Alisa Brunovna Freindlich (born 8 December 1934) is a Russian actress. Since 1983, Freindlich has been a leading actress of the Bolshoi Drama Theater in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

. She was awarded the title of the

People's Artist of the USSR People's Artist of the USSR, also sometimes translated as National Artist of the USSR, was an honorary title granted to artists of the Soviet Union. The term is confusingly used to translate two Russian language titles: Народный арти ...

in 1981.

Biography

Alisa Freindlich was born into the family of Bruno Freindlich, a prominent actor and

. She is of German and Russian ancestry. Her father and paternal relatives were ethnic Germans living in Russia for more than a century. In her childhood years, Freindlich attended the drama and music classes of the Leningrad Palace of Pioneers. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, she survived the 900-day-long Nazi

siege of Leningrad The siege of Leningrad was a Siege, military blockade undertaken by the Axis powers against the city of Leningrad (present-day Saint Petersburg) in the Soviet Union on the Eastern Front (World War II), Eastern Front of World War II from 1941 t ...

and continued her school studies after the war. In the 1950s, Freindlich studied acting at the Leningrad State Institute of Theatre, Music and Cinema, graduating in 1957 as actress. From 1957 to 1961, she was a member of the troupe at Komissarzhevskaya Theatre in Leningrad. Then she joined the Lensovet Theatre company, but in 1982, she had to leave it following her divorce from the theatre's director, Igor Vladimirov. Thereupon director Georgy Tovstonogov invited her to join the troupe of Bolshoi Drama Theater. Although Freindlich put a premium on her stage career, she starred in several notable movies, including Eldar Ryazanov's enormously popular comedy '' Office Romance'' (1977), the long-banned epic '' Agony'' (1975) and Andrei Tarkovsky's sci-fi movie '' Stalker'' (1979). Another notable role was Queen

Anne of Austria Anne of Austria (; ; born Ana María Mauricia; 22 September 1601 – 20 January 1666) was Queen of France from 1615 to 1643 by marriage to King Louis XIII. She was also Queen of Navarre until the kingdom's annexation into the French crown ...

in the Soviet TV series '' D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers'' (1978) and its later Russian sequels, '' Musketeers Twenty Years After'' (1992) and '' The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After'' (1993). In 1999, Igor Vladimirov, Freindlich's second husband, died after a long illness, and three years later, her father, Bruno Arturovich, also died.

2000–present

On her 70th birthday, she was visited by

Vladimir Putin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin (born 7 October 1952) is a Russian politician and former intelligence officer who has served as President of Russia since 2012, having previously served from 2000 to 2008. Putin also served as Prime Minister of Ru ...

in her Saint Petersburg apartment, who awarded her with the State Prize of the Russian Federation. She also received a Nika Award in 2005. In 2004 film, Freindlich starred in '' On Upper Maslovka Street'' after a 10-year hiatus. Her partner on the set was the young actor Yevgeny Mironov. She starred as 87-year-old sculptor Anna Borisovna, who lives out her life in an old workshop. Despite the mixed reception of the film by film critics, Freindlich's acting was highly praised by journalists and critics. Yeaterina Tarkhanova, a columnist for ''film.ru'', noted that she "performs the "old woman sketch" absolutely flawlessly: plastically, facially, intonation." Igor Mikhailov from ''kino.ru'' said: For this role, Freindlich was awarded her second Nika Award for Best Actress. In 2009, Freindlich starred in Room and a Half, which won a Nika Award. She starred as the mother of the poet Joseph Brodsky. On 7 December 2009, on the stage of the Great Hall of the Central House of Actors named after Yablochkina, the Theatrical Star 2009 award ceremony was held. Freindlich was nominated "For Best Improvisation" for her role as Madeleine in ''Lessons of Tango and Love''. On 5 December 2014, in honor of Friendlich's 80-year anniversary, an exhibition dedicated to the history of her family, titled ''Theater Dynasties of Freindlich'', was opened in St. Petersburg at the Museum-Apartment of Samoilov Actors, Stremyannaya, 8. As of 2019, Freindlich was performing in nine productions of the Bolshoi Drama in Saint Petersburg, where she is a leading actress.

Personal life

Freindlich is a member of the United Russia party.

Selected filmography

* '' Unfinished Story'' (1955) as episode * '' Talents and Admirers'' (1956) as episode * ''Immortal Song'' (1957) as gymnasium student * '' The City Turns the Lights On'' (1958) as Zina Pichikova * ' (1960) as Galya * '' Striped Trip'' (1961) as barmaid * ' (1964) as Natasha Bukova * ' (1965) as Tanya * '' Adventures of a Dentist'' (1965) as Masha * ''The City and the Song'' (1968) as singer * '' To Love'' (1968) as Anya * ' (1969, TV Movie) as Marusya * ''Yesterday, Today and Forever'' (1969) as defendant's wife * '' Family Happiness'' (1970) as Anna Semyonovna Kapitonova * '' The Secret of the Iron Door'' (1970) as Lyusa Ryzhkova, Tolik's mother * '' My Life'' (1973) as Kleopatra Polozneva * ' (1973) as Yevgenia Sinegrach * '' Melodies of Vera Quarter'' (1973) as Alisa Akvamarinskaya * '' The Taming of the Shrew'' (1973, TV Movie) as Katherina * ' (1974) as Anna * '' The Straw Hat'' (1974, TV Mini-Series) as Baroness de Champigny * '' Blue Puppy'' (1976, Cartoon) as Blue Puppy (singing voice) * ''Always with Me...'' (1976) as Tanya Ilyina * '' The Princess and the Pea'' (1977) as Queen Mother * '' Office Romance'' (1977) as Lyudmila Prokofyevna Kalugina * '' Old-Fashioned Comedy'' (1978) as Lydia Vasilievna Zherber * '' Stalker'' (1979) as Stalker's wife * '' D'Artagnan and Three Musketeers'' (1979, TV Mini-Series) as Anne of Austria Queen * ''Sergey Ivanovich Retires'' (1980) as Natasha * ''Three Years'' (1980) as Polina Rassudina * ''Dangerous Age'' (1981) , Lilia Ivanovna Rodimtseva * ''Two Voices'' (1981) as Yekaterina * '' Agony'' (1981) as Anna Alexandrovna Vyrubova * ''

A Canary Cage ''A Canary Cage'' () is a 1983 Soviet drama film directed by Pavel Chukhray. Plot The film follows an encounter between two teenagers in crisis whose paths cross at a train station. They are both trapped and both trying to find or make up ways ...

'' (1983) as Olesya's mother * '' A Cruel Romance'' (1984) as Harita Ignatievna Ogudalova * ''Success'' (1985) as Zinaida Nikolayevna Arsenyeva * '' A Simple Death'' (1985) as Praskovya Fedorovna * '' Forgive Me'' (1986) as Elizaveta Andreyevna * ''The Secret of the Snow Queen'' (1986) as Snow Queen * ''Chekharda'' (1987) as Margarita Vasilievna Kudryavtseva, accompanist and second conductor * ''Weekdays and Holidays of Serafima Glukina'' (1988) as Serafima Glukina * '' Musketeers Twenty Years After'' (1992, TV Mini-Series) as Queen Anne of Austria * '' The Secret of Queen Anne or Musketeers Thirty Years After'' (1994) as Queen Anne of Austria * '' Katya Ismailova'' (1994) as Irina Dmitrievna * ''Women's Logic'' (2003-2006) as Olga Petrovna Tumanova * '' On Upper Maslovka Street'' (2005) as Anna Borisovna * '' A Room and a Half'' (2009) as Brodsky's mother * '' The Return of the Musketeers, or The Treasures of Cardinal Mazarin'' (2009) as Queen Anne of Austria * '' Bolshoi'' (2017) as Galina Beletskaya * '' Thawed Carp'' (2017) as Lyudmila Borisovna * '' Parents of the Strict Regime'' (2022) as mother

Honors and awards

Honorary titles: * Honored Artist of the RSFSR (1965) * People's Artist of the RSFSR (1971) *

(1981) *Honorary Member of the Russian Academy of Arts State awards and incentives: * RSFSR State Prize of Stanislavsky (1976) for the performance of roles Shchegoleva, Kovaleva, Kid plays in "The Man from", "Kovalev of the province," IH Butler, "The Kid and Carlson," by Astrid Lindgren] * State Prize of the Russian Federation in Literature and Art in 1995 (27 May 1996) for the outstanding performance of roles of the classical repertoire * State Prize of the Russian Federation in Literature and Art in 2000 (6 June 2001) for the performance of the Russian State Academic Bolshoi Drama Theatre Tovstonogov "Arcadia" play by Tom Stoppard * State Prize of the Russian Federation for year 2007 (19 May 2008) for creating artistic images that have become classics of domestic theatrical art and film * Diploma of the President of the Russian Federation (8 December 2010) for a great contribution to the development of domestic theater and cinema art. Orders: * Order of the Red Banner of Labour (1986) * Order of Friendship (17 December 1994) for services to the people associated with the development of Russian statehood, the achievements in labour, science, culture, arts, strengthening friendship and cooperation between nations Order "For Merit to the Fatherland": *4th class (13 February 2004) for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic theatrical art. *3rd class (5 February 2009) for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic theatrical art and many years of fruitful activity. *2nd class (28 October 2019) for outstanding contribution to the development of domestic culture and arts and many years of fruitful activity. * Order of Honour (25 September 2014) Other awards, prizes, promotions and public recognition: * Nika Award for Best Supporting Actress (movie "Moscow Nights", dir. Valeri Todorovski; 1994) * Honorary citizen of St. Petersburg (2001) * Nika Award for Best Actress (movie "In the Upper Maslovka", dir. Konstantin Khudyakov; 2005) * " Golden Mask" Award for best dramatic actress ("Oscar and the Pink Lady", Lensovet Theatre; 2006)

Notes

References

External links

*
Unofficial Fan Club of Alisa Freindlich

Alisa Freindlich at Peoples.ru

Eldar Ryazanov about Alisa Freindlich and making of Office Romance
{{DEFAULTSORT:Freindlich, Alisa 1934 births Living people 20th-century Russian actresses 21st-century Russian actresses Actresses from Saint Petersburg Academicians of the Russian Academy of Cinema Arts and Sciences "Nika" Russian people of German descent Russian film actresses Soviet film actresses Russian stage actresses Russian voice actresses Soviet stage actresses Soviet voice actresses Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Nika Award Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 2nd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 3rd class Recipients of the Order "For Merit to the Fatherland", 4th class Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour State Prize of the Russian Federation laureates Honorary members of the Russian Academy of Arts Recipients of the Golden Mask