Samoylova V.V. (1824-1880), actress

Categories / Art/Music, Theatre/Personalia
SAMOYLOVA Vera Vasilievna (1824 - 1880, St. Petersburg), actress. Sister of V.V. Samoylov, mother of V.A. Michurina-Samoylova. Studied acting technique under her sister L.V. Samoylova. In 1841, she made her debut on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre, joining the theatre's troupe in 1842-53. Although she started in melodramas, she gained recognition in cup-and-saucer comedies. Established a new standard of directness and naturalness on the Russian stage. Samoylova's refined mastery of acting technique was combined with a deep, but reserved, "noble" dramatism. Samoylova brought to life a refined and graceful exterior and combined it with a psychological exploration of feelings. She masterfully conveyed the subtle shades and shifts of moods of characters by A. de Musset, O. Feuillet, and other celebrated playwrights. I.S. Turgenev highly appreciated Samoylova and wrote two plays for her, A Chain is No Stronger than its Weakest Link (Vera Nikolaevna) and Lady from the Province (Darya Ivanovna). Among her best-known parts are Mariane in L'Avare (The Miser), Elmire in Tartuffe by J.B. Moliere, Sofya in A.S. Griboedov's Woe from Wit, Amalia in The Robbers by F. Schiller, Tatyana in Eugene Onegin based on Alexander Pushkin's poem, and Desdemona in W. Shakespeare's Othello. She acted in many plays by contemporary Russian authors. In 1853, at the summit of her fame, she married Officer A.M. Michurin and left the stage. In 1861-63, she lectured at the Drama School. Buried at Cemetery of Troitse-Serghieva Hermitage, her ashes and grave stone being moved in 1932 to the Necropolis of Artists, where she was reburied in a common grave with her father, singer V. M. Samoylov, and her sister, actress N.V. Samoylova-Maksheeva.

Reference: Крылов В. А. Сестры Самойловы: (Из театр. воспоминаний) // Ист. вестн. 1898. Т. 71, кн. 1-2.

A. A. Kirillov. Feuillet O.
Griboedov Alexander Sergeevich
Michurin А.М.
Michurina-Samoilova Vera Arkadievna
Moliere Jean-Baptiste
Musset Alfred de
Pushkin Alexander Sergeevich
Samoylov Vasily Mikhailovich
Samoylov Vasily Vasilievich
Samoylova L.V.
Samoylova Nadezhda Vasilievna
Samoylova Vera Vasilievna
Schiller Friedrich
Shakespeare William
Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich
Крылов В. А. Сестры Самойловы: (Из театр. воспоминаний) // Ист. вестн., 1898 Alexandrinsky Theatre
Theatre College
Holy Trinity & St. Sergius Hermitage
Necropolis of Artists