Varvara Massalitinova
Encyclopedia
Varvara Osipovna Massalitinova ' onMouseout='HidePop("27110")' href="/topics/Yelets">Yelets
, Oryol Governorate, Russian Empire
(now Lipetsk Oblast
, Russia
) – October 20, 1945, in Moscow
, Soviet Union
) was a Russian and Soviet theatre and film actress.
She began acting at an amateur
theatre
club in the Siberian city of Tomsk
, then moved to Moscow and studied acting under A. Lensky at Moscow Theatrical school from which she graduated in 1901, as an actress.
From 1901-1945 Varvara Massalitinova was a permanent member of the legendary troupe at Maly Academic Theatre
in Moscow. There she worked on stage with such actors as Ermolova, Yelena Gogoleva, A. Yablochkina, Vera Pashennaya, Aleksandr Yuzhin, Aleksandr Ostuzhev, Vladimir Davydov
, Konstantin Zubov, Stepan Kuznetsov, Nikolai Annenkov, Mikhail Tsaryov, Igor Ilyinsky
and many other notable Russian actors. She became famous in 1902 after her powerful stage performances as Korobochka in Nikolai Gogol
's classic drama Dead Souls
. Among her best known stage roles were such classic parts, as the officer's widow in the 1903 staging of Revizor (The Government Inspector), Merchutkina in Jubiley (1904), based on a play by Anton Chekhov
, and Kukushkina in the 1911 staging of Dokhodnoe Mesto. Over the course of her stage career Massalitinova established herself as one of the best performers in the classic plays by Aleksandr Ostrovsky.
In 1922 Massalitinova made her film debut in a small role in a silent movie Polikushka
. Then she worked with director Yakov Protazanov
in the first Russian
Sci-Fi experiment, Aelita
(1924), where she appeared alongside Mikhail Zharov
and Igor Ilyinsky
among other fellow actors from the Maly Theatre. In 1939 Massalitinova received a state award for her portrayal of the grandmother of writer Maxim Gorky
in the 1938 classic film trilogy by director Mark Donskoy based on Gorky's autobiographical books. Her best known role was the mother of the Russian folk hero Buslai in the acclaimed film Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938) by director Sergei Eisenstein
, starring Nikolai Cherkasov
and Nikolai Okhlopkov.
Varvara Massalitinova was designated People's Artist
of Russia and was awarded for her performances on stage and in film (Stalin Prize, 1941). She died on October 20, 1945, in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery
in Moscow.
... aka Gorky Trilogy II
... aka My Apprenticeship
... aka On His Own
(USA)
... aka Out in the World
... aka Гроза (Soviet Union: Russian title)
... aka The Storm
... aka Thunderstorm (USA)
Yelets
Yelets is a city in Lipetsk Oblast, Russia, situated on the Sosna River, which is a tributary of the Don. Population: -History:Yelets is the oldest center of the Central Black Earth Region. It is mentioned in historical documents as far back as 1146, when it belonged to the Princes of Ryazan...
, Oryol Governorate, Russian Empire
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
(now Lipetsk Oblast
Lipetsk Oblast
Lipetsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia which was formed on January 6, 1954. Its administrative center is the city of Lipetsk...
, Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
) – October 20, 1945, in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
) was a Russian and Soviet theatre and film actress.
She began acting at an amateur
Amateur
An amateur is generally considered a person attached to a particular pursuit, study, or science, without pay and often without formal training....
theatre
Theatre
Theatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
club in the Siberian city of Tomsk
Tomsk
Tomsk is a city and the administrative center of Tomsk Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River. One of the oldest towns in Siberia, Tomsk celebrated its 400th anniversary in 2004...
, then moved to Moscow and studied acting under A. Lensky at Moscow Theatrical school from which she graduated in 1901, as an actress.
From 1901-1945 Varvara Massalitinova was a permanent member of the legendary troupe at Maly Academic Theatre
Maly Theatre (Moscow)
Maly Theatre is a drama theater in Moscow, Russia. Established in 1806 and operating on its present site on the Theatre Square since 1824, the theatre traces its history to the Moscow University drama company, established in 1756...
in Moscow. There she worked on stage with such actors as Ermolova, Yelena Gogoleva, A. Yablochkina, Vera Pashennaya, Aleksandr Yuzhin, Aleksandr Ostuzhev, Vladimir Davydov
Vladimir Davydov
Vladimir Davydov Vladimir Davydov Vladimir Davydov (December 14, 1871 (O.S. December 2) – December 27, 1906 (O.S, December 14) was the second son of Lev and Alexandra Davidov and the favorite nephew of the composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who called him "Bob".-Life:...
, Konstantin Zubov, Stepan Kuznetsov, Nikolai Annenkov, Mikhail Tsaryov, Igor Ilyinsky
Igor Ilyinsky
Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky was a famous Russian actor and notable silent film comedian.-Early years:Igor Ilyinsky was born on 24 July 1901 in Moscow.At the age of 16 he entered the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre Studio and in half a year already debuted on the professional stage in Kommisarzhevskaya...
and many other notable Russian actors. She became famous in 1902 after her powerful stage performances as Korobochka in Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Gogol
Nikolai Vasilievich Gogol was a Ukrainian-born Russian dramatist and novelist.Considered by his contemporaries one of the preeminent figures of the natural school of Russian literary realism, later critics have found in Gogol's work a fundamentally romantic sensibility, with strains of Surrealism...
's classic drama Dead Souls
Dead Souls
Dead Souls is a novel by Nikolai Gogol, first published in 1842, and widely regarded as an exemplar of 19th-century Russian literature. Gogol himself saw it as an "epic poem in prose", and within the book as a "novel in verse". Despite supposedly completing the trilogy's second part, Gogol...
. Among her best known stage roles were such classic parts, as the officer's widow in the 1903 staging of Revizor (The Government Inspector), Merchutkina in Jubiley (1904), based on a play by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
, and Kukushkina in the 1911 staging of Dokhodnoe Mesto. Over the course of her stage career Massalitinova established herself as one of the best performers in the classic plays by Aleksandr Ostrovsky.
In 1922 Massalitinova made her film debut in a small role in a silent movie Polikushka
Polikushka (film)
Polikushka is a 1922 Soviet film directed by Aleksandr Sanin, based on Leo Tolstoy's story of the same title. The filming was completed in 1919 but the release was delayed till 1922 because of the Russian Civil War.-Cast:* Ivan Moskvin - Polikei...
. Then she worked with director Yakov Protazanov
Yakov Protazanov
Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov was Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of cinema of Russia....
in the first Russian
Cinema of Russia
The cinema of Russia began in the Russian Empire, widely developed under the Soviet and in the years following the fall of the Soviet system, the Russian film industry would remain internationally recognised...
Sci-Fi experiment, Aelita
Aelita
Aelita , also known as Aelita: Queen of Mars, is a silent film directed by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov made on Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio and released in 1924. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's novel of the same name...
(1924), where she appeared alongside Mikhail Zharov
Mikhail Zharov
Mikhail Ivanovich Zharov was a Russian actor.He studied under the prominent director Theodore Komisarjevsky and debuted in Yakov Protazanov's Aelita...
and Igor Ilyinsky
Igor Ilyinsky
Igor Vladimirovich Ilyinsky was a famous Russian actor and notable silent film comedian.-Early years:Igor Ilyinsky was born on 24 July 1901 in Moscow.At the age of 16 he entered the Komissarzhevskaya Theatre Studio and in half a year already debuted on the professional stage in Kommisarzhevskaya...
among other fellow actors from the Maly Theatre. In 1939 Massalitinova received a state award for her portrayal of the grandmother of writer Maxim Gorky
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov , primarily known as Maxim Gorky , was a Russian and Soviet author, a founder of the Socialist Realism literary method and a political activist.-Early years:...
in the 1938 classic film trilogy by director Mark Donskoy based on Gorky's autobiographical books. Her best known role was the mother of the Russian folk hero Buslai in the acclaimed film Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938) by director Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Eisenstein
Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein , né Eizenshtein, was a pioneering Soviet Russian film director and film theorist, often considered to be the "Father of Montage"...
, starring Nikolai Cherkasov
Nikolai Cherkasov
Nikolay Konstantinovich Cherkasov , was a Soviet actor and a People's Artist of the Soviet Union.-Career:He was born in Saint Petersburg . From 1919 he was a mime artist in Petrograd's Maryinsky Theatre, the Bolshoi Theatre, and elsewhere...
and Nikolai Okhlopkov.
Varvara Massalitinova was designated People's Artist
People's Artist
People's Artist is a honorary title in the Soviet Union, Union republics, in some other Eastern bloc states , as well as in a number of post-Soviet states, modeled after the title of the People's Artist of the USSR....
of Russia and was awarded for her performances on stage and in film (Stalin Prize, 1941). She died on October 20, 1945, in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and was laid to rest in Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery
Novodevichy Cemetery is the most famous cemetery in Moscow, Russia. It is next to the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. It should not be confused with the Novodevichy Cemetery in Saint Petersburg....
in Moscow.
Filmography
- V lyudyakh (1939) .... Akulina Ivanovna Kashirina
... aka Gorky Trilogy II
... aka My Apprenticeship
... aka On His Own
On His Own
- Track list :-External links:*...
(USA)
... aka Out in the World
- Aleksandr Nevskiy (1938) as Amelfa Timoferevna - Buslai's Mother
- Childhood of Maxim Gorky (1938) as Akulina Ivanva Kashirin, grandmother
- Groza (1934) .... Marfa Ignatovna Kabanova, her mother-in-law
... aka Гроза (Soviet Union: Russian title)
... aka The Storm
... aka Thunderstorm (USA)
- AelitaAelitaAelita , also known as Aelita: Queen of Mars, is a silent film directed by Soviet filmmaker Yakov Protazanov made on Mezhrabpom-Rus film studio and released in 1924. It was based on Alexei Tolstoy's novel of the same name...
(1924) - Morozko (1924)