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The Cherry Orchard

3.64 of 5 stars 3.64 · rating details · 10,524 ratings · 289 reviews

Classic of world drama concerns the passing of the old semifeudal order in turn-of-the-century Russia, symbolized in the sale of the cherry orchard owned by Madame Ranevskaya. The work also showcases the great Russian writer's rich sensitivities as an observer of human nature. An inexpensive, high-quality edition, reprinted from a standard edition of the play.

Paperback, 64 pages

Published January 1st 1991 by Dover Publications (first published 1903)

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Jan 10, 2012 Chiara Pagliochini rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: letteratura-russa, teatro

“Perché io sono nata qui, qui sono vissuti mio padre e mia madre, mio nonno, io amo questa casa, senza il giardino dei ciliegi io non capisco più niente della mia vita, e se è proprio necessario venderlo, allora vendete anche me insieme al giardino.”

Credo che questa – anzi, ne sono certa – sia la prima opera per il teatro che leggo in vita mia. L’approccio, lo debbo dire, è stato dei più foschi e ammantati di pregiudizio. Ho sempre pensato – e ancora non sono del tutto immune dal pensiero – che...more “Perché io sono nata qui, qui sono vissuti mio padre e mia madre, mio nonno, io amo questa casa, senza il giardino dei ciliegi io non capisco più niente della mia vita, e se è proprio necessario venderlo, allora vendete anche me insieme al giardino.”

Credo che questa – anzi, ne sono certa – sia la prima opera per il teatro che leggo in vita mia. L’approccio, lo debbo dire, è stato dei più foschi e ammantati di pregiudizio. Ho sempre pensato – e ancora non sono del tutto immune dal pensiero – che i testi teatrali siano una sorta di scheletro che a leggerlo si ricava la metà del loro valore. Se questo è vero, è vero anche che la metà di un grande valore è pur sempre un grande valore. E questo testo di Čechov (peraltro in una edizione splendida ed esaustiva) è magnifico.
Scrive Giorgio Strehler, che lo rappresentò a teatro nel ’74, che Il giardino è come un gioco di scatole cinesi. Ci sono tre scatole e ognuna contiene l’altra. La scatola più piccola, quella che è contenuta, è la scatola della vita quotidiana, dei personaggi in scena con le loro battute tipiche, i loro tic, i loro piccoli drammi esistenziali. La seconda scatola è quella della Storia, che interpreta il testo in termini di passaggio di proprietà, della decadenza della vecchia classe aristocratica e dell’emergere di nuove forze politiche, una sorta di anticipazione della Rivoluzione d’Ottobre. La terza scatola, la più grande, è quella dell’Umanità, con i suoi temi eterni: la morte, il dolore, l’infanzia perduta, l’inesorabilità del tempo, la vita mancata. Il giardino dei ciliegi è tutte e tre le scatole, ed è questo che ne fa un’opera di grande valore.

La vicenda ruota intorno a una vecchia casa che sta per andare all’asta. La proprietaria, Liubov, donna molto elegante, spendacciona, ma anche generosa e capace di grandi slanci, vi fa ritorno dopo cinque anni di assenza e ritrova tante cose che appartengono al suo passato, alla sua vita di madre e di donna sposata. Ritrova la “stanza dei bambini”, il grande armadio di cent’anni, le persone che conosceva e son cresciute e soprattutto il giardino dei ciliegi, che sembra esistere da sempre e fiorire in ogni stagione. Il giardino è simbolo di tutto ciò che c’è di caro al mondo, di quel che è radicato in noi, del posto da cui veniamo e che prima o poi, strappati dal caso o dalla violenza oppure di nostra volontà, dobbiamo abbandonare. Intorno a Liubov ruotano tanti personaggi incantevoli e fragili: le figlie Ania e Varia, la prima così proiettata verso il futuro, l’altra così incerta su quello stesso futuro; il fratello Gaiev, che parla sempre a sproposito; il servitore Firs, che è vecchio quanto il giardino; Duniascia, la cameriera innamorata che si incipria sempre il naso; Iascia, lo sprezzante valletto che all’estero s’è abituato alla bella vita; il contabile Iepichodov, che tiene sempre un revolver in tasca; la governante Charlotta, che non sa da dove viene ma conosce incredibili giochi di prestigio; l’eterno studente Trofimov, che contempla sempre la felicità ma non sembra che a parole ci si avvicini poi molto; il rampante Lopachin, contadino arricchito che rileverà la proprietà dei suoi stessi ex padroni e che farà calare l’ascia proprio sul tronco di quei ciliegi.
Chi vorrà restare? Chi troverà il coraggio di andare avanti? Chi accetterà che la ruota del progresso si muove e non si incaglia mai? Impossibile stabilire cosa pensasse Čechov di quei ciliegi, se in lui ci sia più nostalgia per quei colpi di scure o più speranza per un mondo che viene. I fatti parlano da sé e così dev’essere, e sta allo spettatore o al lettore decidere se piangere o ridere di quel che vede in scena.

Čechov fu certo uno scrittore sorprendente e lui stesso, di sorprese, dovette vederne un bel po’. I suoi testi, che si supponevano umoristici, finivano per far piangere gli attori alla prima lettura. E anche il pubblico, alla fine delle rappresentazioni, era tutto una lacrima. “Voi vi lamentate che i miei personaggi siano tristi e cupi! Ahimè, non è colpa mia! Questo avviene contro la mia volontà; quando scrivo, a me non pare di scrivere cose tristi, e comunque, quando lavoro, sono sempre di ottimo umore. Ma provate a osservare, e vedrete che gli uomini malinconici scrivono sempre cose allegre, e quelli che sono allegri nella vita fanno venire invece la malinconia!” Ecco, non è un uomo da sposare? E non è uno scrittore da ammirare e prendere a esempio uno il cui maggiore fine artistico è voler combinare in una stessa opera commedia e tragedia? Perché la vita non è solo una tragedia, come non è soltanto una commedia. La vita è una commistione in parti casuali di elementi tragici e comici e, se un buon libro deve rassomigliare alla vita, allora è giusto principio che ci entrino entrambi.
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May 18, 2012 Hend rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: plays, anton-chekhov, russian-literature

in this play a Russian aristocratic family having financial problems and sinking in a large debt, due to the social disturbances and political transformations in the early twentieth century.,were forced to sell their Cherry Orchard, ,which wasn't an ordinary Orchard but the most beautiful one in the entire estate....
while family members are busy at a ceremony inside the palace, their orchard is being sold, in this scene Chekhov emphasize the exaggerated the sensation of indifference,their Loss...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Eyehavenofilter rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I was FOHM at a theater when we were doing this play with a very well know actress, now unfortunately deceased. I read this over and over before we started the performances and I just couldn't get a handle on it. But when the actors took to the stage it blossomed, exploded, grew life.
Thats what happens with Chekov. It needs to be spoken, to be alive, understood, and appreciated. I would sit in the theater and watch the rehearsals that weren't done outside, in rapt amazement following along wit...more

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Mar 06, 2012 Lindsay rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: adult-fiction, classics, historical, russia, revolution

To me, this play had more value as a historical document than a story. It depicts changing times for the aristocracy in Russia in the late 19th Century, from the perspective of a wealthy family forced to sell off their eponymous Cherry Orchard.

Having seen/heard several Chekhov-inspired parodies on tv/radio - The IT Crowd and The Mighty Boosh most recently - I thought it was about time I got around to his most famous play, which was omitted from the collection I read 10 or so years ago.

Not the e...more

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Jan 28, 2013 Bogdan Liviu rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Câtă melancolie în tăiatul vișinilor de la final; cine nu-și imaginează acel sunet implacabil, minuțios, în care pe note aneantizate ecoul neputinței valsează cu deznădejdea apoteotică a morții, în care vidul se ridică-n existență prin însăși căderea arborilor, pierde toată grandoarea operei. Făcând o analogie deloc deplasată, am putea spune chiar c-acei copaci care se-auzeau la depărtare căzând, eram noi, oamenii...iar toporul? Neantul, ce ne va-nghiti pe toți fără discriminare. Numai că-n pies...more Câtă melancolie în tăiatul vișinilor de la final; cine nu-și imaginează acel sunet implacabil, minuțios, în care pe note aneantizate ecoul neputinței valsează cu deznădejdea apoteotică a morții, în care vidul se ridică-n existență prin însăși căderea arborilor, pierde toată grandoarea operei. Făcând o analogie deloc deplasată, am putea spune chiar c-acei copaci care se-auzeau la depărtare căzând, eram noi, oamenii...iar toporul? Neantul, ce ne va-nghiti pe toți fără discriminare. Numai că-n piesa lui Chekhov, în locul acelor livezi va începe o nouă viață, se vor ridica vile, se va construi ceva; pe când în realitate...toată infrastructura se va reduce la o piatră efemeră deasupra pământului, ultima amprenta a omului pe pământ. Întrebarea, desigur, rămâne...dacă omul e copacul, toporul e moartea...cine folosește acest topor, ca o ghilotină? Cine-i atât de sadic încât să planteze arbori doar de dragul de a-i chinui, de a le explora neputințele în fața unei lame tăioase, ce le sfâșie orice potențial fruct pe care l-ar putea da? Cine-i acest călău insuportabil ce dă viață doar pentru a avea privilegiul de a propaga moartea? Răspunsul să rămână îngropat în sufletul fiecăruia... privilegiați sunt arborii, căci n-au constiitna morții... de-aici și mizeria umană, nu-i decât o revoltă justificată, năzuim s-avem onestitatea unui arbore doar când vom înceta să sfârșim la umbra unuia chiar și-atunci în zilele când afară nu e soare... se prea poate ca toporul să aibă propria sa conștiință, să nu fie, la drept vorbind, mânat de nicio altă forță superioară... Poate însăși viața ține toporul acela-n mână și ne schingiuieste zâmbindu-ne sinucigaș... deși e conștientă că nu poate exista fără noi, nu încetează în a ne lovi, mai puternic, mai puternic, până cădem la pământ, sub pământ, dispărem... și-aici va-ntreb: cât ne va tolera și vidul? Se prea poate ca însăși domnia sa, mult prea stimabilul și mult iubitul vid, găzduindu-ne cu greață, nu se va mai sinchisi de noi, si ne va arunca înapoi în livadă agoniei, a vieții...(less)

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May 29, 2007 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Shelves: theatre, 19th-century

This play is one of the most desperately sad things I have ever seen. It is a portrait of a family struggling in a period where old and new russia are scraping up against each other in a way that is physically painful to watch. I saw a performance of this while on study abroad at Oxford, and I went to a bookstore after the performance so I could read this over and over again to myself. These characters express so much and just accomplish so desperately little at the end of the day. Some of these...more

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Jul 28, 2010 Laura Jean rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

At times heartbreaking, at times hilarious, Chekhov doesn't disappoint in this one with outlandish characters and a singular voice of reason (the perpetual student!).

The Cherry Orchard serves as a wonderful metaphor for the exchange of power between old Russia and the new. Chekhov well illustrates the power play between different social orders (orders which have little to do with actual wealth, a fact he constantly illustrates with upperclass talk of debts), and how the convention of class-base...more

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Apr 26, 2013 Jorge Pérez de rueda rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Como imagen de la Rusia de fin de siglo XIX vale. Pero esta obra de teatro no me ha llamado nada nada. Los personajes parece que habla cada uno pero no dialogan con el resto. Algo rarísimo. No sé si será la traducción que tengo yo.

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May 10, 2013 James rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Remember, human beings are constantly progressing, and their power keeps growing. Things that seem impossible to us nowadays, the day will come when they’re not a problem at all, only we have to work toward that day. We have to seek out the truth. We don't do that, you know. Most of the people in this country aren't working toward anything. People I come in contact with - at the university, for instance - they're supposed to be educated, but they're not interested in the truth. They're not inter...more

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May 05, 2013 علی rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

Chekhov’s characters, both in his fictions and his plays are people deeply in pain and disasters, but their hands are not long enough to change their fate or the world around themselves. The last statement of Chekhov’s plays describes almost the whole piece:
The Doctor: The fact is, Konstantin Gavrilitch has shot himself. (Sea-Gull).
Firs: Life has slipped by as though, I hadn’t lived. I lie down a bit … there is no strength in you, nothing left you, all gone! Ech! I’m good for nothing (Cherry Orc...more Chekhov’s characters, both in his fictions and his plays are people deeply in pain and disasters, but their hands are not long enough to change their fate or the world around themselves. The last statement of Chekhov’s plays describes almost the whole piece:
The Doctor: The fact is, Konstantin Gavrilitch has shot himself. (Sea-Gull).
Firs: Life has slipped by as though, I hadn’t lived. I lie down a bit … there is no strength in you, nothing left you, all gone! Ech! I’m good for nothing (Cherry Orchard).
Olga, If we only knew, if we only knew. (Three sisters)
Sonya; We shall rest) Uncle Vanja(

رانوسکایا بازمانده ی یک خانواده ی اشراف روسی، پس از پنج سال به ملک اجدادی خود در روسیه باز گشته. ملک که شامل یک باغ آلبالوی بزرگ است، بخاطر ورشکستگی خانواده به حراج گذاشته می شود. مالک تازه، فرزند کشاورز برده ای ست که اینک ثروتمند شده و قصد دارد تمامی زمین و باغ را به ساختمان های مسکونی تبدیل کند. فروش باغ و ملک به نشان اضمحلال اشرافیت، و برآمدن لاپاخین برده زاده، تمثیلی ست از طبقه ای نوکیسه که دارد در جامعه ی روسیه پا می گیرد. وقتی بانو رانوسکایا و خانواده ملک را و خانه را برای همیشه ترک می کنند، از بیرون صدای تبر کارگرانی به گوش می رسد که مشغول قطع کردن درختان آلبالو هستند، به نوعی سرود اندوهگین افول اشرافیت. باغ آلبالو به شکل وسیعی بر نسلی از نمایش نامه نویسان جهان نظیر اوژن اونیل، آرتور میللر، هنریک ایبسن، تنسی ویلیامز و... تاثیر گذاشته است.

ـ باغ آلبالو، بزرگ علوی، چاپ دوم، 1329
ـ باغ آلبالو، سیمین دانشور، چاپ دوم، 1362

مطلب جامع تری در مورد آثار چخوف
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_...
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Feb 10, 2013 Katherine Fox rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Is it the end of one age, and freed from their past the characters are released to a future pursuing happiness as described by the student and not tied to their memories? Its hard to see that when something so beautiful as a cherry orchard is cut down. Whatever its metaphorical role, and its role in tying the characters to their pasts, could it be allowed to live?

The social changes are only hinted at, so its hard to know now how momentous they were, and its easy to read back our knowledge of wha...more

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Feb 27, 2012 Sera rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Sera by: Alex (Bookish)

Shelves: library, plays-short-stories-etc

I really liked this play about in what I believe to be about how some of the Russian people are handling the societal changes in Russian after the abolishment of serfdom. Mr. Mamet clearly disagrees with me. However, I think that his explanation of the meaning of the play says more about Mamet than it does of Chekhov's work, since thus far, I haven't seen anyone else who supports this perspective.

Update to original comment: Actually what led me to read this play was that after it had been select...more

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Feb 01, 2012 Cheryl rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: play

"My life has gone by as though I never lived."

The ending of Anton Chekhov's THE CHERRY ORCHARD, written in nineteen hundred and four, clearly defines the overall theme of the play. The elderly, deaf man-servant laments the changes toward equality and freedom occurring in Czarist Russia, as he prefers to be told what to believe and how to live with roles and values clearly contrasted. But the stratification of society: servant to master, peasant to aristocrat, primitive to elite intelligentsia wo...more

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Jan 21, 2011 Malak Alrashed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The Cherry Orchard is a Russian play written by Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, probably known as a short-stories writer actually he is considered to be one of the greatest short-story writers in the history of world literature! and as strange as it may sound, but I think that somehow I have enjoyed reading this one play more than any other short story I previously read for him!

I quite loved the dialogues between the characters and the simple language of the play. Here's one of my favourite lines in th...more

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Dec 16, 2010 Monthly Book Group rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The play received an unambiguous thumbs-up. “My favourite dramatist! Subtle, low key expressions of emotion.” “Really enjoyed it – how it catches the Russian psyche and the paradoxes in Russian society as it undergoes a great upheaval”. “What an enormous amount contained in such a small compass!” “Complex, oblique, resonant, poignant, ironic”. And - decisively - “what a pleasure to have a reason to buy another copy of Chekhov’s works, as an old girlfriend went off with my last one!”

Only minor re...more

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Aug 31, 2009 Angie rated it 4 of 5 stars

When I finished reading this play, I wasn't sure what to make of it, and I've been thinking on it for a couple of weeks now. I'm still not entirely sure what I think, but I know it caused me to think about what I thought, so that counts for something. Anyway, I find the humor constantly laced with sadness to be poignant, and I can imagine how this play could be a directorial challenge. I love the old servant who laments the freeing of the serfs. What a wretched fellow; how sad for him to feel th...more

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Apr 10, 2013 Kristen Kempfert rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Most of what I noticed from the play was it's striking similarity to Uncle Vanya. Mentions of old age and lost opportunity, financial problems, and potential loss of estate are very prominent in both.

The entirety of the play, much like Uncle Vanya, is centered around a poor family at risk of losing their estate. However, in The Cherry Orchard, the characters are much more superficial. Money and aging are referenced repeatedly in the book. Despite the mother, Madame Ranevsky, being completely br...more Most of what I noticed from the play was it's striking similarity to Uncle Vanya. Mentions of old age and lost opportunity, financial problems, and potential loss of estate are very prominent in both.

The entirety of the play, much like Uncle Vanya, is centered around a poor family at risk of losing their estate. However, in The Cherry Orchard, the characters are much more superficial. Money and aging are referenced repeatedly in the book. Despite the mother, Madame Ranevsky, being completely broke, she loans out money to people and gives money to a drunk man who stumbles onto her property. Even the rich neighbor Lopakhin asks for a loan from her. The characters will cry because of their fate, but then will suddenly laugh, suggesting that they don't truly understand the severity of their fates.

The theme of old age versus childhood is rampant throughout the entire play. All of the older characters long to be young again. For example, Madame Ranevsky several times reminisces and states how much her old nursery meant to her and how lovely her childhood was. Then, Firs constantly rambles on about "those days" in the past when things were different in life and better. The characters even refer to themselves as old and chastise each other for their age. They are all trapped in the mindsets of these older times, most notably represented by Trophimof who is a student for many years too long. Perhaps he hasn't finished his degree because then he will be expected to grow up. Further, he is often told that he is "a mouldy old man" although he is only thirty years old. Thus, his tragedy is that he has already aged with nothing to show for it, and he is often reminded of it. Trophimof is the most philosophical character in the entire play.

Heavy symbolism includes the use of the seasons and weather as well as being tired. In the beginning of the play, both Barbara and Danyasha state how cold they are, that their hands are frozen, and how the temperature outside is "three degrees lower" than it should have been at that point in the season. Once the family loses their estate, it is becoming winter again, and everyone is cold. This represents at first the imminent potential for the family to experience death or sorrow which is realized because many people in the beginning are listed as having died since the family had left the country, and because the family lost their estate.

In reference to being tired, this represents characters being bored with their mundane, superficial lives. This symbol is prevalent from the beginning of the play when the family returns to their estate, and everyone expresses how tired they are. Then, throughout the play, Yasha yawns before speaking, suggesting that his existence in particular is even more mundane than the rest. Also, coffee is mentioned quite frequently, with Madame Ranesky stating she drinks it during the day and night. The substance is used to keep her awake and somehow still living in her plain existence.

Also similar to Uncle Vanya, Trophimof, like the doctor in the other play, speaks ill of love, even stating several times that he is "above love." Because of the length (relative to other characters' dialogue) of many of Trophimof's beliefs, Chekhov's views are also revealed that love and life itself is meaningless.

Many of the characters have love reciprocated from the person they desire, only for their wishes not to be realized which is also similar to the plight of many of the characters in Uncle Vanya. Many characters talk of their desires to marry or be proposed to, and despite intervention from Madame Ranevksy, neither Anya, Dunyasha, or Barbara are wed by the end of the play. The text suggests that Chekhov believes that attempting to love and have a relationship with someone else is a futile struggle that will never be realized. The potential for unrequited love is what is most painful for the characters and the readers alike. Also, Madame Ranevsky loves a man who continually swindles her out of money. At the end of the play, when she has lost her estate and has nothing left, she finally acknowledges the man's telegrams and resolves to return to him. Therefore, her continual meddling throughout the entire play is ironic, and perhaps Chekhov is stating that oftentimes people are hypocritical and offer advice where they are in no position to do so.

Most significant to the play is the cherry orchard on the family's property. The trees represent the old family that was in power of the estate for so long, and the trees blossoming with the seasons parallel the struggles that the family faces with the change of the seasons as well. However, The only struggle and conflict that is viewed onstage is the cutting down of the orchard which is distressing to Madame Ranevsky. Everything else, like the death of her son and her being swindled out of money in France, happens offstage. I don't know the significance of that, but it definitely stuck out to me. The orchard in itself is a symbol of the beauty of childhood and memories of the family's life on the estate, as the trees have been there as long as the family has, and Madame Ranevsky reminisces several times on walks through the orchard with her mother. She even thinks she sees a vision of her mother in the orchard, suggesting that the memory and the history of the ancestral family lives on through the orchard.

The family lost the estate and cherry orchard because they defaulted on the loan, most likely because none of the characters ever worked. The wealthy Lopakhin purchased it. He differs from the family in that his ancestors were serfs for the family, and now he has gained financial power over the same people who once were in control of his family. His chopping down the trees eradicates many of the significant memories held on the estate by the family. Since the cherry trees have lived so long, they represent the old family who held power for two hundred years. Chopping them down to make way for a railroad and villas to be built suggests that a new wave of power and world thinking will sweep the area, suggesting that Chekhov believes eventually we as a people will have a significant shift in the way the world works; those who work for their fortunes will win, and those who dwindle away their fortunes and don't work, like the family, will lose.

I'm not sure if this is significant, but the number "22" is mentioned several times. For instance, Ephikhodof is stated to have 22 instances of bad luck per day. Then, the estate sale is to be held on August 22. Both the date and the clerk's poor luck are cited several times.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Chekhov utilizes many themes and has lots of literary devices working together at once, most of which I barely scratched the surface about. It's definitely worth the read, but only if you're willing to really think and actively takes notes while reading. I will probably reread it within the next few days because Chekhov's style is so complex that there is more in the work to illuminate it further. (less)

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Apr 29, 2008 Tony duncan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: if you like Russian flowery sad comedies....

An excellent story about the sad conjunction of avoidance and delsuion. I love the way that class issues are presented in a way that are both funny and indicative of how social and class world views are so limiting and don;t reflect reality. On so many levels this shows the bankruptcy of Russian aristocracy and portends the destructiveness that was too come in Russia.

Also my ex girlfriend Liz starred in it in an of off broadway production recently, so I am a little biased.

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Nov 02, 2012 Joy H. marked it as watched-film-only · review of another edition

Shelves: adapted-to-film, literature-russian

The Cherry Orchard by Anton Chekhov
Added 10/31/12
I watched the film adaptation of this play (via streaming from Netflix).
I have not read the book but now at least I know the storyline of this celebrated play.

The film was long and a bit slow getting started but I was eventually drawn in. Charlotte Rampling was excellent. I enjoyed the background music by Tchaikovsky.

I can understand the sorrow of giving up one's home after many years of living there. It can be a heart-wrenching experience. The s...more

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Jan 08, 2010 Bistra Ivanova rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: plays

миналата седмица гледах пиесата в народния, завърших азаряновата трилогия, а днес случайно се озовах в една библиотека и реших да прочета и текста. трудно ми е да го оценя сам за себе си, защото все актьорите от народния ми бяха пред очите, но май е доста добър. като минус ще изтъкна, че - както винаги - има сума ти "излишни" герои, които само ти се пречкат пред очите, защото не можеш да им запомниш имената. май си падам по камерните представления. както и да е, писата на хартия ме ядоса и разпл...more

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Dec 28, 2009 Alireza rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature, screenplay

كتاب باغ آلبالو آخرين اثر چخوف محسوب مي شود. در واقع نمايشنامه اي است كه مدتي پس از انتشار در مسكو به اجرا در مي آيد. چخوف در اين نماشنامه با همان نثر آشنا، شيرين و ساده خودش ما را با زندگي خانواده اي روسي آشنا مي كند. خانواده اي كه زماني براي خود برو و بيايي داشته اند و جزو اشراف محسوب مي شده اند. اما اكنون توان پرداخت تنزيل را هم ندارند و به همين علت، دولت مي خواهد باغ آلبالوي آنها را كه بزرگترين و زيباترين ملك آن منطقه است به حراج و مزايده بگذارند. مادام رانوسكي مالك باغ آلبالو پس مدتي دور ما...more كتاب باغ آلبالو آخرين اثر چخوف محسوب مي شود. در واقع نمايشنامه اي است كه مدتي پس از انتشار در مسكو به اجرا در مي آيد. چخوف در اين نماشنامه با همان نثر آشنا، شيرين و ساده خودش ما را با زندگي خانواده اي روسي آشنا مي كند. خانواده اي كه زماني براي خود برو و بيايي داشته اند و جزو اشراف محسوب مي شده اند. اما اكنون توان پرداخت تنزيل را هم ندارند و به همين علت، دولت مي خواهد باغ آلبالوي آنها را كه بزرگترين و زيباترين ملك آن منطقه است به حراج و مزايده بگذارند. مادام رانوسكي مالك باغ آلبالو پس مدتي دور ماندن از وطن و سپري كردن زندگي در پاريس به اميد نگه داشتن باغ آلبالو دوباره به روسيه باز مي گردد. با ديدن باغ آلبالو و عمارت آن خاطرات دوران كودكي اش برايش زنده مي شود. ...

ادامه داستان برخورد و روابط بين شخصيت هاي شركت كننده در نمايش را نشان مي دهد. برادر و دو دختر مادام رانسكي، معلم پسرش (پتيا) معلمه اي كه همراه آنهاست(شارلوتا)، نوكرهايشان و چند شخصيت ديگر از جمله دوپاخين. كسي كه به گفته خودش جد و آبادش در باغ آلبالو كار كرده اند ولي حالا خودش ميليونر شده و از رو شنفكر بودن چيزي نمي داند.

شخصيت هاي نمايش نامه به خوبي نمايانگر افرادي از يك نسل و يا صاحب تفكر مشترك و يا از يك طبقه اجتماعي است. پتيا و آنيا و حتي واريا نمايانگر جوانان آنروز روسيه هستند. جواناني كه مجبورند دل به آينده بدوزند و آينده را بسازند. پتيا شخصيت روشنفكر داستان است، واريا جواني كه به سختي كار مي كند و آنيا، دختر مادام رانوسكي، هفده سال دارد و نماد جواني محسوب مي شود كه با عبور از گذشته، دلبستگي هايي كه گاهي زائد مي شوند و دست و پاي آدمي را مي بندند، قصد رسيدن به فردا و آينده اي را دارد كه خودش خواهد ساخت.

از طرف ديگر رانوسكي، برادرش گايف و ساير شخصيت هايي كه هم نسل آنها هستند و گذشته راآنها ساخته اند نيز به خوبي تصوير شده اند. در مجموع مي توان اينگونه گفت كه چخوف در ساختن جامعه آنروز و به طور خاص تر خانواده رانوسكي به خوبي عملكرده است.

ترجمه سيمين دانشور، ترجمه چندان خوبي نبود.(less)

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Feb 13, 2013 Gregorio rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A perfect play. Poignant, and sadder than a falling star, which all these people in the play are: just falling stars, plummeting away from greatness into a world that has no place for them. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

I've been reading all of Chekov's most notable plays for the past few weeks now, and I can say this is the best out of the five I read (Ivanov, Uncle Vanya, The Seagull, Three Sisters and this one). It is a force that worldly in it's awareness of what it wants to say, and is s...more

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Jan 25, 2010 Bettie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: play-dramatisation, slavic, published-1904, re-read

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Translated by Sasha Dugdale.

A new production of Chekhov's timeless study of a Russian aristocratic family forced to sell their house and beloved cherry orchard during the great social transitions of the 19th century.

Madame Ranevskaia ...... Sarah Miles
Gaev ...... Nicholas le Prevost
Varia ...... Anne-Marie Duff
Ania ...... Susannah Fielding
Trofimov ...... Gunnar Cauthery
Simeonov-Pishchik ...... Roger Hammond
Lopakhin ...... Matthew Marsh
Firs ...... Malcolm Tierney
Duniasha ...... Jill Cardo
Epikhodo...more

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Aug 21, 2010 Suki rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 12th-grade

I chose this book from my summer reading list because the title was catchy. I have never seen orchards in my life before but i know it is an elegant, rare flower. To me, i think it is a flower that looks like a lily flower but a little different. I thought it was going to be a novel but it turned out to be a play. It starts out with people waiting for their other family members that are arriving to stay awhile. They needed money so they needed to buy their cherry orchard tree which is their prec...more

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Apr 28, 2012 Anne-Marie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Obsessive history peeps (AP euro students)

Recommended to Anne-Marie by: world lit teacher

Shelves: classics, humor, plays, realistic-fiction, strictly-for-school

This play was very good - I wish I could see it performed! It's a realist book about Russian society after the emancipation of the serfs in 1861 (AP Euro reference there :). There are many characters, each with their different backgrounds and problems. They all have difficult-to-pronounce names as well, which made it hard to tell some of them apart... for example, there's Madame Lubov Ranevskaya, Lopahin, Firs, Anya and Varya, Leon Gayev, etc.

Firs is my fave because he's an old man who mumbles n...more

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Jan 24, 2010 Alex Csicsek rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Chekhov's final play is the story of an aristocratic family in the process of losing their beloved cherry orchard. At times farcically and other times profoundly depressingly, the naive group simply ignores any and every opportunity to spare their land, confident that everything will work itself out in the end. As a middle class guy living in contemporary London, this social criticism of the death of the Russian aristocracy doesn't exactly hit home, but the creativity and wit of Chekhov's writin...more

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Jul 08, 2009 Mitra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: play

با وجود تشابه ﭽخوف با نويسندﮔان امﭘرسيونيست فرانسه از نظر سبك وشيوه ي بيان,بايد دانست كه جهان بيني فلسفي او با ديد و نقﻄه نظرات هم قلمهاي فرانسوي اش تفاوت دارد. امﭘرسيونيسم در ادبيات فرانسه با سمبليسم مترادف است. امﭘرسيونيسم فرانسه نيست انﮕار و نا اميد است در صورتي كه ﭽخوف ﭽنان كه در همين باغ البالو در اخرين حد واقعه,ستاره ي اميدي در دل نوميدها و واخورده ها روشن مي كند و به هر صورت كه باشد امﭘرسيونيسم ﭽخوف در اخرين تحليل نفي كننده ي زندﮔي نيست بلكه از اميد به اينده سرشار است.

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Feb 25, 2013 Fée rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2013, cesky, translate, z-knihovny, maturita

Opět Čechov se svými náznaky a množstvím postav, které je zpočátku matoucí. Višňový sad je hezký symbol a tentokrát jsem, na rozdíl od Racka, cítila i veselejší linii, kdy Jaša do celého kusu přinášel sarkasmus, smích a zábavu. Přesto se mi Racek líbil víc. Nebo mě spíš víc chytil a nepustil.

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Oct 20, 2009 Mohammad rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

نمایشنامه خوبی بود و از خواندنش لذت بردم. تو این داستان اون ملک(باغ آلبالو) یک مکانی بود که شخصیت‌های در انجا جمع می‌شدند تا سخنان نویسنده را به مخاطب منتقل کنند و در واقع خود باغ البالو زیاد مهم نبود بلکه شخصیت‌های که در نمایشنامه بودند مهم بود ! شخصیت‌های که هر کدام به نحوی عاشق یکدیگر بودند ! و از سرخوردگی‌های هر یک به نحوی سخن گفت شده بود. می‌توان گفت که باغ البالو بهانه‌ای بود تا از شخصیت‌های صحبت بشود که یک داستان عاشقانه را به نمایش در می‌آورند !

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Jan 01, 2012 Petra rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A rather humerous farce about changes happening in Russia at the turn of the century.
(view spoiler)...more

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About Anton Chekhov

Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in the small seaport of Taganrog, southern Russia, the son of a grocer. Chekhov's grandfather was a serf, who had bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught himself to read and write.Yevgenia Morozov, Chekhov's mother, was the daughter of a cloth merchant.

"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloom...more Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was born in the small seaport of Taganrog, southern Russia, the son of a grocer. Chekhov's grandfather was a serf, who had bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught himself to read and write.Yevgenia Morozov, Chekhov's mother, was the daughter of a cloth merchant.

"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." His early years were shadowed by his father's tyranny, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, which was open from five in the morning till midnight. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog (1867-68) and Taganrog grammar school (1868-79). The family was forced to move to Moskow following his father's bankruptcy. At the age of 16, Chekhov became independent and remained for some time alone in his native town, supporting himself through private tutoring.

In 1879 Chekhov entered the Moskow University Medical School. While in the school, he began to publish hundreds of comic short stories to support himself and his mother, sisters and brothers. His publisher at this period was Nicholas Leikin, owner of the St. Petersburg journal Oskolki (splinters). His subjects were silly social situations, marital problems, farcical encounters between husbands, wives, mistresses, and lovers, whims of young women, of whom Chekhov had not much knowledge – the author was was shy with women even after his marriage. His works appeared in St. Petersburg daily papers, Peterburskaia gazeta from 1885, and Novoe vremia from 1886.

Chekhov's first novel, Nenunzhaya pobeda (1882), set in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Hungarian writer Mór Jókai. As a politician Jókai was also mocked for his ideological optimism. By 1886 Chekhov had gained a wide fame as a writer. His second full-length novel, The Shooting Party, was translated into English in 1926. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (1926).

Chekhov graduated in 1884, and practiced medicine until 1892. In 1886 Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him to become a regular contributor for the St. Petersburg daily Novoe vremya. His friendship with Suvorin ended in 1898 because of his objections to the anti-Dreyfus campaingn conducted by paper. But during these years Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgemental author. He outlined his program in a letter to his brother Aleksandr: "1. Absence of lengthy verbiage of political-social-economic nature; 2. total objectivity; 3. truthful descriptions of persons and objects; 4. extreme brevity; 5. audacity and originality; flee the stereotype; 6. compassion."

Chekhov's fist book of stories (1886) was a success, and gradually he became a full-time writer. The author's refusal to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intellitentsia and he was criticized for dealing with serious social and moral questions, but avoiding giving answers. However, he was defended by such leading writers as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov. "I'm not a liberal, or a conservative, or a gradualist, or a monk, or an indifferentist. I should like to be a free artist and that's all..." Chekhov said in 1888.

The failure of his play The Wood Demon (1889) and problems with his novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890 he travelled across Siberia to remote prison island, Sakhalin. There he conducted a detailed census of some 10,000 convicts and settlers condemned to live their lives on that harsh island. Chekhov hoped to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. It is probable that hard conditions on the island also worsened his own physical condition. From this journey was born his famous travel book The Island: A Journey to Sakhalin (1893-94). Chekhov returned to Russia via Singa(less)

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