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Swan Song
One-act-play with only two characters: Vasili Svietlovidoff, a 68 year old comic actor and Nikita Ivanich, an even older man, the theater's prompter.
26 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1887
19 people are currently reading
334 people want to read
About the author
Anton Chekhov
5,970 books9,795 followers
Antón Chéjov
(Spanish)
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "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 The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental 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." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
Dramas, such as The Seagull (1896, revised 1898), and including "A Dreary Story" (1889) of Russian writer Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, also Chekov, concern the inability of humans to communicate.
Born ( Антон Павлович Чехов ) in the small southern seaport of Taganrog, the son of a grocer. His grandfather, a serf, bought his own freedom and that of his three sons in 1841. He also taught to read. A cloth merchant fathered Yevgenia Morozova, his mother.
"When I think back on my childhood," Chekhov recalled, "it all seems quite gloomy to me." Tyranny of his father, religious fanaticism, and long nights in the store, open from five in the morning till midnight, shadowed his early years. He attended a school for Greek boys in Taganrog from 1867 to 1868 and then Taganrog grammar school. Bankruptcy of his father compelled the family to move to Moscow. At the age of 16 years in 1876, independent Chekhov for some time alone in his native town supported through private tutoring.
In 1879, Chekhov left grammar school and entered the university medical school at Moscow. In the school, he began to publish hundreds of short comics to support his mother, sisters and brothers. Nicholas Leikin published him at this period and owned Oskolki (splinters), the journal of Saint Petersburg. His subjected silly social situations, marital problems, and farcical encounters among husbands, wives, mistresses, and lust; even after his marriage, Chekhov, the shy author, knew not much of whims of young women.
Nenunzhaya pobeda , first novel of Chekhov, set in 1882 in Hungary, parodied the novels of the popular Mór Jókai. People also mocked ideological optimism of Jókai as a politician.
Chekhov graduated in 1884 and practiced medicine. He worked from 1885 in Peterburskaia gazeta.
In 1886, Chekhov met H.S. Suvorin, who invited him, a regular contributor, to work for Novoe vremya, the daily paper of Saint Petersburg. He gained a wide fame before 1886. He authored The Shooting Party , his second full-length novel, later translated into English. Agatha Christie used its characters and atmosphere in later her mystery novel The Murder of Roger Ackroyd . First book of Chekhov in 1886 succeeded, and he gradually committed full time. The refusal of the author to join the ranks of social critics arose the wrath of liberal and radical intelligentsia, who criticized him for dealing with serious social and moral questions but avoiding giving answers. Such leaders as Leo Tolstoy and Nikolai Leskov, however, defended him. "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 The Wood Demon , play in 1889, and problems with novel made Chekhov to withdraw from literature for a period. In 1890, he traveled across Siberia to Sakhalin, remote prison island. He conducted a detailed census of ten thousand convicts and settlers, condemned to live on that harsh island. Chekhov expected to use the results of his research for his doctoral dissertation. Hard conditions on the island probably also weakened his own physical condition. From this journey came his famous travel book.
Chekhov practiced medicine until 1892. During these years, Chechov developed his concept of the dispassionate, non-judgmental 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." Because he objected that the paper conducted against [a:Alfred Dreyfu
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
October 25, 2022
آقای چخوف تاریخ را فراموش نکن ۱۴۰۱/۸/۳
شاهکار ترین اثر ادبیات «هرچه باشد »هم در این روزها لذت بخش نخواهد بود .
معذرت میخواهم یک ستاره میدهم.این روزها حس خواندن هیچ کتابی نیست .جسارت نباشد تو خوبی اما من حالم خوب نیست .
به امید خوب شدن حال من و حال همهٔ آنهایی که سرشار از شرافت هستند.
شاهکار ترین اثر ادبیات «هرچه باشد »هم در این روزها لذت بخش نخواهد بود .
معذرت میخواهم یک ستاره میدهم.این روزها حس خواندن هیچ کتابی نیست .جسارت نباشد تو خوبی اما من حالم خوب نیست .
به امید خوب شدن حال من و حال همهٔ آنهایی که سرشار از شرافت هستند.
July 29, 2024
موضوع نمایشنامه آواز قو راجع ناامیدی، شکست و داستان تراژیک زندگی سویتلوویدوف است. این نمایشنامه با اینکه حجم کمی دارد با موضوعات جدی و تکان دهنده پر شده است.
شخصیت اصلی داستان که روزگاری نام و شهرتی بر هم زده و چشم ها با دیدنش و اجرای او متحیر میشدند، در خلوت خود شکننده و تنها است.
نمایشنامه خیلی کوتاهه پس پیشنهاد میکنم بخونید.
اما جا داره به نام گذاری این اثر اشارهای بشه، قو تنها یک بار در زندگی خود آواز میخواند و آن به هنگام مرگ خود است و گویی آوازی خوش نوا و زیبا دارد، اما در ادبیات و سایر موارد از آواز قو برای اشاره به داستانی تراژیک اشاره میشود.
شخصیت اصلی داستان که روزگاری نام و شهرتی بر هم زده و چشم ها با دیدنش و اجرای او متحیر میشدند، در خلوت خود شکننده و تنها است.
نمایشنامه خیلی کوتاهه پس پیشنهاد میکنم بخونید.
اما جا داره به نام گذاری این اثر اشارهای بشه، قو تنها یک بار در زندگی خود آواز میخواند و آن به هنگام مرگ خود است و گویی آوازی خوش نوا و زیبا دارد، اما در ادبیات و سایر موارد از آواز قو برای اشاره به داستانی تراژیک اشاره میشود.
June 21, 2017
یکی از کوتاهترین نمایشنامه های چخوف با موضوعی در ستایش تئاتر و بازیگران تئاتر
April 6, 2024
نام نمایشنامه "اواز قو" به یک باور باستانی اشاره دارد که قوها درست قبل از مرگشان آواز زیبایی میخوانند، زیرا بیشتر عمرشان ساکت بودهاند.
سوتلاویدوف در ۶۸ سالگی درحالی که نقش دلقکی را بازی میکند و در سراشیبی مرگ و یاس است به این سوال اساسی میرسد که برای ماندگار بودن چه کرده است؟
او میداند که تماشاگران به او تعلق ندارند و شخص او فارغ از تمام نقش هایی که به روی صحنه اجرا میکند برای انها بیگانه است.
او به تمام توانایی ها و عمری که از سر گذرانده حسرت میورزد ولی در نهایت میگوید"جایی که هنر هست،جایی که استعداد وجود دارد،آنجا نه از پیری خبری هست نه از تنهایی و عزلت و نه از بیماری.مرگ هم اگر باشد نیمی از آن بیشتر نیست."
در اخرین سخنانش قطعه ای میخواند که در پایان ان نوشته شده "میروم تا مگر برای احساس تحقیر شده ام کنجی دنج بیابم!" و فکر میکنم این همان حرف دل سوتلاویدوف است که میخواهد بعد از تمام این پستی بلندی های عمر به ارامش برسد و چه ارامشی متعالی تر از مرگ،درست همانطور که نام نمایشنامه ان را بازگو میکند "اخرین ژست درست قبل از مرگ"
چخوف این نمایشنامه را در یک ساعت و پنج دقیقه نوشته و کوتاهترین درام دنیا محسوب میشود.
سوتلاویدوف در ۶۸ سالگی درحالی که نقش دلقکی را بازی میکند و در سراشیبی مرگ و یاس است به این سوال اساسی میرسد که برای ماندگار بودن چه کرده است؟
او میداند که تماشاگران به او تعلق ندارند و شخص او فارغ از تمام نقش هایی که به روی صحنه اجرا میکند برای انها بیگانه است.
او به تمام توانایی ها و عمری که از سر گذرانده حسرت میورزد ولی در نهایت میگوید"جایی که هنر هست،جایی که استعداد وجود دارد،آنجا نه از پیری خبری هست نه از تنهایی و عزلت و نه از بیماری.مرگ هم اگر باشد نیمی از آن بیشتر نیست."
در اخرین سخنانش قطعه ای میخواند که در پایان ان نوشته شده "میروم تا مگر برای احساس تحقیر شده ام کنجی دنج بیابم!" و فکر میکنم این همان حرف دل سوتلاویدوف است که میخواهد بعد از تمام این پستی بلندی های عمر به ارامش برسد و چه ارامشی متعالی تر از مرگ،درست همانطور که نام نمایشنامه ان را بازگو میکند "اخرین ژست درست قبل از مرگ"
چخوف این نمایشنامه را در یک ساعت و پنج دقیقه نوشته و کوتاهترین درام دنیا محسوب میشود.
July 15, 2018
Very short, yet it packs a bundle of emotion. Swang Song is a great look at lost life and regrets, career over personal relationships and that one drunk friend you just cannot get rid off because he keeps babbling on way into the early hours. It is a smidge of life in an honest and simple scene. Why not use up to twenty minutes of your own life to enjoy it? I say it is worth it.
September 27, 2020
ما قاتل روز های خود ایم تا زمانی که آنان را برای تصور فردایی خیالی سلاخی می کنیم
پایان اخرین اثر پروژه چخوف..
پایان اخرین اثر پروژه چخوف..
January 3, 2020
Alla fine di uno spettacolo un attore, Svetlovidov, ormai avanti negli anni e ubriaco, si addormenta per risvegliarsi da solo e con il teatro al buio. Sono momenti di panico per lui in cui sente le forze abbandonarlo e quel teatro nero diventare sepolcro della sua vita, e in cui la sua vita così come il suo mestiere gli appare vuoto e vacuo.
“Capii allora che non esiste nessuna sacralità dell'arte, che è tutto delirio e inganno, che io sono uno schiavo, un giocattolo dell'ozio altrui, un buffone, un pagliaccio!”
L’incontro inatteso con il suggeritore gli permette di ricordare i fasti della sua carriera, rivivere emozioni che credeva perdute, splendere con le sue piume bianche in un ultimo canto del cigno.
Un dramma forte, in cui la morte si accosta alla vita, la luce all’ombra, in cui gli opposti si bilanciano rendendo lo scritto potente. Riflessioni sulla vita che scivola lo accompagnano.
“Capii allora che non esiste nessuna sacralità dell'arte, che è tutto delirio e inganno, che io sono uno schiavo, un giocattolo dell'ozio altrui, un buffone, un pagliaccio!”
L’incontro inatteso con il suggeritore gli permette di ricordare i fasti della sua carriera, rivivere emozioni che credeva perdute, splendere con le sue piume bianche in un ultimo canto del cigno.
Un dramma forte, in cui la morte si accosta alla vita, la luce all’ombra, in cui gli opposti si bilanciano rendendo lo scritto potente. Riflessioni sulla vita che scivola lo accompagnano.
December 10, 2012
Ok, ok. Yes I read this because it's short and I'm behind in my reading challange. Sue me. I also remember liking Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard in college and am a sucker for Russian literature. This is a one act play that can be read in 15-20 minutes. It has dramatic tension and a plot. The characters are believable and drew my sympathy. That being said, I also felt it was over too soon...like a well made short film that you wish was a bit longer. I would like to see it acted sometime when I want to be a little sad.
September 29, 2015
Feeling it.
I could feel the main character's despair, his joy, then despair again. He had given his life to entertain others, pouring himself into his career, and neglected to live his life to the full. That's a theme that will never be outdated. Regrets not of things done, but of opportunities not taken.
I could feel the main character's despair, his joy, then despair again. He had given his life to entertain others, pouring himself into his career, and neglected to live his life to the full. That's a theme that will never be outdated. Regrets not of things done, but of opportunities not taken.
September 29, 2011
*******spoiler alert******
This is a one-act-play with only two characters: Vasili Svietlovidoff, a 68 year old comic actor and Nikita Ivanich, who is an even older man, the theater's prompter.
Chekhov's hero finds himself locked in a theatre and who, attended only by a prompter, dwells on impending death, the life unlived and memories of past glories. His thoughts reflected on whether it is still worth living or whether he should crawl towards death. Eventually he chose life, with Shakespeare to guide him. The best bits are the quotations from Aeschylus and Shakespeare, but the piece has nothing much to tell us other than that theatre is a house of dreams.
A very quick read. Nice.
This is a one-act-play with only two characters: Vasili Svietlovidoff, a 68 year old comic actor and Nikita Ivanich, who is an even older man, the theater's prompter.
Chekhov's hero finds himself locked in a theatre and who, attended only by a prompter, dwells on impending death, the life unlived and memories of past glories. His thoughts reflected on whether it is still worth living or whether he should crawl towards death. Eventually he chose life, with Shakespeare to guide him. The best bits are the quotations from Aeschylus and Shakespeare, but the piece has nothing much to tell us other than that theatre is a house of dreams.
A very quick read. Nice.
February 12, 2024
This is a one-act plays for people who have a special feeling for acting in a theater. It is a short short play with only two characters, a leading actor who wakes up at night having fallen asleep after acting in a play, and Nikita, a prompter who lives in the theater;. Even at this early stage in his career, Anton Chekhov is on top of his game, as the actor, just from discussing his misgivings about his career, seems to find himself in the middle of his conversation and leaves the theater feeling energized.
April 18, 2010
As humans who have to face our mortality sooner or later, we tend to think and reminisce of our "glory days." The main character in this play is realizing his destructibility; his old age; his closeness to death and its irreversibility. And so, he begins to recite Shakespearean stanzas to prove that he is still a magnificent actor and a genius of the theatrical world. He hasn't lost his mind yet.
Many writers have touched the theme of an imminent death - none as brilliantly as it is expressed in The Death Of a Salesman, but still, Chekhov's play is a worthy contender.
Many writers have touched the theme of an imminent death - none as brilliantly as it is expressed in The Death Of a Salesman, but still, Chekhov's play is a worthy contender.
February 19, 2025
Es bien sabido q yo amo a Chéjov pero tener que relacionar este texto con otros dos que son más bien estudios dramáticos me está drenando pq que coño se supone que tengo que sacar yo de estas 6 paginitas...en fin besos
September 25, 2018
و برغم ان الصوت كان زي الزفت و مقدرتش افهم نص النص بس مع ذلك دور عبد الرحيم الزرقاني أقل ما يوصف به انه مميز جدا .. و مؤثر جدا
February 19, 2016
Like every time I read Chekhov, I find myself fighting wordlessness. I don't know how to express what his plays do to my mind. This simple, comedic, one-scene drama is no exception.
I am very partial to my Elisaveta Fen translation and this (relatively) new Paul Schmidt translation is quite different, but he does bring an aspect to Chekhov's work that I think Anton would appreciate - that is, the voice of the people of our age. I'm interested to compare translations to see how they diverge.
I am very partial to my Elisaveta Fen translation and this (relatively) new Paul Schmidt translation is quite different, but he does bring an aspect to Chekhov's work that I think Anton would appreciate - that is, the voice of the people of our age. I'm interested to compare translations to see how they diverge.
June 11, 2013
A one -act play , with only two characters , it could as well have been a soliloquoy by an old thespian , who contemplates his mortality and the bitter truth of his momentary, ephemeral existence in this world .
December 20, 2011
A very vivid picture of an old actor dealing with mortality.
June 8, 2012
The wickedness of art and the rantings of a drunkard. It's a dangerous mix.
July 28, 2012
An older man reflects on his life and acting to a buddy in a theatre. Some good details and perspectives. Thought provoking as always.
October 14, 2012
I am not a big fan of plays, neither reading them nor watching them, but I liked this one.
November 29, 2012
I am like the wind blowing across the lonely fields.
أول مره أقرأ لـ تشيخوف...قصه قصيره جداً مدتها 20 دقيقه أوديو, لكن شجعتني أقرأ له أكتر :)
أول مره أقرأ لـ تشيخوف...قصه قصيره جداً مدتها 20 دقيقه أوديو, لكن شجعتني أقرأ له أكتر :)
June 14, 2015
An old actor contemplating the end of his life.
April 16, 2021
It was quite short and I love that it takes place in a theater, on a scene, but it was too short and ended too quickly for my preference.
July 31, 2018
I'll not get into the details as so many reviews have, as I'm not one to bore people with redundancy. The idea that as one edges closer to the end of his/her life, one can have moments of panic. I am speaking as an older lady myself.... I have just recently entered my 6th decade. We as older homo sapiens tend to 'look back' and glamorize our high points and go below the basement on our regrets.
This little story of that aged old man hit a chord with me, and I laughed inwardly, 'There but for the grace of God go I'.... Except thankfully, I've not ever cottoned on to the drink. I tried to, but I failed miserably at it. That my friends is another story, and this is not about me. But doesn't that tell you something? This story...made me think inwardly. And that is what good writing is all about. Thank you, Dear Mr Chekhov
This little story of that aged old man hit a chord with me, and I laughed inwardly, 'There but for the grace of God go I'.... Except thankfully, I've not ever cottoned on to the drink. I tried to, but I failed miserably at it. That my friends is another story, and this is not about me. But doesn't that tell you something? This story...made me think inwardly. And that is what good writing is all about. Thank you, Dear Mr Chekhov
April 9, 2018
I quite enjoyed listening to this! I was imagining Asparagus "Gus" the Theatre Cat from CATS! the musical during the whole thing!
September 11, 2020
Un testo prezioso. Una interpretazione magistrale.
December 9, 2020
Reading it doesn’t make it justice 🤷🏻♀️
February 2, 2021
Reminiscent of Cobain's "it's better to burn out than to fade away" as well as Bukowski's "And when nobody waits for you at night . . . what do you call it, freedom or loneliness?'
March 16, 2021
7+
Come si dice: “nella botte piccola, c’è il vino buono”
Come si dice: “nella botte piccola, c’è il vino buono”
August 28, 2021
Make Acting Disreputable Again
Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews