Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina

Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina russian theater

Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina: one of the first people’s artists of Russia

The actress was famous more than a century ago: she played at the Maly Theater, starred in the first film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s play “The Living Corpse” and was one of the first to receive the title of People’s Artist.

Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina one of the first People's Artists of Russia

Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina – nee Klimova – was born into the family of a former serf in 1859. From 1885 she played in amateur productions, and in 1887 she made her debut in the professional troupe of the theater, which was then working in Petrovsky Park in Moscow. By that time, the actress had married the artist Alexander Blumenthal-Tamarin and took his last name.

Army Summons (1925)
Army Summons (1925)

In the next few years, she toured different cities of Russia, played in productions based on the plays of Nikolai Gogol, Alexander Ostrovsky, Leo Tolstoy. The actress’s calling card was the roles of age heroines: Kabanikha in The Storm, Fyokla in Gogol’s Marriage, Domna Panteleevna in Ostrovsky’s Talents and Admirers. In 1901, Blumenthal-Tamarina returned to Moscow and entered the Russian Drama Theater of Fyodor Korsh – now it is the State Theater of Nations.

V.N.Popova (Geta Fent) and M. Blumenthal-Tamarina (Mother Flint), Potassium cyanide F. Wolf. Theater of the former Korsch, 1930.
V.N.Popova (Geta Fent) and M. Blumenthal-Tamarina (Mother Flint), Potassium cyanide F. Wolf. Theater of the former Korsch, 1930.

Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina made her film debut in 1911 – she starred in the first film adaptation of Leo Tolstoy’s play “Living Corpse”, where she played Lisa, the wife of the protagonist. In total, the actress performed more than 20 film roles, but not all of these tapes have survived to this day, and her last work, the picture “New Moscow”, never came out. In 1936, Blumenthal-Tamarina was one of the first to receive the title of People’s Artist of the USSR.

Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina

Theater works of Maria Blumenthal-Tamarina

    1. Galchikha (Guilty Without Guilt by Ostrovsky)
    2. Domna Pantelevna (“Talents and Admirers” by Ostrovsky)
    3. Anfusa Tikhonovna (“Wolves and Sheep” by Ostrovsky)
    4. Matryona (“The Power of Darkness” by Tolstoy)
    5. Nanny Marina (“Uncle Vanya” by Chekhov)
    6. Feklusha and Kabanikha (“The Thunderstorm” by Ostrovsky)
    7. Elizaveta Antonovna (“Days of Our Life” Andreev)
    8. Poshlyopkina (“The Inspector General” by Gogol)
    9. Arina Ivanovna (“Children of Vanyushin” by Naydenov)
    10. Motylkova (“Glory” by Gusev)
    11. Knyazeva (“On the Bank of the Neva” by Trenev)

PRIZES AND AWARDS:

  • Order of Lenin (09/23/1937)
  • Order of the Red Banner of Labor (02/23/1937)
Vanyushin, Children of Vanyushin, S.A. Naydenov. 1901
Vanyushin, Children of Vanyushin, S.A. Naydenov. 1901