, denominated the founder of the Russian theatre, was the son of Peter Sumorokof,
, denominated the founder
of the Russian theatre, was the son of Peter Sumorokof, a
Russian nobleman, and was born at Moscow November 14,
1727. He received the first rudiments of learning in his
father’s house, where, besides a grammatical knowledge of
his native tongue, he was well grounded in the Latin language. Being removed to the seminary of the cadets at
St. Petersburg!*, he prosecuted his studies with unwearied
application, and gave early proofs of his genius for poetry.
Even on holidays he would retire from his companions, who
were engaged in play, and devote his whole time to the
perusal of the Latin and French writers: nor was it long
before he himself attempted to compose. The first efforts
of his genius were love-songs, whose tenderness and beauties, till then unexpressed in the Russian tongue, were
greatly admired, and considered as certain prognostics of
his future fame. Upon quitting the seminary, he was appointed adjutant, first to count Golovkin, and afterwards to
count Rosomouski: and being soon noticed and patronized
by count Ivan Shuvalof, he was introduced by that Maecenas
to the empress Elizabeth, who took him under her protection. About the twenty-ninth year of his age, an enthusiastic fondness he had contracted for the works of Racine,
turned his genius to the drama; and he wrote the tragedy
of “Koref,
” which laid the foundation of the Russian
theatre. This piece was first acted by some of his former
schoolmates, the cadets, who had previously exercised their
talents in declamations, and in acting a French play. The
empress Elizabeth, informed of this phenomenon in the
theatrical world, ordered the tragedy to be exhibited in her
presence, upon a small theatre of the court, where German, Italian, and French plays had been performed. The
applause and distinction which the author received on this
occasion, encouraged him to follow the bent of his genius,
and he produced other tragedies, several comedies, and two
operas. With respect to his tragedies, Racine was his
model; and the Russian biographer of Sumorokof, who
seems a competent judge of his merit, allows, that though
in some instances he has attained all the excellence of the
French poet, yet he has failed in many others; but it
would be uncandid to insist upon such defects in a writer
who first introduced the drama among his countrymen.
The French overlook in their Corneille still greater faults.
“His comedies,
” continues the same author, “contain
much humour; but I do not imagine that our dramatic
writers will adopt him for their model: for he frequently
excites the laughter of the spectator at the expence of his
cooler judgment. Nevertheless, they present sufficient
passages to prove, that he would have attained a greater degree of perfection in this line, if he had paid more attention to paint our manners, and to follow the taste of the best
foreign writers.
”