Aleksandr Petrovich Sumarokov

Aleksandr Petrovich Sumarokov (born Nov. 25 [Nov. 14, old style], 1717, St. Petersburg—died Oct. 12 [Oct. 1, O.S.], 1777, Moscow) was a Russian Neoclassical poet and dramatist, director of the first permanent theatre in St. Petersburg (1756–61) and author of several comedies and nine tragedies, including an adaptation of Hamlet (1748). Influenced by French Neoclassical drama, Sumarokov transplanted the conventions of the French theatre to dramas dealing with Russian history. This earned him the flattering...