Ferdynand Feldman (1862 – 3 June 1919) was a Polish-Jewish theatre actor known at the turn of the 19th and 20th century. He was also a father of a renowned Polish actress Krystyna Feldman.

Biography

Feldman studied at the

Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts The Jan Matejko Academy of Fine Arts in Kraków (, usually abbreviated to ''ASP''), is a public higher education, institution of higher education located in the centre of Kraków, Poland. It is the oldest Polish fine art academy, established in 1 ...

Kraków , officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city has a population of 804,237 ...

, after at the Derynga drama school in

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

. From 1881, he appeared in the Kraków theatre, playing first the role of footmen. Due to his hort and stock posture , he was initially successful in

comedies Comedy is a genre of dramatic works intended to be humorous or amusing by inducing laughter, especially in theatre, film, stand-up comedy, television, radio, books, or any other entertainment medium. Origins Comedy originated in ancient Gr ...

farce Farce is a comedy that seeks to entertain an audience through situations that are highly exaggerated, extravagant, ridiculous, absurd, and improbable. Farce is also characterized by heavy use of physical comedy, physical humor; the use of delibe ...

s and

operetta Operetta is a form of theatre and a genre of light opera. It includes spoken dialogue, songs and including dances. It is lighter than opera in terms of its music, orchestral size, and length of the work. Apart from its shorter length, the oper ...

s. Feldman played in garden theatres, in Warsaw, Kraków,

Poznań Poznań ( ) is a city on the Warta, River Warta in west Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business center and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint John's ...

Lublin Lublin is List of cities and towns in Poland, the ninth-largest city in Poland and the second-largest city of historical Lesser Poland. It is the capital and the centre of Lublin Voivodeship with a population of 336,339 (December 2021). Lublin i ...

Częstochowa Częstochowa ( , ) is a city in southern Poland on the Warta with 214,342 inhabitants, making it the thirteenth-largest city in Poland. It is situated in the Silesian Voivodeship. However, Częstochowa is historically part of Lesser Poland, not Si ...

and Łódź. In 1890 he was involved in the ensemble of the Grand Theatre in Lwów (Lemberg), where he performed for twenty-five years. In the years 1916–19 he worked in the

Juliusz Słowacki Theatre Juliusz Słowacki Theatre () is a 19th-century Eclectic-style theatre and opera house located in the Old Town of Kraków, Poland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Erected in 1893, it was modeled after some of the best European Baroque and Ecle ...

in Kraków. He probably took part in the Polish-Ukrainian battle of Lemberg (Lwów, Lviv), (in Polish historiography known also as defense of Lwów), standing on the Polish side (his wife was Polish). The attention of the critics was caught by his creations in the works of

Aleksander Fredro Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Partitions of Poland, period of partitions by neighboring empires. His works ...

(he played Benet, Chamberlain, Geldhab and Radost). Feldman often played the character of

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and Tadeusz Pawlikowski, however, started casting the actor in dramatic roles, which allowed Feldman to develop his talent. His biggest roles are Bos in Hope and Bezsiemionow in Mieszczanach. The actor was characterized by a great diction, using gestures and facial expressions, he significantly differentiated his characters, built a character using small details and props.

Personal life

Ferdynand Feldman was a Polish

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

, and before his marriage to opera singer Katarzyna Sawicka at Saint Nicholas Church in Lwów, he accepted the Catholic baptism and converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. He was also father of actress Krystyna Feldman. He is buried at the

Lychakiv Cemetery Lychakiv Cemetery (; ), officially State History and Culture Museum-Reserve "Lychakiv Cemetery" (), is a historic cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. History Since its creation in 1787 as Łyczakowski Cemetery, it has been the main necropolis of the c ...

References

External links

* http://www.e-teatr.pl/pl/osoby/39476.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Feldman, Ferdynand 1862 births 1919 deaths Male actors from Kraków Burials at Lychakiv Cemetery Polish male stage actors Converts to Roman Catholicism from Judaism 19th-century Polish Jews Polish Roman Catholics