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Pavel Stepanovich Mochalov ( Russian: Павел Степанович Мочалов; 1800–1848) was thought to be the greatest tragedian of Russian Romanticism, much admired by Alexander Herzen, Mikhail Lermontov and other contemporaries. [1]
During his prolonged career at the Malyi Theatre of Moscow, Mochalov gave inspired although uneven performances in melodrama and neoclassical tragedy, as well as Shakespearean works. [2] [3] He excelled in plays by Friedrich Schiller, in the title role of Don Carlos, as both Karl Moor and Franz Moor in The Robbers, and as Mortimer in Maria Stuart; and in title roles in Shakespeare's plays as Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Richard III. [2] [4] His acting had a Byronic flavour and relied heavily upon inspiration.
Sometimes styled the "Russian Kean", [2] Mochalov was frequently compared with his St Petersburg rival, Vasily Karatygin, whose acting was more poised and calculated.