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Serafima Germanovna Birman (russian: Серафима Германовна Бирман, link=no; – 11 May 1976) was a Soviet and Russian actress,

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and writer.

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

(1946).

Biography

Serafima Birman was born in Kishinyov in the Russian Empire (modern-day

Chișinău Chișinău ( , , ), also known as Kishinev (russian: Кишинёв, r=Kishinjóv ), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Republic of Moldova. The city is Moldova's main industrial and commercial center, and is located in the ...

Moldova Moldova ( , ; ), officially the Republic of Moldova ( ro, Republica Moldova), is a Landlocked country, landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south. The List of states ...

) into a

Russian Orthodox Russian Orthodoxy (russian: Русское православие) is the body of several churches within the larger communion of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, whose liturgy is or was traditionally conducted in Church Slavonic language. Most ...

family.''Serafima Birman (1962)''
The Path of an Actress
– Moscow: VTO, pp. 10–22, 37–39, 65, 76–157, 187–221 (Autobiography) Her father German Mikhailovich Birman was a Stabs-kapitan who served in the 51st reserve infantry battalion of the

Imperial Russian Army The Imperial Russian Army (russian: Ру́сская импера́торская а́рмия, tr. ) was the armed land force of the Russian Empire, active from around 1721 to the Russian Revolution of 1917. In the early 1850s, the Russian Ar ...

. He came from

raznochintsy (or ; russian: разночинцы; ; ), ). was an official term introduced in the Digest of Laws of the Russian Empire in the 17th century to define a social estate that included the lower court and governmental ranks, children of personal ''d ...

, but was granted personal nobility after making a successful military career. He resigned rather early and died in 1908. Serafima described him as a "lonely, unsociable man... who had little success at finishing things, like the Moldovan-Russian dictionary he was writing for years". Her mother Elena Ivanovna Birman (née Botezat) "was a complete opposite". She came from a wealthy Moldovan family, studied in a finishing school and married as a teenager. At the time German met and married her, she was already a 19-year-old widow with two daughters. Serafima also had a younger brother, Nikolai.

Theatre

She grew up in Kishinyov and graduated from a local gymnasium for girls with a gold medal. At the age of 11 she visited a theatre and became obsessed with it. One of her stepsisters, then a student at the

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

medical university, was offered to play a small part in

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

's play. She brought Serafima a signed photo of him and suggested to enter 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 ...

. In 1908 she left for Moscow and entered drama courses led by

Alexander Adashev Alexander Ivanovich Platonov (russian: Александр Иванович Платонов, 1871–1934) was a Russian and Soviet stage actor and reader in drama, better known under his stage name Adashev (Адашев) and associated with th ...

; among her fellow students was

Evgeny 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 ...

. , a well-known

Bessarabia Bessarabia (; Gagauz: ''Besarabiya''; Romanian: ''Basarabia''; Ukrainian: ''Бессара́бія'') is a historical region in Eastern Europe, bounded by the Dniester river on the east and the Prut river on the west. About two thirds of Be ...

State Duma The State Duma (russian: Госуда́рственная ду́ма, r=Gosudárstvennaja dúma), commonly abbreviated in Russian as Gosduma ( rus, Госду́ма), is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia, while the upper house ...

deputy and philanthropist, supported her and paid for the first year of studying. In 1911 Birman graduated from the courses and became an actress of the Moscow Art Theatre with the help of

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 ...

, one of her teachers who sent a

recommendation letter A letter of recommendation or recommendation letter, also known as a letter of reference, reference letter or simply reference, is a document in which the writer assesses the qualities, characteristics, and capabilities of the person being recommen ...

straight to

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 ...

. From 1913 on she also performed at the First Studio led by Stanislavski. She played her first big role of Ortensia in the 1914 adaptation of ''

The Mistress of the Inn ''The Mistress of the Inn'' ( it, La locandiera ), also translated as ''The Innkeeper Woman'' or ''Mirandolina'' (after the play's main character), is a 1753 three-act comedy by the Italian playwright Carlo Goldoni about a coquette. The play h ...

'' play. In 1924 the First Studio was turned into the by its actors led by

Michael Chekhov Mikhail Aleksandrovich Chekhov (russian: Михаил Александрович Чехов; 29 August 1891 – 30 September 1955), known as Michael Chekhov, was an American actor, director, author and theatre practitioner. He was a nephew ...

. Same year Birman debuted as a theatre director with ''Love – A Golden Book'', an adaptation of Aleksey Tolstoy's play. After a number of internal conflicts the theatre was finally closed in 1936. Birman and other actors then joined the

Mossovet Theatre Mossovet State Academic Theatre (Государственный академический театр имени Театр Моссовета) is one of the oldest theatres of Moscow, opened in 1923 and based at Bolshaya Sadovaya, 16. History Mos ...

where she continued staging plays. One of her biggest successes was

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 '' Vassa Zheleznova'' where she also performed in the main part which she considered the role of her life. In 1938 one of the actors Ivan Bersenyev founded the Lenin Komsomol Theatre and invited some of the leading Mossovet actors to join him, including Birman. In 1943 she relaunched ''Vassa Zheleznova'' and directed other adaptations of classic plays such as

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 ...

'' and

Edmond Rostand Edmond Eugène Alexis Rostand (, , ; 1 April 1868 – 2 December 1918) was a French poet and dramatist. He is associated with neo-romanticism and is known best for his 1897 play ''Cyrano de Bergerac''. Rostand's romantic plays contrasted with t ...

's ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th cen ...

''. She served there until 1958 and then returned to the Mossovet Theatre where she stayed for the rest of her life. She also published articles and several non-fiction books dedicated to her profession and Russian theatre in general: ''Actor and Character'' (1934), ''Actor's Labour'' (1939),'' The Path of an Actress'' (1959 and 1962), ''Meetings Granted by Fate'' (1971).

Cinema

Birman's first roles in cinema date back to 1918: she played a small part in ''But He, Rebellious, Seeks for Tempest...'' crime drama and Lady Sophia Entwistle in the ''Buried Alive'' adaptation of

Arnold Bennett Enoch Arnold Bennett (27 May 1867 – 27 March 1931) was an English author, best known as a novelist. He wrote prolifically: between the 1890s and the 1930s he completed 34 novels, seven volumes of short stories, 13 plays (some in collaboratio ...

's satirical book. Both films were directed by Alexandre Volkoff shortly before his emigration and are considered to be lost today. She returned to big screen during the mid-1920s and played several comedy roles and episodes in a number of

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

s, most notably a neighbor in

Yakov Protazanov Yakov Alexandrovich Protazanov (russian: Яков Александрович Протазанов; 4 February ( O.S. 23 January ) 1881 – 8 August 1945) was a Russian and Soviet film director and screenwriter, and one of the founding fathers of ...

's ''

The Tailor from Torzhok ''The Tailor from Torzhok'' (russian: Закройщик из Торжка, Zakroyshchik iz Torzhka) is a 1925 Soviet silent comedy film directed by Yakov Protazanov and starring Igor Ilyinsky. The picture was commissioned as publicity for the ...

'' (1925) and Madame Irène in

Boris Barnet Boris Vasilyevich Barnet (russian: Бори́с Васи́льевич Ба́рнет; 18 June 1902 – 8 January 1965) was a Soviet film director, actor and screenwriter of British heritage. He directed 27 films between 1927 and 1963. Barne ...

's ''

The Girl with a Hatbox ''The Girl with a Hatbox'' or ''Moscow That Laughs and Weeps'' (russian: Девушка с коробкой, Devushka s korobkoy) is a 1927 Soviet silent romantic comedy film directed by Boris Barnet Boris Vasilyevich Barnet (russian: Бор� ...

'' (1927). Her unusual appearance and expressive acting attracted comedy directors: between 1956 and 1957 she played two memorable grotesque characters in Andrey Tutishkin's ''Crazy Day'' and Alexander Stolbov's ''An Ordinary Man''.Cinema: Encyclopedic Dictionary // ''main editor

Sergei Yutkevich Sergei Iosifovich Yutkevich (russian: Серге́й Ио́сифович Ютке́вич, 28 December 1904 – 23 April 1985) was a Soviet and Russian film director and screenwriter. He was a People's Artist of the USSR (1962) and a Hero of ...

(1987)''. — Moscow: Soviet Encyclopedia, p. 48 She also voiced some animated films. Yet her biggest success came with ''

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Ivan ...

'' directed by

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, screenw ...

in 1944 during the

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

. Birman played the main antagonist –

Evfrosinia Staritskaia Efrosinya Andreevna Staritskaya née Khovanskaia (1516-1569), was a Russian noblewoman. In 1533, she married Prince Andrey of Staritsa, uncle of Tsar Ivan the Terrible. She was described as ambitious and forceful. She wished for the Staritsk ...

, mother of

Vladimir of Staritsa Vladimir Andreyevich (1533 – 9 October 1569) was the last appanage Russian prince. His complicated relationship with his cousin, Ivan the Terrible, was dramatized in Sergei Eisenstein's movie '' Ivan the Terrible''. The only son of Andrey of ...

– who wanted to see him as a new Russian Tsar and led the plot against

. Eisenstein first planned

Faina Ranevskaya Faina Georgievna Ranevskaya (russian: Фаина Георгиевна Раневская, born Faina Girschevna Feldman, — 19 July 1984), is recognized as one of the greatest Soviet actresses in both tragedy and comedy. She was also famous for ...

for this part, but she was rejected by censors supposedly because of her "openly Semitic features". Either way, Birman's character has been widely praised since. In 1946 she was awarded the

Stalin Prize Stalin Prize may refer to: * The State Stalin Prize in science and engineering and in arts, awarded 1941 to 1954, later known as the USSR State Prize The USSR State Prize (russian: links=no, Государственная премия СССР, ...

and the rank 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 ...

for it. Same year the second part ''The Boyars' Plot'' was finished where she reprised the role of Evfrosinia, although the film was met with harsh criticism and banned for 12 years.

Death

In 1969 Birman's husband Alexander Talanov, a Russian writer and journalist, died of illness aged 68. Serafima took his death hard. She soon became mentally ill and left the theatre. She was taken by her relatives to

Leningrad Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

where she went through treatment in

mental hospital Psychiatric hospitals, also known as mental health hospitals, behavioral health hospitals, are hospitals or wards specializing in the treatment of severe mental disorders, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, eating disorders, dissociati ...

s until her death in 1976.''Sergei Kapkov (2011)''
Queens of Laughter. Life That Never Happened?
– Moscow:

Eksmo Eksmo (russian: Эксмо) is one of the largest publishing houses in Russia. Eksmo and AST (which it later acquired in 2012) together publish approximately 30% of all Russian books. Established in 1991 as a small book-selling company, Eksmo gr ...

, pp. 5–12 As one of her close friends

Rostislav Plyatt Rostislav Yanovich Plyatt (russian: Ростислав Янович Плятт; — 30 June 1989) was a Soviet and Russian stage and film actor. He was named People's Artist of the USSR in 1961 and awarded the USSR State Prize in 1982. Biograph ...

wrote in his memoirs, "She tried to stage '' The Blue Bird'' with her ward neighbors, hasting to demonstrate the work to her beloved Stanislavski! Irrepressible, she even died Birman-style – no day without theatre!.." She was buried at the

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 ...

in Moscow near her husband. While biographers usually state the couple was childless, according to the actor Stanislav Sadalsky Birman actually left some descendants."She had a family. I even visited her flat near TASS – it went to her grandson"
comment by Stanislav Sadalsky from his

LiveJournal LiveJournal (russian: Живой Журнал), stylised as LiVEJOURNAL, is a Russian-owned social networking service where users can keep a blog, journal, or diary. American programmer Brad Fitzpatrick started LiveJournal on April 15, 1999, as ...

(in Russian)

Selected filmography

References

External links

*
Serafima Birman
at the

website
Serafima Birman
at the

Lenkom Theatre Lenkom Theatre, formerly known as Lenin’s Komsomol Moscow Theatre or Moscow Leninist Komsomol Theatre is the official name of what was once known as the Moscow State Theatre named after Komsomol, a Communist youth league set up by Vladimir Len ...

website (in Russian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Birman, Serafima 1890 births 1976 deaths People from Chișinău People from Kishinyovsky Uyezd Actresses from the Russian Empire Russian stage actresses Russian voice actresses Soviet film actresses Soviet silent film actresses Soviet stage actresses Soviet theatre directors Soviet voice actresses People's Artists of the RSFSR Stalin Prize winners Recipients of the Order of the Red Banner of Labour Burials at Novodevichy Cemetery