In 1905, on November 23 in Nikolaevsk-on-Amur in the family of an insurance agent (father) and a dentist (mother) was born Angelina Iosifovna Stepanova – Russian actress, theater figure. People's Artist of the USSR (1960), laureate of the State Prizes of the USSR (1952, 1977), laureate of the K.S. Stanislavsky Prize (1995). Hero of Socialist Labor (1975).
According to Angelina Iosifovna, she “never had theatrical vacillations, doubts about which way to go”. While studying at the Moscow gymnasium, she was fond of ballet; in 1921 she was accepted to school at the 3rd Studio of the Moscow Art Art Theatre (the course was recruited by E. B. Vakhtangov), which she graduated in 1924, playing Mary in the Battle of Life according to Dickens, Surmilov in the Lviv Gurich Sinichkin by D. T. Lensky, a dumb slave, and then Adelma in the farewell Wakhtang’s Princess Turandot based on the play by Carlo Gozzi. After watching the “Battle of Life”, V.I. Nemirovich-Danchenko proposed to transfer the performance to the Moscow Art Theatre stage, and the performers to join the troupe. Stanislavsky himself worked on the production of N. M. Gorchakov. With him, in his first season of service in the theater (1924-1925), Stepanova had to work on the roles of Princess Mstislavskaya (Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich A.K. Tolstoy) and Sophia (Woe from Witness A.S. Griboyedov, in the role of Famusov – Stanislavsky).
The arrival of Stepanova in the Moscow Art Theatre successfully coincided with the beginning of the renewal of the cast: young performers were introduced to old performances. Stepanova played the Unborn Soul in the legendary “Blue Bird” by Meterlink. After a small role of Marinka, the bride of the Decembrist Prince Golitsyn, in the play Nicholas I and the Decembrists by A.R. Kugel (1926), Stanislavsky made a verdict: "You become an actress." He said, We haven’t had such a young artist in a long time. It has a great future ahead of it.” The prophetic gift did not fail the director.
Among the roles of Stepanova are multi-genre images: Ivonne ("Sellers of Glory" by P. Nivoy and M. Panyol, 1926), Henrietta ("Sisters Gerard" by V. Z. Massa on the melodrama by A.-F. Dennery and A. Cormona, 1927), Anya ("The Cherry Orchard" by A. P. Chekhov, 1928), Cine Operator and Miss Senschein (" Adverts" by M. Watkins, 1930), Countess ("Menba Day, or "Genbayuerba" by F. Denneryu, 1934), I. Kornadyukova, (1939), "A. Kornadova (" by M. K. K. Korshka, (1934), "), "A. Korshka, "), "A. Korshka, "), "A. Kornadyuernadyuhl'shyadzna, "(" by Kor Stanislavsky, who either staged these performances, or “bringed them to mind”, Stepanova was grateful: “To Vladimir Ivanovich Nemirovich-Danchenko, I was already an experienced actress with whom you could talk about form, character, image.” Made me this actress K.S. Stanislavsky.
Stepanova perfectly “possessed the skill of intellectual decoration of the role”, was able to “overshadow the dim severity of the psychological realism of Stalin’s times with her mocking, intelligent skepticism” (R. Dolzhansky). Angelina Iosifovna was attracted to characteristic roles – she dreamed of playing one of the witches in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, but at the same time she knew how to be lyrical and restrained, emotional and tough. After the death of the founders of the Moscow Art Theatre, Stepanov appeared in a new role once a season. Her last roles were the Mother in the Silver Wedding by A.N. Misharin and Lik in the Moscow Choir (1988) in the productions of Efremov. In the early nineties, Angelina Iosifovna Stepanova retired - her health no longer allowed her to work as she used to, and in the new repertoire of the theater there were not so many roles for the 85-year-old actress.
Became a legend during her lifetime, the last of the Mkhatovites who went on stage with Stanislavsky and rehearsed with Nemirovich-Danchenko, Stepanova did not like to give interviews. The last time she appeared before the public on October 26, 1998 at the Moscow Art Theatre in Kamergersky Lane at the celebration of the centenary of the Art Theatre.
Among the roles of Stepanova in the film is a student (“Dead House” according to Dostoevsky, 1932), Betsy Tverskaya (“Anna Karenina” according to L.N. Tolstoy, 1951), Anna Pavlovna Scherer (“War and Peace” according to L.N. Tolstoy, 1965), Mrs. Shamway (“The Escape of Mr. McKinley” according to the script by L. Leonov, 1975), the artistic director of the theater (“Twenty Days Without War” according to the script by K.N. Simonov, 1976), the old woman (“Explanation in Love” according to the script by L.N. Tolstoy Tolstoy, 1987), Mrs. Finna, Kireva’s play “Maria” by Ivan, 1978), “Maria Finna, and “Remember” by Kireva, Kira. Finna” (“M. Finna” by Kira. Finov). Together with Mark Prudkin, Angelina Iosifovna participated in the series of television programs “Theatrical Memoirs”, starred in television versions of the performances of the Moscow Art Theatre “Dear Liar” and “Extraordinary Ambassador”. To the 100th anniversary of the birth of Angelina Stepanova, the TV channel “Culture” showed the same performance of the Moscow Art Theatre “Cute Liar”.
Angelina Stepanova worked for the radio. Her voice tells about the old Moscow Art Theater, she reads the poems of Pushkin, Tyutchev, Fet... A bright actress, she was a professor at the Moscow Art Theatre School-Studio, a member of the editorial board of the Theatre magazine; the author of a number of notes and articles about the theater.
May 18, 2000 Angelina Stepanova died.