Libakov, Mikhail Vadimovich

Mikhail (Moses) Libakov was born in the family of the merchant of the 1st guild of Mordukh Leibov Libakov and was the youngest child in the family where five sons grew up. Four out of five Libakov brothers adopted Christianity (three of them converted to Orthodoxy, and one adopted the Evangelical Lutheran religion). Mikhail Libakov was baptized according to the Orthodox rite on July 31, 1911, at the age of 22 ^[1] .

In the 1900s, he studied fine art at the art school of the Vitebsk painter Yudel Pan ^[2] , where he was part of the circle of young Vitebsk artists - Marc Chagall , Osip Zadkin , Ilya (Reuben) Mazel ^[1] . Ilya Mazel later recalled a joint study with Mikhail Libakov: “We often wandered albums along the city streets and painted wretched Jewish shacks, and when Chagall came to Pan, the three of us engaged in sketching Vitebsk streets” ^[3] .

In the early 1910s, Mikhail Libakov moved to Moscow. From 1913 to 1929 he worked as a decorator and actor in the 1st studio of the Art Theater (Moscow Art Theater 2nd). As an actor, neither in studio performances nor in the later works of the Moscow Art Theater of the 2nd did not stand out, although he participated in many performances. The work of Libakov as a theater artist was much more significant ^[4] .

“By designing the play“ Cricket on the Furnace ”(1913-1914) by Dickens, Libakov earned the respect and sympathy of Konstantin Stanislavsky, Leopold Sulerzhitsky and Alexander Benois. He was especially famous for his work on the performances Hamlet (1924) and Petersburg (1925) based on the novel by Andrei Bely. "

- Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya . Vitebsk entourage of Marc Chagall (Victor Mekler, Thea Brahman, Oscar Meshchaninov, Osip Tsadkin, Mikhail Libakov, Reuben Mazel) ^[1] .

Mikhail Libakov was also noted for his work in book graphics: in 1918, he independently designed the book by Nikolai Efros “Cricket on the stove. Staged by C. Dickens' short story. Studio of the Moscow Art Theater ” ^[5] , and in 1925 participated in a joint work with Sergei Chekhonin on the publication“ Moscow Art Theater Two ” ^[6] .

The creative versatility and craftsmanship of Libakov organically corresponded to the spirit of the versatile self-sufficiency of the 1st studio of the Art Theater:

“The skill to do everything with my own hands was developed in the First Studio. The artists of their own were M.V. Libakov; music authors like N. N. Rakhmanov; creators of the material world (M. Chekhov, together with Sulerzhitsky, furnished Caleb’s housing in Cricket). Themselves provided the literary basis: B. M. Sushkevich staged Dickens ... ".

- Inna Solovyova . “King of the square republic” // Moscow Art Theater Second ... ^[7] .

When, after the 1928/29 season, Libakov was preparing to leave the 2nd Moscow Art Theater, Mikhail Chekhov warmly supported the intention to "write" the artist abroad, but Libakov did not leave the USSR ^[4] . In the first half of the 1930s he took part in the productions of the Moscow Operetta Theater and the Maly Theater. In subsequent years, he worked as a theater artist in Yalta, Odessa, Kherson, Kiev ^[11] .

In 1920, Mikhal Libakov took part in the creation by Ilya Mazel and Alexander Vladychuk of the Ashgabat art studio, called the “Shock School of the Arts of the East” (USHIV) ^[12] .

He died in the Leningrad House of Veterans of the scene, where he settled down in January 1952 with his wife, theater and film actress Valentina Efimovna Kuindzhi (08/01/1893 - 06/06/1969) ^[13] .

In the 1st studio of the Art Theater ^[14] :

• “The Death of Hope” (1913, staged by R. V. Boleslavsky based on the play by G. Geyermans )
• “Peace Festival” (1913, staged by E. B. Vakhtangov based on the play by G. Hauptman ) with I. Ya. Gremislavsky
• “Kaliks are Transitional” (1914, staged by R. V. Boleslavsky based on the play by V. M. Volkenstein ) with P. G. Uzunov
• “Cricket on the Furnace” (1914, staged and staged by B. M. Sushkevich according to the story of C. Dickens )
• The Flood (1915, staged by E. B. Vakhtangov based on the play by J.-H. Berger) with P. G. Uzunov
• “Rosmersholm” (1918, staged by E. B. Vakhtangov based on the play by G. Ibsen )
• “Hero” (1923, staged by A.D. Wild in the play by J. Singh ) with A. A. Radakov
• Hamlet (1924, production: V. S. Smyshlyaev , V. N. Tatarinov, A. I. Cheban )
• “Petersburg” (1925, production: S. G. Birman , V. N. Tatarinov, A. I. Cheban based on the novel by A. Bely ) with B. A. Matrunin ^[15]
• “The King of the Square Republic” (1925, staged by B. M. Sushkevich based on the play by N. N. Bromley)
• “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” (1929, staged by V. N. Tatarinov)

In other theaters ^[16] :

• "A teahouse in the mountains" (1930, Strelnikova, jointly with I. M. Maisel - at the Moscow Operetta Theater)
• "Fighters" Romashov, 1934, sovm. with B. A. Matrunin - at the Maly Theater)

• "The death of" Hope "" (1913-1929; 1st and 2nd guard)
• "Twelfth night, or As you wish" (1917-1929; Valentine, court duke)
• "Eric XIV" (1921-1928; Niels Sture)
• The Taming of the Shrew (1924-1927; Lord)
• "King Lear" (1923-1924; 1st gentleman from the retinue of the king)
• "Flea" (1925-1929; janitor, tsar general)
• “King of the Square Republic” (1925, Mentor)
• Petersburg (1925-1929; 2nd footman)
• "In 1825" (1925-1929; Colonel Bulgakov)
• "The Case" (1927-1929; valet of the prince)
• The Death of John the Terrible (1927-1929; Sheremetev)
• The Capture of the Bastille (1927-1928; notary)
• "Sunset" (1828; neighbor of the Screams)
• "Mitkino kingdom" (1928-1929; royal ambassador)
• “The Man Who Laughs” (1929; Lord Gracedee, foreman of the Club of the Grungy)

• Efros N. E. "Cricket on the stove." A staged story by C. Dickens. Studio of the Moscow Art Theater. - Petersburg, edition of A.E. Kogan, 1918. - 36, 43, 46, 51-59 p.
• Khmelnitsky Lyudmila. Vitebsk entourage of Marc Chagall (Victor Mekler, Thea Brahman, Oscar Meshchaninov, Osip Tsadkin, Mikhail Libakov, Reuben Mazel) // Bulletin of the Marc Chagall Museum. Vol. 13. - 2005. - 55-63 s.
• Moscow Art Theater Second: Experience in the restoration of biography (edited by I. N. Solovieva , A. M. Smelyansky , O. V. Egoshina). - M., "Moscow Art Theater", 2010. - 956 p.

• Lyudmila Khmelnitskaya . Vitebsk environment of Marc Chagall