Efros Anatoly Vasilievich (years of life - 1925-1987) - Soviet director and teacher. In 1976, he received the title of Honored Art Worker of the RSFSR.
Origin and youth
Anatoly Vasilievich was born in Kharkov on June 3, 1925. His family did not belong to the theatrical environment. Anatoly's parents worked at an aircraft factory. Nevertheless, the future director from childhood was fond of theater. He was interested in Stanislavsky, read about his performances. After graduation, Anatoly Vasilievich began to study in Moscow. He attended a studio at the theater. Moscow City Council.
Studying at GITIS
Efros Anatoly Vasilievich in 1944 entered the GITIS, directing department (course M.O. Knebel and N.V. Petrova). In 1950, he graduated from it. Anatoly Vasilievich’s graduation performance - “Prague remains mine”, created according to the prison diaries of Y. Fuchik. The choice of master and course turned out to be happy for Efros: Knebel, an excellent teacher and student of Stanislavsky, managed to convey to him the ability to subtly understand psychological theater. Throughout his life, Anatoly Vasilievich remained a supporter of the art of "experience." He developed and creatively redesigned the Stanislavsky system, as well as his methods of working with the actor.
The first performances, work in the central heating center
Anatoly Vasilyevich staged his first performances at the Ryazan Theater, and in 1954 he took up the post of chief director of the Moscow Central Children's Theater. The Central Theater (today it is the Youth Theater) under Efros began to stage performances not only for children. Young actors came here, whose names later glorified the Russian scene: O. Tabakov, O. Efremov, Lev Durov. And Anatoly Efros helped reveal these talents. It was in the Center for Contemporary Art in the 1950s that the basic principles of the new theater of our country were laid.
An important stage in the early work of Anatoly Vasilievich (pictured left), as well as the Russian theater in general, is associated with the name of V. Rozov (pictured in the center), the playwright. Many plays by this author were directed by Efros: in 1957 - “In Search of Joy”, in 1960 - “Unequal Battle”, in 1962 - “Before Dinner”. Later, during the work of Anatoly Vasilievich in the Lenin Komsomol Theater, in 1964, "On the Day of Glory" was shown in it, and in 1972 in the theater on Malaya Bronnaya the premiere of "Brother Alyosha" by Fedor Dostoevsky was held. One of the first performances by Anatoly Vasilievich at the Central House of Theater was the play "Good morning!" (Rozova). In it, the director became very close to O. Efremov. Of course, this play played an important role in developing the concept of Sovremennik, the most popular Russian theater in the 1950s. It opened two years later with the play Eternally Alive by Rozov directed by Efremov. Of course, Efros can be considered one of the founders of this theater. One more evidence of this is that Anatoly Vasilievich staged in Sovremennik one of the first performances - Nobody (E. de Filippo) with Lidia Tolmacheva and Efremov.
The Efros Phenomenon
The phenomenon of Efros, who accompanied the director throughout almost his entire life (except for its final period), was that his fame was not massive and loud. Anatoly Vasilievich was not shocking or "fashionable" director. Other names rattled at that time - O. Efremova (in the 1960s), Yu. Lyubimova (in the 1970s). They were idols (and deservedly) of the theater public of those years. However, the creative authority of Anatoly Efros among professionals (directors, actors, playwrights, critics) was very great. Of course, his performances enjoyed success with the audience, they were watched with pleasure and loved by many. However, it was precisely professionals who knew the theater well inside that fully appreciate all the innovation and the depth of the “quiet” directing of Anatoly Vasilievich. It is significant that almost all the actors who worked with Efros recalled this collaboration as real happiness. A very high level of recognition, probably the highest, is not only to become a famous director during his lifetime, but also a legend for colleagues who are usually not very inclined to public enthusiastic assessments.
Natalya Krymova and Anatoly Efros
From the student bench, the great director A. Efros and the best theater expert and theater critic of the 1960s and 80s N. Krymova were nearby. Their union was not just marital, it was a powerful creative tandem that determined the fate of the Russian theater for many years. They had a son, Dmitry, who became a director and theater artist.
Work in the theater. Lenin Komsomol
Anatoly Efros managed to make the MDC popular. After that, he was assigned to the theater. Lenin Komsomol chief director (in 1963). This theater was going through difficult times. Efros should have returned the love of the audience to him - this was calculated by the Department of Culture. A whole galaxy of talented actors was collected under the banners of Anatoly Vasilyevich. Their names immediately became famous throughout the theater in Moscow, largely thanks to such a talented director as Anatoly Efros. And Olga Yakovleva, and A. Zbruev, and other famous artists (A. Dmitrieva, Yu. Kolychev, M. Derzhavin, A. Shirvindt, V. Larionov, L. Durov and others) were very popular. The viewer returned to the theater. Many performances became real events, including: 1964 “On the Wedding Day” and “104 pages about love”, 1965 “My poor Marat” and “Filming a movie ...”, 1966 - “The Seagull” and “Moliere” . The lyric and dramatic productions of Efros (by no means journalistic!) In contemporary drama (Radzinsky, Rozov, Arbuzov) were extremely accurate. They were clumps of existential problems of the intelligentsia of that time, thoughts about what place was allotted in the society of the individual. However, the classical productions of Anatoly Vasilievich were no less relevant, and this despite the fact that there was no violent "modernization" in them. This caused discontent. Anatoly Efros was removed from the leadership of this theater in 1967.
Efros becomes the director of the theater on Malaya Bronnaya
He became the next director of the theater on Malaya Bronnaya. However, a modest position did not prevent the theater immediately after the arrival of Anatoly Vasilyevich began to be called the "Efros Theater". Not only all 17 years of this director's work in him, he carried his name, but also many years later. These 17 years were happy, albeit difficult for Anatoly Efros. The positive side of the next position was that it made it possible to concentrate as much as possible on one's profession.
Efros was surrounded by an excellent troupe - some actors left Lenkom after him. Everyone who worked with Anatoly Vasilievich considered themselves to be his students, even those who did not study at GITIS in his courses (he taught there intermittently since 1964). V. Gaft, L. Durov, O. Yakovleva, N. Volkov, M. Shirvindt, L. Broneva, L. Krugly, M. Derzhavin, O. Dahl, A. Petrenko, S. Lyubshin, worked simultaneously on Malaya Bronnaya Koreneva, G. Martynyuk, G. Sayfulin, M. Kanevsky. Years of cooperation with Efros for many of them have become truly stellar. Gradually, the theater, located on Malaya Bronnaya, became the center of the spiritual life of the capital - and this despite the fact that there was Taganka. The performances of Anatoly Efros sounded a weighty and distinct counterpoint to his productions. Theater director A. Efros was an artist, not a politician. His modernity echoes eternity.
Relations with Yu. Lyubimov
In the 1970s, the relationship between Efros and Beloved (pictured above) was corporate-respectful. Anatoly Efros in 1973 staged a play entitled "Just a few words in defense of Mr. de Moliere." The main role in it was played by Yu. Lyubimov. He, in turn, invited A. Efros to the Taganka Theater to stage the play The Cherry Orchard. New work experience gave Tagank actors participation in it.
Performances on classical and modern plays staged at the theater on Malaya Bronnaya
And productions on Malaya Bronnaya became real legends - mainly a classic. “Romeo and Juliet”, “Three Sisters”, “Othello”, “Marriage”, “A Month in the Village”, “Don Juan”, “Brother Alyosha” - each of them was a modern and unexpected performance, in each of its participants opened new the verge of his talent. However, the Anatoly Efros Theater also refers to its performances staged according to modern plays as Tales of the Old Arbat, Happy Days of an Unlucky Man, Theater Director, Summer and Smoke, Man from the Side, etc. Anatoly Vasilievich worked a lot during this period on television, looking for new means of expression. He also wrote a lot, on paper recording reflections on the future and present of the theater.
Political games
Despite the fact that A. Dunaev, who worked in the theater on Malaya Bronnaya as the main director, supported him in every possible way, the performances of Efros were often forbidden. However, Anatoly Vasilievich tried to live, categorically avoiding and as if not noticing the political games that he considered unworthy of the theater. Efros is not a tribune director. The modernity of his productions was achieved thanks to the raised problems of the moral search of the then intelligentsia, whose idol he gradually became. By the mid-70s, the director Anatoly Efros began to be considered disgraced. In his productions on a modern topic, it was not difficult to find socio-political allusions - and they were forbidden, such as, for example, “Seducer Kokobashkin”. However, it was not so simple with the classics - and Anatoly Efros was accused of distorting her. Work on Malaya Bronnaya was the last rather quiet stage of the director’s career.
Hard years of work at the Taganka Theater
I. Kogan, director of this theater, declared war on Efros in 1983. In 1984, Anatoly Vasilyevich left him. However, he didn’t just leave - Efros began working in the Taganka Theater as the chief director, replacing Y. Lyubimov in this post. This period of his life became especially dramatic. Anatoly Vasilievich always found himself somehow drawn into political games, despite the fact that he always avoided them. For the first time, his performances began to be judged by social rather than artistic criteria.
A difficult fate awaited such a director as Anatoly Efros. His biography at this time was marked by misunderstanding on the part of his colleagues. The theater staff did not accept the new leader. Undoubtedly, the attitude of Yu. Lyubimov, who considered strike breaking Efros to him, also played a role here. Lyubimov loudly declared that his colleague had committed "betrayal." Few Tagankan actors were able to collaborate with Efros - V. Smekhov, V. Zolotukhin, A. Demidova. Others announced a brutal boycott. The most incorrect methods of struggle went into effect. Through the resistance of the whole troupe, the last performances of Anatoly Vasilyevich were staged - "The Cherry Orchard", "Misanthrope", "At the Bottom", "Beautiful Sunday for a picnic." Many participants in this conflict later claimed to be wrong. However, this happened much later.
The death of A. Efros
Anatoly Efros January 13, 1987 died of a heart attack. Today, the name of Anatoly Vasilyevich has become part of the history of theatrical art of our country, along with such great names as K. S. Stanislavsky, V. E. Meyerhold, E. B. Vakhtangov, A. Ya. Tairov.