Vera komissarzhevskaya biography

Actorplaywright

Vera Fyodorovna Komissarzhevskaya was one of the most celebrated actresses and theatre managers of the late Russian Empire.

Career

She made her professional debut in , after having acted as an amateur at Constantin Stanislavsky&#;s Society of Art and Literature. She is probably best known today for originating the role of Nina in the ill-fated premiere of Anton Chekhov&#;s The Seagull, at the Alexandrinsky Theatre in Saint St.

Petersburg in Though the production was deemed an utter failure, Komissarzhevskaya&#;s performance was highly praised.

Later in her career, Komissarzhevskaya is notable for her patronage of the up-and-coming theatre artist, Vsevolod Meyerhold.

Following Meyerhold&#;s unsuccessful attempts to stage symbolist plays at Stanislavsky&#;s Moscow Art Theatre, Komissarzhevskaya invited him to try his experiments at her new Komissarjevsky Theatre.

During their short-lived collab