Actress. Though her career started late and was brief, she is remembered as her country's premier theatrical personality at the dawn of the 20th Century. The child of an opera singer father and a mother descended from a distinguished military family, she was raised in wealth and privilege, took to the stage early, at 19 married respected diplomat Count Mikhail Muravyov, and performed in numerous amateur productions at the Constantin Stanislavsky Academy of Arts and Letters prior to her 1893 professional bow. Associated with St. Petersburg's Alexandrinsky Theatre, she appeared in both classics and new works, most notably as Nina in the 1896 world premiere of Anton Chekov's "The Seagull", and while the piece itself flopped, Vera was lauded by the critics. In 1902, amidst artistic differences, she left the Alexandrinsky, then in 1904 formed her own company where she played the leads in Chekov's "Ivanov" and "Uncle Vanya" and was Nora in Ibsen's "A Doll's House" as well as at least two Shakespearean ladies, Ophelia in "Hamlet" and the unjustly doomed Desdemona of "Othello", and while the venture was an artistic success, it lost money. She entered into a brief professional partnership with innovative producer Vsevolod Meyrhold, the venture yielding some interesting results including an experimental production of Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler", though ultimately it proved another money pit. Saddled with debts, she undertook a tour that carried her throughout Europe and America, during which she died of smallpox. Vera was portrayed by Natalia Saiko in a 1980 biopic and today a St. Petersburg theatre carries her name.
Actress. Though her career started late and was brief, she is remembered as her country's premier theatrical personality at the dawn of the 20th Century. The child of an opera singer father and a mother descended from a distinguished military family, she was raised in wealth and privilege, took to the stage early, at 19 married respected diplomat Count Mikhail Muravyov, and performed in numerous amateur productions at the Constantin Stanislavsky Academy of Arts and Letters prior to her 1893 professional bow. Associated with St. Petersburg's Alexandrinsky Theatre, she appeared in both classics and new works, most notably as Nina in the 1896 world premiere of Anton Chekov's "The Seagull", and while the piece itself flopped, Vera was lauded by the critics. In 1902, amidst artistic differences, she left the Alexandrinsky, then in 1904 formed her own company where she played the leads in Chekov's "Ivanov" and "Uncle Vanya" and was Nora in Ibsen's "A Doll's House" as well as at least two Shakespearean ladies, Ophelia in "Hamlet" and the unjustly doomed Desdemona of "Othello", and while the venture was an artistic success, it lost money. She entered into a brief professional partnership with innovative producer Vsevolod Meyrhold, the venture yielding some interesting results including an experimental production of Ibsen's "Hedda Gabler", though ultimately it proved another money pit. Saddled with debts, she undertook a tour that carried her throughout Europe and America, during which she died of smallpox. Vera was portrayed by Natalia Saiko in a 1980 biopic and today a St. Petersburg theatre carries her name.
Bio by: Bob Hufford
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