Vertinskaya, Anastasia Alexandrovna

Anastasia Vertinskaya was born in the family of a poet, songwriter and actor Alexander Nikolayevich Vertinsky , who in 1943, after many years of emigration, returned from Shanghai to the USSR . Her mother is Lidia Vladimirovna Tsirgvava , artist and film actress. Anastasia grew up and was brought up with her older sister Marianna . Marianna was born in Shanghai (at the age of three months, as she was joking, having made “her first trip abroad”), Anastasia - in Moscow, at the Metropol Hotel, where the family spent three years before they got an apartment on Gorky Street, 14 ^{[ 1]} .

The sisters had a happy childhood ^[2] , their parents tried to give them the best education, with particular emphasis on music lessons and learning foreign languages. “The father tried to comprehensively develop us: he taught us to love literature, art, music, believed that regardless of what his daughters would become in adulthood, they must be versatile” ^[3] , ”Anastasia Vertinskaya later recalled.

The actress always spoke lovingly about her father ^[4] . “Dad never raised me with my sister. I did not ask what is in our diaries. He found an amazing language for communication. For example, he said: “I am very suffering when I know that you are naughty.” So that he would not suffer, from my last strength I held in my hands my “terrible” character ” ^[5] ,” she said. According to Anastasia, her father was delighted when she and her sister received fives in singing: he was completely satisfied, the rest was not interested ^[6] . When she, keen on reading books from the family library, started her studies and brought bad grades, he only proudly remarked: “She went to me!” ^[7] .

A. Vertinskaya said that she had an “almost mystical connection” with her father. She recalled how, on the day of Vertinsky’s most recent concert in Leningrad, a bell rang in the house in the evening. “The call was kind of sharp. And mother sat down to wait for her to be connected with Leningrad and she would talk with dad: it was already evening time after the concert. And - yes, at that moment I ran out in my nightgown and asked: “Mom, what happened: dad died?” ” ^[8] After this fateful day, which became the greatest shock of her life, Vertinsky did not leave the feeling that her father was invisibly beside. “I think that he is protecting me from some kind of misfortune, perhaps more serious, and is still trying to create this illusion of a beautiful life” ^[8] , ”she said.

Awareness of the extent of his father's personality came to her later. Many years after his death, answering the question why she would not want her son to bear the surname “Vertinsky,” the actress said: “I’m not sure that the surname Vertinsky should continue. My father was so great that his name is enough for Russian culture. This is a whole era, the surname Vertinsky will live for centuries, it is a diamond in the crown of our culture ” ^[4] .

First Success

In childhood, Anastasia Vertinskaya wanted to become a ballerina , but she was not accepted into the ballet troupe, recognizing "too big a girl" ^[8] . Then she decided to devote her life to foreign languages, but everything changed in 1960 .

When a teenage girl in a short-haired tracksuit came to the director Alexander Ptushko , who was looking for a leading role in the movie “ Scarlet Sails, ” he was initially going to refuse her test. Only after Vertinskaya picked up a long wig and dressed her in a dress, Ptushko allowed to take some pictures ^[8] , appreciated the expressiveness of the appearance of a fifteen-year-old schoolgirl and approved her for the role of Assol in the film, which also starred Vasily Lanovoi , Ivan Pereverzev , Sergey Martinson , Oleg Anofriev (the heroine of Vertinsky spoke in the voice of actress Nina Gulyaeva in the film, who later said that “Nastya was 15 years old and she was unable to professionally voice her heroine, so the director invited me to dub”).

"Scarlet Sails" in the first year of hire was watched by 23 million viewers ^[8] . Anastasia Vertinsky subsequently reluctantly talked about her "star" debut in the movie. “I didn’t really know what to do in front of the camera, how to move and what to say,” ^[9] , ”she recalled. The actress hated the movie "Scarlet Sails" because he "made her famous and made it impossible to calmly go shopping", but always spoke with great warmth about his partner on the set, Vasily Lanov ^[7] .

Also in 1961, the film of Gennady Kazan and Vladimir Chebotaryov “ Amphibian Man ”, shot based on the novel by Alexander Belyaev , was released on the screens of the country. The shooting took place in Koktebel , Yalta , Baku and Pitsunda ^[10] .

V. Chebotaryov said that when assistants throughout the Soviet Union were looking for actors for the main roles, he gave them the setting: “... Guttiere must have sky in his eyes and Ichthyander should have sea”. Anastasia Vertinskaya, who met this criterion and was invited to play the main character, as one of the professional divers recalled, “was eager to work and learned to swim brilliantly for the sake of shooting” ^{[10] [~ 1]} . Having abandoned the understudies, she swam in icy water, dived without scuba gear and could be for a long time at a depth ^[8] .

The film found critics who were outraged that the heroine appears too often in a swimsuit and changes her dress in every episode ^[10] . However, Amphibian Man, becoming the leader of the 1962 film distribution (65 million viewers watched it) and receiving the Silver Asteroid Award at Trieste at the International Fantastic Film Festival, strengthened A. Vertinskaya's status as a rising star in Soviet cinema ^[11] .

In addition to the cold, the actress remembered little from that experience. “A banal film was shot under water based on a work at the level of smash fiction” ^[12] , ”she later spoke of the painting. Comparing her starring role to the later and more mature ones, Vertinskaya said that she treated her indulgently, like her first acting experience: “I laugh at the image with tenderness and warmth and make discounts on my age. I look at the film, how they look at children's photos, where there is teenage absurdity ” ^[12] .

The beginning of a theatrical career

In 1962, Anastasia Vertinskaya, who did not yet have a theatrical education, was accepted into the troupe of the Pushkin Moscow Theater . The young actress toured a lot and as a part of acting teams traveled the whole country ^[9] . The success of the first two films was a serious test for the beginning actress. Many years later, Vertinskaya said:

In 1963, Anastasia Vertinskaya entered the Higher Theater School named after B.V. Schukin ; there by this time the elder sister Marianne was already studying. At the entrance exams, Anastasia failed: the teacher agreed to allow the re-examination "only out of respect" for her roles in the movie. Lyudmila Maksakova ’s sister’s friend helped the famous applicant prepare an opening repertoire, and the second attempt was successful. Among Vertinskaya's classmates were Nikita Mikhalkov and Nikolai Burlyaev . “I worked hard, I had a manic desire to become an actress” ^[4] , ”she later said.

Student Vertinskaya was in the spotlight. “She came to the course as a star. And although she always behaved very dignified and restrained, for all she was a man who is ... God knows where. She understood that there was intense interest in her: a mixture of envy with reverence ” ^[8] ,” recalled Nikita Mikhalkov, future husband. To this blended and more sinister motifs associated with the early glory and insecurity of the young actress. “She received letters in bales. Some woman was chasing after her not quite normal, who poured sand in her eyes ” ^[8] ,” said sister Marianna. Actor Alexander Kalyagin recalled a guy who “... ran after her in the audience with a knife, threatened to kill her and commit suicide” ^[8] .

But the general attention on the part of students to Vertinskaya was explained, first of all, by her creative approach to study. “Each of her work became an experiment under discussion. Everyone was running ... Vertinskaya will play now! ” ^[8] - N. Mikhalkov recalled. The actress, as she later recalled, ignoring the demands of teachers (in particular, Shikhmatov, who threatened with deuces), “always wanted to be someone who was not in reality. Without end, she started something that did not match her role ” ^[8] .

Hamlet

In 1964, Grigory Kozintsev's film Hamlet was released on the screens of the USSR, starring, among others, Innokenty Smoktunovsky , Mikhail Nazvanov and Yuri Tolubeyev . Vertinskaya played Ophelia here - the role that many actresses dreamed of - and, while still a student at a theater university, she created, as experts noted, a vivid and impressive image ^[13] .

An important factor in the success of the actress was her susceptibility to music. “She had been real eighteen years old, magnificent, very suitable for Shakespeare’s image - fragility, purity, appearance similar to portraits of the early Renaissance ... Everything was fine: arms, neck, and gait, but her heart did not beat. Heart made Shostakovich beat. It happens ” ^[3] ,” wrote the director Kozintsev a year later in the lecture “On Directing”.

Reviews from the Soviet press were mixed. “Yes, we are again captivated by the poetry and virgin clarity of the appearance of Ophelia-Vertinsky. But we want to see more in this role, we want to trace the depth of experiences, the development and transitions of human feelings. But in vain. The actress’s external movements do not conceal internal movements ” ^[14] ,” film critic L. Nekhoroshev wrote in 1967. Only later critics ranked the role of Ophelia among the most significant and vivid in the career of the actress ^{[8] [9]} .

Vertinskaya said that the work in Hamlet was for her, on the one hand, a serious test (“They say that they play a role and die. But if you are only nineteen years old and have to live, you have to work and work every day to prove that “Miracle” was not a miracle that you can become an actress? ”), On the other hand, it was a real acting school. Particularly much was given to her by a joint work with I. Smoktunovsky. “The kitchen that I saw in it, it was ... absolutely magical. Then I realized that the profession of an “actor” is not only a craft, but also some kind of sacrament ” ^[8] ,” the actress later said.

The film, which received numerous awards (in particular, the special prize of the jury of the Venice Film Festival ) ^[15] , brought Vertinsky international fame ^{[2] [16]} : they began to call it “the most talented heart of Soviet cinema” ^[6] , “ Vivien Leigh of the Soviet Screen” ^[17] . This role was a turning point in the creative development of the actress. Vertinskaya said that it was after Ophelia that she truly “realized that she wanted to become an actress” ^[9] .

Despite the fact that the actress received outstanding offers, there was an imbalance between her aspirations and the possibilities of their implementation. As noted later, “the seal of natural (innate) aristocracy” forced the actress to a “selective” existence - especially in the cinema, far from the everyday relevance of Soviet art ^[18] . Vertinskaya recalled that during the four years of study at the Shchukin school she did not play a single “heroine”. “I was always given 3 or 4 skills, although I got an honors degree: the teachers punished me for not wanting to play the heroine. Either I played a communal worker, who poured salt into the neighbors' food, or some idiot ... I was drawn to the characteristic roles ” ^[16] ,” she said. The dream came true only in 1973, when Vertinsky, to her delight, got the role of Olivia in the play "Twelfth Night" by Peter James, the main director of the Sheffield Theater.

Films of the late 1960s

Success in Hamlet brought Vertinsky not only international fame, but also the feeling of approaching inner harmony. “They told me:“ You are the daughter of Vertinsky, ”and I protested inwardly: I wanted to be independent of my surname. Then they told me: “What a beautiful one!” But in beauty, too, was not my merit. And I wanted to hear: “What an artist!” Only when they told me this, everything fell into place ” ^[16] ,” the actress later recalled.

After Hamlet, Vertinskaya became one of the most popular actresses in Soviet cinema. While still a student at the B.V. Shchukin Theater School, she received the role of Lisa Bolkonskaya in the epic of Sergei Bondarchuk's “ War and Peace ” (1966-1967).

The most difficult task is to make the episodic role vivid and memorable - the actress, as all film critics noted, performed brilliantly, conveying a complex gamut of unusual, sharp feelings with a sense of inner acting freedom and natural behavior on the screen. A. Vertinskaya endowed the image with unexpected versatility, which made it possible to trace how a new personality developing under a layer of infantility perishes, not having time to realize “neither the meaning of life, nor the meaning of his pain”, so that “the child’s dead face forever“ freezes ”the questioning, childish surprised expression ... Before us are not conventionally expressed, but the true movements of the living human soul ” ^[14] ,” wrote the almanac “Actors of Soviet Cinema” in 1967.

Among the vertically acclaimed film criticism of Vertinsky’s works was the role of Kitty Scherbatskaya (“ Anna Karenina ”, 1967), Olga Borisovna (“Premature Man”, dir. A. Room , based on the incomplete play by Maxim Gorky “ Yakov Bogomolov ”) ^[9] , Galina Petrovna (“ The Case of Polynin ”, dir. A. Sakharov , based on the eponymous novel by K. Simonov ) ^[19] , which the actress herself later called (along with Mona and Olivia) among her three favorites ^[20] .

The film “ Do not Cry! ” Was also successful. "Based on Claude Tillier ’s novel" My Uncle Benjamin. " Director George Danelia , as he himself recalled, inviting Vertinsky to the role of Mary (the daughter of Dr. Levan Tsintsadze), was not at all guided by the fact that her mother was Georgian. “No, even Revaz Gabriadze and I forgot about it. When they sat down for the script, then, from the first page, they knew that Mary would play Vertinskaya. Because the heroine had to be beautiful, aristocratic. And this is exactly Nastya ” ^[21] ,” he said.

Sovremennik and Moscow Art Theater

In 1967, Anastasia Vertinskaya graduated from the Schukin School. The season of 1967-1968 she spent in the theater. Vakhtangova , in 1968 moved to the Sovremennik Theater , where she worked until 1980 ^[22] . “Cinema did not give the necessary confidence. I must admit, I was ripening very slowly. And only after moving from Sovremennik to the Moscow Art Theater , <i> was at the necessary and adequate level of professionalism ” ^[9] ,” said the actress.

In Sovremennik, her key roles were Ranevskaya (“The Cherry Orchard ” by A.P. Chekhov ), Valentina (“ Valentine and Valentine ” by M. Roshchin ), and later - Olivia (“ Twelfth Night ” by William Shakespeare ). Specialists noted in the work of the actress sophistication, plasticity, “a combination of the external perfection of movements with deep inner psychologism” ^[22] . However, success was not easy here either: “In Sovremennik… I went to the crowd for two years, then I played some roles that worked out, God forbid, every other time” ^[23] , she recalled. A. Vertinskaya called Oleg Efremov her teacher in the theater. Together they worked in the theater for a total of twelve years, first at Sovremennik, then at the Moscow Art Theater.

Among the most well-known Mkhatovsky works by Vertinsky were Nina Zarechnaya (The Seagull ) and Elena Andreevna ( Uncle Vanya ), played by her “with all the richness of emotional experience”, but without “empty pathos” ^[22] , as the press wrote. “I am happy that I had to go through Chekhov. This is a very cruel author, he does not flatter. But it does not derive direct morality: how to live - how not to, who the hero is - who is not the hero. For Chekhov, the hero is the one who is able to overcome the routine of gray everyday life, because life basically consists of such everyday life ” ^[20] ,” said the actress about these roles.

The stage achievement of Vertinsky was the work in Tartuffe , according to Moliere in the mkhatov production of A. Efros (1981). Her Elmira was highlighted aesthetically as "a lady from the famous French tapestries or Watteau paintings, inaccessible in her incredible beauty and grace." A. Efros, admiring Vertinsky's work in Tartuffe, offered her a choice of any of the twelve plays; the actress preferred Shakespeare's Storm. “She had the happiest opportunity to choose what she wanted” ^[8] , - N. Mikhalkov spoke about this period of the theatrical life of Vertinsky.

Specialists also praised her Lisa Protasova (“ Living Corpse ” by L. N. Tolstoy ), Dotti (“Wonderful Sunday for a picnic” by Tennessee Williams ), Natasha (“Alone with all” by A. Gelman ), Pat (“Pearly Zinaida” M Grove).

In Shakespeare's The Tempest , staged at the Pushkin Museum by A. Efros, A. Vertinskaya played two roles - Prospero and Ariel ^[9] . Critics noted that the actress became a “sign of beauty” of this performance, embodying in her performance “harmony of gesture, sound, movement” ^[22] ; the director of the play himself spoke with admiration about the unique acting grace ^[9] .

In another Shakespearean production, “ Twelfth Night ” (1975) of the chief director of the Sheffield Drama Theater Peter James (a domestic audience known for the television version, which appeared on the screen in 1978), A. Vertinskaya played Olivia, not only for the first time showing a bright comedic talent ^[24] , but also having shown extraordinary ingenuity in the interpretation of the image. The actress recalled:

K. Raikin considered Olivia’s success in the performance of Vertinsky to be completely logical. “Of course, she <Vertinskaya> is a cheerful, ironic, mischievous, hooligan man and - as soon as this was used, it got such a vivid embodiment,” he said. “Anastasia Vertinskaya plays Olivia in such a way that you understand: comedy is its true genre, I would say its calling. (One can only regret that she plays lyrical and dramatic roles much more often than comedic) ” ^[25] , - film critic Y. Smelkov wrote.

1970s - 1980s: film work

The mass popularity of Vertinsky did not always help her in her work. Often, the talent of a young actress in the theater just did not want to notice, put her in the crowd ^[17] . At times, the actress had to artificially “simplify” her appearance in order to conform to stereotypes: she “stuffed cotton wool in her nose, drew freckles, cut her hair under a pot ... But the directors still did not know what to do with the girl not from the people” ^[17] . A. Vertinskaya admitted that she had big breaks in work, “when time required other heroines - ruddy and cheerful activists” ^[5] :

However, the actress early understood the danger of the temptation to "enter into the cage" and never regretted what was lost. “I had nothing to play. A huge simple ... <But> I do not regret a single role that I rejected. On the contrary, it’s only about those that, having given slack, unfortunately, played ” ^[23] ,” she said.

In 1971, Vertinsky starred (with Oleg Dal and Andrei Mironov ) in the philosophical parable " Shadow " by Nadezhda Kosheverova based on the play by Eugene Schwartz . This was followed by the film “ A Man in His Place ” (dir. A. Sakharov, 1972) and followed by a six-year pause. “I am not fit for the role of a steelmaker and public worker. I don’t have this not only in appearance, but also in life, and I don’t know the pathos ... ”, she explained this break, adding:“ This is a difficult existence when you have the framework of your sociality ” ^[8] .

One of the most notable works of the actress in the cinema in the 1970s was the role of Mona in Mikhail Kozakov ’s television movie “The Nameless Star ” (1978) based on the play of the same name by the Romanian playwright Mikhail Sebastian . “Kozakov said: well, you yourself know everything here, as you know, just play it. He gave us a few scenes at the mercy, and we both knew and played them ” ^[8] ,” subsequently recalled I. Kostolevsky , her partner.

The actors were so passionate about work that they completed it in just one month. The film, in which the director allowed the actress herself to create the image of the heroine ^[8] , remained for her one of the most beloved in her career ^[9] : “This role occurs once every two hundred years. Because this role has everything: the lyrical beginning, and the dramatic and comedic ... now there are no such roles ” ^[8] . “Most of all ... I love Mona, because she fell on my mature period, when I was a mature actress” ^[20] , - said Vertinsky.

In the television series " Gadfly " (1980) based on the novel by Ethel Lilian Voynich A. Vertinskaya played Gemma. Andrei Kharitonov made his debut in the title role, who later directed Vertinskaya as a director in Lust for Passion. Then came the film " Theft " directed by Leonid Pchelkin based on a play by Jack London : Vertinskaya played the main role here, and I. Smoktunovsky again acted as her partner.

In 1988, A. Vertinskaya played two sharply negative roles unusual for herself: the Duchess (“inherited” from her mother) (“The Life of Don Quixote and Sancho ”) and Morgana (“ New Yankee Adventures at the Court of King Arthur ”). A peculiar contrast was the “violently comical” role played by her as “a silly mother” ^[18] in the film “ Dark Nights in Sochi ” directed by V. Pichul .

In 1989, A. Vertinskaya wrote the play “ Mirage, or Russian Pierrot’s Road ” based on her father’s memoirs, staged it and herself played the role of Alexander Vertinsky in a performance dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the great chansonnier ^[23] . Over time, the perception of the image of the actress has changed, but - always in an ascending fashion. “... She was a symbol of decades: in the 60s, a dream girl, in the 70s, a woman-style, in the 80s she took the podium of an idol” ^[17] , a newspaper later wrote.

Teaching

With the beginning of perestroika, Vertinskaya, as she later recalled, was filled with the general “spirit of freedom”, especially since she was “genetically destined for independent existence”.

«Семья и друзья были в шоке, когда я ушла, потому что ушла я с положения ведущей актрисы. Я же по типу характера часто меняю свою жизнь, и мне это далось легко», — говорила актриса ^[8] .

В 1989 году Анастасии Вертинской предложили преподавать актёрское мастерство в Оксфордском университете . Она согласилась и следующие 12 лет (c перерывами) проработала за рубежом ^[7] . После Оксфорда в Париже Вертинская долгое время вместе с Александром Калягиным вела мастер-класс в « Комеди Франсэз » и «Чеховской школе»; преподавала также в швейцарской «Школе европейского кино». Поставленный ею с группой учеников (как итог трёхмесячного каждодневного преподавания) ^[8] спектакль «Чехов. Акт III» (куда вошли третьи акты пьес «Дядя Ваня», «Три сестры» и «Вишнёвый сад») с успехом прошёл на сцене парижского театра Nanterre-Amandiers .

О работе за рубежом Вертинская говорила: «Классно было всё. Вырваться из-под ига главного режиссёра и всей рабской системы. Мне нравилось всё, начиная с момента упаковки чемодана…» Но «постоянно жить, отдавая себя воспитанию студентов, — для этого надо быть человеком другого типа» ^[8] , — отмечала актриса. Кроме того, Вертинскую всё это время тяготила отдалённость от родины. «Когда я надолго задерживаюсь по работе за границей, я иногда даже заболеваю. Я заболеваю физически, но очень хорошо знаю, что в тот момент, когда автомобиль от Шереметьево поворачивает на МКАД, на этом повороте я выздоравливаю» ^[8] , — рассказывала она.

Вертинская с большой теплотой вспоминала своих европейских студентов — «актёров по призванию, которые грузят ящики ночами ради того, чтобы Чехова получить из русских рук, а комедию дель арте — из итальянских» ^[16] , а потом «не отпускают тебя, даже когда время твоё вышло… едут за тобой в метро, они задают вопросы, этот урок длится и длится. От этого устаёшь, но нельзя не восхищаться этой постоянной попыткой постичь искусство» ^[8] .

В целом Вертинская, по её словам, без сожаления изменила свою жизнь. «Если бы я не катапультировалась из стен театра, то просто не состоялась бы как личность… Зачем влачить убогое существование — сидеть в театре и рыдать, что не дают ролей?… Нужно всё время поворачиваться спиной к невыгодной мизансцене» ^[7] , — говорила она в интервью.

1990s

В 1991 году вышел режиссёрский дебют Андрея Харитонова « Жажда страсти » по мотивам произведений В. Брюсова ^[26] , где А. Вертинская создала изысканный образ аристократки ^[9] , своего рода «бесплотно-декоративный призрак» женщины начала века, страдавшей нарциссической страстью ^[18] . «Что-то роковое, страдальческое, надрывно зловещее излучал картинно-изысканный облик А. Вертинской. Таким несчастьям нет исхода, и подобной жажде нет утоления» ^[18] , — писала об этом образе Т. Москвина .

А. Харитонов считал участие в картине Вертинской своим «главным режиссёрским достижением» ^[27] ; он говорил о необычайной работоспособности, а также почти авантюрной отваге актрисы. «На съёмках в Ялте в холодную декабрьскую погоду ей, одетой лишь в тонкие шифоновые наряды, приходилось работать на свежем воздухе по несколько часов кряду. Когда же снимали эпизод, где её героиня летает, Вертинская отказалась от дублёрши и настояла на том, что сделает всё сама и по-настоящему. Закрепившись на длинных тросах, она бросалась вниз с 15-метрового сооружения. Полёт длился секунды, но повторить (в дублях) его много раз под силу лишь актёру одержимому, безоглядно преданному кино» ^[27] , — писал об этой работе журнал «ТВ Парк» (июнь, 1995).

В 1994 году режиссёром Ю. Карой был снят фильм « Мастер и Маргарита » ^[28] , попавший в прокат лишь в 2011 году ^[29] . На роль Маргариты была взята А. Вертинская, которая «обошла» на пробах Елену Майорову , Анну Самохину , Веру Сотникову и Ирину Алфёрову ^[30] . «У неё масса достоинств. Во-первых, прекрасная актриса, во-вторых — благородство, порода. Кровь — как говорит Коровьев. Ну, в общем-то, она стала фавориткой продюсеров. Хотя многие из актрис хорошо показались и были достойны быть Маргаритой» ^[19] , — так объяснял Ю. Кара этот выбор.

A. Vertinskaya without doubles worked in all scenes, including the most dangerous. The flight scene was shot at four in the morning at the level of the third floor; the actress was tied with cables to a helicopter; six stuntmen held her legs, four held the operator. Two days before the shooting, she did not eat anything and drank only water with lemon ^{[30] [~ 2]} . “I don’t know why they didn’t let him on the screen: something happened with copyright there. But I think that's not the point. It’s just that some higher forces didn’t want the picture to be rented! ” ^[4] , - A. Vertinskaya later said about the mysterious film adaptation of Bulgakov’s classic. At the same time, she called the image of Margarita one of her favorites. “In Russian literature, this is the only heroine who sacrifices herself for the sake of another person. That is exactly what I wanted to play ” ^[4] ,” said the actress.

In 1999, A. Vertinskaya starred in the film " Bremen Town Musicians " (dir. Alexander Abdulov , 2000). Regarding the role of Atamansha, she said that at first she could not imagine herself in such an aggressive role. In addition, the phonograms of the songs were recorded by Larisa Dolina . “She and I are the exact opposites ... When I first heard <myself>, I was close to rejection ... I had to think of something so that as soon as I open my mouth they would not recognize the Valley - her magnificent voice is too recognizable. This is a rather difficult task when someone has already made a 50% role for you ” ^[23] ,” said the actress. Ultimately, A. Vertinskaya, according to her, received great pleasure from this work ^[24] .

In the second half of the 1990s, A. Vertinskaya collaborated with television for some time: her two programs, “The Golden Section” and “Other Shores” (ORT), were successful, about “people who go against the current and who win” ^{[ 8]} . However, these her works did not fit into the television format: to the correspondent’s question about the reason for the closure of “Other Shores”, the actress replied: “ Konstantin Ernst said that such programs are not needed on Channel One” ^[23] .

2000 - Present

In the 2000s, A. Vertinsky moved away from active stage work. She has repeatedly said that the reason for this is just the lack of interesting proposals, and therefore she does not exclude the possibility of returning to the big stage ^[4] . In one of the interviews, the actress noted that she had “done enough in the movies” and did not want to “play the killer’s mother” ^{[24] [~ 3]} . Moreover, leaving the stage brought her considerable relief. “Finally, I realized that you can live and not worry that for a while no one will see you on stage, on the screen, or even see you. And that's okay. This eternal, exhausting actor’s anxiety finally left me ” ^[24] ,” she admitted.

Her only noticeable role in the 2000s was Eliza in the entreprise performance Imago (2002) (a play by M. Kurochkin based on Pygmalion by Bernard Shaw ) directed by N. Chusova : after returning from abroad, the actress was the first in many years went on stage and shocked many in his extremely unusual way ^[4] . “Many critics scolded me, and perhaps quite rightly, but I could not resist, so as not to violate all the canons again. It was a time when I no longer wanted to go out in the image of Ranevskaya and find out if the Cherry Orchard was sold, or not sold, in an era when it was sold long ago. To me, these images no longer seem attractive in life. It seemed to me attractive this garbage creature, which was transformed from a chrysalis to some bloodworms ” ^[8] ,” A. Vertinskaya talked about this role in the program “Other Shores”.

According to the actress, it’s “interesting to play entreprise performances if there is a worthy play. But, as a rule, Western plays written about twenty years ago are taken for entreprise: people from our life do not discuss their life. This is not what I want to play. ” She admitted that she had no creative plans, but emphasized that she did not see the drama in it: “I rather see the drama in that Marina Neyolova and Lena Koreneva are actresses of this level” ^[20] .

In 1991, Anastasia Vertinskaya created and headed the Charity Fund of Russian Actors (since 1996, the Charity Fund of Actors). “This is probably family. Dad was engaged in charity work, then it was called patronage concerts. Grandfather was a well-known lawyer in Kiev , he led the affairs of poor people for free. I try to help actors who find themselves in a difficult situation ” ^[5] ,” said the actress about the reasons that prompted her to take this step.

The organization has set as its goal to help needy theater and film veterans, as well as support interesting initiatives of young actors and directors ^[5] . For many years, the Foundation supported the Boris Pasternak House-Museum in Peredelkino , the Chekhov Museum, the Russian State Art Library, the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin in Putinki, and the theater for blind and partially sighted children.

Thanks to Vertinsky’s efforts, monuments were erected to actors O. Borisov and V. Kapustina, a memorial plaque on the house where Mark Bernes lived ^[3] .

Restoration of A. Vertinsky's song heritage

In addition to the work of the Charity Society, the actress considers her restoration of her father’s song heritage to be her main life mission. With her participation, numerous records of Alexander Vertinsky were restored and records with archival material released: “Alezandre Vertinsky”, “Songs of Love”, “Legends of the Century” ^[3] .

It is known that in 1998 Vertinskaya sued the project “Best Songs of the Twentieth Century”, when two songs of Alexander Vertinsky were recorded on the CD without her knowledge. The circulation was not canceled, but she ensured that the discs were not sold in Moscow and St. Petersburg ^[23] . The actress then explained her position:

Vertinsky said she did not want Vertinsky to "go in clips": "... I just think that he does not look like anyone else. A poet, composer, artist, he once went onto the stage and said: “And standing here, you can create high art.” And I have exhausted this genre ” ^[23] .

At the beginning of 2009 in Moscow, the actress also acted as the publisher of the memoirs of A. Vertinsky ^[31] . Her immediate plans include publishing a book of poems by Alexander Vertinsky and restoring 16 songs of his father ^[8] . In 2012, she took part in the recording of the album “ Russian Sun ” by rock musician Alexander F. Sklyar , having read for him two poems of her father ^[32] .

• 1981 - honorary title " Honored Artist of the RSFSR "
• 1988 - honorary title " People's Artist of the RSFSR "
• 2005 - Order of Honor ^[33]
• 2010 - Order of Friendship ^[34]

“A bright personality, great work and dramatic talent have allowed you to achieve serious success in the acting profession. You have revealed your creative potential on the stages of the country's leading theaters - in a variety of genres and roles. And such films as Scarlet Sails , Amphibian Man , Hamlet and others are popular among viewers of several generations ” ^[35] , - said in a congratulatory telegram to President D. A. Medvedev on December 19, 2009 . “A talented actress endowed with a bright creative personality, both in the cinema and on the theater stage, you have created a whole gallery of unique images, each of which is filled with amazing strength and depth” ^[36] , ”the telegram of V. B. Putin noted.

A. Vertinskaya's debut in 1961 fascinated audiences and film critics alike ^[6] . The latter, recognizing the rising star of Soviet cinema in a fifteen-year-old actress, at first were inclined to forgive her constraint and timidity - for her natural grace, aura of “otherworldly”, “charm of beauty and young femininity” ^[14] .

The turning point of A. Vertinsky’s creative development, after which they began to be more demanding, was the role of Ophelia in G. Kozintsev’s Hamlet ^[9] . The director, who noted “the appearance of the early Renaissance” ^[3] as the defining quality of Vertinskaya, was able to skillfully draw the stiffness of the student actress into an artistic move. This caused an mixed reaction from specialists. According to L. Nekhoroshev, "chained to the iron scheme of the director's plan, like her Ophelia in the iron corset of dresses from Elizabethan times, the young actress was not able to freely breathe the life-giving air of art that surrounded her." However, he, who had a strict attitude to this work, could not but admit that in a somewhat “mechanical” image of Ophelia lived his own internal logic and harmony ^[14] .

On the contrary, E. Dobin highly praised this acting work. “The director turned some helplessness of the actress, who was still young and has not accumulated experience, into the paint of character, timid and unprotected ... In the performance of the inexperienced Vertinsky, inspired by a great artist, there is not a single false, not a single dull, inaccurate note. The image is transparent and unclouded. And the game is transparent and clear. Tragically transparent, like a river, at the bottom of which Ophelia lies dead ” ^[37] ,” he wrote in the essay “Hamlet. Kozintsev's film "(1967). “The role of Ophelia is complicated in that it is difficult to integrate it into the series of all these grandiose figures. And Vertinskaya succeeded ” ^[8] , - said film critic A. Plakhov many years later.

International fame and flattering reviews from Western critics who proclaimed Vertinsky “ Vivien Leigh of the Soviet Screen” ^[17] were not premature. Already the next notable work of the actress, the role of Princess Lisa in the film “War and Peace” by S. Bondarchuk, received enthusiastic assessments by experts who noted the skill with which complex (first of all, its fleeting) image she filled with vivid vitality and rapid dynamics of development. Only four small scenes were enough for the actress to create an unforgettable image that underwent a rapid and tragic metamorphosis. “In the image of Princess Liza, we feel the inner movement and integrity, which the actress does not achieve by the uniqueness of the external picture, but by the development of a single concept of the role in scenes of different nature” ^[14] , ”wrote the almanac“ Actors of Soviet Cinema ”(1967).

The further development of the actress took place mainly on the theater stage (Sovremennik, Taganka , Moscow Art Theater). The classical works of A. Vertinsky received the highest marks of specialists who noted “a refined plastic drawing of the role, gracefulness of the scenic existence, a combination of the external polishedness of movements with deep inner psychologism” ^[22] . The most difficult roles of Chekhov’s repertoire - Ranevskaya, Nina Zarechnaya, Elena Andreevna - the actress, as critics wrote, “managed to play with all the richness of emotional experience, avoiding both empty pathos and harsh assessments” ^[22] . The experts and Vertinsky’s work on Elmira in Tartuffe were highly appreciated. “The actress’s masterly technical skill, her interest in the finished stage form ... in beauty without nerves, grace without breaks, beauty, full of feelings and joy of life” ^[22] , the Theater magazine wrote with particular force. A. Efros talked about the actress, that she "is so physically natural and has such exquisite acting grace that it sometimes seems unbelievable" ^[9] . V. Gaft also admired the rare versatility of Vertinskaya’s talent, which embodied in each of his performances “harmony of gesture, sound, movement” ^{[22 ]} .

“One of the very few actresses in whose appearance and behavior there was never even a hint of fussiness so characteristic of our time” ^[23] , possessing natural intelligence and aristocratic grace, developed into one of the most “classical” actresses of Russian cinema. For two decades, A. Vertinskaya, critics noted, made a giant creative leap - from the charming, but one-dimensional “Assoli-Ophelia” began in the 1960s to a universal master of many genres, capable of “working sharply and carefully in any painting” ^[18] , always staying as if outside the mainstream , “outside the cage” ^[23] .

The triumph of Vertinsky-Olivia gave rise to experts to complain that in the end the actress’s comic gift turned out to be (at least in the movies) not realized. Later, the film “The Master and Margarita” pointed to another facet of the actress’s character, which remained on the stage almost undetected. Photographer V. Plotnikov believed that the actress "fell victim to ... origin", and in addition - the narrow thinking of the directors. According to him, “everyone saw her as a countess, a princess, and Nastya Vertinsky herself knew exactly what she was and knew in a narrow circle that she was in essence ... a witch!” ^{[38] [~ 4]} .

Film critic Tatyana Moskvina also believed that the “infernal shadow of the Bulgakov’s novel” fully corresponded to Vertinsky’s true credo, which was Margarita by its very nature ^[18] . “Evil, is it good?” You are all not from here ... ”, the critic attributed these words to A. Blok to the actress,“ beyond the bounds of earthly experience ”who left all her deep, secret creative aspirations. “The incomprehensible light”, which Bulgakov endowed with his holy witch, “somehow burns in all the heroines of Anastasia Vertinsky” ^[18] , - wrote T. Moskvina.

Anastasia Vertinsky has a reputation as one of the most beautiful actresses in Soviet cinema. At the same time, many colleagues noted the special, “unearthly” quality of her appearance. “This is an alien ... The feeling that it is woven from some completely different material,” said director Nina Chusova. The fact that the heroines of A. Vertinsky, regardless of their temporal, class or ideological affiliation, was always characterized by “some kind of poetic mystery, natural grace ... appearance” ^[14] , film critic L. Nekhoroshev paid attention. Speaking of the extraordinary refinement of her appearance, actress Natalya Selezneva called Vertinsky “perfection”, which “it was simply impossible not to fall in love” ^[8] . Konstantin Raikin called the beauty of Vertinsky "intellectual." “When I first saw her, I behaved indecently: I could not take my eyes off her, my eyes simply stuck to her” ^[8] , ”he recalled. “As a spectator, I opened my mouth and thought: this does not happen. This is something from somewhere in another world, this creature ” ^[8] ,” said Igor Kostolevsky about his first impressions of the movie “Scarlet Sails”. At various times in the press, Vertinskaya was described as “a Soviet actress with an anti-Soviet appearance,” “the most mysterious Soviet actress” ^{[5] [9] [17]} , “an unrivaled symbol of romantic femininity on the stage and movie screen” ^[31] .

Meanwhile, the image of Assol, a charming girl who dreams of a beautiful prince and meets him under red sails, was, according to Vertinsky, alien to her. “I am the opposite of this girl: I never expected any princes, and in general Scarlet sails did not sail to me. It is impossible to become an actress without suffering ” ^[31] ,” she said many years later.

Anastasia Vertinskaya called herself a highly “structured” person, prone to analyticity and critical attitude to her own mistakes ^[16] . “She is a responsible person, therefore, she approached each role as much as possible: what she could, she did herself” ^[8] , - sister Marianna told about her. A. Kalyagin also spoke about the level of responsibility to which the actress always corresponded. According to him, “everyone, even the bison,” was amazed that she “came to every rehearsal fully prepared: she knew everything about the role and its previous performances” ^[8] . Explaining her departure from the stage and the transition to a new stage in life, Vertinskaya said: “The fact is that I am Sagittarius according to the zodiac sign. I am destined not to stop there. The actress in me, I hope, did not end, but rose to the next level ” ^[24] .

Many noted the closed nature of the actress, her unwillingness to be in sight. It was noted that in many ways the character of Vertinsky was formed by the main tragedy of her whole life: the death of her father, whom she idolized. Critics noted that this event left an imprint on the early roles of the actress ^[2] . Photographer V. Plotnikov , who had long collaborated with Vertinskaya , believed that “maternal genes” appeared here: “Nastya is calmly and nonchalantly looking at today's life. In her position, spiritual height, dignity, pride are clearly felt. She looks at this life from the height of life completely different - princely, count. And she has to live, I’m not afraid, in the midst of a mongrel ” ^[38] ,” he said.

Many of those who met with Vertinsky in the 2000s noted that time had hardly changed her. Theater critic A. Saed-Shah, who met the actress after a 25-year break, found in her previous qualities: “... all the same self-esteem, devoid of any arrogance. All the same elegant modesty, unobtrusive beauty ... and youth ” ^[23] . Vitaly Wulf said about his impressions of the meeting with Vertinsky at the beginning of 2009: “I looked at her and thought: what an amazing person, talented in everything! Bright, sharp, with an incredible sense of humor - everything was preserved. And it looks first-class ” ^[31] .

Relationship with sister

The eldest sister of Anastasia Marianna Vertinskaya (born 1943) is a theater and film actress. Anastasia, as she herself recalled, in her childhood was “pathologically” jealous of her father for Marianne. Relations between the sisters were extremely strained. “Masha and I fought terribly, they simply fought a mortal battle” ^[6] , ”Vertinsky Jr. recalled. At first, the sisters were constantly in conflict. “If Masha had a birthday, Dad was forced to give me the exact same gift. Otherwise, I could not talk to him for two weeks. Probably, from the foreboding of loss, I had a wild thirst to communicate with my father. Only me, so that no one else ” ^[5] ,” the youngest of the sisters recalled.

Subsequently, according to A. Vertinskaya, relations between them changed. "We have a very close-knit family. Although we live in different houses, we don’t lose touch, ”she said. There is no creative rivalry between the sisters. “On the contrary, Masha always asks: Go, see how I played ... She cares about my opinion” ^[5] , said Anastasia Vertinskaya.

As a student at a theater school, Anastasia Vertinskaya met the 20-year-old actor Nikita Mikhalkov and married him in 1966 . “I was very in love ... Least of all we thought about where to live, how to make money, and life was cheap then,” the actress recalled. At first, the newlyweds lived with Andrei Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky , then at the Mikhalkovs in the country. “I didn’t have the feeling that I married an artist. It was just my favorite Nikiton. Cheerful, charming, kind. Nikita has always been a leader, he is very talented ... We lived and breathed each other ” ^[4] ,” she said.

Young people played a wedding when they already had a six-month-old son Stepan ^[17] (born September 24, 1966). Three years after the birth of a son, the couple broke up. Vertinskaya later explained the gap with a “thirst for self-affirmation” on both sides. “I frantically, almost manic, wanted to become an actress. For the sake of this, it seemed to me that I should sacrifice everything. And Nikita, of course, went his own way. He needed a woman who would live his life, his interests. He always told me that the purpose of a woman is to sit in the country and give birth to children ... ” ^[3] , she said.

Divorce, according to Vertinsky, was “a terrible tragedy” for her ^[4] . “Two strong people met during their formation. By nature, I’m not the wife of a genius, I can’t be the second person anywhere, only the first, ” ^[4] ,” she said. Over the years, according to the actress, their relationship has improved. “Nikita is always in my close circle, in the church I pray for him, for his family, that they would be healthy” ^[4] , - said the actress.

A. Vertinskaya acknowledged that she did not find happiness in family life in part because of her own character. “At 30, I realized that it’s very difficult to get along with my character. I love complete freedom ” ^[6] ,” she said.

After a divorce

Anastasia said that the union with Alexander Gradsky (1976-1980; in fact - until 1978) ^[39] does not consider marriage at all. “It (the union) did not last long and did not bring me either special disappointments or a special seduction. I’m rather inclined to consider marriage an alliance with a person with whom I had had an affair for about twenty years ... ” ^[3] ,” she said (in the last sentence, referring to relations with O. N. Efremov ). When the correspondent of FE Rossiya mentioned Gradsky’s memories of their family life, the actress cut him short: “I don’t know what Gradsky said there, I need to ask him. Only I have never been officially married to Sasha. But Nikita was my husband, and a good one ” ^[5] .

In recent years ^{[ when? ]} on the Internet there were references to the numerous “husbands” of A. Vertinsky ^{[~ 5]} . Answering a question from the Izvestia correspondent about the attitude to the status of a “legend”, the actress noted:

In another interview, responding to a correspondent who mentioned her four “ingenious spouses”, A. Vertinskaya said: “Wait! I had only one husband - Nikita Mikhalkov. Of course, there were novels, when there was an excitement in the blood, a special upsurge, then it turns into other relationships. I do not refuse novels, but these are not my husbands. I do not even think that I had civil marriages. The most “durable" person in my life was Oleg Nikolaevich Efremov ” ^[4] .

According to Vertinskaya, it was O. Efremov with his vast life experience who gave her “life as an actress”. “I adored him. He didn’t need me to prepare soups for him, there was always where to eat ” ^[4] ,” she said. Vertinskaya said that Efremov made her an offer, but “at the time when I wanted to marry him, it was impossible, since he was married. And when he himself wanted this, I didn’t love him anymore ” ^[4] ,” the actress recalled. At the same time, she noted: “Oleg Nikolaevich was a very drinking person. This is a heavy cross, and I could not put it on myself ” ^[4] .

Vertinskaya, by her own admission, got used to the fact that she understands men poorly. “It seems to me that I do not really understand this kind of humanity. In my life, I mostly have contacts with women: there are many friends and almost no friends. ” In the life of the actress, she said, two beloved men, father and son: “These two idols fill my entire need for men. I understood early that marriage is not my element, I am not fit for this ” ^[5] .

Family Environment

Most of the time in recent years ^{[ when? ]} Vertinskaya spends with her grandchildren. Alexandra Mikhalkova (born 1992) studies at Moscow State University at the Faculty of History. Vasily (born 1999) and Peter (born 2002) are schoolchildren ^[4] , Luka was born in the spring of 2017.

On December 22, 2017, the eldest granddaughter of Anastasia Vertinsky - Alexandra - married Peter Skvortsov (born 1994) ^[40] . February 22, 2018 it became known that a few days earlier, Alexandra gave birth to a son, Fedor, the first great-grandson of Anastasia Vertinsky. ^[41]

All three call her "Nana", never - "grandmother". Vertinsky told about her new life outside the stage:

The main hobby of Vertinsky now is cooking (Siberian, Georgian, Chinese cuisine) ^[3] . “I am primarily keen on the art of cuisine. Especially Russian cuisine , which I remember in my family and in the Mikhalkov-Konchalovsky family ” ^[20] ,” the actress said in an interview with Izvestia. In many ways, this passion was conveyed to her from a Siberian grandmother, who “terribly owned Siberian cuisine, and when she married a Georgian, she studied Georgian” ^[16] .

In recent years ^{[ when? ]} A. Vertinskaya oversees cooks in Moscow restaurants of Stepan Mikhalkov . It was her son who suggested that she “develop a personalized menu”, thus allowing her to be realized in a new field ^[7] .

"Contemporary"

• "Masters" ( R. Stoyanov ) - Milkana
• The Art of Comedy ( E. De Filippo ) - Wife
• The Naked King ( E. Schwartz ) - Maid of Honor
• “The Third Wish” ( V. Blazhek ) - Fashion Designer
• "Bolsheviks" ( M. Shatrov ) - Girl
• The Seagull (A. Chekhov) - Nina Zarechnaya (1970)
• “Do not part with your loved ones” ( A. Volodin ) - Irina (1972)
• “Weather for Tomorrow” ( M. Shatrov ) - Worker at the plant's communications center (1973)
• “ Provincial Jokes ” ( A. Vampilov ) - Victoria (1974)
• “Four Drops” ( V. Rozov ) - Muse (1974)
• Twelfth Night ( W. Shakespeare ) - Olivia (1975)
• Echelon ( M. Roshchin ) - Katya (1975)
• The Cherry Orchard ( A. Chekhov ) - Ranevskaya (1976)
• “And in the morning they woke up” ( V. Shukshin ) - An interesting woman (1977)

Moscow Art Theater

• “ Valentine and Valentine ” (M. Roshchin) - Valentine
• The Seagull (A. Chekhov) - Nina Zarechnaya
• Tartuffe ( J.-B. Moliere ) - Elmira, wife of Orgon (production by Anatoly Efros , 1981)
• The Living Corpse ( L. Tolstoy ) - Lisa (production by Anatoly Efros, 1982)
• “ Alone with everyone ” ( A. Gelman ) - Natasha Golubeva
• “ Uncle Vanya ” (A. Chekhov) - Elena Andreevna
• “ Pearly Zinaida ” (M. Roshchin) - Pat
• “Wonderful Sunday for a picnic” ( T. Williams ) - Dorothea

  - the main role

Scoring

• 1979 - D'Artagnan and the Three Musketeers (film) - Constance Bonacieux
• 1983 - Wolf - gray tail (cartoon) - Fox-sister
• 1984 - Bear - Lime leg (cartoon) - Lisa Patrikeevna
• 1988 - Crow in Love (cartoon) - Fox

Radio shows

• 1981 - "The Seagull " ( A.P. Chekhov ), director Oleg Efremov - Nina Zarechnaya

• Anastasia Vertinsky . Encyclopedia "Around the World"
• Anastasia Vertinsky . Biography on the site "Actors of Soviet and Russian cinema"