Nina Nikolayevna Levestamm (russian: Нина Николаевна Левестамм, 12 January 1878 – 8 April 1956) was a Russian and Soviet stage actress, associated with

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 ...

, known under her stage name Litovtseva (russian: Литовцева). Actor

Vasily Kachalov Vasily Ivanovich Kachalov (russian: Василий Иванович Качалов; – 30 September 1948), was one of Russia's most renowned actors. He worked closely and often with Konstantin Stanislavski. He led the so-called Kachalov Group wit ...

was her husband.

Biography

After the graduation from the Philharmonic Institute, where she studied under

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 ...

, Litovtseva joined the Mikhail Borodai Troupe and for several years worked in the Russian province, mostly in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

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 ...

and

Astrakhan Astrakhan ( rus, Астрахань, p=ˈastrəxənʲ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in Southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the ...

. In 1900 she married Vasily Kachalov in

Kislovodsk Kislovodsk (russian: Кислово́дск, lit. ''sour waters''; ; krc, Ачысуу) is a spa city in Stavropol Krai, Russia, in the North Caucasus region of Russia which is located between the Black and Caspian Seas. Population: History I ...

, and a year later was invited to join the MAT troupe, soon after he did.Нина Николаевна Литовцева
Biography at the Moscow Art Theatre site (Russian)Nina Litovtseva
at the Russian Theatre Encyclopedia (Russian) The much sought-after breakthrough never came: during her first three years she appeared only in episodes, even though Nemirovich-Danchenko is known to have rated her artistic potential high. It was only in 1905 that Litovtseva received her first two substantial parts, Vera Pavlovna in ''Ivan Mironych'' by

Evgeny Chirikov Evgeny Nikolayevich Chirikov (russian: Евге́ний Никола́евич Чи́риков; 5 August 1864 – 18 January 1932), was a Russian novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, and publicist. Biography Chirikov was born in ...

and Fima 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''. Quite prepared to leave MAT, she took a one year leave, to join the Konstantin Nezlobin troupe in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

. It was there that she fell seriously ill, and, having undergone seven operations in five months, ended up with a limp. A period of severe depression followed (at one point she became so close to committing suicide as to buy a revolver), but in 1908 she returned to work as a reader in drama and stage director at the MAT Second studio, where she produced ''

The Green Ring The Green Ring (russian: Зелёное кольцо, translit=Zelyonoye kol’tso) is a four-act play by Zinaida Gippius written in January 1914 and premiered at the Alexandrinsky Theatre on 18 February 1915, directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold. The M ...

'' by

Zinaida Gippius Zinaida Nikolayevna Gippius (Hippius) (; – 9 September 1945) was a Russian literature, Russian poet, playwright, novelist, editor and religious thinker, one of the major figures in Russian symbolism. The story of her marriage to Dmitry Merezhk ...

(1916) and ''Mladost'' 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 ...

(1918). In 1922, after the Kachalov Group, which she was part of, returned to Moscow having spent three years in Europe, Litovtseva resumed working for the theatre. She directed ''Nicolas the First and the Decembrists'' (1926, by Alexander Kugel based on two

Dmitry Merezhkovsky Dmitry Sergeyevich Merezhkovsky ( rus, Дми́трий Серге́евич Мережко́вский, p=ˈdmʲitrʲɪj sʲɪrˈɡʲejɪvʲɪtɕ mʲɪrʲɪˈʂkofskʲɪj; – December 9, 1941) was a Russian novelist, poet, religious thinker, ...

novels) and later ''

Armoured Train 14-69 ''Armoured Train 14–69'' (russian: Бронепоезд 14–69, translit=Bronepoezd 14–69) is a 1927 Soviet play by Vsevolod Ivanov. Based on his 1922 novel of the same name, it was the first play that he wrote and remains his most important. ...

'' by

Vsevolod Ivanov Vsevolod Vyacheslavovich Ivanov (russian: Все́волод Вячесла́вович Ива́нов, ; , Lebyazhye, Semipalatinsk Oblast – 15 August 1963, Moscow) was a Soviet and Russian writer, dramatist, journalist and war correspondent. B ...

(1927), ''Our Youth'' (1930, S. Kartashev's stage adaptation of Viktor Kin's 1928 novel ''On the Other Side''), '' Talents and Admirers'' 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 ...

(1933), '' Three Sisters'' (1940), ''

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 ...

'', 1947, in which she also appeared as Voynitskaya), and ''

The Fruits of Enlightenment ''The Fruits of Enlightenment'', aka ''Fruits of Culture'' (1889-90, pub. 1891) is a play by the Russian writer Leo Tolstoy. It satirizes the persistence of unenlightened attitudes towards the peasants amongst the Russian landed aristocracy. In 1891 ...

'' (1951). In 1948 she was honored with the title of

People's Artist of the RSFSR People's Artist of the RSFSR (russian: Народный артист РСФСР, ''Narodnyj artist RSFSR'') was an honorary title granted to Soviet Union artists, including theatre and film directors, choreographers, music performers, and orchest ...

. She died on 8 April 1956, in Moscow, and is interred in

Novodevichy Cemetery Novodevichy Cemetery ( rus, Новоде́вичье кла́дбище, Novodevichye kladbishche) is a cemetery in Moscow. It lies next to the southern wall of the 16th-century Novodevichy Convent, which is the city's third most popular tourist ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Litovtseva, Nina 1878 births 1956 deaths 20th-century Russian actresses Actresses from the Russian Empire Actresses from Moscow Theatre directors from Moscow Honored Artists of the RSFSR People's Artists of the RSFSR Recipients of the Order of the Badge of Honour Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Russian drama teachers Russian stage actresses Russian women theatre directors Soviet drama teachers Soviet stage actresses Soviet theatre directors Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery