Savina M.G., (1854-1915), actress

Categories / Art/Music, Theatre/Personalia
SAVINA Maria Gavrilovna (nee Podramentseva, Slavich from her first marriage in 1870, Vsevolozhskaya from her second marriage in 1882, Molchanova from her third marriage in 1910; originally carried the stage name Stremlyanova, which she changed to Savina in 1870) (1854-1915, Petrograd), actress, theatre worker, Honoured Artist of the Imperial Theatres (1899). Studied at a boarding school in Odessa (from 1862) and at a gymnasium (1865-67). At the age of eight she began performing on the stage, her professional theatre career starting in Minsk in 1869. In 1874-1915 she acted for the Alexandrinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, joining the troupe as an ingenue actress. Later on, she considerably extended the dramatic character of her performance, creating gallery of Russian female characters, mainly for the plays of her contemporaries. She performed in many dramas by A.N. Ostrovsky, who entrusted her with the main part in almost all his new plays (Poliksena in Truth is Good, but Happiness is Better, 1876; Yuliya in The Last Victim, 1877; Varya in The Girl Savage, 1879; Vera in The Heart is Not a Stone 1899). She went all the way from playing Verochka (1879) to playing Natalia Petrovna (1903) in A Month in the Country by I. S. Turgenev, the development of "Turgenev's women" being considered her major achievement. In the 1880s, she expanded her repertoire to playing refined, rational, selfish fine ladies (Olga in Olga Rantseva, also known as The Fumes of Life by B.M. Markevich, 1888; Elena Protich in The Symphony by M.I. Tchaikovsky and Nina Volyntseva in the Chains by A.I. Sumbatov, 1890). She found success playing roles from various Russian classics, like Maria Antonovna (1881) and Anna Andreevna (1912) in The Inspector General by N.V. Gogol. From foreign dramas, she preferred contemporary plays by H. Melliac, H. Sudermann, Alexandre Dumas, (Dumas fils). Savina was praised for a brilliant portrayal of her characters' concealed emotions, her elegance and austerity, her dynamic intonation, and her talent for precise laconic characterisation. She helped establish the Poor Theatre Workers Aid Society (from 1894, the Russian Theatrical Society), of which she served chairman in 1883-1915 (see the Union of Theatre Workers); and the First All-Russian Congress of Theatre Workers (1897). In 1896, she founded the Refuge for the Aged Actors (today the Savina House for Veterans of the Stage). Her memoirs, which she didn't finish, along with some unorganized recollections, were collected into the book Misfortunes and Wandering (Leningrad, 1983). In 1908-15, she lived at 17 Literatorov Street (memorial plaque installed). According to Savina's wishes, she was buried in the park of the House for Veterans of the Stage (13 Petrovsky Avenue). In 1965, the former Bezymyanny Passage was named after her.

Reference: Шнейдерман И. И. М. Г. Савина в жизни и на сцене // Савина М. Г. Горести и скитания: (Записки, 1854-1877). Письма. Воспоминания. Л., 1983. С. 6-28; Светаева М. Г. Мария Гавриловна Савина. М., 1988.

A. A. Kirillov. Dumas Alexandre (Dumas pere)
Gogol Nikolay Vasilievich
Markevich Boleslav Mikhailovich
Melliac Henri
Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich
Savina Maria Gavrilovna
Sudermann Hermann
Sumbatov (Mumbaitov-Yuzhin) Alexander Ivanovich, Duke
Tchaikovsky Modest Ilyich
Literatorov St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 17
Petrovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 13
Savinoy St./Saint Petersburg, city
Шнейдерман И. И. М. Г. Савина в жизни и на сцене // Савина М. Г. Горести и скитания: (Записки, 1854-1877). Письма. Воспоминания. Л., 1983
Светаева М. Г. Мария Гавриловна Савина. М., 1988 Alexandrinsky Theatre