This book of works by the leading theater theorist and practitioner, Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, includes his articles that develop a complete directorial concept. Of paramount importance to theater theory and practice are Nemirovich-Danchenko's doctrine of the synthesis of "three perceptions" (social, psychological, and theatrical), the fusion of which he saw as an indispensable condition for genuine creativity; his doctrine of the "second plane of the actor's stage life" and the "grain" of the image (similar to Stanislavsky's doctrine of the "supertask"); his doctrine of "masculine simplicity" and "physical well-being," among other things. These concepts allow for the development of clear artistic goals, confident psychological development of characters, and precision of form. Nemirovich-Danchenko possessed an unerring understanding of the author's style and a brilliant ability to work with the actor. Of particular interest is Nemirovich's work with musical theater forms at the Moscow Art Theater, which he founded in 1919. It was largely experimental in nature. Nemirovich-Danchenko sought harmony in all elements of a stage production, an internal unity of everything visible and audible, conditioned by music. He decisively destroyed operatic cliches, cultivating actors equally skilled in dramatic and vocal performance ("singing actors"). In his productions, he developed various forms of musical performance, boldly and innovatively addressing the most important fundamental issues of opera (for example, a diverse understanding of the chorus). In a number of cases, the director renewed the dramatic foundations of operas, restoring their dramatic theatrical origins. Nemirovich-Danchenko saw the theater's primary mission as the creation of modern opera.