Zavadsky, Yuri Alexandrovich

Yuri Zavadsky was born in Moscow to a noble family of official Alexander Frantsevich and failed actress Yevgenia Iosifovna (nee Mikhailov) ^{[5] [6]} . Many family members were associated with art. The paternal grandfather, a painter, half Polish, was exiled to Siberia for participating in the Polish uprising of 1863 ; his uncle was a pianist and composer, and his father, due to his outstanding voice, was called the soloists of the Bolshoi Theater , but he refused ^[5] . Maternal grandfather was a peasant, a specialist in lace, who moved to Moscow and married a ballerina ^[7] . Both aunts professionally engaged in music; Later, the mother, together with her sister Anna, organized an amateur drama club, popular among the intelligentsia, in which, among others, played a young Eugene Vakhtangov ^{[5] [7]} .

In 1913, after graduating from the Medvednikovskaya gymnasium, Yuri entered the law faculty of Moscow University . At the same time he took lessons in the school of drawing and painting by Stanislav Zhukovsky , and then in the school of Peter Kelin .

In 1915, Pavel Antokolsky , a long-term friend of Zavadsky, called him into the studio of Yevgeny Vakhtangov (known as the 3rd Moscow Art Theater Studio since 1920) ^[8] , where he worked until 1919 : first as an artist, then as an actor and director. In 1918, Antokolsky introduced him to Marina Tsvetaeva , who fell in love with him unrequitedly; Her cycle of poems “Comediante” and the plays “The Stone Angel” and “Fortune” ^{[8] [9]} were addressed to him.

In 1920-1924, Zavadsky was an actor and director of the 3rd Moscow Art Theater Studio, where he played Anthony in the play “The Miracle of Saint Anthony ” (1921) based on a play by Maurice Meterlink , in which he performed both as a set designer ^[10] and Calaf in “ Princess Turandot” » Carlo Gozzi (1922) ^[4] . As a director, he made his debut in 1924 with the play “Marriage” ^[4] . Since 1922 he was a member of the artistic council, elected by the actors after the death of Vakhtangov.

In 1924–1931 , he was an actor of the Moscow Art Theater (according to Vitaly Wulff , was an actor until 1936 ^[8] ), where, in particular, he played Chatsky in “ Woe from Wit ” and Count Almaviva in “Crazy Day or Marriage of Figaro” .

In the same year of 1924, he created his own drama studio , whose actors were his students Vera Maretskaya , Rostislav Plyatt , Nikolay Mordvinov , Pavel Massalsky and others, who managed it until 1936 . The theater had no building and gave experimental performances in the basements of Moscow buildings ^[11] .

According to a number of colleagues, in the 1920s (according to his son - in 1930) Zavadsky worked in the anthroposophical circle, for which he was arrested and spent a month alone (according to Vitaly Wulff - only two days ^[8] ); he was released only thanks to the intercession of Konstantin Stanislavsky ^[7] .

In 1932 - 1935 he headed the Central Theater of the Red Army .

In 1936, during the campaign to abolish “too bright, unorthodox theaters” and “transfer” them to other cities, Zavadsky and his troupe were sent to Rostov-on-Don , where the director headed the Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky , built during the year before that ^[12] .

In 1940, he returned to Moscow and was appointed chief director of the Mossovet Theater and held this post until the end of his life ^[4] . Among the most significant productions are Leonid Leonov 's Invasion (1943), Petersburg Dreams, based on Dostoevsky ’s novel Crime and Punishment (1969), Lermontov 's Masquerade (1st edition in 1952, 2nd in 1964 ) ^[4] .

He was known for his innovation: for example, before the play “ Windsor Mockers ” (1957) trumpeters met people at the entrance, and during the scene of the fair gypsies and magicians strolled around the auditorium. Organized performances-concerts dedicated to prominent people, in which the whole theater troupe participated ^[7] .

From 1940 he taught at GITIS , in 1947 he received the title of professor. Member of the CPSU (b) since 1944 .

Zavadsky never went into conflict with the actors and colleagues, on the contrary, using all his influence to help those who were in disgrace. The only person with whom he had a strained relationship was Faina Ranevskaya : at a certain moment she got nasty with Zavadsky and left the theater. But when in 1963 Ranevskaya was left without work, he immediately called her back. A famous aphorism of Ranevskaya, dedicated to the director: "He was born not in a shirt, but in a fur coat" ^[7] .

Andrei Tarkovsky in 1972 said that: “With all the actor’s irregularities, the best I've seen in theater lately is Zavadsky’s Petersburg Dreams. This is an emotional performance, and we have forgotten what the real emotional impact in art is ” ^[13] .

For almost two decades, the leading actress of the theaters headed by him remained his second wife Vera Petrovna Maretskaya , whom he did not allow to criticize and whose opinion he listened to in every way, for which she was called the "mistress of the Moscow Council" ^{[8] [11]} .

He was the author of several articles and books. About Zavadsky were filmed television films "Houses at Yu. A. Zavadsky", "Yuri Zavadsky - loved and loving." In 1971, the documentary “Yury Zavadsky” was shot (directed by Marina Goldovskaya ).

Yury Alexandrovich Zavadsky died on April 5, 1977 in Moscow. His death wish was that no one would see him dead, so there was an urn with his ashes in the theater ^[8] . He was buried on April 8, 1977 at the Vagankovo ​​cemetery next to his mother (section 15) ^[14] .

Personal life

First wife - Irina Sergeevna Anisimova-Wulf .

In 1924 he married Vera Petrovna Maretskaya (1906-1978). The son Evgeny Yuryevich Zavadsky (1926-2006), the director, was born from marriage to her.

In July 1941, he married the ballerina Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova (1909–1998). They carried out evacuation in Kazakhstan during the Great Patriotic War together. Their marriage actually broke up in the late 1940s, although the divorce was not formalized.

Theater Roles

3rd Moscow Art Theater Studio

• 1921 - “The Miracle of St. Anthony ” by M. Meterlink , production by E. B. Vakhtangov - Anthony
• 1922 - “ Princess Turandot ” by K. Gozzi , production by E. B. Vakhtangov - Calaf

Moscow Art Theater

• 1925 - “Sellers of Fame” by M. Pagnol - Comte de L'Éville
• 1925 - The Pugachev Region by KA Trenyova - Derzhavin
• 1925 - “ Woe from Wit ” by A. S. Griboyedov - Alexander Andreevich Chatsky
• 1926 - “Nikolai the 1st Decembrists” by A. R. Kugel - Trubetskoy
• 1927 - "Crazy Day, or the Marriage of Figaro" P. O. Beaumarchais ; production by K. S. Stanislavsky - Count Almaviva
• 1927 - “Tsar Fedor Ioannovich” by A. K. Tolstoy - Patriarch
• 1928 - “Untilovsk” by L. M. Leonov - Gug
• 1930 - “ Three Fat Men ” by Yu. K. Oleshe - gymnast Tibul

Director's work

Studios E. Vakhtangov

• 1919 - "Learning in a dream" P. G. Antokolsky (based on the play "Puss in Boots") (played the role of Pierrot )

3rd Moscow Art Theater Studio

• 1924 - “The Marriage” by N. V. Gogol

Studio Theater of Yuri Zavadsky

• 1927 - “The Simple Thing” by B. A. Lavrenyov (in collaboration with N. P. Khmelev )
• 1928 - “They're not kidding with love” A. Musset
• 1932 - "Volpone" B. Johnson
• 1933 - " Devil's Disciple " B. Shaw
• 1934 - “ Wolves and Sheep ” by A. N. Ostrovsky
• 1935 - "Vagram night" L. Pervomaisky
• "School defaulters" L. Verney

Central Theater of the Red Army

• 1932 - “Mstislav the Remote” by I. L. Prut
• 1934 - "The death of the squadron" A. E. Korneychuk

Rostov Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky

• 1936 - “Lyubov Yarovaya” by K. A. Trenyov
• 1937 - “The Stone Guest ” by A. S. Pushkin
• 1937 - "The Robbers " by F. Schiller
• 1938 - " The Taming of the Shrew " by William Shakespeare
• 1939 - W. Shakespeare's Othello
• "Enemies" by M. Gorky
• " Petty bourgeois " M. Gorky
• “ Days of our life ” L. N. Andreeva
• "Man with a gun" N.F. Pogodin

Theater Mossovet

Filmography

Roles

• 1924 - Aelita - Gore, the keeper of the energy of Mars
• 1925 - Bear Wedding - Olgerd Keystut
• 1972 - Gold, gold - the heart of the people (film-performance)

Director

• 1971 - Favorite Pages (film-performance) (in collaboration with I. A. Dunkman and A. A. Shorin)
• 1972 - Storm (film-performance)
• 1978 - Day of arrival - day of departure (film-performance) (joint with P. O. Chomsky )

Movie participation

• 1972 - What do you know about Maretskaya? (documentary)
• 1972 - Storm (film-performance) - opening remarks

Archival footage

• 1971 - Yury Zavadsky (documentary)

• Hero of Socialist Labor (1973)
• Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1933)
• People's Artist of the RSFSR (1942)
• People's Artist of the Kazakh SSR (1943)
• People's Artist of the USSR (1948)
• Lenin Prize (1965) - for the production of the play “Masquerade” by M. Yu. Lermontov
• The Stalin Prize of the first degree (1946) - for the production of the performances "Invasion" by L. M. Leonov, "Othello" by William Shakespeare, "Meeting in the Dark" by F. F. Knorre
• Stalin Prize of the second degree (1951) - for the production of the play "Dawn over Moscow" by A. A. Surov
• Four Orders of Lenin (1945, 1949, 1971, 1973)
• Two Orders of the Red Banner of Labor (1947, 1964)
• Medal "For Valiant Labor in the Great Patriotic War of 1941-1945"
• Medal "In memory of the 800th anniversary of Moscow"

• Zavadsky Yu. A. Teachers and students . M .: Art, 1975. 335 p.
• Zavadsky Yu. A. On the art of theater / Preface. P.A. Markova. M .: WTO, 1965. 347 p.
• Lubomudrov M.N. Simonov , Y. Zavadsky . - M .: Young Guard, 1983. - 383 p. - ( ЖЗЛ ; Вып. 644). - 100 000 copies
• Zavadsky, Yuri Alexandrovich // Kazakhstan. National Encyclopedia . - Almaty: Kazakh Encyclopedias , 2005. - T. II. - ISBN 9965-9746-3-2 .

Zavadsky, Yuri Alexandrovich (Rus.) . The site " Heroes of the country ."

• The troupe of Y. Zavadsky is the Rostov Academic Drama Theater named after M. Gorky.
• New Encyclopedia of Cinema - Yuri Zavadsky.
• WHO IS WHO ... "YURY ZAVADSKY" (inaccessible link) - Russian River Passenger Fleet.
• International Jewish Newspaper - Yuri Sherling : “... I must, I must say that never a single person has taken as much participation in my creative destiny as Yuri Zavadsky.”
• Names on the facade and in memory