Ekaterina Vasilievna Geltzer (1876-1962) - Russian ballerina, the largest "star" of the Soviet ballet of the 1920s. People's Artist of the Republic (1925).
| Ekaterina Geltzer | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 In the photo of 1910 | |||||||
| Birth name | Ekaterina Vasilievna Gelzer | ||||||
| Date of Birth | November 2 (14), 1876 | ||||||
| Place of Birth | Moscow , Russian Empire | ||||||
| Date of death | December 12, 1962 (86 years old) | ||||||
| Place of death | Moscow , USSR | ||||||
| Citizenship |  Russian Empire →  the USSR | ||||||
| Profession | ballet dancer , ballet teacher | ||||||
| Theater | The Bolshoi Theatre | ||||||
| Awards |
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Biography
E.V. Geltser was born on November 2 (14), 1876 in Moscow in an artistic family. Father - Vasily Geltser , ballet dancer of the Bolshoi Theater ; uncle - Anatoly Gelzer - theater artist. In 1894, after graduating from the Moscow Ballet School, she worked at the Bolshoi Theater . In 1896-1898 she performed on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater . She performed in many productions of choreographer M.I. Petipa , which left a big imprint on the ballerina's work.
From 1898 to 1935, Geltzer performed on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater. Since 1910, as part of the entreprise, S.P. Diaghilev took part in tours abroad.
After the revolution , when almost all the stars of Russian ballet emigrated to Europe, she found herself in the position of "the real mistress of the Bolshoi Theater" [1] . She was the first of the ballet dancers to be awarded the title of “ folk ”. In theatrical circles, the leading position of such an age ballerina was explained by the special favor of her from the People's Commissar of Education Lunacharsky [2] .
In the 1920s, Geltzer was married to her long-time stage partner, Vasily Tikhomirov . Their creative tandem survived after the family broke up. “And although Tikhomirov had a new family, it became natural for the ballerina to worry about him daily, to make phone calls” [3] .
The stage style of Catherine Gelzer was a synthesis of impeccable technique of performance, musicality, expressiveness of the dance with increased attention to the inner life of the stage image. The 50-year-old Gelzer in the first Soviet ballet Red Poppy was a huge success.
According to the official version, Geltzer had no children, however, in 2005, the Kultura TV channel showed a documentary film stating that before the revolution, Geltzer was almost the civil wife of E. Mannerheim , that they almost got married in 1924. church on Cook and that they had a common son Emil [4] . Mannerheim biographers this information is not confirmed [5] .
In the 1930s, Geltzer toured the USSR. Her last performances took place at a very advanced age, in 1942-1944. Then she worked as a teacher-consultant. Igor Moiseev recalled the beginning of his career at the Bolshoi Theater [6] :
| Although Tikhomirov was the owner of the theater, the prima ballerina Ekaterina Vasilievna Geltser was the mistress of Tikhomirov. By this time, Geltzer was not young and very difficult, only Ivan Smoltsov could lift it. But he tore his back on it. But Geltzer needed a gentleman for the tour. And then someone advised her: "Try Moiseyev, he is an athlete, he is strong." <...> I really didn’t like all this, I was kind of at services. Once, I remember, there was the Bacchanalia of Saint-Saens - I grab Geltzer in my arms, start spinning, circling, circling and ... everything is already messed up with me - where is the hall, where is the backdrop, I'm running straight to the dark backstage, and behind them - the wall, and from the start I bryak it against the wall. |
Ekaterina Geltser lived in Moscow, in the house of artists of the Moscow Art Theater in Bryusov Lane (No. 17). In 1964, a memorial plaque in her honor was installed on the facade of the building (sculptor A. V. Pekarev [7] [8] , architect G. P. Lutsky). E.V. Geltzer died on December 12, 1962 . She was buried in Moscow at the Novodevichy cemetery (plot No. 3, photo of the grave [9] ).
Repertoire
- “ Raymonda ” by A. K. Glazunov , productions of 1900 , 1908 and 1918 (Not the first performer in the 1900 version) - Raymonda , Panaderos
- 1910 - “ Salambo ” by A. F. Arends - Salambo
- 1927 - The Red Poppy by R. M. Glier - Tao Hoa
- “ Sleeping Beauty ” by P. I. Tchaikovsky - Aurora , Fairy Candide , Fairy of Diamonds, White Cat
- " Swan Lake " by P. I. Tchaikovsky - Odette — Odile
- " Esmeralda " by C. Pugni - Esmeralda
- The Little Humpbacked Horse by C. Pugni - Tsar Maiden , Fresco
- 1912 - " Corsair " A. Adana - Medora
- " Vain precaution " by P. L. Gertel - Lisa
- " Coppelia " - Work
- Mikado 's Daughter - Autumn , Princess O-Yosh
- The Magic Shoe - Cinderella
- Naiad and the Fisherman - Naiad
- Cavalry Halt - Teresa
- La Bayadere - Nikia
- The Nutcracker - Dragee Fairy
- Giselle - Myrtle
- " Daughter of Gudula " - Venus
- Don Quixote - Kitri , Mercedes
- “ Pharaoh 's Daughter ” - Bint-Anta
- The Stars - Clermont
- Magic Mirror - Princess
- " Goldfish " - Goldfish
- " La Sylphide " - La Sylphide
Filmography
In 1913, Ekaterina Geltser starred in the film ballets of the Pate Brothers studio Coppelia (Franz - Leonid Zhukov , Koppelius - Vladimir Ryabtsev ) and Bacchanalia (dances from the opera Samson and Delilah ). Both filming of director Kai Gansen was lost .
Collection
Catherine Gelzer possessed a significant collection of works of art. Its value was so high that in 1941, when the front was approaching Moscow, by the decision of the Committee on Arts under the USSR Council of Ministers, the collection was included among the most significant personal collections [10] and was subject to evacuation to the rear along with collections of state museums.
Awards and Prizes
- Stalin Prize of the first degree (1943) - for many years of outstanding achievements
- People's Artist of the Republic (1925)
- Order of Lenin (06/02/1937)
- Order of the Red Banner of Labor
- medals
Notes
- ↑ E. Maximova . Madame, no. AST, 2003.S. 30.
- ↑ V. S. Sobkin, V. S. Mazanova. Experience commentary on a single theater review. // National Psychological Journal. No. 1 (13) / 2014.
- ↑ V. Nosova. Ballerinas // ZhZL . Young Guard, 1983.P. 268.
- ↑ More than love. Catherine Gelzer and Gustav von Mannerheim
- ↑ L.V. Vlasov. Women in the fate of Mannerheim. The Fatherland Fund, 2005. ISBN 9785937700063 . Page 202.
- ↑ Kommersant newspaper - Igor Moiseev: I fell a victim of intrigue
- ↑ Monumental chronicle
- ↑ Memorial plaque of E.V. Geltser (Inaccessible link) . Date of treatment January 21, 2013. Archived January 1, 2014.
- ↑ Tomb of E.V. Geltser at the Novodevichy Cemetery. Monument to the work of the sculptor A.V. Pekarev
- ↑ Private collections of singer Lydia Ruslanova and art critic Ilya Zilberstein were also recognized as such.