Yuriy Lyubimov

Yuri Lyubimov is a Russian actor and director best known as the founder and leader of the legendary Taganka Theatre company in Moscow, Soviet Union.

He was born Yurii Petrovich Lyubimov on September 30, 1917, in Yaroslavl, Russia. His father, Petr Lyubimov, was a grocer, his paternal ancestors were Russian peasants. Lyubimov's mother was a music teacher, and his maternal ancestors were Gypsies. Lyubimov's parents were arrested during the dictatorship of Joseph Stalin, and young Lyubimov was deprived of his civil rights. However, he later reunited with his parents in Moscow. Young Lyubimov was fond of reading, acting and singing. In 1934 he entered the acting Studio of Moscow Art Theatre (MKhAT - 2) in Moscow; there he made his acting debut appearing in stage play 'Molba o zhizni' (aka.. Prayor for life). From 1936 - 1940 he studied acting at the Theatrical School (now Shchukin Theatrical School) of Vakhtangov Theatre, graduating in 1940 as an actor and director. In 1941 Lyubimov was drafted in the Red Army and served at the NKVD (the Soviet Commissariat for Secret Service) as a stand-up comedian and announcer with the NKVD Choir and Dance Ensemble.

From 1936 to 1940 and from 1946 to 1964 Yuri Lyubimov was a member of the troupe at Vakhtangov Theatre in Moscow. There his stage partners were such actors as Boris Shchukin, Mikhail Ulyanov, Ruben Simonov, Boris Zakhava, Mikhail Astangov, Vladimir Etush, Varvara Popova, Alla Kazanskaya, Yuliya Borisova, Lyudmila Maksakova, Lyudmila Tselikovskaya, Nikolai Plotnikov, Vasiliy Lanovoy, Yuriy Yakovlev, Vyacheslav Shalevich, Andrei Abrikosov, Grigori Abrikosov, Boris Babochkin, Aleksandr Grave, Nikolai Gritsenko, and Nikolai Timofeyev, among others. In 1938, Lyubimov made his stage acting debut at Vakhtangov Theatre opposite Boris Shchukin in 'Chelovek s ruzhyem'. In 1959, Lyubimov made his directing debut at Vakhtangov Theatre wit his staging of 'Mnogo li cheloveku nado' (aka.. How much does a man need) by playwright Aleksandr Galich.

In 1963 Yuri Lyubimov directed the play that changed his career forever

• 'Dobry chelovek is Sezuana' (aka.. Good man from Sechuan), based on

the eponymous play by Bertolt Brecht. The Lyubimov's staging of Brecht's play, where Gods recognize a prostitute as the best living soul on Earth, shook the Soviet establishment, and brought Lyubimov tremendous popularity among audiences. In 1964 Lyubimov was appointed artistic director of the Taganka Theatre in Moscow. There he invited all students of his acting class at Shchukin Theatrical School to join his new company. During the Soviet era, Lyubimov directed over 30 plays at Taganka, and eventually made his company one of the most popular theatrical troupes in the former Soviet Union.

Lyubimov's productions at Taganka represented a new type of art and contributed to awaking the public conscience in the Soviet Union. Lyubimov created the Artistic Counsil of Taganka where members were the leading writers (known as the "60s generation"), such as Yevgeniy Yevtushenko, Fazil Iskander, Andrei Voznesensky, Aleksandr Tvardovsky, Bulat Okudzhava, and Bella Akhmadulina among others; some famous Russians, such as the Nobel Prize-winning physicist Pyotr Kapitsa and composer Alfred Schnittke were also members of the Artistic Counsil of Taganka. The Lyubimov's Taganka was called "the island of freedom in the non-free nation" of the USSR.

From 1964 to the early 1980s at the Taganka Theatre Lyubimov worked with such actors as Vladimir Vysotskiy, Valeriy Zolotukhin, Leonid Filatov, Alla Demidova, Venyamin Smekhov Ivan Bortnik, Zhanna Bolotova, Natalya Sayko, Nikolay Gubenko, and others. Lyubimov's staging of the Shakespeare's "Hamlet" starring Vladimir Vysotskiy in the title role, was awarded the Grand Prix at the 1976 International Theatre Festival BITEF. However, during the 1980s Lyubimov was censored by the Soviet authorities and many of his stage productions were banned. In the early 1980s, after the death of the legendary actor Vladimir Vysotskiy, Taganka's play titled "Vladimir Vysotsky" was banned, and Lyubimov's staging of Pushkin's 'Boris Godunov' was also banned. Yuri Lyubimov was forced to leave and work outside of the Soviet Union. He was stripped of his Soviet citizenship by a special order from the Supreme Soviet of the USSR signed by the Communist Party leader K. Chernenko.

During his involuntary emigration, Yuri Lyubimov directed successful stage productions in Austria, Britain, Italy, Israel, United States, Sweden and many other nations across the world. Upon the invitation from Ingmar Bergman, Lyubimov directed such plays as "Master and Margarita" by Mikhail A. Bulgakov and "Pir vo vremya chumy" (aka. Fiest during the plaque) at the Royal Drama Theatre of Stockholm. Upon the invitation from Giorgio Strehler, Lyubimov's London staging of the Dostoyevsky's "Besy" (aka.. The possessed) made several successful tours in Europe, including a stint at the Theatre of Europe in Paris.

In 1988, during the openness of "perestroika" by Mikhail Gorbachev, Yuri Lyubimov returned to the Soviet Union and re-gained his directorial position at the Taganka Theatre. However, in 1989, part of the Taganka troupe led by his rival, Nikolay Gubenko, had split from Lyubimov, and formed their own company known as Community of Taganka Actors. Meanwhile, Lyubimov renewed several of his earlier productions which were previously banned by the Soviet censorship. At that time, Lyubimov was again forced into a power struggle, but he prevailed. Lyubimov canceled all other plans and invitations and focused entirely on re-building the troupe and the legacy of the Taganka Theatre, and eventually succeeded in restoring the popular image of the Taganka Theatre.

In 1998 Yuri Lyubimov and his Taganka celebrated the 80 birthday of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn by staging his autobiographical play, 'Sharashka', which Lyubimov directed and also appeared in the role as Joseph Stalin. In 2001 Lyubimov renewed the production of 'Doctor Zhivago' based on the eponymous book by Boris Pasternak. In 2002 he directed the Goethe's 'Faust' at the Taganka. The 60's generation, and thousands of long-time Taganka patrons are now bringing their grandchildren to enjoy the art of Lyubimov's Taganka Theatre.

Since 1978 Yuri Lyubimov has been married to Hungarian theatre critic Katalin Koncz, and the couple has one son, Peter Lyubimov, born in 1983. Yuri Lyubimov is living and working in Moscow, Russia.