “Khoriv”. The Volkov Theater in Yaroslavl is considered to be the first Russian professional theater open to the public. Before long, the “Yaroslavl comedies” became known at the court of Empress Elizaveta Petrovna. She summoned Volkov to St. Petersburg by a special decree.
On August 30, 1756, the Russian Theater for
Performing Tragedies and Comedies was officially established, which marked the
beginning of the creation of the Imperial Theaters of Russia. Fyodor Volkov was
appointed “the first court actor”, and from 1761, he headed the theater. He
wrote about 15 plays that have not survived to our time, was the author of
solemn odes and songs. In addition, he was engaged in designing plays, played
many instruments and created music for the performances. Fyodor Volkov together
with his brother Grigory took an active part in the coup d’état of 1762 and the
enthronement of Catherine II, for which they were granted the title of nobility
and estates. In the Pancake Week of 1763, in honor of the coronation of Empress
Catherine II a multi-day large street masquerade “Triumphant Minerva” was arranged
in Moscow, which was the last creation of Fyodor Volkov. He was the author,
director and mastermind of the whole event. During the masquerade he caught a
cold and died on April 4, 1763.
