"I do not know how to love passively"

On November 8, in St. Petersburg, a presentation of the new album of the famous ballet and theater photographer Nina Alvert “Portrait of the theater era. Leningrad Drama Scene of the 1960–70s "

It is printed in the most famous ballet publications Dance Magazine, Ballet Review, and books about Mikhail Baryshnikov and Boris Eifman are considered exemplary publications. The album "Sergey Dovlatov in the photographs and memoirs of Nina Alvert" was released in 2016 with the support of the American consulate in Vladivostok. The granddaughter of an outstanding scientist, founder of the Soviet school of computing optics and wholesale equipment, who lost his father in the 37th, surviving both the war and the evacuation, managed to create a portrait of the great era of the Russian ballet and the third wave of emigration. Nina Alvert came to the presentation of her album, who had just published in the Baltic Seasons publishing house, where she lives for more than forty years.

- Nina, at your first exhibition of photographs in St. Petersburg in 2003, the artist of the Akimov Comedy Theater Lev Minder wrote.

Your whole exhibition is committed to the ballet,
But I forgive you this weakness,
Since photographic glory
All the comedy and drama brought you all ...

And in the new album it is about comedy and drama. Was your friend right?

- I took pictures of the theater for many years. But the idea of ​​the book appeared because speaking of the Leningrad Theater, the BDT is most often remembered. In fact, in Leningrad there were other theaters with "their face and character." They were played by excellent actors, many of whom were not lower than the level of BDT actors. Of course, I wanted to keep the memory of them, so I am so happy about the publication of this book. It included my memories and my photos: the theater of the comedy Akimov, theater named after V.F. Komissarzhevskaya Agamirzyan, Theater of the Lensovet Vladimirov. A separate chapter is dedicated to Sergey Yursky as the director and actor of his performances.

- When did you see Yursky for the first time ?

In distant youth. And it was love at first sight. As soon as he appeared on the stage: "A little light on his feet ..."

And I met him in the palace of the arts: I remember, there was a rehearsal of a night whirlwind. I go down the stairs, I look, there are Jurassic and Belinsky. I hear, Yura asks: "And who is this?" Knowing Belinsky’s sharp language, I think: “Well, everything ...” But we became friends.

Jurassic is a unique phenomenon of the Russian theater. I did not shoot him in the BDT, but at the rehearsals of television performances, during concerts ... Jurassic - Moliere, Jurassic - Woland ... I survived a little from those filming, I gathered in the album that I could. I hope that my worship and admiration for his talent are felt there. Actually, this whole book is a tribute to my love for the theater.

- Do you remember the first theater in your life?

- The first performance I saw - the “snow queen” of the Schwartz. It was in Yoshkar-Ola in evacuation. Among the evacuated actors there was only one Mari actress, I remember her most. She played a small robber and spoke with an accent very funny: "Ferry, but stretching ..."

And since then we have played in the courtyard in the Snow Queen. When we returned to Leningrad, my mother began to take me to the ballet. In the 47th year, I saw an incredible performance “Sleeping Beauty”, where another ballerina was dancing in each act. These were all the best ballerinas ...

-Kirov theater?

- Not only. Ulanova came from Moscow. Everyone was produced. Of course, I became very interested in the ballet. So much so that now I remember that I was dancing, say, Vecherlova in the “white cat” and then changed. I remember that she beat a partner on the belly, and then became in the pose. Now they do not do this.

And then my mother decided to distract me from unnecessary public activity at school and sent me to the circles. In dramatic, in ballet. I walked and dreamed of a theater institute. I looked good under makeup, and I was all the time to play blue heroines. And I am characteristic ... If there was some kind of talent, then this one. I wanted to play the stepmother, and they put me a fairy. And I felt that it was not very work, I began to hesitate. And my mother dissuaded me.

- And then the camera appeared?

- Mom gave. Developed a child. We lived in the house next to the optical institute, at the university, for 12 colleges. In a huge grandfather’s apartment at the end of the corridor there was a closet. And there I arranged a laboratory for myself: in red light, I showed plates. And this is fantasy when the features appear ...

Then my mother bought me a film apparatus. "Kyiv". "Lake", in fact. And thanks to Kiev, I began to shoot, because he is not a SLR, he does not knock. He does - width, width. I had a good acquaintance, teacher of the theater institute Gitelman. In our country, he was called "Leva, who knows everything." Leva adored Ulanov and also shot. For yourself. And he taught me: you buy a ticket in the second row of the stalls, the first or second place. Director’s bed above you, so no one sees you. So I won almost before leaving.

“And you decided that you will take off the ballet?”

- I do not know how to love passively. I had to do something. I could no longer dance: it's too late. In addition, she was in love. Very. In fact, it was the true love of my life. He was the Prime Minister of the Kirov ballet. And I began to shoot to have his photo. And all whom I wanted to take off. And now no one has tapped. All the tickets and all the dancers knew, no one gave me out.

- Did Baryshnikov finish the choreographic school then ?

-Baryshnikov appeared in the 67th year. And that was in the 52nd. When I began to publish my book about Baryshnikov, I wrote in the introduction: “Since I was already a famous photographer ...” The publisher corrects: “Since I was a famous photographer, I had a privilege to get acquainted with Baryshnikov.” The translator and I fell with laughter. He was 18-19 years old! He had a privilege. He was still a boy.

We had a friend, dancer Sasha Mints. A unique person. Gold. He asked me to come to the release and take off his friend. I came, a friend took him away. Then they announced a duet from Don Quixote . God, I think how they tired of Don Quixote with this. I put the device on my knees. And the boy runs out. Do you know? I grabbed the device and began to shoot. It was immediately visible: a phenomenon. And so I removed the issue of Baryshnikov - no one has ...

- Where did you start to publish?

- It seems in the "shift". Then in the magazine "Musical Life". They had a section - "debut". I sent them a photo of the debut. Pa-de Trua in the "Swan Lake". Morning! Nikita Dolgushin, Alla Sizova, Natalya Makarova.

- Wow!

- These were children who finished school. They danced not even in the main roles. Well, I sent and forgot. I somehow come to Akimov in the office (I already worked in the theater), and he turns to his young lady sitting with him: “Maybe Nina will tell you, she knows everyone here.” The lady says: “We received a photo, but she disappeared. Do not know who Nina Alvert is? " - "It's me". - So it all began.

- Excuse me, Nina, it turns out that you are an amateur.

- Yes.

- You did not study photos ...

- In our time, no one studied .

-You did not study the ballet.

- She studied. In the last classes of the school and the university, she danced at the Vyborg Palace of Culture. And we were placed by ballet Kasyan Goleizovsky. True, she danced in the corps de ballet, but he said: “Look how Ninochka does ...” (laughs). Joffrey put me a variation in America! And he was a completely unique American choreographer.

When I met him, he has already created his own theater. It was just a Hermitage of one -act ballets of the twentieth century. Daughter Masha studied at his school, ran among the children, and we, like all parents, were sitting at rehearsals. And Joffrey told me: "What are you sitting?" And I put me a tiny “number”: I opened the ballet, went on stage with a broom. I went out and sweeping the square. And then she allegedly left for the tray, and sold bagels. I freaked out so for the first time when I went out: “The old fool. Why did I agree? "

The last photo of Joffrey before death is mine. He was already very sick when Grigorovich arrived with whom they were friendly. And a friend calls me, the owner of the ballet stores: "Nina, I lead Joffrey and Grigorovich to the restaurant, come, take them off." They say that this photograph stood on his table. The photo is not very technically good, but it is dear to me.

- You said that fate found you with Akimov. How did you end up there? You seemed to study at the university with the famous Gukovsky.

- Yes, at the department of the Middle Ages. She even wrote a whole chapter of the dissertation, after which Akimov lung me, and I threw science forever. What a blessing that I met them in my youth. Akimov and Gukovsky. They raised me without raising me. Like mom. The main person in my life.

And if we talk about the theater, then, of course, such a person was Akimov. It was a unique theater, neither predecessors nor followers had.

- How did you meet him?

- I wrote a play. "East of the Sun - to the west of the moon." Such a fairy tale. And in the house of scientists there was a meeting with Akimov. The hall is stuffed so that there is nowhere to sit down. Therefore, I stood all the time and stuck in front of his eyes, then went up to him. The young was, it seemed, everything was so simple. I asked: "Can I let you read my play?" A week later, he called and said: “We will not put this play, but we will urgently write a new one.”

“Would anyone read your play now?”

- And he was interested in this, looking for young authors! He always boasted terribly that he had never set a “cook”, which went in all theaters of the comedy. He was looking for an alternative. He created an association at the theater, where we all entered. He was easy to communicate, it was possible to come to him from the street. Easy to. As a result, we entered into an agreement on the second play. Already the distribution of roles has passed, but it was categorically banned. Akimov fought for two years. He took me to all official events, defiantly emphasizing how good I am ... Then I began to work with him as the head of the internal theater museum and archive. In this book there is my photograph that he took. Fifty -eighth year ...

- How did the Komissarzhevskaya Theater arise in life?

- When Akimov died, I went to work in the Palace of Arts, to shoot already dramatic actors. But then I gave birth, parted with my husband and eventually ended up with two children on the street.

And my friend, now the artistic director of the Komissarzhevskaya Theater, and then he has the theater, Vityikov called me a photographer. By the way, now he and Marina Zabolotnya helped me restore the part of the archive that died in a fire for the album. I found the heyday of the theater, with me the brilliant performances of Agamirzyan came out: “Forget the heroostrat!”, “King Fedor Ioannovich”, “Joseph Schweik against Franz Joseph” ...

And then I denied: "Vitya, I have never worked in the theater by a photographer." And he said to me: "Can't you remove four premieres?" And I went. And I bless fate. What actors I was lucky to shoot in this theater! Amazing. Volodya is special! Generally brilliant. Then we made an exhibition in the actor’s house, four theatrical photographers.

Vladimirov came from Lensovet, looked and invited me to work. And I, since I was tired of quarreling with our director, there was such a Stalin Falcon, agreed.

“Freindlich has no photos better than yours.”

- Here she also says so. I loved her very much, shot a lot. In general, I shot a lot in the Leningrad City Council, the theater was unique.

- Did you bring photos to America with you?

- I could not take anything with me: it all belonged to the people. I took a few negatives one way or another. Baryshnikova, Makarov ... through the embassy, ​​through other channels. In the Lensovet Theater, Vera Matveeva preserved all the negatives. Something is left with my friends. Let's say photos of the Akimov Dragon. I have almost all Akimov programs with my photos. But there is no surname anywhere. I was so proud that Akimov took my pictures, that it did not matter to me. In my time, photographer Gromov worked for us, he signed everything his own. Unclayed means mine.

Now the archive of the theater is engaged in Svetlana Grigoryan. She sent me scans. I have a huge archive. In the third emigration, except Solzhenitsyn, I shot everyone. Because she believed that Russian emigration is such a unique part of Russian culture! And I just have to leave some document, since I go with the device.