In the intense intellectual activity of the last fifteen years of his life, Anton Chekhov crafted his one-act plays alongside his multi-act works, like theatrical exercises that reached the level of perfection.

Alongside Trigorin, Astrov, Masha Prokhoreva, Lopakhin, or Petya, were born the hilarious figures of Elena Popova and Grigory Smirnov, Tokalchov,...