Elements of Incantation in A. Ya. Alekseev’s Farces of the 1890s

This article examines elements of incantation in the plays by Aleksei Yakovlevich Alekseev (pen name Yakovlev) which were staged under his direction in St. Petersburg puppet theaters at the end of the nineteenth century. It establishes that in the play “Magical Pancakes, or the Pranks of Harlequin on Maslenitsa” (1893), Alekseev uses “The Song of the Witches at the Fateful Sabbath” — functionally, a spell for wealth — that had been published in “Tales of the Russian People” by I. P. Sakharov. However, the author of “Magical Pancakes” changes the thematic register of “The Song of the Witches,” turning it into a verbal part of the “hellish march” that accompanies the procession of the Underworld King and his retinue (in which Harlequin serves as a court jester). In another play by Alekseev, the fantastic extravaganza “Poor Orphans, or the Secrets of the Dense Forest” (1896), which is a kind of remake of the brothers Grimm’s “Hansel and Gretel” on Russian soil, an operation of the opposite nature is carried out. The plot does not lose its original thematic focus, but a work devoid of magical content (in this case, a сounting rhyme) becomes the basis for a spell (its purpose is to immobilize of Baba Yaga’s victims). The article concludes that the plays of farcical (“balalgannye”) theaters require further in-depth study, as they mark the adaptation of folklore and the literary heritage to the needs of lower-class urban culture.