Background
Fyodor Burdin was born on April 11, 1827, in Vladimir province (now Vladimir Oblast), Russian Federation. He was the son of a philistine, at the time of his birth, a former court man of the landowner of Vladimir province.
Fyodor Burdin was born on April 11, 1827, in Vladimir province (now Vladimir Oblast), Russian Federation. He was the son of a philistine, at the time of his birth, a former court man of the landowner of Vladimir province.
Fyodor Alexeyevich studied at the 1st Moscow gymnasium together with A.N. Ostrovsky, in the same class with his younger brother M.N. Ostrovsky.
From the end of 1841, Fyodor Alexeyevich worked as a prompter in Maly Theatre. In 1843, he was transferred for two years to provincial theaters "to improve talent". In 1846, he was transferred to the drama troupe of Moscow theaters and soon sent to Tiflis Theatre. In 1847-1883, Fyodor Alexeyevich was an actor at the Alexandrinsky theater.
Fyodor Alexeyevich, who routinely staged in his home the premiere readings of Ostrovsky's plays and took upon himself the role of their primal reviewer, enjoyed the right to choose the leading parts for himself, which he often did at the expense of productions' quality. Lauded for his role as a catalyst in the general development of the Russian theatre in the mid-19th-century, Fyodor Alexeyevich the actor was unpopular with theatre critics, notably Apollon Grigoriev who coined the term 'burdinism' to denote what he saw as the contemporary Russian stage actors' worst flaws: pompousness and penchant for banality.
Fyodor Alexeyevich translated numerous French vaudevilles; several 'originals' that he wrote were, in effect, re-makes of the current French theatre repertoire. In 1876 his 2-volume Collection of Plays Translated from French came out in Saint Petersburg. Fyodor Alexeyevich also authored the Brief Textbook of the Art of Drama (1886, Moscow), addressed to the young actors, as well as several memoirs, including Emperor Nikolay Pavlovich as Remembered by an Actor and Remembering A.N. Ostrovsky.
Fyodor Alexeyevich was an intelligent and erudite man, who understood the needs of the Russian stage and helped to strengthen the full-fledged repertoire in the theater. He was a very talented actor, though he was criticized a lot for his melodramaticism, false pathos, and "burdinism".