Solovyov in Tsarist Russia 1796.

Chapter 225 The Drama Premiere on the 037th of May
Before the premiere, all the actors needed to rehearse. Mr. Dazingu was the instructor of the female lead, Miss Volnay. When he was in charge of the actors' rehearsals, Solovyov also waited for another helper, Mr. Etienne Vigée, the younger brother of Mrs. Lebrun. He was also a playwright, and Mr. Dazingu even performed in a play written by him.

After all, these are all our own people, and when Mr. Vigee came, he looked at Solovyov and felt that he was a little magical.

"Except for the blond hair, green eyes, and fairer skin, I look just like me in my sister's portrait. It was so nice back then. How old are you, Baron Solovyov?"

"I'm only 21, Mr. Virgie."

"It's great to be young. My sister said that when she met you, it was like when I was fifteen years old. Maybe if you were born in a colder place, you would look younger."

But the focus now is on how to make the premiere a success, as the French Theatre's schedule has long been full, and the Théâtre de l'Ambigu-Comique, which is quite popular but always has time for new scripts, has only filmed two performances a week, with the premiere on the 10th of Luzon.

Mr. Viji came here because he knew that this young man had saved his niece's marriage, and his sister was very familiar with him, so he asked him to help.

His previous political stance was that of the Girondists. In addition, his sister was a close friend and royal painter of Queen Marie Antoinette, and he had suffered a lot. Therefore, he was also looking for some new directions instead of getting involved in politics as in the past.

Moreover, he came here to make the script more in line with the French taste. With his creative level, there should be no problem. His scripts have been screened at the French Theater many times. Although they are not top-tier, there are some outstanding actors who will perform in his plays.

"As for the play 'Gallic Heroes' you mentioned, it still needs to be performed in a large theater, especially a good stage environment, otherwise such an exaggerated stage performance cannot be done."

"Thank you for your guidance, Mr. Vij."

"You helped my dearest sister and niece Julie, so of course I have to help you. In fact, I think you were too lenient when you were in Petersburg, otherwise you would have ended up like those six unfortunate guys in Butte Chaumont."

"After all, he is the secretary of a big shot. Although my wife's friend helped me to settle the matter, there are many connections involved, and it is not that simple."

Mr. Vigee no longer asked about this topic, but instead helped Mr. Solovyov and Mr. Dazingu to adjust the script and some details that needed to be corrected in the production department.

"I think that's fine."

"Also, my sister, she's always like this, she designed such a gorgeous background just to show the scene of the Louvre, but to be honest it could have been omitted."

"But there are also benefits. Putting all the portraits copied by Julie here can also help promote her. Madam has always said that her technique of capturing the emotions of characters is very delicate, but her basic skills are too poor."

"Ah, my niece has such a background, but when the time comes, we need to put the production steps here. The last scene, where the decorator has to save Lisa, needs to be coordinated, and it will also require some theatrical effects."

"For example, using smoke bombs? I think that's possible. Use some white smoke. I know something about this. I can use a few smoke canisters on the side of the stage. And then we need to do a good job of ventilation and fire prevention."

"That makes sense, and it's a good idea that an active-duty soldier can come up with."

Mr. Vigee also watched the rehearsal. Thinking about the fact that Mr. D'Azingu had performed his plays in 1792, many things have changed in France now, and perhaps this is more necessary. It looks thrilling but has some romantic stories as a means of balancing the situation.

"As for romance, there is a Ms. Romanee, who is often called Ms. de Romance. She is a friend of my sister and is often in Paris. If you have anything, you can go to her."

Moreover, this lady had a very good relationship with Etienne Vigee and his wife, and was also a painter resident at the Théâtre-France.

If you have connections, it can be useful here too.

Mr. Vigee is a nice guy too, probably because Solovyov is a reflection of his teenage years.

"Thank you, Mr. Virgie. I just have some ideas about poetry. I wonder if you can help me?"

After all, Mr. Vigée is an expert in poetry criticism. He is the successor editor-in-chief of the poetry evaluation magazine "Muse Almanac". He does have some skills. The previous editor-in-chief was sent to the guillotine in Lyon.

With his sense of political trends, he would definitely have no problem becoming editor-in-chief of a newspaper in Paris, especially in 1815.

In the past, he was the secretary of Louis XVIII's wife, and only turned to the Girondists after the Revolution, but Solovyov did not know this and could only notice from his words that he might take a similar position.

"If it's poetry, that's great too. What do you want me to know?"

"You know, Russia and China are neighbors, so naturally, through border trade, we can directly obtain some books from China. In terms of culture, I thought of translating some poems. But in terms of the text, I always think it needs polishing."

"Of course you can. If you need help, you can come to my house or the editorial office for help."

And Mr. Vigee actually received an envelope containing a check for 500 francs, a letter and several translated and newly composed poems.

"This kid is really generous. There's no need for this. Maybe it's because my sister takes good care of him."

You know, when Kutuzov wrote to his family about sending money, the amount was usually no more than 500 rubles.

Indeed, the discounts that Madame Le Brun gave his family on paintings were already extremely impressive.

However, Mr. Vigei was not short of money. Although he accepted the check, he also reminded Solovyov in his reply.

There needs to be some publicity before the premiere.

However, considering the strange way of recording days in the Republican calendar, it is very troublesome to use. The correct way to express the 10th of the month of Grapes is the Wine Trough Day of the Month of Grapes.
The stereotypes of Russians are probably all related to drinking.

On the day of the premiere, many people did come, including Russians in Paris.

Pierre also learned about his new friend, the military attaché of the embassy in Paris. He had also met his father, Count Kirill Bezukhov, but after the count retired, he returned to his official residence in Moscow to recuperate. That was during Paul's time.

The theater is usually only able to accommodate a thousand people, but the first show was packed because of the cheap ticket prices, especially with many Russians living abroad.

The tickets Pierre got were already on the side.

Before the premiere, the announcer mentioned that the play would use special effects on stage and music, but also pay attention to fire safety.
"Pierre, my good friend, you are here too?"

"Yes, the playwright is my friend. I even saw him working on it in his bedroom." "Then you must have seen the content?"

"No, Charles. Michel is a serious person. He just told me the outline of the story. It's a love story with suspense. At least the ending is happy. The details are kept secret. I guess only the actors and production staff know better."

"Well, let's see if this outstanding performance can cause a sensation."

Then, the background music sounded, which was very exotic.

“It sounds a bit Arabic.”

"No, you should pay attention to the instrumentation, Charles. There is also a lyre in it."

Anyway, the story unfolds, accompanied by narration. Considering the sound effects and the fact that current performances all rely on the actors' voices and music, there can't be too many people in the theater.

As for the story, although it has undergone some modifications, it still has a suspenseful atmosphere. Even after Mr. Etienne Vigée came to modify it, the whole performance became more compact.

"It looks pretty good, and it has a stage effect, which is quite interesting."

"After all, puppet shows are often performed here, so there are quite a lot of props prepared."

The first performance was not very good, and Miss Volnay was obviously a little nervous, but considering that her character spent a lot of time under the spell and under the mask, it was not a big problem.

The focus is still on the two main male characters, the decorator and the sheriff. After all, Mr. Dazingu is a veteran actor who has been on the stage for decades, and he has a good grasp of the role of the sheriff.

If he had played the leading role of Figaro when he was younger, the effect would have been even better.

Solovyov himself was backstage, watching the actors' performance on the stage, and then used smoke canisters to render the effect. The stage effects were okay, and you could even see that the audience in the front row were a little panicked.

"Next time, this should be cancelled. The special effects are still a bit awkward to use in a theater like this."

In this era, it is more effective to use music as the background, and the combination of light and shadow is limited by technical conditions.

Using effective music can better express the needs of the environment rather than special effects that seem useful.

"But you succeeded, Michelle. The audiences welcomed the show. There was something new and genuine about it."

"Yes."

However, all matters afterwards will be handed over to Mr. Vigée. Although he is not a top figure in the cultural circle, he still has some connections here. Although he will not stay in Paris for too long, the operation of these related dramas, especially the comedies to be launched in the future, still requires experts.

"Also, the poem you showed me does have some meaning, but the text needs some polishing."

Etienne Vigee admired Voltaire's works very much. When he was in charge of the "Almanac of the Muses", the most poems published were those of Mr. Voltaire, who was a famous China fan.

It was really interesting to meet this young man, who was also a friend of his sister and niece, and was able to bring real poetry from China. He very much supported this approach.

Another thing about this magazine is that it has always been a political weathervane during the Republican period, especially the full text of the Marseillaise in 1793 and Marat's eulogy in 1794.
However, Marat's eulogy was written by the wretched bastard the Marquis de Sade, and it has to be said to be a dark humor with a hint of obscenity.

The magazine's status in the French literary world at the time was also an important way for newcomers to "enter the literary world" before the magazine ceased publication in 1833.

In addition, the premiere of the adaptation of "The Phantom of the Louvre" was relatively successful, so it is worth a try.

"Three-act and five-act plays are still popular nowadays. Things that are too tedious are not suitable for the stage and even waste time. Printing them also wastes paper and ink."

"When there is a suitable carrier, I'm afraid this will become popular. I sometimes talk a lot, Mr. Virgie."

"Ah, that's it."

However, even if Solovyov lived another 150 years, it would be unlikely that he would see the emergence of such a carrier.

Afterwards, performances were scheduled to be held on the Donkey Day in the Portuguese Month and the Buckwheat Day in the Portuguese Month according to the announcement, and the effect was very good.

Moreover, by adapting the script, Solovyov could use his public identity to participate in literary salons, which was more convenient.

Anyway, he would not mention those political issues, and at this stage, there are actually some subtle changes in French politics and military circles.

Especially the struggle between the two major systems of the Rhine Army and the Italian Army. Napoleon once considered taking his sister Carolina or stepdaughter Hortense as Moreau's wife, but Moreau refused.

However, the wife he married, although she had been very close to Josephine in the past, had a very high opinion of herself and was always instigating behind his back.

Although General Moreau himself remained unmoved, the salons held at General Moreau's house, as well as Madame Recamier's salons and Madame Staël's salons, had recently begun to gather a group of people who were opposed to Bonaparte.

At this time, although Napoleon had some grudges in his heart, he still maintained his trust in Moreau for the sake of face. Moreau himself did not have any clear evidence and did not participate in any opposition activities.

However, no matter whether it is an open conspiracy or an overt plot, if someone goes to meet with Moreau secretly in the future, he will not be able to wash himself clean. After all, he is a Republican, but that does not mean that his family and confidants are also Republicans.

Even his wife and mother-in-law, jealous of Napoleon and Josephine's status, thought Moreau should be in a higher position.

Therefore, Solovyov never went to General Moreau's house to attend the salons held by his wife. Especially after giving birth to a son, Mrs. Moreau became even more restless.
Sometimes, even if we have gotten rid of the vulgar tastes of the feudal era, we still cannot avoid the existence of feudal remnants.

When Napoleon became emperor, he did not consider the issue of future generations as much as Moreau's wife did.

The vortex is approaching Paris, but many people involved are still unaware of it.

(End of this chapter)