Massalitinov, Nikolai Osipovich

Nikolai Massalitinov was born on February 24, 1880 in the city of Yelets, Oryol (now Lipetsk) region.

Childhood and youth passed in Tomsk , the gymnasium student Massalitinov took part in amateur performances. In 1900 he entered the medical faculty of Tomsk University , for participation in a student demonstration he was expelled from the university. He moved to the Technological Institute , but was for the same reason expelled from there. In 1904, on the advice of his sister (by then the actress of the Maly Theater) he moved to Moscow. In 1907 he graduated from the Maly Theater School (teacher A. A. Fedotov). Present at the graduation performance of the school K. S. Stanislavsky and Vl. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko invited him to the Moscow Art Theater .

In 1913 - 1916, he led, together with N. G. Alexandrov and N. A. Podgorny, the private school of dramatic art ("School of Three Nikolaev"), which served as the basis for the 2nd Moscow Art Theater Studio.

In June 1919, the Kachalov group, which included Massalitinov, was cut off from Moscow as a result of the Civil War . After performances in Kharkov , Odessa , Yekaterinodar , Tbilisi , Batumi, the “Kachalov group” “The Cherry Orchard” opened a tour in Sofia on October 20, 1920 .

From January 18, 1921, performances continued in Belgrade , Zagreb , Ljubljana , then in Prague . After the return of part of the group to Moscow, Massalitinov, along with the remaining actors, played in the City Theater as part of the Prague troupe, led by M. Germanova .

He constantly made some attempts to return to his homeland and to his Moscow Art Theater, his correspondence with V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko was preserved in the archives, but everything turned out to be in vain. However, from correspondence with other actors, it becomes clear that even in Moscow the most popular and awarded actors did not work out well, although, of course, this can not be compared with the conditions of forced emigration.

Natalia Vagapova , theater historian, author of the book “Russian Theater Emigration” in Central Europe and the Balkans ”, St. Petersburg, Aleteya Publishing House:

Of course, if we talk about such names as Kachalov , Knipper-Chekhov , Moskvin , of course, they prospered, in general, more or less did within the limits to which this was possible in Soviet Russia, they did what they wanted. But, nevertheless, maybe this statement is too bold on my part, I’m not a historian of the Moscow Art Theater, but I told you that the Prague group has been declining for the 30s. But we will take the letter of Knipper-Chekhova, already old, almost not playing, a frank friendly letter to Massalitinov, which she wrote to him by hand, just like an old friend. It is published. She writes that how sad is what is happening now in her native theater. They were like birds in a golden cage, I guess. Everyone in life chooses their fate. I was so trying to imagine. We will not talk about our great old people, who were nevertheless kindly treated by the Soviet authorities, lived in the best sanatoriums, they were served by excellent doctors, they could play until they were old, they could complain ^[3] .

In 1924, Massalitinov created a private theater school in Berlin , and since 1925 he lived and worked in Bulgaria .

Nikolay Massalitinov died on March 22, 1961 in Sofia.

• People's Artist of NRB (1948)
• Laureate of the Dimitrov Prize (1950)

Actor

• Moscow Art Theater
  • “Woe from Wit” - Skalozub
  • “For every sage, quite simplicity” - Gorodulin
  • “A month in the village” - Islaev
  • “Where it is thin, there it breaks” - Stanitsyn
  • The Cherry Orchard - Lopakhin
  • "Three Sisters" - Salty
  • "Uncle Vanya" - Voynitsky
  • "Boris Godunov" by A. Pushkin - Prince Vorotynsky , Prince Kurbsky
  • “Human Life” L.Andreeva - Father
  • "Blue Bird" M. Meterlinka - Father , Beech
  • "Examiner" N.V. Gogol - Ukhovert
  • “Hamlet” by W. Shakespeare , 1911 - Claudius
  • “Where it is thin, there it breaks” Turgenev , 1912 - Stanitsyn
  • "Nikolai Stavrogin" by F. Dostoevsky , 1913 - Shatov
  • "The death of Pazukhin" according to M. Saltykov-Shchedrin , 1914 ) - Zhivnovsky
  • "Stepanchikovo Village" by Dostoevsky, 1917 - Rostanev
• Bulgarian theaters
  • Hauptmann's Before the Sunset - Matthias Clausen
  • Tartuffe - Tartuffe

Director

• The Twelfth Night by W. Shakespeare ( 1925 )
• "Masters" R. Stoyanova ( 1927 )
• "Albena" I. Yovkova ( 1929 )
• “Woe from Wit” by A. Griboedov ( 1930 )
• The Millionaire by I. Yovkov (1930)
• “Poverty is not a vice” Ostrovsky ( 1932 )
• “At the bottom” of Gorky (1932)
• "Over the precipice" I.Vazova ( 1934 )
• The Throne by I.Vazov (1934)
• The Ordinary Man by I. Yovkov ( 1936 )
• "Dowry" Ostrovsky ( 1937 )
• "Prince of Homburg" G. Kleist ( 1942 )
• Shakespeare's Hamlet ( 1943 )
• “Hernani” by V. Hugo (1943)
• "Enemies" of Gorky ( 1944 )
• “The struggle continues” K.Kyulyavkova ( 1946 )
• The Three Sisters by Chekhov ( 1953 )
• “Talents and fans” of Ostrovsky ( 1955 )

Encyclopaedia Round the World