Vecheslova, Tatyana Mikhailovna

Family

Tatyana Vecheslova was born in St. Petersburg in a noble family. Her father, Lieutenant Colonel Mikhail Mikhailovich Vecheslov (August 10, 1855 - February 12, 1943), a graduate of the Page Corps , captain of the 145th Infantry Regiment of Novocherkassk, a hereditary nobleman, belonged to the noble, but very old, from the time of Ivan the Terrible , noble family. The coat of arms of the Vechechslov clan is located in the 6th part of the General Herbaric of the Noble Clans of the Russian Empire . One of the great-great-grandmothers - Evgenia Vecheslova (nee Lyon) - the teacher of Nicholas I - was distinguished by her extraordinary firmness and courage of character, and the future sovereign called her “My nanny lioness” .

Another great-grandmother - the famous Fanny Snetkova ^[1] , was the favorite actress of A. N. Ostrovsky and the first performer of the role of Katerina in the St. Petersburg premiere of the play “ Thunderstorm ”. The whole family was extremely musical on the mother’s side: my grandfather, Peter Snetkov, played the viola in the Mariinsky Theater Orchestra , three aunts graduated from the course at the Conservatory . One of them - Adele Snetkova (nee Fidler) - taught musical notation and playing the piano of young Igor Stravinsky .

Mother, Evgenia Petrovna Snetkova-Vecheslova (February 22, 1882 - November 16, 1961), a student of Enrico Cecetti , from 1900 she danced in the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater , and later until the end of the 1960s she was a teacher of elementary grades at the Leningrad Choreographic School . ^[2]

Learning

At the age of seven, Tanya, following her older sister, was sent to work school. Once a school concert was attended by the People's Commissar of Education A.V. Lunacharsky - he noted the musicality of the girl dancing among the other students.

When Tanya was 9 years old, her mother brought her to her alma mater - the Petrograd Theater School (later - the choreographic college). Vechechlova’s classical dance teachers were Maria Romanova , the mother of Galina Ulanova (first six classes), then, in pre-graduation classes, Agrippina Vaganova . Vecheslova and Ulanova, being classmates, became best friends for life. Tanya was impulsive and mischievous, Galya - more restrained and cautious. Perhaps this dissimilarity of characters and the difference in talents, which excluded a reason for rivalry, predetermined their friendship. In the second grade, they both performed “ladybugs” in the ballet “ Butterfly 's Vagaries ”, later they danced the sabotage in “ Vain Precaution ”. After graduating from a technical school in the Vaganova class in 1928 , both were accepted into the ballet troupe of the Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater . The final performance took place on May 16, 1928.

Stage career

Vechechlova’s stage career began rapidly: 7 days after joining the theater, she danced the part of Gulnara in the ballet “ Corsair ”, replacing the sick ballerina.

Equally rapidly growing fame. Each year was marked by a premiere, which became the property of the Soviet ballet: 1929 - “Red Poppy”, 1930 - “Esmeralda”, 1931 - “Bolt” and “Carnival”, 1932 - “Flame of Paris”, 1934 - “Bakhchisarai Fountain”. The leader of the ballet troupe at that time was the choreographer-innovator F.V. Lopukhov. The preparation of the roles of the classical repertoire alternated with the participation in his radical ballets The Nutcracker and Bolt to the music of Shostakovich.

The success was overwhelming. In articles and reviews, in every printed word, admiration for Vecheshlova’s game came to the fore. Everything that happened on the stage, any dance movement, the most complex element, was so subordinated to the internal logic of the role, the drama of feelings and passions that they simply did not notice technical virtuosity. But Vecheslov’s technique was brilliant. Eugene Mravinsky said that under her "fingers" the orchestra can play without a wand.

That is why Esmeralda became her crown role: the story of tragic love made it possible to reveal the dramatic side of talent. The ballerina believed that dance cannot be an end in itself. It must be filled with meaning, warm feelings. Her Esmeralda, learning about the betrayal of her lover, took up the tambourine as if mechanically. In deep thought, she began to move: her arms and body existed separately, mechanically performing a dance ritual. Barely touching the ground, her legs scared and gently carried the body. Running accelerated and accelerated. From the swiftness of movement, consciousness returned, and the pain pierced with a sharp needle. Then, spreading her arms, Esmeralda rushed at the viewer, as they were running to the lake, when they had nothing to lose. After a quick run on her fingers, she stopped, suddenly stopped at the edge of the proscenium, reaching out to the black hole in the auditorium where Phoeb had just disappeared. Hall applauded, but she did not remove the pose. Hall chanted, but she continued to stand, peering into the distance with her eyes.

In Tatyana Vecheshlova, innate artistry, musicality and literary talent were combined with directness, a heightened sense of honor, duty and human dignity.

Vechislova died on July 11, 1991. She found the last refuge near the grave of Anna Akhmatova at the famous cemetery in Komarovo .

On the tombstone, lines are cut from the poem of a ballerina:

Life has given me such a right -

To be able to dream, to be able to create.

Taking life is not a note, but an octave.

And if you love, so love.

After graduating from the Leningrad Choreographic School (teacher - Vaganova, Agrippina Yakovlevna ), she made her debut on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater in the part of Gulnara in the ballet “Corsair”. Then Esmeralda became her favorite role. She “leaves far behind the ballerinas who once became famous in this role,” claimed Vaganova, and the writer Mikhail Kozakov determined the level of performing skills: Vecheslova-Esmeralda - Komissarzhevskaya Ballet Theater.

When the “Bakhchisarai Fountain” was staged in 1934, the public - and not only the Leningrad one - went specifically to look at the duet of Ulanova and Vecheshlova, Maria and Zarema - embodied fidelity and incinerating passion. Contemporaries enthusiastically discussed partnership, and criticism practiced in search of epithets and superlatives. Theater critic Nikolai Volkov noted: "Vechesslova has a different palette of feelings than Ulanova. She knows how to not only love but also hate. It is unlikely that one can imagine Zarema’s blade in the hands of Ulanova. And how naturally she squeezes the hilt of Vecheslov’s dagger! She has all the colors thickened, bright, intense. It's not a watercolor, but "oil".

Sometimes the emotions of the reviewers turned out to be so strong that they turned into a poetic form: In the twenty-eighth year, in May, / In the city that on the Neva / Unforgettable grew up / Two girls. / Two ballerinas began to shine / From the fog in the sun: / One name - Galina / The name is different - Tatyana ... - wrote the ballet critic Galina Kremshevskaya.

And only friends knew how the images were born. Ulanova recalled: “At the rehearsals of the Bakhchisarai Fountain, at first I couldn’t help laughing when my cheerful Tanya raised a dagger with a serious look to kill me, Maria, a rival of Zarema. We were always afraid that this laughter would not attack me during the performance. Therefore, I lowered my eyes: I tried not to see Tanya's face. She had an amazing dance and acting gift. “She captivated not only the audience, but also the artists as her talent. We always crowded behind the scenes to watch her.” Zarema Vecheshlova did not go, but swam. Each gesture was wide and impressive. Everything was significant: big jumps full of dramatic expression, and soft insinuating steps, and vortex rotations, and glowing arabesques. Oriental robes looked like trembling fabrics, hiding the beauty of the female body. She wore a red velvet robe as a royal mantle, she accepted the khan as a goddess. Only the loss of love made us look at the world through the eyes of a mortal woman. To see, but not reconcile. Her jealousy was multiplied by passion and demanded a fierce struggle, where the blow of the dagger was the last argument. In the final, Zarema met Giray as a winner, with an inviting smile, opening her arms to both him and death.

In 1948, the Kirov Theater magnificently celebrated the 20th anniversary of the stage activities of two ballerinas. On the stage were two thrones, buried in flowers. Ulanova and Vecheslova were together again, although the war, and personal circumstances, divorced friends in different cities and theaters - Vecheslova returned to Leningrad after the evacuation, and Ulanova ended up in Moscow, at the Bolshoi Theater. But friends celebrated their anniversary on their native Leningrad stage.

Tatyana Vecheslova left the scene in the prime of her talent. The farewell performance took place on June 24, 1953. After graduation from the Kirov Theater, a noisy crowd of spectators did not disperse for a long time. They stood looking up, bewitched. There, in a brightly lit window of the second floor, an elegant, very beautiful woman appeared in a snow-white ball gown. The crowd roared. And towards the cries white roses fell from the window. So Tatyana Vecheslova said goodbye to her audience - the idol of not only ballet, but also the entire cultural of Leningrad.

Leaving the scene, Vecheslova completely plunged into teaching activities. As a tutor, she worked as the brightest stars of the Kirov Ballet: Inna Zubkovskaya and Irina Kolpakova, John Markovsky and Alla Osipenko, Natalya Makarova and Mikhail Baryshnikov. With her participation, the best ballets of Igor Belsky, Yuri Grigorovich, Natalya Kasatkina and Vladimir Vasilev, Boris Fenster, Leonid Yakobson appeared on the stage of the theater.

In the mid-50s, Vechechlova headed the Choreographic School, and during the years of her leadership, the Leningrad school received international recognition. Protecting and nurturing the new was a natural need and, at the same time, a way to continue one’s creativity in the young. The subject she taught was acting, and these lessons were remembered by her students for life. She was so generously gifted that her talent was constantly looking for new forms of expression: she wrote poetry, articles, books. Her memoirs “I am a ballerina” and “About what is expensive” won the hearts of not only demanding professionals, but also the widest audience.

Parts in Performances

• 1928 - Ballet " Corsair " - Gulnara (debut) at the Mariinsky Theater Stage
• 1929 - The Red Poppy - Tao Hoa
• 1930 - Esmeralda - Esmeralda
• 1931 - “ Bolt ” - to the music of Dmitry Shostakovich
• 1931 - Carnival -
• 1932 - The Flames of Paris , partner - Chabukiani, Vakhtang
• 1934 - The Bakhchisarai Fountain - Zarema, Maria - Ulanova, Galina Sergeevna
• 1936 - “Lost Illusions” - Coralli (choreographer - Rostislav Zakharov )
• 1938 - “Heart of the Mountains” - Manich
• 1939 - Laurencia - Pascual
• 1942 - Swan Lake - Odette
• 1942 - Giselle - Giselle
• 1942 - The Sleeping Beauty - Aurora
• 1942 - Don Quixote - Kitri
• 1943 - " Vain Precaution " - Lisa
• 1947 - Tatyana - Tatyana

In 1953, Tatyana Vecheslova left the stage.

• From 1952 to 1954 - Artistic Director of the Leningrad Choreographic School
• In 1955-1969 he was a teacher-tutor at the Mariinsky Theater
• In 1969-1970 - teacher of the Leningrad Choreographic School

Family

• Spouse - Kuznetsov, Svyatoslav Petrovich ( June 10, 1930 - April 30, 1992 )
• Son - Andrey Kuznetsov-Vecheslov ( April 3, 1951 )

Vecheshlova's house was one of the most famous in Petersburg. To get into it was considered an honor. Artists came here to be able to get in touch with the rare openness atmosphere of lively, creative communication. She was friends with the best of the best - Olga Androvskaya , Anna Akhmatova , Faina Ranevskaya , Valentina Khodasevich . In her house there were artists, writers, actors, doctors, scientists - the most famous people of his time: from the Vasilyev brothers to Bulat Okudzhava, from Evgeny Mravinsky to Jean Villard. They loved her, admired her, worshiped her.

Reviews

“... Ballerina, who shone both in lyrical and dramatic parts, and in bravura - virtuoso roles ... She created images marked by grace, perfection of the dance form, artistic talent ..."

- V.V. Chistyakova. Encyclopedia "Russian Ballet" ^[3]

The scenic talent of Tatyana Vecheshlova, artist of the Kirov Opera and Ballet Theater of the Kirov, is especially appreciated when she dances Zarema with Ulanova Maria in the Bakhchisarai Fountain. This is one of the best duets of ballerinas in Soviet ballet. When in Act III of Zarem-Vecheslov’s ballet “breathing with jealousy” penetrates Mary’s bedchamber, the action takes on a special passion. The excellent artist Vecheslova has a different palette of feelings than Ulanova. She knows how not only to love, but also to hate. It is hardly possible to imagine the blade of Zarema in the hands of Ulanova. And how naturally it grips the hilt of Vecheslov’s dagger! She has all the colors thickened, bright, intense. This is not watercolor, but "oil." The dramatic beginning in the work of Vechechlova especially sounds when she becomes Esmeralda in a ballet created from the novel by Hugo. At a ball at the noble Fleur de Lys, a street dancer should amuse lavishly dressed guests with her dances. But unexpectedly learning that her beloved officer Phoebe, the bridegroom of the beautiful Fleur, Vecschlova-Esmeralda, brings such grief to the gypsy dances, such despair that it seems like another moment - and like Gisele, the suffering Esmeralda will go crazy. But Esmeralda continues to dance, and Vechechlova in subtle proportions combines the mechanically reproduced professionalism of the dance with those glare of genuine feelings that every bend of the body, every stroke of the tambourine makes an expression of true passions.

Increased drama is combined with Vecheshlova and with the gift of comic. When she has to perform the daughter of the innkeeper Kitri in Don Quixote or the peasant Lisa in Vain Precaution, she portrays her heroines with subtle humor, with provocative cunning, with sparkles in her eyes. Here she is mocking and ironic. Here she replaces the artist’s brush with a sharpened pencil of a cheerful cartoonist. Everything is built on some successfully found touches and details. And everything is permeated with vitality and “humor”.

- Nikolai Volkov. Twenty years in ballet. "Soviet ballet." 1938. No.6. p.27

“Vechechlova’s expressive not only complex pas, but also the simplest movements, move, run. We must not forget the famous pas de bure Vechechlova - a pearl placer of plastic laughter "

- Boris Lvov-Anokhin. Ballet performances of recent years. M., 1972

“Who does not remember the Vechslovsky race! As if by a shallow, fast stream, scattering spray, ran Pasquale Vecheshlova in its variation. Cheerful Kitri carved on the run sparks that completely visibly scattered across the stage. And finely, finely fingering her legs, shod in elegant black shoes, her Colombina ... "

- Galina Kremshevskaya. Tatyana Vecheslova. L., 1951

• 1952 - Concert of Masters of the Arts ^[4]

In 2010 , the film “I am a ballerina” ^{[5] [6]} was made for the 100th anniversary of Tatyana Vecheshlova based on the rarest surviving archive footage of the dance of T. Vecheshlova herself and excerpts from ballets performed by other wonderful dancers. Materials prepared by:

Galina Mshanskaya , Olga Khrustaleva , Evgenia Rumyantseva, Vyacheslav Bulaenko, Irina Tsagolova, Ilya Petrov, Irina Kleiner, Roman Supruni

• 2010 - “Tatyana Vecheslova:“ I am a ballerina ”” / Director: Galina Mshanskaya. - Russia: Video: AVI. Audio: MPEG Audio. Quality: TVRip.
• Tatyana Vecheslova herself, Galina Ulanova , Alexander Belinsky , Alla Osipenko , Gabriela Komleva , Vladimir Vasiliev and son, Andrei Kuznetsov-Vecheslov speak about the life and career of the ballerina.

The film contains poems by Tatyana Vecheshlova and Anna Akhmatova .

“Sometimes they told me that my life and character do not fit into the framework of the usual ideas about the ballerina ... I did not agree, argued. The value of any profession is determined, first of all, by the passion and strength of the person working in it. I believe that there is no and cannot be any exact boundaries and limits for any profession. I’m proud of my profession. ”

- Tatyana Vecheslova ^[7]

• Vecheslova T. I am a Ballerina . - M .: Art, 1964 .-- 272 p. - 50,000 copies.
• Vecheslova T. About what is expensive. - L .: Soviet composer, 1984. - 200 p. - 20,000 copies.
• Vecheslova T. Dancing A. Osipenko // Neva . 1963 . Number 10.
• Vecheslova T. Her mysterious voice // Memoirs of Anna Akhmatova. M .: Soviet writer , 1991 . S. 460-464. - ISBN 5-265-01227-3
• Vecheshlova T. Poems by Tatyana Vecheshlova: on the centenary of an outstanding ballerina // Theater . 2011 . Number 2.

• 1939 - Honored Artist of the RSFSR ^[8]
• 1946 - Stalin Prize for the play "Cinderella" (Production - Sergeyev, Konstantin Mikhailovich ) ^[9]
• 1957 - Honored Artist of the RSFSR ^[10]

• Kremshevskaya G. D. Tatyana Mikhailovna Vecheslova . - L .: WTO, 1951. - 64 p. - (Masters of the Leningrad scene). - 10,000 copies.
• Kremshevskaya G. Ballerina Tatyana Vecheslova // Evening Leningrad: newspaper. - L. , 1953. - No. 24 of June .
• Chernova N. Life Extension // Theatrical Life: Journal. - M. , 1961. - No. 23 .
• Kremshevskaya G. Tatyana Vecheslova // Theater: magazine. - M. , 1971. - No. 9 .
• Karp P. Tatyana Vecheslova // Soviet Ballet: Journal. - M. , 1983. - No. 3 .
• Kremshevskaya G. Tatyana Vecheslova // Soviet ballet: magazine. - M. , 1983. - No. 3 .
• Karp P. Two lives of Vecheshlova // Mariinsky Theater: newspaper. - SPb. , 1995. - No. 2 .
• Kuznetsov-Vecheslov A. Vecheslov and Akhmatov // Theater . 2011 . No. 2.: magazine. - M.

• Galina Ulanova

• Biography on the site CINEMA-THEATER
• Photogallery of Tatyana Vecheshlova on the site of “Masters of Musical Theater”
• Photos of Tatyana Vecheshlova on the site “The Ballerina Gallery”
• Biography of Tatyana Vecheshlova on the website "Belcanto.ru"
• Biography of Tatyana Vecheshlova on the site "Gergiev.ru"
• Metric book of the church L.-G. Finnish Regiment for 1910 on the website of TsGIA SPb. f.19. Op. 128. d.1201. frame 195

{{#if: ||