Vera Komissarzhevskaya (1864-1910) - Russian dramatic actress.
She made her professional debut in 1889, after having acted as Zina at the play “Burning Letters” written by P. Gnedich on the amateur scene in St. Petersburg Maritime Assembly of naval crews.
Invited to the Alexandria Theatre in Petersburg in 1896, Vera Komissarzhevskaya became one of the brightest exponents of new artistic aspirations of that time. There her greatest triumph was the role of Larisa in “Without a Dowry” (“Bespridannitsa”). She acted as Nina Zarechnaya in the premiere of Chekhov's “The Seagull”, as Margarita in “Faust”, and others.
In 1902, she left the Alexandria Theater and after two years of touring in Russian province founded her own Dramatic theatre in Saint-Petersburg. She was a great success with plays by Maxim Gorky and dramas by Henrik Johan Ibsen. One of her best roles was Nora in Ibsen’s “A Doll's House”.
She toured in North America in 1908, and then around cities of Russia. Despite the success of these tours, she was subject to doubts and despair. She was frustrated with condition of the contemporary theatre. Thus, in 1909 Vera Komissarzhevskaya took the decision to leave the stage and create a theatre studio. Unfortunately, she did not live long enough to implement her plans.
The whole life of V. Komissarzhevskaya was full of intense artistic and moral quests. It didn’t satisfy her and didn’t reconcile her with the modern theatre.
A postal card with a commemorative stamp depicts a portrait of Vera Komissarzhevskaya and an episode from the play “A Doll’s House”, written by Ibsen.
Design: M. Bodrov.
Face value: letter "B"
Circulation: 12 thousand postal cards
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