Strepetova P.A., (1850-1903), actress

Categories / Art/Music, Theatre/Personalia
STREPETOVA Pelageya (Polina) Antipievna (1850-1903), actress. Her performances in Kazan (1871) and Moscow exposed her talent for tragedy and made her famous. Strepetova, who invested her characters with the spirit of social protest, was the first actress in the Russian Theatre to exhibit the power and spirit of the Russian woman. This brought Strepetova close to the revolutionary-democratic tendencies of the majority of intellectuals and students. Her best-known roles include Lizaveta in Cruel Fate by A.F. Pisemsky, and Katerina in The Storm by A.N. Ostrovsky. She performed for the first time in St. Petersburg on the stage of the Alexandrinsky Theatre in 1876, and in 1877 at the Artists Assembly. Over the period of 1881-90, she played over 30 roles at the Alexandrinsky Theatre. I.S. Turgenev, Pisemsky, Ostrovsky, V.V. Stasov, V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko and P.I. Tchaikovsky all valued her talent; and I.E. Repin, V.M. Vasnetsov, and N.A. Yaroshenko painted her portraits. Still, due to a disagreement with the management, Strepetova left the state stage and toured around Russia for several years. The last years of her life were spent in St. Petersburg; in 1895-96 she performed at the Maly (Suvorin) Theatre, and worked on her memoirs, which she didn't finish. She lived at 19 Fontanka River Embankment (1881-82), 67 Ligovsky Avenue (1882-84), 10 Pushkinskaya Street (1884-93, memorial plaque installed), and 27 Klinsky Avenue (1893-1903). Originally buried at Nikolskoe Cemetery, her remains were transferred in 1936 to the Necropolis of Artists.

Works: Memoirs and Letters. Moscow.; Leningrad, 1934.

Reference: Беньяш Р. М. Пелагея Стрепетова. Л., 1967.

V. I. Dedyulin. Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich
Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolaevich
Pisemsky Alexey Feofilaktovich
Repin Ilya Efimovich
Stasov Vladimir Vasilievich
Strepetova Pelageya (Polina) Antipievna
Tchaikovsky Peter Ilyich
Turgenev Ivan Sergeevich
Vasnetsov Viktor Mikhailovich
Yaroshenko Nikolay Alexandrovich
Fontanka River Embankment/Saint Petersburg, city, house 19
Klinsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 27
Ligovsky Ave/Saint Petersburg, city, house 67
Pushkinskaya St./Saint Petersburg, city, house 10
Беньяш Р. М. Пелагея Стрепетова. Л., 1967
Воспоминания и письма. М.; Л., 1934 Alexandrinsky Theatre
St. Petersburg Association of Artists
Literary and Artistic Society Theatre
Nikolskoe Cemetery
Necropolis of Artists