Maria Nikolayevna Krasovskaya-Kalitinskaya (russian: Мария Николаевна Красовская-Калитинская, née Bychkova (), 1884 – 9 April 1940) was a Russian actress, theatre director and reader in drama, better known under her stage name Maria Germanova ().Мария Николаевна Германова
Profile at mxat.ru, the Moscow Art Theatre site

Biography

Maria Bychkova was born in Moscow into a family of the staroobryadtsy merchants. She studied at the First Moscow Gymnasium, where

Olga Gzovskaya Olga Gzovskaya (Russian: О́льга Влади́мировна Гзо́вская; 10 October 1883 – 2 July 1962) was a Russian Empire and Soviet theater and film actress. Life Gzovskaya was born to a family of a Moscow customs official ...

was one of her classmates. In 1901 she enrolled in the just opened Moscow Art Theatre Drama School and a year later joined the MAT troupe, as Maria Germanova. She debuted in 1903 in

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

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 ...

'', then garnered positive reviews as Elena in

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 ...

's '' Children of the Sun'' (1905), Sofya in

Griboyedov Griboyedov may refer to: * Alexander Griboyedov (1795-1829), Russian playwright and diplomat * Griboyedov Canal, a canal in the Russian city of Saint Petersburg * Griboyedov, Armenia, a town in the Armavir Province of Armenia * Griboyedov Prize ...

's ''

Woe from Wit ''Woe from Wit'' (, also translated as "The Woes of Wit", "Wit Works Woe", ''Wit's End'', and so forth) is Alexander Griboyedov's comedy in verse, satirizing the society of post-Napoleonic Moscow, or, as a high official in the play styled it, "a ...

'' and Agnes in

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential playw ...

's ''Brand'' (both 1906). It was mostly upon Germanova's stage persona that

Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko (russian: Владимир Иванович Немирович-Данченко; , Ozurgeti – 25 April 1943, Moscow), was a Soviet and Russian theatre director, writer, pedagogue, playwright, producer an ...

has relied upon in his stage experiments, which included ''

Boris Godunov Borís Fyodorovich Godunóv (; russian: Борис Фёдорович Годунов; 1552 ) ruled the Tsardom of Russia as ''de facto'' regent from c. 1585 to 1598 and then as the first non-Rurikid tsar from 1598 to 1605. After the end of his ...

'' by

Alexander Pushkin Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin (; rus, links=no, Александр Сергеевич ПушкинIn pre-Revolutionary script, his name was written ., r=Aleksandr Sergeyevich Pushkin, p=ɐlʲɪkˈsandr sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ ˈpuʂkʲɪn, ...

(her as

Marina Mnishek Marina Mniszech, ( pl, Maryna Mniszech; russian: Марина Мнишек, Marina Mnishek, ) also known in Russian lore as Marinka the Witch ( 1588 – 24 December 1614) was a Polish noblewoman who became the Tsaritsa of Russia during the Time o ...

, 1907), ''Anathema'' by

Leonid Andreyev Leonid Nikolaievich Andreyev (russian: Леони́д Никола́евич Андре́ев, – 12 September 1919) was a Russian playwright, novelist and short-story writer, who is considered to be a father of Expressionism in Russian litera ...

(Rosa, 1909), ''

The Karamazov Brothers ''The Brothers Karamazov'' (russian: Братья Карамазовы, ''Brat'ya Karamazovy'', ), also translated as ''The Karamazov Brothers'', is the last novel by Russian author Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dostoevsky spent nearly two years writing '' ...

'' by

Dostoyevsky Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky (, ; rus, Фёдор Михайлович Достоевский, Fyódor Mikháylovich Dostoyévskiy, p=ˈfʲɵdər mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪdʑ dəstɐˈjefskʲɪj, a=ru-Dostoevsky.ogg, links=yes; 11 November 18219 ...

(Grushenka, 1910),

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 ...

's ''

The Living Corpse ''The Living Corpse'' (russian: Живой труп, italic=yes, link=no) is a Russian play by Leo Tolstoy. Although written around 1900, it was only published shortly after his death—Tolstoy had never considered the work finished. An immediate ...

'' (Lisa Protasova, 1911). "The physical beauty, the reverberating nerve beat, the sharp perceptiveness" (according to the biographer Inna Solovyova) as well as her love of modernism ('decadent' was also the word that has been used to describe her close circle of friends) made Germanova one of the rising stars of the early 1900s' Russian theatre scene, and "a promising tragic actress in the vein of Duse". In 1914–1924 Germanova starred in five Russian silent films, starting with ''Anna Karenina'' in 1914, directed by

Vladimir Gardin Vladimir Rostislavovich Gardin (russian: Влади́мир Ростисла́вович Га́рдин) (born Vladimir Rostislavovich Blagonravov (Благонра́вов); – 28 May 1965) was a pioneering Russian film director and actor who ...

and produced by Paul Timan. In 1919 Germanova left Moscow, first for

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 ...

, then

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don ( rus, Ростов-на-Дону, r=Rostov-na-Donu, p=rɐˈstof nə dɐˈnu) is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East Eu ...

. She joined the Kachalov Troupe and with it toured outside Soviet Russia in 1919–1922. During this time she revived most of her best-known parts of the past (Grushenka in ''The Karamazov Brothers'', Ekaterina Ivanovna in

's eponymous play, Olga in

Anton Chekhov Anton Pavlovich Chekhov (; 29 January 1860 Old Style date 17 January. – 15 July 1904 Old Style date 2 July.) was a Russian playwright and short-story writer who is considered to be one of the greatest writers of all time. His career ...

's '' Three Sisters'', Mamayeva in Ostrovsky's ''

Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man ''Enough Stupidity in Every Wise Man'' (russian: На всякого мудреца довольно простоты; translit. Na vsyakogo mudretsa dovolno prostoty) is a five- act comedy by Aleksandr Ostrovsky.Brockett and Hildy (2003, 37 ...

'') and added to her repertoire Elena Andreyevna in Chekhov's ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the direct ...

''. In 1922, along with several of her colleagues Germanova refused to return to Moscow. In 1923 Nemirovich-Danchenko sent her a telegram inviting her to take part in his new musical theatre project, but this offer was declined. Instead, Germanova arrived at

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

where her husband, the archeologist and art historian Alexander Kalitinsky has been lecturing at the Archeology Institute (which he in 1925 became the director of) and soon, along with

Nikolai Massalitinov Nikolai Osipovich Massalitinov (russian: Николай Осипович Массалитинов, 24 February 1880, Yelets, Oryol Governorate, Russian Empire, — 22 March 1961, Sofia, Bulgaria) was a Russian (later Bulgarian) stage actor, thea ...

, co-founded and became the director of what soon came to be known as the Prague MAT Troupe. Her repertoire now included also the parts of Ranevskaya (Chekhov's ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by ''Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate edition ...

''), the Queen ('' The King of the Dark Chamber'' by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

), Ellida Wangel (''

The Lady from the Sea ''The Lady from the Sea'' ( no, Fruen fra havet, link=no) is a play written in 1888 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen inspired by the ballad '' Agnete og Havmanden''. The drama introduces the character of Hilde Wangel who is again portrayed i ...

'' by Ibsen), Katerina ('' The Storm'' by

Alexander Ostrovsky Alexander Nikolayevich Ostrovsky (russian: Алекса́ндр Никола́евич Остро́вский; ) was a Russian playwright, generally considered the greatest representative of the Russian realistic period. The author of 47 origina ...

) and ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; grc, Μήδεια, ''Mēdeia'', perhaps implying "planner / schemer") is the daughter of King Aeëtes of Colchis, a niece of Circe and the granddaughter of the sun god Helios. Medea figures in the myth of Jason an ...

'' by

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful e ...

. After the Prague Troupe disbanded in 1927, Germanova took part in the productions staged by the Georges Pitoeff and

Gaston Baty Gaston Baty (26 May 1885 – 13 October 1952), whose full name was Jean-Baptiste-Marie-Gaston Baty, was a French playwright and theatre director. He was born in Pélussin, Loire, France. Career In 1921, Baty formed his own company ''Les Compag ...

. In late 1920s she started working as theatre director herself. In 1929 she went to the US and that year succeeded

Richard Boleslawski Richard Boleslawski (born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki; February 4, 1889 – January 17, 1937) was a Polish theatre and film director, actor and teacher of acting. Biography Richard Boleslawski was born Bolesław Ryszard Srzednicki on February ...

as the head of the

American Laboratory Theatre The American Laboratory Theatre was an American drama school and theatrical company located in New York City that existed during the 1920s and 1930s. It was a publicly subsidized, student-subscription organization that held fund-raising campaigns ...

, where she produced Chekhov's ''Three Sisters''. The Lab, as it was known, disbanded in 1933, but proved to be an important link between

Stanislavski Konstantin Sergeyevich Stanislavski ( Alekseyev; russian: Константин Сергеевич Станиславский, p=kənstɐnʲˈtʲin sʲɪrˈgʲejɪvʲɪtɕ stənʲɪˈslafskʲɪj; 7 August 1938) was a seminal Soviet Russian th ...

and the New York's Group Theatre. Germanova died in Paris in 1940. Her book of memoirs ''My Casket of Treasures'' (Мой ларец с драгоценностями) appeared posthumously. It was published in its full version by the Russki Put Publishers in Moscow, in 2012.Германова М.Н
Мой ларец с драгоценностями: Воспоминания. Дневники
Мария Германова; �ост., вступ. ст., подгот. текстов и примеч. И.Л.Корчевниковой; прилож.; оформл. О.Комаровой.Русский путь 2012

Selected parts gallery

File:Germanova as Mnishek.jpg, 1907:

, ''

'' File:Germanova Witch.jpg, 1908: The Fairy, '' The Blue Bird'' File:Germanova as Rosa in Andreyev's Anathema.jpg, 1909: Rosa,

's ''Anathema'' File:Maria Germanova as Grushenka.jpg, 1910: Grushenka, ''

'' File:Germanova Medea.jpg, 1926: ''

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Germanova, Maria Russian stage actresses Russian film actresses Moscow Art Theatre Actresses from Moscow Russian expatriates in France 1884 births 1940 deaths Actresses from Prague