Seraphim Birman. Today, the name of this extraordinary talented actress is almost forgotten. And once Stanislavsky himself admired her, and many connoisseurs of theatrical art put her name on a par with the greatest actresses in the world. Our article will tell readers about the biography of this woman, her work and personal life.
The beginning of the biography
Serafima Birman was born in Moldova, in the city of Chisinau. Her mother was Elena Ivanovna Botezat, her father was German Mikhailovich Birman. The head of the family had the military rank of headquarters captain and served in the reserve infantry battalion.
The atmosphere in the family was particularly strict. Seraphimâs father was extremely demanding both to himself and to others.
Serafima Birman studied well and graduated from a female gymnasium with a gold medal. Then the girl went to her older sister, who worked as a doctor in the large village of Chernolevka.
The local landowner K.F. Casimir arranged small amateur performances in his estate, in which Seraphim had participated. Casimir discerned a real acting talent in an awkward little girl. He provided financial assistance to the girl so that she could learn the basics of acting craft from professional teachers.
In 1908, Serafima Birman moved to Moscow and began attending the Adashev Drama School. Eugene Vakhtangov studied with her at that time. Later, the actress recalled how miserable their student life was. They ate only canned goods and brown bread. In 1911, the training was completed.
Acquaintance with Stanislavsky
Now Seraphim Birman had an acting education. The young inexperienced actress boldly went to audition at the Moscow Art Theater.
The members of the commission, having seen an awkward slender girl with a huge nose, decided to get rid of her quickly and suggested that she immediately play an improvisation on the topic of seduction. To their surprise, Birman was not at all embarrassed or confused.
The bony girl went to the most important examiner, coquettishly sat next to her and began flirting shamelessly with him. Stanislavsky (he was the one who was seduced) waved his hands and shouted: "I believe! I believe!". All members of the admissions committee unanimously voted to admit Birman to the Moscow Art Theater.
Theater work
Serafima Birman organically joined the legendary First Moscow Art Theater Studio. Sofya Giatsintova, Evgeny Vakhtangov, Mikhail Chekhov served there with her. The collective reigned "the cult of the Stanislavsky system."
From 1913 to 1924 Birman played in the following productions: "Mistress of the hotel" (Galdoni); "Stepanchikovo Village" (Dostoevsky), "Pazukhin's Death" (Saltykov-Shchedrin), "Fruits of Enlightenment" (L. Tolstoy).
In 1924, the First Moscow Art Theater Studio ceased to exist. The Moscow Art Theater was organized, in which Birman worked until 1936. In the Moscow Art Theater, she becomes one of the leading actresses and plays a lot. Her most famous roles of those years are Queen Anne Stewart (the play âThe Man Who Laughsâ), Julitta (âThe Shadow of the Liberatorâ), Violanthe (âThe Spanish Priestâ), and Dvoira (âSunsetâ).
After 1936, Serafima Birman served at the ISAPS Theater. There she decided to try herself as a director and staged a powerful play "Vassa Zheleznova" in which she played the main role.
In 1938, the actress participated in the creation of the Theater. Lenin Komsomol. There she served until 1958. Then, until the end of her life, she worked at the Mossovet Theater.
In the troupe of the Moscow Soviet at that time was the star Faina Ranevskaya, who, like Birman, played witty roles. It is known that these two great women competed with each other. They were very much alike.
Movie roles
Seraphim Birmanâs career in cinema was not as successful as in the theater. The actress was distinguished by a specific appearance and she was invited to play mainly episodic roles. But even in episodes on the screen you can see the power of acting temperament Birman.
The most famous film role of the actress is Efrosinya Staritskaya in Eisensteinâs film âIvan the Terribleâ. For this work, Birman in 1946 received the Stalin Prize.
Creative talent
Serafima Germanovna was not only a talented actress and director. She wrote books: âActorâs Laborâ, âThe Actressâs Wayâ, âFate Granted Encountersâ, âActor and Imageâ. All these works were published during her lifetime.
In addition, throughout her acting career, Serafima Germanovna actively corresponded with admirers of her talent, and there were many such people. Birman, despite being very busy, answered every letter.
The personal life of the actress
From our story it is clear that the actress devoted all her time to creativity. But what about personal life? Serafima Birman was married to the writer Talanov Alexander Viktorovich. He was 11 years younger than his wife and loved her very much, and she, too, did not have a soul in him.
In the work, the famous actress always showed a tough and complicated character. At home, she was completely different: tender, soft, loving. This was told by family friends, often in the house of Birman and Talanov.
The couple did not have children. Alexander Viktorovich was in poor health. When he fell ill, Serafima Germanovna was very worried about her husband, about which she wrote to friends more than once.
In 1969, when Serafima Birman toured with the theater in the Baltic states, news came from Moscow that her husband had passed away. People around said that it was painful to look at the actress, she was so depressed by this tragic news.
After the death of her husband, Birman plunged into solitude. Many began to shun her, which further contributed to the deterioration of her mental state.
Illness and death
A few years after the death of her husband, actress Serafima Birman left the theater. But she could not live outside of creativity, she was completely helpless in everyday life. At first, a housekeeper took care of her, to whom Birman was very attached, but soon this man died.
Relatives took the helpless old actress to Leningrad. There she was placed in a madhouse. To top it all off, Seraphim Birman was struck by blindness.
Being in a mental disorder and being completely blind, the actress lived in some kind of her own world. She seemed to be rehearsing something all the time. Serafima Germanovna Birman died on May 11, 1976 at the age of 85. The ashes of the actress are buried in the columbarium of the Novodevichy cemetery.
Filmography
There are few films with Serafima Birman, here is a list of them:
- "Cutter from Torzhok";
- "Girl with a box";
- "Victory of a woman";
- Black Hut;
- "Man with a gun";
- "Girlfriends";
- "Ivan groznyj";
- "Friends";
- "Crazy day";
- "Island of Errors";
- "Ordinary person";
- "Don Quixote";
- "Storm".
Despite the short list of elements of her filmography, she was long remembered by the theater and cinema audience for her inimitable play.