Akimov Nikolay: biography, creative activity

The versatility of talent allowed this man to realize himself in several creative professions. He and eminent theater artist, and portraitist, and director, and teacher. Of course, this is Nikolai Petrovich Akimov, who is not unknown to everyone. It was said about him that he stood out from the crowd by the fact that when he started talking, he overshadowed all the men of the "Apollonian" appearance.

His creative path, like many other creative people, was not rosy and cloudless. Akimov Nikolai experienced both ups and downs, but he never for a moment forgot about his great goal, which was to serve the arts. And he achieved it.

Biographical information

Nikolai Akimov is a native of Kharkov (Ukraine). He was born on April 16, 1901 in the family of a railwayman, and when the boy turned 9 years old, the Akimovs were forced to move to Tsarskoe Selo, as the head of the family was transferred to a new place of work.

After a while the young man with his parents is in the "city on the Neva". It was in St. Petersburg that he became really interested in fine arts. There Akimov Nikolai becomes a student of the evening drawing school of the Society for the Encouragement of Artists. In 1915, the teenager comprehended the basics of fine art in the studio of SM Seidenberg, and after a while continued painting training at the New Art Studio under the leadership of MV Dobuzhinsky, AE Yakovlev, VI Shukhaev.

The first exhibition

In 1919, Nikolai Akimov took part in the exhibition and sale of works by eminent masters of drawing: A.Lyubimov, V.D. Ermilov, M. Sinyakova-Urechina, Z. Serebryakova. Also at the event were landscapes of beginning illustrators.

By that time, Nikolai Akimov (artist) had already worked in the workshop of the Proletcult poster in Petrograd.

In the period from 1920 to 1922, the young man taught at the Higher Courses of Political Enlightenment Workers in Kharkov.

In his youth Akimov realizes himself and as a book illustrator. In 1927, a major exhibition of his works took place, visitors of which could personally enjoy how masterfully the maestro was able to issue popular editions of that time.

The beginning of the career of a theatrical artist

In the early 20's a young man was invited to work in the Kharkov Children's Theater as an artist-designer. His debut in this field was the play "Heroic deeds of Hercules" (A. Beletsky). Then Nikolai Pavlovich was entrusted with the work in the production of "Alinur" (based on O. Wilde's fairy tale "The Star Boy").

In 1923 he came to the Higher Artistic and Technical Workshops. Here he begins decorating activities in the play "Give Hamlet" (N. Evreinov). Soon the young man starts to cooperate with the "Melpomene Small Form Temples", namely: "Free Comedy", "Musical Comedy" and "Modern Theater".

In 1924, Akimov decorated the production of "The Virgin Forest" (E. Toller), which was successfully performed at the Bolshoi Drama Theater. Nikolai Petrovich also designed the play "Lake Lyul" (A. Fayko), staged at the Academic Drama Theater.

In addition, the maestro worked on a play by the notorious A. Fiko "Evgraf - an adventurer", which the theater could contemplate on the stage of the 2-nd Moscow Art Theater.

At that time Akimov Nikolai Pavlovich (artist) came up with his first theatrical posters.

Working as a director

The maestro took place not only in the profession of illustrator. He became famous and thanks to his directorial works.

In 1932, Akimov made his debut with the classical play "Hamlet", which premiered on the stage of the Theater. E. Vakhtangova.

Music Hall

A year later, Nikolai Pavlovich proposed to become the chief director of the Leningrad Music Hall, and he agrees to it.

He creates an experimental workshop and puts on the play "The shrine of marriage (E. Labish). Occupying an honorary post in the music hall, the director Akimov Nikolai Pavlovich tries to create a "permanent" creative team, and the repertoire of the theater is made diverse in genre. With his wards, he spent a lot of time acting, wishing to educate in them the actors who would be able to play diverse roles. However, he had to leave the above-mentioned "Melpomene temple", because he had disagreements with his leadership. Their essence boiled down to the following: the maestro was not allowed to stage a play based on E. Schwartz's play The Princess and the Swineherd.

Comedy Theater

After leaving the music hall, Nikolai Pavlovich did not remain without work for long. In 1935 he began to lead the Leningrad Comedy Theater (satire). For the sake of justice it should be noted that this theater at that time was going through far from the best of times: the viewer did not want to visit the institution with a rather monotonous repertoire. It was Akimov who managed to make a colossal reform in the internal life of the comedy theater.

In just one year he made the theater unrecognizable: Nikolai Pavlovich breathed into him a "second life", and even the word "comedy" began to be written with a capital letter. Anisimov's "K" still appears in theatrical programs.

Repertoire and cast are updated

Premiers, held with triumph, were put one by one. On the stage of the Comedy Theater, he was able to translate into reality his old plans. Nikolai Petrovich has long wanted to put the famous plays of E. L. Schwartz and did it. So there were performances "Dragon" and "Shadow". The repertoire of the theater contained classical performances, such as: "The Dog in the Manger" (Lopa de Vega), "The Twelfth Night" (William Shakespeare), "The Sinology School" (Richard Sheredan). Nikolai Akimov, whose photo was regularly published on the pages of newspapers that covered the cultural life of Leningrad in the 1930s, actively experimented in his "patrimony". In the theater of Comedy, he picked up a new cast, saying goodbye to Prima Granovskaya and refusing to cooperate with the Russian tenor Leonid Utesov. In the troupe he invited inexperienced but promising actors, some of whom worked in the theatrical studio "Experiment". In particular, Nikolai Akimov (director) invited Irina Zarubina, Boris Tenin, Sergei Filippov, Alexander Beniaminov to his team. All of them became well-known figures in the art of reincarnation. The sketches of the costumes that the maestro came up with were as close as possible to the actors he claimed for the role. Naturally, Nikolai Pavlovich himself worked on theatrical posters, not trusting this matter to anyone else.

In the late 30-ies, the Melpomene Church that he led became a favorite place for leisure for the theater-goers of the "city on the Neva".

When the Great Patriotic War began, the Comedy Theater troupe continued to give performances for a while, but already in the building of the BDT, since only there were bomb shelters. About 30 artists took up arms and went to fight with the enemy. The theater was evacuated to the Caucasus, where the director staged as many as 16 premiere performances.

Break with the theater

In the late 1940s, Soviet officials accused the maestro of Westernism and a formal approach to art, after which he was dismissed from the post of theater director. Nikolai Petrovich was left without work, but he was left in the trouble of his "colleagues in the shop" - N. Cherkasov, N. Okhlopkov, B. Tenin, helping him financially. During this period, the biography of the maestro turns to painting and begins to paint portraits. He will create unique images of the above friends.

But already in 1952 Akimov will return to director's work, putting on the stage of the theater. Lensoveta performances "Delo" (Sukhovo-Kobylina) and "Shadows" (M. Saltykov-Shchedrin). Four years later, Nikolai Pavlovich again take the reins of the theater of Comedy in their own hands.

Teaching Activities

Akimov was also known as a talented teacher. In 1955 he will come to teach young actors the stage skills to the Leningrad Theater Institute. There he will establish an artistic and production department, which later will lead.

Through his brainchild he will bring up not only a pleiad of masters of theatrical art. In 1960, Nikolai Pavlovich was awarded the title of Professor of the LTI.

Exhibitions

In the middle of the 50s an exhibition of theatrical posters of Akimov was organized in the Soviet capital. After a short time, he went to the capital of Belgium for the World Exhibition, where he received a silver medal for his services in art.

In 1963 in the "northern capital" and in 1965 in Moscow personal exhibitions of his works took place. Maestro was married to actress Elena Junger, in marriage with whom he had a daughter, Nina.

Nikolai Pavlovich died on September 6, 1968, during the tour of the Comedy Theater. He was buried at Volkovsky Orthodox cemetery of St. Petersburg.