Vladislav Ozerov

[1] Their success was tremendous, largely owing to the remarkable acting of one of the greatest Russian tragediennes, Ekaterina Semyonova.

What the public liked in these tragedies was the atmosphere of sensibility and the polished, Karamzinian sweetness that Ozerov infused into the classical forms.

Ozerov's first success was Oedipus in Athens (1804), a wry comment on Alexander I's rumoured privity to the murder of his father Paul.

The public was ecstatic about his next tragedy, Fingal (1805), staged with effective sets representing sombre Scottish scenery.

[3] The production of Polyxena turned out to be a flop, largely due to intrigues adding to Ozerov's literary woes.