Anatoly Efros is a Soviet director of theater and cinema. Biography, creativity

Efros Anatoly Vasilyevich (years of life - 1925-1987) - Soviet director and teacher. In 1976, he received the title of Honored Artist of the RSFSR.

Origins and early years

Anatoly Vasilyevich was born in Kharkov on June 3, 1925. His family did not belong to the theater. Anatoly's parents worked at the aviation plant. Nevertheless, the future director since childhood was fond of theater. He was interested in Stanislavsky, read about his performances. After graduation, Anatoly began studying in Moscow. He attended the studio at the Theater. Moscow City Council.

Study in GITIS

Efros Anatoly Vasilievich in 1944 entered the GITIS, at the directing faculty (course MO Knebel and NV Petrova). In 1950 he graduated from it. The theatrical performance of Anatoly Vasilyevich - "Prague remains mine", created according to the prison diaries of Yu. Fuchik. The choice of the master and the course turned out to be happy for Efros: Knebel, an excellent teacher and pupil of Stanislavsky, managed to convey to him the ability to subtly understand the psychological theater. For all his life, Anatoly Vasilievich remained an adherent of the art of "experiencing." He developed and creatively reworked the Stanislavsky system, as well as his methods of working with the actor.

First performances, work in CDC

Anatoly Vasilievich put his first performances at the Ryazan Theater, and in 1954 he took the post of chief director of the Moscow Central Children's Theater. ZDT (today it is the Youth Theater) began to stage performances with Efros not only for children. Young actors came here, whose names glorified later the Russian scene: O. Tabakov, O. Efremov, Lev Durov. And Anatoly Efros helped to reveal these talents. It was in the CDT in the 1950s that the main principles of the new theater of our country were laid.

With the name of V. Rozov (in the photo in the center), the playwright, an important stage of the early work of Anatoly Vasilyevich (pictured left) is connected, as well as the Russian theater in general. A lot of plays by this author were put by Efros: in 1957 - "In search of joy", in 1960 - "Unequal battle", in 1962 - "Before dinner". Later, during the work of Anatoly Vasilyevich at the Lenin Komsomol Theater, in 1964 he was shown "On the Day of Glory", and in 1972 in the theater on Malaya Bronnaya premiere of "Brother Alesha" by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. In the CDT one of the first performances of Anatoly Vasilievich was the play of 1955 "In a good time!" (Rozov). In it the director became very close to O. Efremov. Undoubtedly, this play played an important role in the development of the concept of "Contemporary", the most popular Russian theater in the 1950s. He opened two years later with the play "Forever Living" by Rozov in Efremov's production. Of course, Efros can be considered one of the founders of this theater. Another evidence of this is that Anatoly Vasilyevich put one of the first performances in the Sovremennik - "Nobody" (E. de Filippo) with Lydia Tolmacheva and Efremov.

The phenomenon of Efros

The phenomenon of Efros, who accompanied the director throughout most of his life (except for the final period of his life) was that his fame was not mass and loud. Anatoly Vasilyevich was not an outrageous or "fashionable" director. At that time other names rattled - O. Efremova (in the 1960s), Y. Lyubimov (in the 1970s). They were idols (and quite deservedly) the theatrical public of those years. However, the creative authority of Anatoly Efros in the environment of professionals (directors, actors, dramatists, critics) was very great. Undoubtedly, his performances enjoyed success with the audience, they were looked at and enjoyed by many. However, it was professionals who knew the theater from the inside to fully appreciate all the innovation and depth of the "quiet" direction by Anatoly Vasilievich. It is significant that almost all the actors who worked together with Efros remembered this cooperation as true happiness. A very high level of recognition, probably the highest, is not just to become a famous director, but also a legend for colleagues who are usually not very inclined to public enthusiastic assessments.

Natalia Krymova and Anatoly Efros

From the student's bench the great director A. Efros and the best theater critic and theater critic of the 1960s and 1980s N.Krymov were close. Their union was not just marital, it was a powerful creative tandem that determined the fate of the Russian theater for many years. They had a son, Dmitri, who became a director and a theater artist.

Work in the theater. Leninist Komsomol

Anatolia Efros managed to make popular the CDT. After that, he was appointed to the theater. Leninist Komsomol chief director (in 1963). Then the theater was going through difficult times. Return the love of the audience he was supposed to Efros - this was expected by the Department of Culture. A whole galaxy of talented actors was collected under the banners of Anatoly Vasilyevich. Their names immediately became famous throughout the theater of Moscow largely thanks to such a talented director as Anatoly Efros. And Olga Yakovleva, and A. Zbruev, and other famous artists (A. Dmitrieva, Yu. Kolychev, M. Derzhavin, A. Shirvindt, V. Larionov, L. Durov, etc.) enjoyed great popularity. The spectator returned to the theater. Many performances have become real events, including 1964 "On the day of the wedding" and "104 pages about love," 1965 "My poor Marat" and "The movie is being shot ...", 1966 - "Seagull" and "Moliere" . The lyrical and dramatic productions of Efros (by no means journalistic!) On modern dramaturgy (Radzinsky, Rozov, Arbuzov) were extremely accurate. They were clots of the existential problems of the intelligentsia of that time, reflections on what place was assigned to the society of the individual. However, no less relevant were the classical productions of Anatoly Vasilyevich, and this despite the fact that there was no violent "modernization" in them. This caused discontent. Anatoly Efros was removed from the leadership of this theater in 1967.

Efros becomes the director of the theater in Malaya Bronnaya

He became the next director of the now theater in Malaya Bronnaya. However, a modest position did not prevent the theater immediately after the arrival of Anatoly Vasilyevich began to be called "the theater of Efros." Not only all the 17 years of work in this director he carried his name, but many years later. These 17 years were for Anatoly Efros happy, though difficult. The positive side in the post of the next was that she gave the opportunity to concentrate on her profession as much as possible.

Efros was surrounded by an excellent troupe - some actors left Lenkom after him. All those who worked for Anatoly Vasilyevich considered themselves to be his students, even those who did not study at GITIS at his courses (he taught there with interruptions since 1964). At the Little Bronnaya worked simultaneously V. Gaft, L. Durov, O. Yakovleva, N. Volkov, M. Shirvindt, L. Bronevo, L. Krugly, M. Derzhavin, O. Dal, A. Petrenko, S. Lyubshin, E Koreneva, G. Martyniuk, G. Sayfulin, M. Kanevsky. Years of cooperation with Efros for many of them have become truly stellar. Gradually, the theater, located on Malaya Bronnaya, became the center of the spiritual life of the capital - and this despite the fact that there was a Taganka. The performances of Anatoly Efros sounded a weighty and distinct counterpoint to his productions. The theater director A. Efros was an artist, not a politician. His modernity echoed with eternity.

Relations with Yu. Lyubimov

In the 1970s, the relationship between Efros and Beloved (pictured above) was corporate-respectful. Anatoly Efros in 1973 staged a play called "Just a few words in defense of Monsieur de Moliere." The main role in it was played by Y. Lyubimov. He, in turn, invited to the theater on Taganka A. Efros to stage the play "The Cherry Orchard". New work experience has given Taganka actors participation in it.

Performances on classical and modern plays, staged at the Malaya Bronnaya Theater

And the productions on Malaya Bronnaya became real legends - mostly classics. "Romeo and Juliet", "Three Sisters", "Othello", "Marriage", "Month in the Village", "Don Juan", "Brother Alesha" - each of them was a modern and unexpected performance, in each of its participants revealed new The edge of his talent. However, the theater of Anatoly Efros also refers to the plays staged in modern plays: "Fairy Tales of the Old Arbat", "Happy Days of the Unhappy Man", "Theater Director", "Summer and Smoke", "Man from the Side", etc. Anatoly Vasilievich worked a lot during this period on television, he was looking for new means of expressiveness. He also wrote a lot, writing on paper reflecting on the future and the present theater.

Political games

Despite the fact that A. Dunaev, who worked in the theater at the Malaya Bronnaya main director, supported him in every possible way, Efros's performances were often forbidden. However, Anatoly Vasilievich tried to live, categorically avoiding and as if ignoring political games that he considered unworthy of the theater. Efros is not a director-tribune. The modernity of his productions was achieved thanks to the raised problems of the moral search of the then intelligentsia, the idol of which he gradually became. By the mid-70's, director Anatoly Efros began to be considered disgraced. In his statements on the contemporary theme, it was not difficult to find socio-political allusions - and they were forbidden, as, for example, "The Seducer Kokobashkin." However, the classics were not so simple - and Anatoly Efros began to blame for distorting it. Work on Malaya Bronnaya was the last rather quiet stage of the director's career.

Heavy years of work in the Taganka Theater

I. Kogan, the director of this theater, in 1983, declared war on Efros. In 1984, Anatoly Vasilyevich left him. However, he did not just leave - Efros began to work in the Taganka Theater as the main director, replacing Y. Lyubimov at that post. Especially dramatic was precisely this period of his life. Anatoly Vasilievich was always somehow involved in political games, despite the fact that he always avoided them. For the first time his performances began to be judged by social, and not by artistic criteria.

A difficult fate awaited such a director as Anatoly Efros. At that time his biography was marked by a lack of understanding from his colleagues. The new head of the theater did not accept. Of course, the role of Y. Lyubimov, who considered the strike-breaking of Efros to be his role, played a role here. Lyubimov loudly stated that his colleague had committed a "betrayal." Few Tagankov actors were able to cooperate with Efros - V. Smekhov, V. Zolotukhin, A. Demidova. Others declared a cruel boycott. The most incorrect methods of fighting went into action. Through the resistance of the whole company, the last performances of Anatoly Vasilievich were staged - "Cherry Orchard", "Misanthrope", "On the Bottom", "Perfect Sunday for a picnic." Many participants in this conflict later claimed that they were wrong. However, this happened much later.

The death of A. Efros

On January 13, 1987, Anatoly Efros died of a heart attack. Today, the name of Anatoly Vasilyevich became part of the history of the theatrical art of our country, along with such great names as Stanislavsky, VE Meyerhold, EB Vakhtangov, and AY Tairov.