Melikhovo the noise of the main house. In November 1895 Chekhov completed "The Seagull" in this house, and in 1896 he finished Uncle Vanya there. In 1898, upon his return from Nice, in France, he wrote a trilogy of three famous stories there: "The Man in a Case", "About Love", and "Gooseberries". In May 1899, after the success of the Seagull at the Moscow Art Theater, he invited the leading actress of the play, Olga Knipper, to visit him. She stayed in the guest cottage for three days in mid-May 1899. She married Chekhov in May 1901. As his tuberculosis became
The Cherry Orchard Varya. Shaken by the disturbance, the family departs for dinner, with Lopakhin futilely insisting that the cherry orchard be sold to pay down the debt. Anya stays behind to talk with Trofimov, who disapproves of Varya's constant hawk-like eyes, reassuring Anya that they are 'above love'. To impress Trofimov and win his affection, Anya vows to leave the past behind her and start a new life. The two depart for the river as Varya calls scoldingly in the background. It is the end of August, and the evening of Ranevskaya's party has come. Offstage the musicians play as the family