person
Nadezhda Alexeyevna Nikulina
Nikulina
also: Надежда Алексеевна Никулина, Н. А. Никулина, Nadezhda Alekseyevna Nikulina, Никулина, Nadya, Надя, Nadezhda Nikulina
Nadezhda Alexeyevna Nikulina (1845-1923), a leading comic and character actress of the Maly Theatre in Moscow. In December 1888 Chekhov negotiates casting and script matters with her for a Maly Theatre benefit production of "Ivanov"; she is discussed extensively in the concurrent letters to A. S. Suvorin of that week before this letter, becomes the first in the corpus addressed to her directly.
Reading notes
- To A. S. Suvorin, 17 December 1888. Moscow. §3 Nikulina met me looking half-asleep; the whole time she kept blinking, as if she were being pestered by mosquitoes.
NEW ENTITY -- Nikulina, a Maly Theatre actress, first appearance in this corpus. The letter gives no first name or patronymic; do not assume identity with any other "Nikulina" absent further evidence.
- To A. S. Suvorin, 17 December 1888. Moscow. §7 It's quite possible Nikulina wants the part of Tatyana for herself only to spite Ermolova or Fedotova. A Machiavelli in a skirt. Every woman her own kind of cleverness.
"Tatyana" here again refers to the play's title character, not to Chekhov's own "Ivanov."
- To A. S. Suvorin, 18 December 1888. Moscow. §3 From the latter I learned that all the actors are indignant at Nikulina's pretensions
NEW ENTITY -- Nadezhda Alexandrovna Nikulina, an actress of Moscow's Maly Theatre, whose casting in the title role of Suvorin's "Tatyana Repina" this letter's entire set-piece scene concerns. First appearance in this corpus's translated letters. The letter refers to her interchangeably as "Nikulina" (in Chekhov's own narration) and, within her own household's dialogue, as "Nadya" (\S7-8, \S15-16, \S25, \S27) -- both names denote the same person and are catalogued under a single entity.
- To N. A. Nikulina, 22 December 1888. Moscow. §3 Nadezhda Alexeyevna
Nadezhda Alexeyevna Nikulina, a leading comic and character actress of the Maly Theatre, addressed here by name and patronymic per the letter's formal register. This is the first letter in the corpus addressed directly to Nikulina, though she is discussed extensively -- and in far less guarded terms -- in the concurrent letters to A. S. Suvorin from the same week, which already describe Chekhov visiting her, receiving notes and a carriage from her, and negotiating casting with her in person.
- To A. S. Suvorin, 30 December 1888. Moscow. §3 Nikulina thanks you for the corrections. Sabinin is playing Gorev.
Opens with a brief casting update on Suvorin's play "Tatyana Repina," continuing the thread from the corrections Suvorin sent two days earlier (see, \S3-4, where Chekhov comments on those same corrections in detail). "Gorev" is a role in the play, not a real person.
- To A. S. Suvorin, 5 January 1889. Moscow. §7 Nikulina
The actress Nadezhda Nikulina, already established in this corpus, one of two recipients (with Lensky) of a personal copy of "Tatyana Repina" with textual insertions marked, out of the 24 copies Chekhov has just received.
- To A. P. Lensky, 6 January 1889. Moscow. §3 Nikulina
Nadezhda Alexeyevna Nikulina, the Maly Theatre actress already established elsewhere in this corpus (see and following); she receives an identical corrected copy of the play, per the same-day companion letter, \S8, which reports both copies sent "from yesterday's consignment."