The film and stage actor Nikolay Simonov was born in Samara in 1901. In 1919, he moved to Petrograd and entered the art department of the Petrograd State Free Artistic Workshops — the name the Imperial Academy of Arts received after the Russian Revolution of 1917. Among those who taught Simonov were such famous artists as Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Arkady Rylov and Osip Braz. In three years of studies, Simonov received good training and mastered the necessary skills. However, in 1922, the aspiring artist made a life-changing decision by entering the Petrograd Institute of Performing Arts.
After graduating from the institute, Nikolay Simonov was invited to join the troupe of the Leningrad State Drama Theater, and in 1924 he had a role in his first silent firm. Young Simonov’s appearance — tall, well-built, and handsome — was his ticket to being typecast as the new modern hero. His talent for tragedy was revealed only a decade later.
The tragedy “Boris Godunov” by Pushkin was staged at the Alexandrinsky theater twice — in 1934 and 1949. Both of those times Nikolay Simonov played the role of Tsar Boris who was tragically unable to change anything despite being a clever ruler. After the role of Boris Godunov, Simonov began to receive numerous offers to play tragic characters.Among one of the famous ones was Salieri in the play by Pushkin. Nikolay Simonov’s character struggles with the internal conflict shocked by his own mediocrity and evil nature. The actor also succeeded in playing Matthias Clausen in the play “Before Sunset” by Gerhard Hauptaman. According to Simonov, Matthias “even in death triumphed over the belligerent anger, vulgarity and greed.”Simonov’s acting was laced with winged and tumultuous passion, he was a sentimental man devoid of anything mundane. His legacy had a great influence on the young generation of the sixtiers, whose morals were based on the characters that the actor had recreated.
The feelings tormenting Simonov’s characters also found their place in the paintings that the actor created. Nikolay’s works depicted Salieri, Mozart, Beethoven, and Boris Godunov and merged his two passions — acting and painting — into one. This combination was hinted upon in the second title “Actor, Artist, Person” of the 1998 book dedicated to Simonov.
After graduating from the institute, Nikolay Simonov was invited to join the troupe of the Leningrad State Drama Theater, and in 1924 he had a role in his first silent firm. Young Simonov’s appearance — tall, well-built, and handsome — was his ticket to being typecast as the new modern hero. His talent for tragedy was revealed only a decade later.
The tragedy “Boris Godunov” by Pushkin was staged at the Alexandrinsky theater twice — in 1934 and 1949. Both of those times Nikolay Simonov played the role of Tsar Boris who was tragically unable to change anything despite being a clever ruler. After the role of Boris Godunov, Simonov began to receive numerous offers to play tragic characters.Among one of the famous ones was Salieri in the play by Pushkin. Nikolay Simonov’s character struggles with the internal conflict shocked by his own mediocrity and evil nature. The actor also succeeded in playing Matthias Clausen in the play “Before Sunset” by Gerhard Hauptaman. According to Simonov, Matthias “even in death triumphed over the belligerent anger, vulgarity and greed.”Simonov’s acting was laced with winged and tumultuous passion, he was a sentimental man devoid of anything mundane. His legacy had a great influence on the young generation of the sixtiers, whose morals were based on the characters that the actor had recreated.
The feelings tormenting Simonov’s characters also found their place in the paintings that the actor created. Nikolay’s works depicted Salieri, Mozart, Beethoven, and Boris Godunov and merged his two passions — acting and painting — into one. This combination was hinted upon in the second title “Actor, Artist, Person” of the 1998 book dedicated to Simonov.
