Sofya Vladimirovna Giatsintova (April 12, 1982) was a Soviet and Russian film and theatre actress, theater director and pedagogue, who worked in the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; , ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was founded in by the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Konstantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright ...

(1910-1937), the

Lenkom Theatre Lenkom Theatre, formerly known as Lenin’s Komsomol Moscow Theatre or Moscow Leninist Komsomol Theatre is the official name of what was once known as the Moscow State Theatre named after Komsomol, a Communist youth league set up by Vladimir Leni ...

(1938-1957, 1961-1982, where she was the artistic director in 1951-1957), and the Moscow Stanislavsky Drama Theatre (1958-1960). Sofia Giatsintova, 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 ...

(1955), received the Stalin Prize (1947, for her role of Varvara Mikhailovna in the film '' The Vow'', 1946), as well as numerous state awards, among them the

Order of Lenin The Order of Lenin (, ) was an award named after Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the October Revolution. It was established by the Central Executive Committee on 6 April 1930. The order was the highest civilian decoration bestowed by the Soviet ...

(1965, 1975). She is the author of the book of memoirs ''Alone With Memories'' (С памятью наедине, 1985).

Biography

Sofya Giatsintova was born in 1895 to a noble family from Moscow. Her father Vladimir Giatsintov was the

Moscow State University Moscow State University (MSU), officially M. V. Lomonosov Moscow State University,. is a public university, public research university in Moscow, Russia. The university includes 15 research institutes, 43 faculties, more than 300 departments, a ...

professor; after 1914 he became the director of the Moscow University Fine Arts museum. Her mother Elizaveta Alexeyevna Giatsintova (née Vekstern) was connected to the renowned Chaadayev family. Sofia remembered her childhood as a happy one. The family adored theatre; Vladimir Giatsintov was a member of the Moscow Shakespearean Society and an amateur playwright. Even as a gymnasium student Sofia decided she'd be an actress and started to take lessons from Elena Muratova, the actress of the

, and in summer 1910 joined its troupe. In MAT Giatsintova became part of the active group of young actors, among them

Yevgeny Vakhtangov Yevgeny Bagrationovich Vakhtangov (also spelled Evgeny or Eugene; ; 13 February 1883 – 29 May 1922) was a Russian actor and theatre director who founded the Vakhtangov Theatre. He was a friend and mentor of Michael Chekhov.Martin BanhamThe ...

, Mikhail Chekhov, Serafima Birman, which soon became known as the MAT's First Studio and later Second Moscow Art Theatre. Among her best known parts there were those of Maria in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'' (1917, 1933), Sima (''Crank'', by Alexander Afinogenov, 1929), Nelly (''

Humiliated and Insulted ''Humiliated and Insulted'' (, ''Unizhennye i oskorblyonnye'') — also known in English as ''The Insulted and Humiliated'', ''The Insulted and the Injured'' or ''Injury and Insult'' — is a novel by Fyodor Dostoevsky, first published in 1861 i ...

'' by

Fyodor Dostoevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky. () was a Russian novelist, short story writer, essayist and journalist. He is regarded as one of the greatest novelists in both Russian and world literature, and many of his works are considered highly influent ...

, 1932). In 1924 she married Ivan Bersenev, the theatre's actor and later artistic director. In 1936, as MAT 2 closed, Giatsintova (along with Bersenev and Birman) moved to the

which she became the head of in 1952. In 1946 Giatsintova starred in

Mikheil Chiaureli Mikheil Chiaureli ( ka, მიხეილ ჭიაურელი, , 6 February 1894 – 31 October 1974) was a Soviet Georgian actor, film director and screenwriter. He directed 25 films between 1928 and 1974. He was awarded the Stalin ...

's '' The Vow'' as Varvara Petrovna, a woman who travels to Moscow on foot to give the beloved

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

the letter written by common people, only to find that the great revolutionary leader has just died. She finds herself on the

Red Square Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', p=ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːɪtʲ) is one of the oldest and largest town square, squares in Moscow, Russia. It is located in Moscow's historic centre, along the eastern walls of ...

and gives the letter to

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

instead, right after he's proclaimed his allegiance to the Lenin's cause, speaking at the funeral. The film brought Giatsintova the Stalin Prize, but hasn't been seen much of after the Soviet dictator's death in 1953. In 1955 Giatsintova was honored with the title

. Her acclaimed book of memoirs ''Alone With Memories'' (С памятью наедине) came out in 1985. Sofia Giatsintova died on April 12, 1982, in Moscow. She is interred in

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery () is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist site. History The cemetery was designed by Ivan Mashkov and inaugurated ...

Selected filmography

* '' The Vow'' (Клятва, 1946) as Varvara Mikhailovna Petrova *'' The Fall of Berlin'' (Падение Берлина, 1949) as Antonina Ivanovna, Ivanov's mother *'' Zhukovsky'' (Жуковский, 1950) as Anna Nikolayevna, Zhukovsky's mother *'' Unfinished Story'' (Неоконченная повесть, 1955) as Anna Konstantinovna, Yershov's mother *''

The Seventh Companion ''The Seventh Companion'' () is a 1967 Soviet Union, Soviet drama film set in Petrograd in the years following the Russian Revolution (1917), Russian Revolution. The film marked the directorial debut of Russian director Aleksei Yuryevich German, A ...

'' (Седьмой спутник, 1967) as Marya Semyonovna

External links

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giatsintova, Sofya 1895 births 1982 deaths Actresses from Moscow Actresses from the Russian Empire Communist Party of the Soviet Union members People's Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the USSR Recipients of the Stalin Prize Recipients of the Order of Lenin Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian film actresses Russian stage actresses Russian theatre directors Russian women theatre directors Soviet film actresses Soviet stage actresses Soviet theatre directors Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery