Vija Artmane
Encyclopedia
Alīda "Vija" Artmane was a Latvian / Soviet theatre
and cinema
actress.
ancestry, died in a tragic accident aged 19, just four months before she was born. Her Polish
mother Anna Zaborowska survived as a single mother by doing seasonal agricultural jobs. As a young girl, Artmane grew up playing in the fields; she was fond of wild flowers and learned to make flower arrangements and dolls in the Latvian traditional style. While her mother worked for a landlord, her master sent young Artmane to study music and dance at a ballet class for couple of years. However, at the age of 10, young Artmane became a shepherd
girl. She worked with a herd of cows for over five years, and survived until the end of the Second World War. In 1946 she graduated from secondary school and had a dream of becoming a lawyer
in order to make the world a better place. At the same time she was involved in amateur acting at her school, and became interested in film and theatre, and eventually her passion for acting prevailed.
, and began her studies at the Daile Theatre Second Studio, eventually staying there as member of the troupe for the next 50 years. At the very beginning of her acting career she made the inevitable sacrifices, such as abandoning her favorite countryside, her cows, and changing her first name to Vija, upon a hint from her teacher and for artistic reasons. From 1946 to 1949 Artmane studied acting under the tutelage of the Latvian theatre director Eduards Smiļģis, the original founder of the troupe. From 1949 - 1998 Artmane was the leading star of the troupe at the Daile Theatre in Riga. She played her best stage roles under the directorship of Smiļģis. Her most memorable stage works were such classic roles as Juliet
in Romeo and Juliet
(1953), and Ophelia
in Hamlet
among other Shakespeare
plays. Artmane
also created important roles in Latvian plays such as Indulis and Ārija and Fire and Night under the direction of the National Actor of Latvia Rainis
. She was
critically acclaimed for her stage works in Russian plays, such as her passionate performance as Tolstoy's heroine Anna Karenina
; she also played in Tolstoy's War and Peace
, in Gogol's Dead Souls
, and other classic Russian plays. After the death of Smiļģis, in 1966, Artmane gradually switched to contemporary plays, but she also continued to perform some of her classic stage roles during the 1970s and 1980s.
From 1998 to 2000 she worked with the New Riga Theatre. There she appeared in the title role in a stage production of The Queen of Spades based on the eponymous short story
by Alexander Pushkin.
with her leading role as Sonya, a beautiful and loving mother, opposite Evgeni Matveev in the popular film Rodnaya krov (1963). After that film Artmane was nicknamed "Mother-Latvia" in her homeland. She enjoyed a steady film career in the Soviet Union during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Her film career was highlighted with such roles as Veda Kong in the popular science fiction
film Tumannost' Andromedy
(1967), as Empress Catherine the Great in the historical drama Yemelyan Pugachyov (1978), as Julia Lamber in the film Teātris (1978) and other notable film works. Vija Artmane appeared as herself in a documentary on her life entitled Conversation with the Queen (1980) which was produced at the Riga Film Studio.
in literature and art, as well as in everyday life. She received the title of "National Actress of Latvia", and was recognised as a People's Artist of the USSR
in 1969.
In 1999 Artmane was given an award by the Latvian Ministry of Culture for her contribution to the art of theatre and cinema. In 2003 she received the special Theatre Prize for her long-standing contribution to Latvian culture. In 2007 Vija Artmane was decorated with the Order of the Three Stars
, which is conferred in recognition of outstanding civil merit in the service of Latvia.
The asteroid 4136 Artmane
was named in her honour.
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Three Stars
. In 2004 she published a book of memoirs covering her acting career as well as her personal life.
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...
and cinema
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
actress.
Childhood
Artmane was born Alīda Artmane at the time when Latvia was a sovereign nation. Her father, Franz (Fritz) Artmann, of Baltic GermanBaltic German
The Baltic Germans were mostly ethnically German inhabitants of the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, which today form the countries of Estonia and Latvia. The Baltic German population never made up more than 10% of the total. They formed the social, commercial, political and cultural élite in...
ancestry, died in a tragic accident aged 19, just four months before she was born. Her Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
mother Anna Zaborowska survived as a single mother by doing seasonal agricultural jobs. As a young girl, Artmane grew up playing in the fields; she was fond of wild flowers and learned to make flower arrangements and dolls in the Latvian traditional style. While her mother worked for a landlord, her master sent young Artmane to study music and dance at a ballet class for couple of years. However, at the age of 10, young Artmane became a shepherd
Shepherd
A shepherd is a person who tends, feeds or guards flocks of sheep.- Origins :Shepherding is one of the oldest occupations, beginning some 6,000 years ago in Asia Minor. Sheep were kept for their milk, meat and especially their wool...
girl. She worked with a herd of cows for over five years, and survived until the end of the Second World War. In 1946 she graduated from secondary school and had a dream of becoming a lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
in order to make the world a better place. At the same time she was involved in amateur acting at her school, and became interested in film and theatre, and eventually her passion for acting prevailed.
Acting career
After the war in 1946 Artmane moved to RigaRiga
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. With 702,891 inhabitants Riga is the largest city of the Baltic states, one of the largest cities in Northern Europe and home to more than one third of Latvia's population. The city is an important seaport and a major industrial, commercial,...
, and began her studies at the Daile Theatre Second Studio, eventually staying there as member of the troupe for the next 50 years. At the very beginning of her acting career she made the inevitable sacrifices, such as abandoning her favorite countryside, her cows, and changing her first name to Vija, upon a hint from her teacher and for artistic reasons. From 1946 to 1949 Artmane studied acting under the tutelage of the Latvian theatre director Eduards Smiļģis, the original founder of the troupe. From 1949 - 1998 Artmane was the leading star of the troupe at the Daile Theatre in Riga. She played her best stage roles under the directorship of Smiļģis. Her most memorable stage works were such classic roles as Juliet
Juliet Capulet
Juliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the other being Romeo. She is the daughter of old Capulet, head of the house of Capulet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself....
in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
(1953), and Ophelia
Ophelia
Ophelia is a fictional character in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. She is a young noblewoman of Denmark, the daughter of Polonius, sister of Laertes, and potential wife of Prince Hamlet.-Plot:...
in Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
among other Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
plays. Artmane
also created important roles in Latvian plays such as Indulis and Ārija and Fire and Night under the direction of the National Actor of Latvia Rainis
Rainis
Rainis was the pseudonym of Jānis Pliekšāns was a Latvian poet, playwright, translator, and politician. Rainis' works include the classic plays Uguns un nakts and Indulis un Ārija , and a highly regarded translation of Goethe's Faust...
. She was
critically acclaimed for her stage works in Russian plays, such as her passionate performance as Tolstoy's heroine Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina
Anna Karenina is a novel by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy, published in serial installments from 1873 to 1877 in the periodical The Russian Messenger...
; she also played in Tolstoy's War and Peace
War and Peace
War and Peace is a novel by the Russian author Leo Tolstoy, first published in 1869. The work is epic in scale and is regarded as one of the most important works of world literature...
, in Gogol's 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...
, and other classic Russian plays. After the death of Smiļģis, in 1966, Artmane gradually switched to contemporary plays, but she also continued to perform some of her classic stage roles during the 1970s and 1980s.
From 1998 to 2000 she worked with the New Riga Theatre. There she appeared in the title role in a stage production of The Queen of Spades based on the eponymous short story
The Queen of Spades (story)
"The Queen of Spades" is a short story by Alexander Pushkin about human avarice. Pushkin wrote the story in autumn 1833 in Boldino and it was first published in the literary magazine Biblioteka dlya chteniya in March 1834...
by Alexander Pushkin.
Becoming a film star
In 1956, Artmane was already a recognised star of the Latvian stage, when she made her film debut in Posle shtorma (After the Storm). In 1963 she shot to fame in the Soviet UnionSoviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
with her leading role as Sonya, a beautiful and loving mother, opposite Evgeni Matveev in the popular film Rodnaya krov (1963). After that film Artmane was nicknamed "Mother-Latvia" in her homeland. She enjoyed a steady film career in the Soviet Union during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. Her film career was highlighted with such roles as Veda Kong in the popular science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
film Tumannost' Andromedy
The Andromeda Nebula
The Andromeda Nebula is a 1967 Russian Science fiction film starring Sergei Stolyarov and directed by Yevgeni Sherstobitov. The film was originally intended to be the first episode of a series of films but the remaining parts were never made. De facto name — The Andromeda Nebula: Episode I...
(1967), as Empress Catherine the Great in the historical drama Yemelyan Pugachyov (1978), as Julia Lamber in the film Teātris (1978) and other notable film works. Vija Artmane appeared as herself in a documentary on her life entitled Conversation with the Queen (1980) which was produced at the Riga Film Studio.
Recognition
Vija Artmane is regarded as one of the leading figures of Latvian culture. During the period of Soviet control, Artmane took an active part in the movement for preservation and support of Latvian national heritage; she has been an active proponent for the use of the Latvian languageLatvian language
Latvian is the official state language of Latvia. It is also sometimes referred to as Lettish. There are about 1.4 million native Latvian speakers in Latvia and about 150,000 abroad. The Latvian language has a relatively large number of non-native speakers, atypical for a small language...
in literature and art, as well as in everyday life. She received the title of "National Actress of Latvia", and was recognised as a People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR
People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
in 1969.
In 1999 Artmane was given an award by the Latvian Ministry of Culture for her contribution to the art of theatre and cinema. In 2003 she received the special Theatre Prize for her long-standing contribution to Latvian culture. In 2007 Vija Artmane was decorated with the Order of the Three Stars
Order of the Three Stars
Order of the Three Stars is order awarded for merits in service for Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra"...
, which is conferred in recognition of outstanding civil merit in the service of Latvia.
The asteroid 4136 Artmane
4136 Artmane
4136 Artmane is a main-belt asteroid discovered on March 28, 1968 by T. M. Smirnova at the Crimean Astrophysical Observatory.Named after Vija Artmane.- External links :*...
was named in her honour.
- Honoured Artist of the Latvian SSR (1956)
- People's Artist of the Latvian SSRPeople's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
(1965) - People's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSRPeople's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to citizens of the Soviet Union.- Nomenclature and significance :...
(1969) - Order of LeninOrder of LeninThe Order of Lenin , named after the leader of the Russian October Revolution, was the highest decoration bestowed by the Soviet Union...
(1979) - Order of FriendshipOrder of FriendshipThe Order of Friendship is a state decoration of Russia established by decree # 442 of March 2, 1994 of the President of the Russian Federation....
(Russia, 2004) - Order of the Three StarsOrder of the Three StarsOrder of the Three Stars is order awarded for merits in service for Latvia. It was established in 1924 in remembrance of founding of Latvia. Its motto is "Per aspera ad astra"...
(22 October 2007) - Winner of the All-Union Film Festival (1964, 1968).
- Laureate of State Prize of the Latvian SSR (1980)
- Prize named Lilita Berzina (1987])
- Prize named Bertha Rumnietse (1996)
- Prize II All-Russian Festival "New Russian Cinema" (2001)
- Top award for lifelong contribution to Latvian arts (2003)
Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Three Stars
Personal life
Vija Artmane was married to Latvian actor Artur Dimitres, and the couple had two children, a son and a daughter. In 1986, after the death of her husband, she suffered from emotional breakdown and later had a stroke. In the 1990s, Artmane moved out of the city of Riga due to money shortage and settled in the countryside. In early 2000s she converted to Russian OrthodoxyRussian Orthodox Church
The Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. In 2004 she published a book of memoirs covering her acting career as well as her personal life.
Sources
- Biography of Vija Artmane by: Steve Shelokhonov
- Artmane Vija, "Ziemcieši. Mirkļi no manas dzīves", Pētergailis, 2004. Dokumentary prose, memoirs.
- Eduards Smiļģis Theatre Museum, Pārdaugava, Riga, Latvia.
Filmography
- 1967 - Strong with SpiritStrong with SpiritStrong with Spirit is a 1967 Soviet spy film directed by Viktor Georgiyev based on a screenplay by Anatoli Grebnev and Aleksandr Lukin. It tolds the story about the Soviet intelligence officer Nikolai Kuznetsov. Produced by Sverdlovsk Film Studio. Composer - Edison Denisov...
- 1967 - The Andromeda NebulaThe Andromeda NebulaThe Andromeda Nebula is a 1967 Russian Science fiction film starring Sergei Stolyarov and directed by Yevgeni Sherstobitov. The film was originally intended to be the first episode of a series of films but the remaining parts were never made. De facto name — The Andromeda Nebula: Episode I...
- 1975 - The Arrows of Robin HoodThe Arrows of Robin Hood (film)The Arrows of Robin Hood is a Soviet 1975 film about Robin Hood directed by Sergei Tarasov.A number of songs in the film were performed by Vladimir Vysotsky, music by Raimonds Pauls.-Cast:* Boris Khmelnitsky as Robin Good* Regīna Razuma...
- 1978 - PugachevPugachev (film)Pugachev is a 1978 film, directed by Aleksei Saltykov and starring Yevgeny Matveyev and Vija Artmane. This film was honored with a special prize at All-Union Film Festival in 1979.-Plot:...
- 1978 - Theatre
- 1987 - MoonzundMoonzund (film)Moonzund is a 1987 Soviet war film by Aleksandr Muratov based on a novel with the same name by Valentin Pikul. The film's name is derived from the old name of West Estonian archipelago where the Battle of Moon Sound took place during World War I.- Cast :...