Hanna Rovina ( he, חנה רובינא‎; 15 September 1888 – 3 February 1980), also Robina, was an Israeli actress. She is often referred to as the "First Lady of Hebrew Theatre".

Biography

Hana Rovina was born in

Byerazino Byerazino ( be, Беразіно́, Bierazino), or Berezino (russian: Березино́, pl, Berezyna, lt, Berezinas), also known as Biarezan (Бярэзань, yi, בערעזין, Berezin), is a town on the Berezina River in Minsk Region o ...

, in the

Igumensky Uyezd Igumensky Uyezd (russian: Игуменский уезд) was one of the uyezds of Minsk Governorate and the Governorate-General of Minsk of the Russian Empire and then of Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic with its seat in Igumen from 1793 un ...

of the

Minsk Governorate The Minsk Governorate (russian: Минская губерния, Belarusian: ) or Government of Minsk was a governorate ('' guberniya'') of the Russian Empire. The seat was in Minsk. It was created in 1793 from the land acquired in the partition ...

of the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(present-day

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

), to David Rubin, a timber merchant and Sarah-Rivka Rubin. She had one sister, Rahel and one brother, Zvi. She trained as a kindergarten teacher at a course for

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

-speaking kindergarten teachers in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

(prior to the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

). She had a daughter, Ilana, born in 1934, with the Hebrew poet

Alexander Penn Alexander Penn ( he, אלכסנדר פן, russian: Александр Пэнн; 1906 – April 1972) was an Israeli poet. Biography Avraham (Alexander) Pepliker-Stern (later Penn) was born in Nizhnekolymsk, Russian Empire. According to one v ...

Acting career

She began her acting career at the "Hebrew Stage Theatre" of Nahum Tzemach. She joined

Habima Theatre The Habima Theatre ( he, תיאטרון הבימה ''Te'atron HaBima'', lit. "The Stage Theatre") is the List of national theatres, national theatre of Israel and one of the first Hebrew language theatres. It is located in Habima Square in the ce ...

in 1917 just as it was being launched, and participated in its first production, a play by

Yevgeny Vakhtangov Yevgeny Bagrationovich Vakhtangov (also spelled Evgeny or Eugene; russian: Евге́ний Багратио́нович Вахта́нгов; 13 February 1883 – 29 May 1922) was a Russian-Armenian actor and theatre director who founded the ...

. She became famous for her role as Leah'le, the young bride who is possessed by a demon in ''

The Dybbuk ''The Dybbuk'', or ''Between Two Worlds'' (russian: Меж двух миров �ибук}, trans. ''Mezh dvukh mirov ibuk'; yi, צווישן צוויי וועלטן - דער דִבּוּק, ''Tsvishn Tsvey Veltn – der Dibuk'') is a play by ...

'' by

S. Ansky Shloyme Zanvl Rappoport (1863 – November 8, 1920), known by his pseudonym S. Ansky (or An-sky), was a Jewish author, playwright, researcher of Jewish folklore, polemicist, and cultural and political activist. He is best known for his play ' ...

. In 1928, Rovina and the other actors of Habima

immigrated Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

Mandate Palestine Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...

. Habima became the flagship of the new national theatre movement, and Rovina was recognized as the movement's leading actress. The image of Rovina in her role as Leah in the Moscow performance of ''The Dybbuk'', in a white dress, with her long black braid, became an icon of the emergent Hebrew theatre.Yerushalmi, Dorit (March 1, 2009).
Hanna Rovina
. ''Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia''.

Jewish Women's Archive The Jewish Women's Archive (JWA) is a national non-profit organization whose mission is to document "Jewish women's stories, elevate their voices, and inspire them to be agents of change." JWA was founded by Gail Twersky Reimer in 1995 in Brookli ...

. jwa.org. Retrieved 6 March 2017. Rovina's dressing room at Habima Theatre Rovina took her acting very seriously and tried to live the life of the character, as prescribed by the Stanislavski School.

Nisim Aloni Nissim Aloni ( he, נסים אלוני, 24 August 1926 – 13 June 1998) was an Israeli playwright and translator. Biography Aloni was born Nissim Levi to poor Bulgarian Jewish immigrant parents in Mandate Palestine. His family lived in Florenti ...

wrote a play, ''Aunt Liza'', especially for her and Rovina played the lead. Rovina made high demands of her audience. She frequently stopped a play in the middle if she felt that the audience was not attentive enough. In one instance, she stopped the play ''Hannah Senesh'' in the middle of a scene and told the teenagers in the hall to stop eating

sunflower seed The sunflower seed is the seed of the sunflower ('' Helianthus annuus''). There are three types of commonly used sunflower seeds: linoleic (most common), high oleic, and sunflower oil seeds. Each variety has its own unique levels of monounsat ...

Awards and recognition

Rovina was awarded the

Israel Prize The Israel Prize ( he, פרס ישראל; ''pras israél'') is an award bestowed by the State of Israel, and regarded as the state's highest cultural honor. History The Israel Prize is awarded annually, on Israeli Independence Day, in a state cer ...

for theatre in 1956. She remained active on stage until her death, in 1980. She died in

Ra'anana Ra'anana ( he, רַעֲנָנָּה, lit. "Fresh") is a city in the southern Sharon Plain of the Central District of Israel. It was founded in 1922 as an American-Jewish settlement, 1 km south of the village of Tabsur, where an important ...

, aged 91.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rovina, Hanna 1880s births 1980 deaths People from Berazino People from Igumensky Uyezd Belarusian Jews Soviet Jews Israeli Jews Soviet emigrants to Mandatory Palestine Jews in Mandatory Palestine Israeli people of Belarusian-Jewish descent Israeli stage actresses Jewish Israeli actresses Israel Prize in theatre recipients Israel Prize women recipients Burials at Kiryat Shaul Cemetery Belarusian people of Israeli descent Soviet people of Israeli descent

Biography

Acting career

Awards and recognition

See also

References