Herta Elviste (12 June 1923 – 29 October 2015), was an
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
n stage, film and television actress and assistant theatre director whose career spanned nearly seventy years.
Early life and education
Herta Elviste was born Herta Marianne Brandt to Aleksander Brandt and Aglaida Brandt (''née'' Madisson) in the small borough of
Pärnu-Jaagupi in
Pärnu County. She was the youngest of three siblings; the oldest, a sister named Leida, and a brother named Meinhard who died in 1918. The family would later change their surname to the more
Estonian sounding Elviste.
She attended schools in Pärnu-Jaagupi and from 1939 until 1942 she studied ballet at the Elsa Putnin Pärnu ballet studio.
Stage career
Herta Elviste began her stage career as an actress with an engagement at the
Endla Theatre
Endla ( et, Endla teater) is a professional theatre in city of Pärnu, Estonia.
The theatre was opened in 1911. The first performance was "Libahunt" ("Werewolf") by Estonian writer August Kitzberg. The Estonian Declaration of Independence was ...
in Pärnu in 1940 at age seventeen until 1950, and again, from 1952 until 1958. Memorable roles of the period have been in productions of works by such authors and playwrights as:
Carlo Goldoni Carlo is a given name. It is an Italian form of Charles. It can refer to:
* Carlo (name)
* Monte Carlo
* Carlingford, New South Wales, a suburb in north-west Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
*A satirical song written by Dafydd Iwan about Prince ...
,
Leo Tolstoy
Count Lev Nikolayevich TolstoyTolstoy pronounced his first name as , which corresponds to the romanization ''Lyov''. () (; russian: link=no, Лев Николаевич Толстой,In Tolstoy's day, his name was written as in pre-refor ...
,
Hella Wuolijoki,
Henrik Ibsen,
A. H. Tammsaare and
D. L. Coburn.
After her engagement at the Endla Theatre ended, she joined the
Vanemuine
Vanemuine () is a theatre in Tartu, Estonia. It was the first Estonian language theatre.
History ''1870–1906 The Beginning of the Beginning. Koidula’s Theatre, Wiera’s Theatre.''
On June 24, 1870 was the first day in Estonian theatre ...
theatre in
Tartu in 1958, making her stage debut at the theatre in the role of Masha in a production of
Anton Chekhov's ''
Three Sisters'' in 1959. She would remain engaged at the theatre for over fifty years; still engaged as a performer at the time of her death. Her final performance onstage at the Vanemuine was as the role of Grandmother in a production of
Ödön von Horváth
Edmund Josef von Horváth (9 December 1901, Sušak, Rijeka, Austria-Hungary – 1 June 1938, Paris France) was an Austro-Hungarian playwright and novelist who wrote in German, and went by the name of ''nom de guerre'' Ödön von Horváth. He was ...
's ''
Tales from the Vienna Woods
"Tales from the Vienna Woods" (german: "Geschichten aus dem Wienerwald", links=no, italic=no, occasionally ) is a waltz by Johann Strauss II.
Composed in 1868, , Op. 325, was one of six Viennese waltzes by Johann Strauss II which featured a vi ...
'' in 2009. During her later years, colleagues and the media would refer to Elviste simply as the "Grand Old Lady."
During her years at the theatre, she performed in a large variety of stage productions by such international playwrights and authors as:
Alexander Griboyedov
Alexander Sergeyevich Griboyedov (russian: Александр Сергеевич Грибоедов, ''Aleksandr Sergeevich Griboedov'' or ''Sergeevich Griboyedov''; 15 January 179511 February 1829), formerly romanized as Alexander Sergueevich Gr ...
,
August Strindberg
Johan August Strindberg (, ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than sixty p ...
,
Jerzy Andrzejewski,
Friedrich Dürrenmatt
Friedrich Dürrenmatt (; 5 January 1921 – 14 December 1990) was a Swiss author and dramatist. He was a proponent of epic theatre whose plays reflected the recent experiences of World War II. The politically active author's work included avant-g ...
,
Maxim Gorky
Alexei Maximovich Peshkov (russian: link=no, Алексе́й Макси́мович Пешко́в; – 18 June 1936), popularly known as Maxim Gorky (russian: Макси́м Го́рький, link=no), was a Russian writer and social ...
,
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and worl ...
,
Astrid Lindgren,
Martin McDonagh, and
Ingmar Bergman, among others. Notable performances at the Vanemuine in works by Estonian playwrights and authors include those of:
Juhan Smuul, Boris Kõrver,
Hugo Raudsepp,
August Kitzberg
August Kitzberg ( in Laatre Parish, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire – 10 October 1927 in Tartu) was an Estonian writer.
Life
Until 1863, August Kitzberg was known as August Kits. He grew up in Niitsaadu farmstead in Penuja village, Ab ...
,
Paul-Eerik Rummo
Paul-Eerik Rummo (born January 19, 1942) is an Estonian poet, playwright, translator and politician who was the former Estonian Minister of Culture and Education, as well as the former Estonian Minister of Population Affairs.
Rummo was born in T ...
, A. H. Tammsaare,
Oskar Luts
Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) was an Estonian writer and playwright.
Biography
Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central Estonia, at that time in the governorate of Livonia (Russian Empire). His younger brother was ...
and Mart Kivastik. She would also work as an assistant stage director in several of the theatre's productions.
Film
Herta Elviste would make her film debut in the role of Maali in the 1961 Jüri Müür directed Soviet-Estonian black and white drama ''Ühe küla mehed'' for Tallinna Kinostuudio. This was followed in 1963, by a role in the
Lilli Promet
Lilli Promet (16 February 1922 – 16 February 2007) was an Estonian author.
Life
Promet was born in Petseri to the Estonian painter, Aleksander Promet. After finishing Tallinn 18th Elementary School, she entered the State Industrial Art School ...
penned and
Veljo Käsper
Veljo Käsper (13 May 1930 Tallinn – 16 March 1982 Tallinn) was an Estonian film director and scenarist.
In 1964 he graduated from Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography.
Since 1960 he worked at Tallinnfilm.
Filmography
* 1974 " Dangerous G ...
directed color motion picture film short drama ''Roosa kübar''. In 1968, she appeared in the role of Elma Roll in the Veljo Käsper directed comedy ''Viini postmark'', opposite actor
Jüri Järvet
Jüri Järvet (18 June 1919 – 5 July 1995) was an Estonian actor. His name sometimes appears as Yuri Yevgenyevich Yarvet, an incorrect back-transliteration from the Russian transliteration Юри Евгеньевич Ярвет. His birthna ...
; and the same year appeared in the Jüri Müür directed war drama ''Inimesed sõdurisinelis'', based on the 1965 novel ''Enn Kalmu kaks mina'' by author
Paul Kuusberg. Other film roles followed in the 1970s; the
Kaljo Kiisk
Kaljo Kiisk (3 December 1925 – 20 September 2007) was a Soviet and Estonian actor, film director, screenwriter and politician. He was best known for his roles as Kristjan Lible from ''Spring'' ( et, Kevade), ''Summer'' (''Suvi'') and ''Autu ...
directed romantic drama ''Maaletulek'' in 1973; and ''Suvi'' in 1976, directed by
Arvo Kruusement and based on the
Oskar Luts
Oskar Luts ( – 23 March 1953) was an Estonian writer and playwright.
Biography
Oskar Luts was born into a middle-class family in Järvepera, central Estonia, at that time in the governorate of Livonia (Russian Empire). His younger brother was ...
novel of the same name.
In 1981, she had a small role in the Arvo Kruusement directed drama ''
Karge meri Karge may refer to:
* 4822 Karge, an asteroid named after Orville B. Karge (1919–1990)
* Joseph Kargé
Joseph Kargé (July 4, 1823 in Poznan, Grand Duchy of Posen, Kingdom of Prussia – December 27, 1892 in New York City) was a military o ...
'', about the lives of seal hunters living on the coast of the
Baltic Sea
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and ...
. The film was based on the 1938 novel by the same name by author
August Gailit. In 1989, she appeared in the historic drama ''Äratus'', directed by Jüri Sillart. One of her most popular film roles was in the 1998 Rao Heidmets directed family-oriented comedy ''Kallis härra Q'', in which she plays a central role as Grandmother to two young half-sisters who meet and decide to kidnap her from her unhappy life in a nursing home. The film was adapted from the book of the same name by author
Aino Pervik.
Television
Apart from the stage and screen, Elviste has also appeared in a number of feature-length and short television films. The most popular being the role of Juula in the 1977 adaptation of the 1939 A. H. Tammsaare novel ''Põrgupõhja uus Vanapagan'', directed by Jaan Tooming for Eesti Telefim. In 1979, she appeared in the Jaan Tooming-directed
Eesti Televisioon
Eesti Televisioon (ETV) ( en, Estonian Television) is an Estonian free-to-air television channel owned and operated by Estonian Public Broadcasting. It made its first broadcast on 19 July 1955.
History
Eesti Televisioon (''Estonian Televis ...
(ETV) telefilm ''Mees ja mänd'', opposite actor
Heikki Haravee
Heikki Haravee (born Heikki Huusmann; 29 April 1924 – 23 January 2003) was an Estonian actor, theatre director, and singer whose career spanned over fifty years; forty-three of which were spent at the Vanemuine theatre in Tartu.
Early life
Hei ...
Other made for television films include: ''Kahe kodu ballaad'' in 1985, and ''Armuke'' in 2000.
Personal life
Herta Elviste was married twice. Her first marriage was to actor Uno Loit, with whom she had a son, Vaino Elviste, in 1948. The couple would later divorce and their son would die in 1975. Her second marriage occurred in 1954 to actor
Lembit Eelmäe. Their son Andrus Eelmäe was born in 1956 and also became an actor. Elviste and Eelmäe would remain married until his death in 2009.
In her later years, Elviste lived in
Halinga, in
Pärnu County. She died in 2015 at age 92.
Acknowledgements
*
Merited Artist of the
Estonian SSR (1970)
*
People's Artist of the Estonian SSR (1978)
* Tartu Star Chevalier (2002)
* Estonian Republic Lifetime Cultural Achievement Award (2004)
* Silver Badge, Vanemuine Theatre (2006)
tartu.ee
''Tartu linnalt tunnustusavalduse saanud isikud'' 2 November 2015. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elviste, Herta
1923 births
2015 deaths
People from Põhja-Pärnumaa Parish
Estonian stage actresses
Estonian film actresses
Estonian television actresses
20th-century Estonian actresses
21st-century Estonian actresses
Recipients of the Order of the White Star, 4th Class