Anton Chekhov lawful wife", he once said, "and literature is my mistress." Chekhov renounced the theatre after the reception of "The Seagull" in 1896, but the play was revived to acclaim in 1898 by Konstantin Stanislavski's Moscow Art Theatre, which subsequently also produced Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya" and premiered his last two plays, "Three Sisters" and "The Cherry Orchard". These four works present a challenge to the acting ensemble as well as to audiences, because in place of conventional action Chekhov offers a "theatre of mood" and a "submerged life in the text". Chekhov had at first written stories only for financial gain,
Anastasiya Vertinskaya strikingly vivid" and, even more extraordinary, continuously developing in the course of just four short scenes. "In Princess Liza there is a lot of inner dynamics and total integrity," according to the "Actors of Soviet Cinema" (1967) almanac. Vertinskaya's work in Sovremennik ("The Cherry Orchard", "Valentin and Valentina") made critics speak of the "unique gracefulness" and the "technical virtuosity combined with deep psychological insight." Critically acclaimed were her performances in "The Seagull" (Nina) and "Uncle Vanya" (Elena). In "Tartuffe", she elevated her Elmyra "onto on an enormous aesthetic pedestal, presenting her as a kind of noblewoman of old French canvasses,