Maria Nikolaevna Ermolova - the star of the theatrical Russian stage is known for her dramatic talent. Her life was subordinated to the service of the theater, her whole path is an example of a selfless love of art.
The childhood of the future star
On July 15, 1853, the future star of the stage, Maria Ermolova, was born. The biography of the actress began in a family related to the theater: her grandfather was once a serf violinist with the princes Volkonsky, for his services he received free and worked the rest of his life in the wardrobe of the Maly Theater, the girl's father served as a prompter there. Therefore, from an early age, Masha plunged into the life of the backstage. Looking at the scene from the prompter booth, she was convinced that she was to become the best actress. From the age of 4 she had been playing various scenes in front of the mirror, and her parents welcomed this.
Ermolovaâs father was an enthusiastic and artistic person, he read a lot, drew, wrote poetry and plays. But at the same time it was not easy, he raised children in extreme severity, was prone to violent outbursts of anger over trifles. This influenced the character of the daughter, who all her life eschewed a large society, was very modest and unpretentious.
Study and dreams
Ermolovaâs family was among the poor, so the girl did not have much choice where to go to study. Father believed that children should get used to the hardships of life from childhood, and especially did not care about their pleasures. The girl didnât even have a primer, she learned to read from plays that lay in abundance on her fatherâs desk. At the age of 9, it was decided to give the child to study at the Moscow Theater School, there was a free, âstateâ place in the ballet department, where Yermolov was enrolled. And the most difficult years of her life began. Maria did not have dancing talent, every lesson was a torment for her, but teachers and classmates noticed her artistic abilities.
At the age of 13, the father was able to arrange his daughterâs first appearance on the dramatic stage, she was given the role in the vaudeville âTen Brides and Not One Bridegroomâ at the Maly Theater. The image of Fanshetta was not close to Ermolova, and she did not have success, in addition, the famous actor Samarin pronounced the verdict: "She must never be an actress."
But this did not stop Maria from dreaming of a dramatic scene, he knew all the plays that were in the Maly Theater, was confident in her calling, no matter what. And stubbornly continued to master the profession of a ballerina.
Successful debut
The rise of Maria Ermolova was not predictable and expected. By chance, at the age of 16, she had the opportunity to appear on the stage of the Maly Theater in a dramatic role. The prima of the theater N. Medvedev was preparing for a benefit and urgently sought a replacement for the sick G. Fedotova in the Lessing play âEmilia Galottiâ, and a classmate of Maria advised her candidacy. The debutant's success exceeded all expectations, the audience was shocked by the sincere and deep feelings of the young actress. She was called to bow 12 times, which was unheard of for a debutante. Ermolova herself writes in her diary: "I am happy today." But the successful debut did not stop her painful lessons in ballet, she had to study at the school for two more years and only at the end of it did she go on the coveted path of the dramatic actress.
Theater - Fate
Immediately after leaving school, Ermolova was enrolled in the troupe of the Maly Theater. But the theater leadership was convinced that the comedic role was better for the young artist, and for the first time she was given roles exclusively in vaudeville. She played frivolous young ladies, investing in them more depth and seriousness than the authors intended. However, the roles of Mashenka in âSlavery of Husbandsâ, Martha in âThe Tsarâs Brideâ, Emma in âThe Family of the Criminalâ, Lida in the âKrechinsky Weddingâ, Marianne in âTartuffeâ became a good start for her. Maria Nikolaevna approached the roles very seriously, for a long time she was looking for character traits, she thought over the image of the image. The first three years in the theater became a time for her to study, she gained skill, realized her abilities.
A successful debut and first roles greatly complicated the life of Ermolova in the theater, at first she was surrounded by envy and hostility. It was difficult for her to fit into the troupe also because of her non-sociable character. She was greatly supported by the Shchepkin family, relatives of the famous actor. The intelligentsia of Moscow gathered in their house, and Mary managed to make many useful acquaintances that would help her in the future.
Talent of the tragic actress
Gradually, the directors discover the power of Ermolovaâs talent and entrust her with more serious roles. In 1873, she was lucky enough to work on the image of Katerina in the Storm by A. I. Ostrovsky, for several years she perfected and honed this role, bringing it to perfection. Talent must ripen, and the actor must gain some experience in order to flourish in full force. Six years passed before the true new star, Maria Yermolova, shone in all her strength on the stage of the Maly Theater. The actress in 1876 entered into excellent shape and matured for a benefit. Specially for her, the regular at the Shchepkinâs circle, Sergey Yuryev, translated the play Lope de Vega âThe Sheep Springâ, the role of Lawrence in which was ideally suited for such an event. The play was a resounding success, an enthusiastic audience blocked the road and instead of horses drove her carriage to the house, and then brought the actress into the house in her arms.
Thus began a happy streak in the life of Maria Yermolova. She opens a new era in the Maly Theater - the era of romance. Her lyrical gift was fully realized in such roles as Ophelia, Desdemona, Estrella in "Star of Seville", Elizabeth in "Don Carlos".
But the greatest glory of Maria Ermolova was made up of tragic and dramatic roles, in her her talent was fully revealed. Fedra, Sappho, Lady Macbeth performed by the actress admired the audience and critics. In them, her individuality was fully manifested.
Touch of modern drama
In the late 80s and 90s of the 19th century, Yermolova Maria turned to the modern repertoire, which did not need the passion and pathos inherent in the classical material. Here the emphasis is on everyday topics and the realism of the characters. New facets of Ermolovaâs talent are revealed in plays by Russian playwrights: A. N. Ostrovsky, V. I. Nemirovich-Danchenko, A. I. Sumbatov-Yuzhin, M. I. Tchaikovsky, A. S. Suvorin. She not only tries herself in positive images, but also turns to negative characters.
The final years of a career
Since the 1910s, changes have taken place in the professional career of the actress, she no longer wanted to play her usual repertoire because of age. Maria Ermolova was forced to turn to the roles of mothers and old women. But even in this period, she had creative successes, which include the roles of Tsarina Martha in the play Ostrovsky âDmitry the Pretender and Vasily Shuiskyâ, Mamelfa Dmitrievna in the âPosadnikâ by A. K. Tolstoy, and fra Alving in the Ibsenovâs âGhostâ.
In 1920, the 50th anniversary of her creative activity was magnificently celebrated, the Soviet government awarded her the title of People's Artist of the Republic, she was the first actress in history to receive such a title. The Soviet government in the 70s of the 20th century launched the ship "Maria Ermolova", which gave the name to a whole class of passenger water vessels.
In 1923, she officially leaves the scene. But he continues to give concerts as a poetry reader, meets with spectators.
Best Roles
Actress Ermolova Maria Nikolaevna possessed a powerful tragic talent, in her life she embodied more than 300 images on stage. But critics call her the main role of Joan of Arc in Schiller's "Orleans Maiden". She "recaptured" this play for many years from censorship, and only in 1884 permission for the production was obtained. Further, for 18 years, the performance did not leave the stage, and Ermolova only gained strength in it. The best roles also include: Negina in Ostrovskyâs Talents and Fans, Kruchinin in his play Guilty Without Guilt, Maria Stewart in Schillerâs play, Fedra Racina, Hermione in Shakespeareâs Winter's Tale.
The theater of Maria Ermolova is a theater of experiences and immersions. She embodied the system of K. S. Stanislavsky.
The fame of the actress is known today only by reviews of contemporaries, photos of Maria Ermolova do not convey all her magical charm, and her performances were not filmed on film. However, it is known that she impressed the viewer with the depth and strength of emotions, was able to express the subtlest spiritual movements and moods.
Private life
All contemporaries claimed that Ermolova in life was a very modest and unpretentious person, she did not strive for luxury, she did nothing. So, from the jewelry on it, only a string of pearls could be seen; from clothes, she preferred strict black dresses. Her house was very ascetic, it was decorated only with flowers donated by the audience.
Ermolova married Nikolai Shubinsky at a young age because of her great love, which quickly dissipated, and a significant dissimilarity of the characters and views of the spouses was revealed. But Maria Nikolaevna Ermolova all her life continued to live with an unloved person for the sake of her daughter. Contemporaries said that later she was overtaken by great love with a scientist living in Europe. But Ermolova did not dare to terminate the marriage.
In the last years of her life, her grandson Kolya gave her a lot of joy, with whom she spent a lot of time. On March 12, 1928, the great Russian actress Maria Yermolova died.