Ekaterina Elanskaya was born in Moscow on an autumn day on September 13, 1929. Her famous parents (actor and director Ilya Yakovlevich Sudakov and actress Claudia Elanskaya) largely predetermined the life of her daughter. The art of the theater, which in the eyes of the girl was embodied by parents in various scenic images, captivated Catherine from childhood.
First steps in a career
After graduating from school, Catherine Elanskaya, an actress (photo see below), is studying at the Moscow Art Theater. Her teacher was A. M. Karev. It was there that she was destined to meet her first love. It was an aspiring actor Victor Korshunov. They met for several years, and two years after completing their studies at the Moscow Art Theater School (1953), they played a wedding. Soon, the couple had a son, Alexander.
It was then that Ekaterina Elanskaya became a sought-after actress of the Maly Theater. She perfectly managed completely different images, and the emotionality and depth of performance led to the fact that she often got the main roles in the performances. Particularly striking works of that time were “When Spears Break” (Lydia), “Vassa Zheleznova” (Lyudmila), “Doctor of Philosophy” (Slavka), “Song of the Wind” (Kurnosaya) and others.
Beginning of directorial work
Ekaterina Elanskaya - the actress, of course, talented. But in addition to acting, she was very interested in directing. That is why she went to graduate school at GITIS. Maria Knebel, a famous teacher of the time, who was the idol of Elanskaya, taught there. After graduation, she tried her hand at directing in the 60s. Her performances somehow immediately attracted the audience and became very popular. Moreover, as a director, she works immediately in several Moscow theaters.
For example, at
the Stanislavsky Theater she staged Robin Hood and The Little Prince, at the Yermolova Theater - A Month in the Village, at Sovremennik - Taste of Cherry, and at the WTO Literary and Dramatic Theater - Coast.
Success
Her productions were attended by such popular actors as Oleg Dal, George Burkov, Alexander Kalyagin, Ekaterina Vasilyeva and others. It should be noted that Ekaterina Elanskaya always very responsibly approached the formation of the cast in her productions, each time thinking over how this or that actor will be able to embody her hero on the stage. Her desire for bold experiments and unexpected directorial discoveries led to the popularity of the productions of this talented woman. Most of her performances were filmed and more than once broadcast on television. Many of the productions became part of the gold fund of Soviet TV.
Probably, it was then that they stopped talking about her as the daughter of famous parents. Elanskaya was able to prove that she is an independent person, and can manifest herself in various areas of theatrical activity.
E. Elanskaya - innovator and experimenter
Innovative ideas on this did not run out. On the contrary, Ekaterina Ilyinichna began to dream of creating a completely new theater, unlike all existing ones. She dreamed of realizing grandiose ideas, which by the standards of that time seemed to many to be just crazy. She was especially fascinated by the dream of transforming the auditorium. In the play “Mail to the South”, which took place in the concert hall named after P. I. Tchaikovsky, Ekaterina Elanskaya partially managed to do this. The amphitheater and the stage were combined into a large hemisphere, which caused the viewer's perception of everything that was happening in the performance to change. Other works were presented on the same principle: “Poor People” and “There, Away.”
Theater "Sphere"
In 1981, Catherine Elanskaya became the artistic director of one of the famous metropolitan theaters. This is the theater "Sphere". Initially, "Sphere" was located in the House of Culture of the plant "Rubber", located on Plyushchikha. And in 1984, a building was specially built for the theater on the territory of the Hermitage Garden. The project of the building was drawn up and embodied in reality by the joint efforts of three people. The generator of ideas, of course, was Ekaterina Ilyinichna, and the main artist of the theater V. Soldatov and architect N. Golas embodied her ideas. They fulfilled Elansky’s long-held dream of creating a spherical space. The uniqueness of the idea was undeniable. The hall was a grand circular amphitheater, all the places in which were removable and could transform depending on the nuances of the production. Inside the amphitheater there were several stage venues. One of them was larger than the others in size and occupied the central part, while the rest were located on the periphery. After the opening of the renovated theater, a huge number of spectators reached there. After all, there was the only hall in Moscow where each guest was a kind of participant in all the events of the performance, and not just watched from the side.
The permanent director of the theater "Sphere"
In the last two decades of the last century, Yekaterina Elanskaya, whose photographs are now rarely seen in the media, heading the Sphere Theater, has proved her talent as a director and director again and again. Many performances staged then were discussed on the sidelines. Spectators enthusiastically accepted the new work of Catherine Ilyinichna. The most famous performances: “Live and Remember” according to V. Rasputin (1984), “The Seagull” according to A.P. Chekhov (1987), “Fatal Eggs” according to M. Bulgakov (1989), “The Kingdom is on the table!” based on the drama of H. Ibsen, “Lolita” based on the novel by V. Nabokov (1996), etc. A production based on the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov “Theatrical novel” (1985) can be safely called the visiting card of “The Sphere”.
And when in 2003 the chamber stage opened, a new stream of spectators reached the theater. Ekaterina Elanskaya, whose biography is forever connected with Sphere, invited experimental directors who embodied their bold ideas on the chamber stage. Such productions include the performance of director A. Parr “The Freeloader” by I. Turgenev, “Ah, how good this world is!” directed by A. Korshunov (son of Elanskaya) according to E. Broshkevich. And Ekaterina Ilyinichna herself, in addition to direct management of the theater, continued to engage in directorial work, the result of which was the production of “Heaven and Hell” based on the work of P. Merimee.
A family
Spouse E. Elanskoy - Victor Korshunov - gave many years to work in the Maly Theater, performing a huge number of different roles. And since 1985, he led it. V. Korshunov died on April 17, 2015. He outlived his wife by almost two years. Ekaterina Ilyinichna herself died on July 16, 2013. She rests at the Novodevichy cemetery.
The son and grandchildren of the famous couple continue the work of their ancestors. Alexander Korshunov is still an actor of the Maly Theater. Stepan and Claudia (grandchildren) also decided to become actors. Many point to the similarity of the granddaughter of Claudia with her grandmother.
Indeed,
Claudia Korshunova and Ekaterina Elanskaya are very similar. Filmography of the young actress K. Korshunova: “Soldier's Decameron”, “Alexander Garden”, “977”. And the grandson of the famous actress and director Stepan can often be seen on the stages of the Maly Theater and the Sphere Theater.