The fate of each person is shaped according to an individual scenario. And it is impossible to predict the zigzags of the life path. Angelina Stepanova had happy days, suffering, and great love.
Starting conditions
In an era of political and social cataclysms, the life of an individual is valued inexpensively. To keep yourself within the established rules, you need inner strength and intelligence. Angelina Iosifovna Stepanova was born on November 23, 1905 in a wealthy family. Parents at that time lived in the distant city of Novonikolaevsk-on-Amur. My father was in the insurance business. He was the son of a captain who led frigates across the Pacific Ocean. Mother, a native Muscovite, worked as a dentist. She was the daughter of the owner of the capital's machine-building plant.
At an early age, Angelina was not in good health. The eldest of three children, she was constantly sick, and they tried to protect her from the stresses of the household. At the same time, from an early age, she demonstrated remarkable strong-willed qualities. By the time she was four, she was reading fluently. She learned many poems and loved to recite them in front of guests and relatives. At home, teachers of French language and music studied with the girl. When the future actress was three years old, the family moved to Moscow.
Upon reaching the age of seven, Lina was enrolled in a gymnasium. She studied very mediocre. The most difficult subject for her was mathematics. But she was the best student in dance lessons. Stepanova took part in all festive and entertainment events. She was entrusted with the main roles in the performances that were staged on the gymnasium stage. Parents often visited the theater and tried to take their daughter with them. Thanks to such visits, the girl developed a good taste. Most of all she liked to be at the ballet.
After graduating from high school, Stepanova decided to get an acting education at the 3rd studio of the Moscow Art Theater, as the Shchukin Theater School was called at that time. It is important to note that these events took place in the early 1920s, when complete devastation reigned in the country. Products were distributed by cards. For actors, vacation rates were lower than for those working in enterprises. The chief director of the theater Yevgeny Vakhtangov drew attention to the talented and purposeful student. On occasion, he tried to support her not only with a kind word, but also with a piece of bread.
On the professional stage
After completing her studies, starting in 1924, Angelina Stepanova served in the troupe of the famous Moscow Art Theater. The first appearance on the stage was not planned. In the production of Princess Turandot, one performer fell ill before the performance. The role is small. Without words - just a few dance steps. Stepanova coped with the task brilliantly. No one even praised her, just in the usual bustle they did not pay attention to the episodic replacement. Then preparations began for the play based on the novel "The Battle of Life" by Charles Dickens. The production was directed by Nikolai Mikhailovich Gorchakov.
The next notable stage in the career of the actress was the famous performance "Woe from Wit". Angelina played the role of Sophia. Connoisseurs and connoisseurs of theatrical art started talking about the young actress. The next production, in which the actress revealed another facet of her talent, was the play "Tsar Fyodor Ioannovich". This time she was compared with the actresses who shone in the role of Princess Miloslavskaya in previous years. The responses were different. From unconditional approval to sarcastic attacks in the press.
Personal life plots
In the summer of 1925, the theater troupe went on tour across the Crimea and the Caucasus. At the head of the expedition, the authorities put the director Nikolai Gorchakov. The head throughout the period tried to take care of the young actress and help her in everyday life. Returning to Moscow, they began to live together. They were given a room in a communal apartment. Colleagues lived in the neighborhood, with whom I regularly had to communicate. At a regular party, Angelina met the poet and playwright Nikolai Erdman. A lover of women and a darling of fate, at first sight, conquered the actress.
As usual in such situations, they became lovers and dated for almost seven years. In 1933, the poet was arrested and sentenced to three years of exile in the wild Krasnoyarsk Territory for a long language and intemperance in comparisons. During that period, many poets and writers showed the current government "a fig in a pocket." Angelina Stepanova was very upset about separation. But I quickly got my bearings. She divorced her husband, so as not to involve him in a dubious story, and began to plead for the unfortunate lover.
To achieve the transfer of the imprisoned poet closer to civilized places, the actress agreed to have sex with a senior official in the NKVD system. But Erdman did not appreciate all these troubles and sacrifices. He continued to receive parcels from his legal wife. And Angelina had a child from a compassionate official. Stepanova's personal life returned to its usual rut after an accidental acquaintance with the famous writer Alexander Fadeev. For twenty years, husband and wife lived under the same roof. After the tragic death of the writer in 1956, she never married again.
Angelina Iosifovna Stepanova spent the last years of her life alone. No, in her native Moscow Art Theater she was not forgotten. In 1995, the actress celebrated her 90th birthday. Three years later, he was invited to the centuries since the founding of the theater. The great actress passed away in May 2000. She was buried at the Novodevichy cemetery next to the grave of Alexander Fadeev.
