Alexander Leonidovich von Fessing (russian: Александр Леонидович фон Фессинг, 17 January 1877 - 12 November 1941) was a

Yelisavetgrad Kropyvnytskyi ( uk, Кропивницький, Kropyvnytskyi ) is a city in central Ukraine on the Inhul river with a population of . It is an administrative center of the Kirovohrad Oblast. Over its history, Kropyvnytskyi has changed its name ...

-born Russian and Ukrainian, Soviet actor and theatre director, better known under his stage name Zagarov (Загаров). A Moscow Philharmonic Drama School graduate (where he studied under Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko), Zagarov joined the

Moscow Art Theatre The Moscow Art Theatre (or MAT; russian: Московский Художественный академический театр (МХАТ), ''Moskovskiy Hudojestvenny Akademicheskiy Teatr'' (МHАТ)) was a theatre company in Moscow. It was f ...

(where his father was an administrator)Leonid Alexandrovich von Fessing (22.4.1847 — 11.2.1920), a retired army colonel, served as a MAT senior inspector from the Stanislavski's troupe's inception 1898 till his death. A somewhat eccentric figure, fond of order and trimness, and certainly a comic character in some of the MAT actor's memoirs, he was much admired for his kindness by everybody, including Stanislavski himself. in 1898 and stayed with it (with breaks) until 1906.Леонид Александрович Фон Фессинг
at the Moscow Art Theatre official site His best-known roles here included Kleshch (''

The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (russian: На дне, translit=Na dne, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902 under the direction of Konstantin ...

''), Sorin ('' The Seagull''), Publius and Pindarus (''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

''). All the while he worked in the Yaroslavl theatre (where he debuted as a director in 1901), was actively involved with

Meyerhold Vsevolod Emilyevich Meyerhold (russian: Всеволод Эмильевич Мейерхольд, translit=Vsévolod Èmíl'evič Mejerchól'd; born german: Karl Kasimir Theodor Meyerhold; 2 February 1940) was a Russian and Soviet theatre ...

's New Drama and (since 1901) read drama at the Philharmonic Drama School.Alexander Zagarov
at the Soviet Theatre Encyclopedia In 1909-1910 he headed the

Korsh Theatre The Russian Drama Korsh Theatre (russian: Русский драматический театр Корша), commonly known as the Korsh Theatre, was a theatre which functioned in Moscow, Imperial Russia from 1882 until 1917. It was named after i ...

; then moved to

Alexandrinka The Alexandrinsky Theatre (russian: Александринский театр) or National Drama Theatre of Russia is a theatre in Saint Petersburg, Russia. The Alexandrinsky Theatre was built for the Imperial troupe of Petersburg (Imperial trou ...

to act and direct (1910-1916). After 1917 Zagarov worked for ten years in Ukraine. From 1921 to 1927 while in exile, he directed at the

Ukrainian Discourse Theatre The Ukrayinska Besida Theatre (until 1914: Ruska Besida Theater) – was the first Ukrainian professional theater in operation from 1864 to 1924. Its first performance took place in the premises of The Ukrainian National Home (Народний Д ...

and Uzhgorod Theater "Prosvita". He taught at the Lviv Drama School, and published letters to defend the Ukrainian language in Western Ukraine. In 1924 he played the role of a Ukrainian peasant in the German film "Golden Wolf". He headed the city theatres in

Kiev Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

and Kharkiv, and co-founded the Donetsk Music and Drama Theatre. Later he worked in Penza, Vladivostok,

Khabarovsk Khabarovsk ( rus, Хабaровск, a=Хабаровск.ogg, r=Habárovsk, p=xɐˈbarəfsk) is the largest types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative centre of Khabarovsk Krai, Russia,Law #109 located from the China ...

, Kovrov and

Saratov Saratov (, ; rus, Сара́тов, a=Ru-Saratov.ogg, p=sɐˈratəf) is the largest city and administrative center of Saratov Oblast, Russia, and a major port on the Volga River upstream (north) of Volgograd. Saratov had a population of 901,36 ...

. In 1940 Zagarov was honoured with the title Meritorious Practitioner of Arts of RSFSR. "The master of high culture, tireless experimenter and a proponent of the Stanislavski and Nemirovich-Danchenko's ideas," was how the Theatre Encyclopedia described him.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zagarov, Alexander Russian male stage actors Ukrainian male stage actors Moscow Art Theatre 1877 births 1941 deaths People from Kropyvnytskyi People from Kherson Governorate Ukrainian Discourse Theatre Male actors from the Russian Empire