Oleg Lavrov is an actor and director, whose creative biography is inextricably linked with the Theater of Drama and Comedy of the city of Kimry. For over 20 years he served as the artistic director of the theater and made a lot of efforts for its development and prosperity. The contribution of Oleg Lavrov to the development of culture and art of the Tver region was highly appreciated at the state level, in 2007 he was awarded the title "People's Artist of the Russian Federation".
Biography: early years
Oleg Lavrov is the successor of the acting dynasty. His father Alexei Ivanovich played on the stage of the Kimry Drama and Comedy Theater. Oleg Alekseevich was born on October 2, 1948 in the town of Kimry, then the Kalinin region (in 1990 it was renamed Tverskaya). Kimry is a small town on the banks of the Volga with a population of just under fifty thousand people.
From childhood, Oleg Lavrov showed interest in the acting profession: he attended the school drama club, studied at the local House of Culture at the Krasnaya Zvezda shoe factory.
After leaving school, he continued his studies at the theater and directing department of the Moscow State Institute of Culture (MGUKI). He graduated in 1970. Then he served in the armed forces, after which Lavrov finally began his professional career.
Creation
In 1972, Oleg Alekseevich returned to his hometown and began working at the 40 Years of October Palace of Culture. But there he did not stay long. Lavrov gets a job as an actor in the troupe of the Moscow Regional Drama Theater. He returned to his small homeland in 1975, three years later. Now his choice has settled on the Kimry Theater of Drama and Comedy. Most likely, Oleg Lavrov had no idea that he would devote the rest of his life to this theater.
For several years he appeared on stage as an actor, then gradually began to try his hand at directing. The debut work of director Oleg Lavrov was the play "The Cylinder" based on the play of the same name by the Italian comedian Eduardo de Filippo.
In 1978, his acting success brought him to the set of the comedy film "Puss in a Poke". In this picture, Lavrov got a cameo role, and the main stars were Borislav Brondukov, Oleg Anofriev, Stanislav Sadalsky. So Oleg Alekseevich gained invaluable experience in cinema.
In the 80s, a large-scale reconstruction of the Kimry Drama and Comedy Theater was carried out. The building has undergone significant changes, affecting the stage area, theatrical equipment, the auditorium and the premises for employees. On October 26, 1991, the renovated theater opened its doors to its audience. A few months earlier - in March 1991 - Oleg Lavrov was introduced to the troupe as the chief director. His debut on stage in his new position coincided with the opening of the theater after reconstruction. In honor of the significant event, high-ranking guests gathered in the hall: USSR Minister of Construction Sergei Bashilov and People's Artist of the USSR Mikhail Ulyanov. To the public, Oleg Alekseevich presented the play "The Cunning Lover" based on the play by the Spanish playwright Lope de Vega.
Irina Andrianova, People's Artist of Russia and actress of the Tver Drama Theater, in an interview with reporters, shared her memories of Lavrov's appointment to the post of chief director. According to her, Oleg Alekseevich at first was not confident in his abilities. Determination was given to him by a conversation with the artistic director of the Tver Drama Theater Vera Efimova. He asked a colleague whose opinion he greatly appreciated: "Do you think I can?" She confidently answered: "You can, you are strong and knowledgeable!" Since then, Lavrov called Efimova his theatrical godmother.
In 1994, Oleg Alekseevich took over as artistic director of the Kimr Theater. For more than twenty years of work at the head of the theater, he staged many performances based on the works of famous playwrights:
- "Flea" by E. Zamyatin;
- "Rest day" V. Kataeva;
- Moliere;
- Passion Under the Elms by Y. O'Neill;
- "Talents and Admirers" by A. Ostrovsky;
- A Streetcar Named Desire by T. Williams;
- The Cherry Orchard by A. Chekhov;
- "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" by E. Albee;
- "A free man enters" by T. Stoppard.
In 1999, the play "Bloch" was awarded the prize for the best stylistic solution at the All-Russian Theater Festival in Vologda.
The previously mentioned Irina Andrianova shared with journalists her vision of Oleg Lavrov's work: “He was constantly in search and boldly spoke about what he was sure of. As for the performances, sometimes these were contradictory searches and findings that aroused surprise and questions. He had his own sharp look at the classics and modernity. But he always answered: "I see it that way." And, we must pay tribute, we still remember many of his works …"
Oleg Alekseevich paid a lot of attention to working with young actors. The artists noted his exactingness to work and at the same time excellent organizational skills, a rare gift of persuasion, the ability to create a special cozy atmosphere around him. From 2009 to 2018, Lavrov represented the interests of his hometown in the Public Chamber of the Tver Region. He was a member of the Commission for Education and Culture.
Unfortunately, due to health problems in 2016, Lavrov left the post of artistic director of the theater. Oleg Alekseevich made a significant contribution to the development of theatrical art of the Tver region, as evidenced by his awards and titles:
- Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (1996);
- People's Artist of the Russian Federation (2007);
- the badge of honor of the governor of the Tver region "Cross of St. Michael of Tver" (2012).
Personal life
Oleg Lavrov was married. Together with his wife, they raised their daughter Xenia (1977). She gave her parents three grandchildren: Daniel (2001), Aglaya (2006) and Nikolai (2017).
The only heiress of the director continued the acting dynasty, graduated from the Moscow Art Theater School. Actress Ksenia Lavrova-Glinka is familiar to viewers from the films and TV series "Escape", "Heavy Sand", "Montecristo", "Sklifosovsky", "Practice", "Luna", "Partner". Oleg Alekseevich was always proud of her success and tried to visit her as soon as possible.
Having retired, Lavrov spent a lot of time in Moscow visiting his beloved daughter. The last years of his life he was seriously ill due to complications of diabetes. Shortly before his death, he was taken to one of the Moscow hospitals, where the artist fell into a coma and died on November 3, 2018 without regaining consciousness. Oleg Lavrov was buried on November 5 at the city cemetery of the city of Kimry next to the graves of his parents.
