Violinist, opera and symphony conductor.
Graduated from the 1st music school, violin class of V. Ya. Shpet, Omsk Music College (1940, violin class of V. Mikhailov).
From 1940 to 1941 played in the symphony orchestra of the Omsk Philharmonic. Since 1942 - in the army, he served in Omsk as the leader and conductor of a jazz orchestra. Since 1944 - head of the musical department of the Youth Theater, played in the small symphony orchestra of the regional radio committee. In 1945, he was invited as conductor of the musical comedy theater in Molotov (now Perm), and at the same time conducted the symphony orchestra of the Philharmonic. Having performed in 1947 at the All-Russian Show of Creative Theater Youth, he was sent by the USSR Committee for Arts as a conductor to the musical theaters of Daugavpils, Chelyabinsk (1948), Orenburg (1948–1949), Irkutsk (1949). On February 25, 1950, he was appointed conductor of the Omsk Theater of Musical Comedy. He staged the operettas “Someone else’s Daughter” by O. Feltsman, “The Sea Knot” by E. Zharkovsky, “Shelmenko the Batman” by A. Ryabov, “Trembita” by Yu. Milyutin and others.
In May 1953, he took 2nd place at the musical theater competition in Moscow at the Bolshoi Theater. As a promising conductor, he was sent to the Ashgabat Opera House, and in 1954 - as the second conductor to the Sverdlovsk Opera and Ballet Theater. He worked there for about 7 years, conducting many operas by Russian and foreign composers.
He graduated from the Sverdlovsk Conservatory, where he taught a symphony conducting class.
Since 1961 - conductor of the Kuibyshev Opera House. He staged the operas “Troubadour”, “The Demon” (1962), “Mazeppa” and “Iolanta” (1963–1965), “The Tsar’s Bride” (1969), and a number of ballets. He collaborated with the Kuibyshev Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and performed with concert programs and soloists. In 1974, by invitation, he returned to Omsk and was appointed chief conductor of the musical comedy theater. In 1977, after a conflict with the directorate about the ways of developing the theater, he moved to the Omsk Drama Theater as head of the musical department.
Died in a car accident. He was buried at the Eastern Russian Cemetery in Omsk.
Olga Sobolevskaya, RIA Novosti columnist
When Andrei Voznesensky wrote the poem “Pharaoh’s Daughter” dedicated to Lyudmila Maksakova, the public became convinced that her father, whose name was kept secret in the family, was none other than Joseph Stalin. The Generalissimo really appreciated the work of Lyudmila's mother, Maria Maksakova, a singer of the Bolshoi Theater. However, the relationship between Stalin and the famous “Vakhtangovka” is nothing more than a myth. The father of Lyudmila Maksakova, who celebrates her 70th birthday on September 26, is baritone Alexander Volkov, who emigrated to the United States and therefore found himself outside the brackets of family history.
These works by Maksakova, along with her role in the 1979 film operetta “Die Fledermaus” directed by Jan Fried, are perhaps the most famous. She could play many bright roles in films. However, having married a German from the former Federal Republic of Germany, physicist Peter Igenberg, she found herself “restricted to travel” and lost many film offers. Things reached the point of absurdity: the theater named after. Vakhtangov, where Maksakova worked since graduating from the Theater School. Shchukin, went on tour to Greece... without her, the leading actress! Fortunately, justice was restored by the then Minister of Culture Demichev: he included Maksakova on the tour list.
Maksakova can be called the wonderful face of the Vakhtangov Theater. She is internally close to that festive grotesque mood, that theatrical extravaganza and life-giving improvisational principle that initially determined the life of the famous troupe. The founder of the theater, Yevgeny Vakhtangov, called performing arts a “holiday.” His followers, Ruben Simonov and his son Evgeniy, and then Mikhail Ulyanov, followed the same course. The calling card of the group has long been “Princess Turandot,” which invariably opened each theater season. Staged in 1922 by Vakhtangov himself, the play was revived in 1963 by Ruben Simonov. How Maksakova - Adelma, as well as Yulia Borisova - Turandot, Vasily Lanovoy - Prince Calaf, Mikhail Ulyanov, Yuri Yakovlev and Nikolai Gritsenko (a triumvirate that embodied the traditional masks of commedia del arte) played in it can be judged today by the 1971 television version. In this ironic, carnival-like performance, the main plot was accompanied by improvisations by the actors, hilarious jokes and pranks that commented on modernity. In such a lively, spontaneous setting, reminiscent of a talented skit, the classics began to play especially brightly and freshly.
Lyudmila Maksakova has always been successful in character roles. Such was her charmingly contradictory Nadezhda Fedorovna in the film based on Chekhov’s “Duel” - “A Bad Good Man.” This psychological film about the confrontation between the fanatical and principled von Koren and the initially cowardly Laevsky revealed new facets of the talent of Vladimir Vysotsky, Oleg Dahl, and Anatoly Papanov. At the end of the film, Nadezhda Fedorovna is no longer an idle fatal beauty, but a mature woman with principles. Not only her acting talent, but also her deep intellect allowed Maksakova to make this metamorphosis psychologically convincing.
Meanwhile, at the beginning of her career, Lyudmila Maksakova was unsure of herself in a professional sense. The aspiring actress was supported by Evgeny and Ruben Simonov. In 1961, she played Laura in Pushkin's Little Tragedies. And the next year she was the gypsy Masha in Leo Tolstoy's The Living Corpse. In the 1960-1970s, Maksakova already played on stage Olga Knipper-Chekhova, Nicole (Molière's "The Bourgeois in the Nobility"), Maria in Babel's "Cavalry", Mamaeva ("Enough Simplicity for Every Wise Man" by Ostrovsky), Lady Anna in "Richard III" by Shakespeare, George Sand, the Duchess of Marlborough, Anna Karenina by Roman Viktyuk in 1983.
Her heroines are strong-willed and changeable, mysterious and integral, proud and loving. With a devilish look and imperious charm.
The life of an actor is changeable and unpredictable. This statement is reflected in the creative development of Alexander Volkov.
Childhood and youth
The Volkov family lived in the village of Snegiri near Moscow. My parents were far from creativity, especially from cinema and theater. Gennady Mikhailovich worked as a model maker, took care of the house and children. The family had three children, two boys and a girl. One of them is the famous actor Alexander Volkov.
Sasha was born on September twenty-first, 1975. The first place for the boy was not studying at school, but physical development. He attended school classes without much enthusiasm, so he dreamed of quickly getting a certificate and doing what he loved. Alexander wanted to become a professional boxer. He cultivated sternness in himself and practiced kickboxing. The ideal for the young man was Van Damme. But, according to the coach, boxing requires being more brutal and aggressive.
School is behind. Boxing is closed. Alexander tries himself in different professions: carpenter, joiner, advertising agent, security guard. The understanding comes quite quickly: you need to get a higher education. This is how a mediocre student becomes a diligent student.
Students
The choice of their son came as a complete surprise to the parents. Sasha never wanted to connect his life with cinema. But they respected his independence and left him to decide such important issues of his destiny.
The future actor enters the preparatory courses of L. Yu. Cherkova. Her statement about a person’s right to go on stage sank into his soul. Preserving this right and being able to use it throughout his life pushed Sasha to continue his studies.
A young man becomes a student at VGIK named after The courses turned out to be the best option. 2001 was the year he received his acting diploma and began his professional career. At the same time, Volkov is studying another profession - stuntman. Physical training and boxing only helped me master complex tricks.
Theater career
Working as a stuntman was great. But acting gave more scope for the development of talent. Immediately after completing his studies, the actor entered the troupe of the N.V. Gogol Theater in Moscow. Here he worked for five years. The most striking performances were “The King Amuses himself” and “The Last Lover is Always Better.” Alexander plays in many performances, honing his skills.
In 2006, Alexander Gennadievich Volkov made a new turn in his life. The actor moves to the private theater "World of Art". Here he plays in the plays “Garnet Bracelet” (Zheltkov) and “Mother’s Heart” (Vitka).
Participation in the production of the project “Peter Pan. Online version" gave Sasha the opportunity to play the role of Captain Hook. At the end of 2012, the actor began serving at the Maly Theater. His debut in the role of Francis I in the performance of the play “Secrets of the Madrid Court” revealed new facets of his artistry. There was a new sharp turn in my career ahead.
Start of a new life
He began acting in Volkov with small roles. The first appearance on the screen occurred in the form of a bodyguard in 2002 (the film “The Secret Sign”). Serious work in cinema began with the role of paratrooper Dmitry Sokolov in 2005 (“Rope of Sand”). The fate of the main character was followed not only by the large audience of the series, but even by the actor’s father and mother. The parents were convinced that their son had made the right choice of profession.
But Alexander Gennadievich Volkov considers only the next role of the noble Prince Repin to be his success. The actor endured many difficulties to play the role of an aristocrat. Posture, gestures, growing up and growing old with your hero were not easy, but worth it. According to the artist himself, there is nothing aristocratic in his appearance. Even his natural stoop was against him. But the role was presented perfectly.
Popularity
Filming in the film “The Return of Mukhtar” was a real triumph. The main character, Maxim Zharov, was not what Volkov imagined a hero should be. Too perfect. But it was getting used to this image that brought fame and love from the audience. Acting with a dog on camera was a new challenge for the actor. He never had a dog. In order for a shepherd dog to obey and carry out its owner’s commands, it was necessary to live with it, care for and caress it. Alexander and Mukhtar (the dog's real name is Wax von Weisrusland Kirschenthal) became friends. The actor refused to continue filming without his constant partner.
But actor Alexander Volkov was not left without work. The biography seemed to compensate for his impossible dream: to practice boxing. Popularity is picking up pace. The films “City Lights” and “Pechorin” appeared. Hero of our time". And the sensational series “Wedding Ring” took the actor to a new level of popularity. In the role of Igor Gritsenko, the actor had the opportunity to create the image himself. The real Alexander is the complete opposite of his movie hero. But there are also common features, the main one of which is that they both come from the village.
Among the most recent works are the films “Upside Down”, “Trust Me”, “Moscow - Lopushki”, “Red Dog”.
Personal life
The creative path is thorny. It is very good when there is a deep and reliable rear - the wife of Alexander Volkov. The actor was attracted to this girl in his youth. Taisiya’s family had a dacha in the village of Snegiri. The family of his future wife encouraged the young man to get a higher education. Mom did not want to give her daughter in marriage to a man without a diploma. Mutual understanding and support from my wife helped me complete stunt training. Only there can you feel your masculine essence, the actor believes.
Alexander and Taisiya got married during their student years. Things turned out quite well with such a wonderful wife of actor Alexander Volkov. Soon after the wedding, their daughter Alexandra Alexandrovna was born. Now there are two heirs growing up in the family - Nikolai and Georgy.
In their native village, the Volkov family has a huge house. His spacious embrace welcomes all his many friends. There is a place, warmth and love for everyone. Guests are warmly welcomed here. Here the dog Roy, the son of a famous parent who once played the role of Mukhtar along with his owner, found his refuge.
Although there is not much free time, Alexander Volkov tries to spend every minute with his family. The actor and his wife are fond of landscape design. Alpine slides and a fish pond create a piece of paradise on our native land in the Moscow region.
Alexander loves to sit with a fishing rod. He treats humanity philosophically: on Earth, all people can be divided into two categories - good and bad. Everything else (age, nationality, financial situation) does not matter.
Family is like a tree. The deeper the roots, the stronger they hold; it is almost impossible to pull out such a tree. Over time, every normal person becomes interested in who his ancestors were, because the roots of the family are the pedigree.
Unfortunately, there is no one left in the family from the older generation, but a fairly large archive has been preserved. The successor of the opera dynasty, Maria Maksakova, the daughter of an actress who inherited from her grandmother not only her name, but also a beautiful voice, helped Lyudmila Vasilyevna sort out the documents and begin her search.
Lyudmila Vasilievna began her search for her roots from her mother’s side. Most of the family archive is photographs of Maria Petrovna, a gallery of her stage images. The People's Artist of the USSR had great dramatic talent and a bright temperament; “the leader of the people,” Joseph Stalin, loved to listen to her velvety voice and called her “my Carmen.”
My grandparents lived in Astrakhan and bore the surname Sidorov. Maksakov is the stage name of opera singer Maximilian Schwartz, the first husband of Lyudmila’s mother, whom the actress never saw, since she was born after his death.
Before going to Astrakhan, her mother’s hometown, Lyudmila turned to the specialists of the genealogical center and submitted a request to the archives of the Astrakhan region. Once in the city itself, the actress finds out that her grandfather is from Saratov. Most likely, it was on merchant business that he ended up in Astrakhan, where he met his future wife. The archive staff managed to find a unique document - the passport of Lyudmila Maksakova's great-grandfather.
As for the main question that the actress asked when starting to compile her pedigree, according to the main version, which she adhered to earlier, her father was Alexander Volkov, a wonderful singer. According to eyewitness accounts, some kind of relationship existed between Alexander and Maria, but was not properly advertised, so Lyudmila never received a definite answer. The actress decided to go to the Bolshoi Theater Museum to at least slightly lift the mysterious curtain of her family’s history. The museum preserved stage costumes and some personal belongings of Maria Petrovna, among which was a portrait of Maximilian Schwartz, but details indicating acquaintance with Alexander Volkov could not be found.
Is it possible to ride through the centuries on the “Time Machine” - our famous singer thought about this:
- Family rarities of Andrei Makarevich..
If you are interested in who your ancestors were, we will help you with this
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While processing emigrant newspapers from the 1920s, I came across the following story:
"For the hammer and sickle"
In Odessa, Glinka’s opera “A Life for the Tsar”, equipped with a completely new text, will be staged under the title “For the Hammer and Sickle.”*
* The Bolsheviks really put up this ideological crap. The libretto was revised by N. Krasheninnikov, and the dramatic baritone and artistic director of the Odessa Opera Theater at that time, Maximilian Maksakov (Max Schwartz), agreed to become the director.
"Rul" (Berlin), November 30, 1924
At the same time, it was stated on the Internet:
MAKSAKOV Maximilian Karlovich (stage pseudonym; real name and surname Max Schwartz), 1869, Chernivtsi, Bukovina - 26.3.1936, Moscow - art. opera (drama baritone), director, entrepreneur and vocal teacher. Nar. art. Republic. Husband of singer M.P. Maksakova.
It turns out that “singer M.P. Maksakova,” and even nee Sidorova (see below), was not Maksakova at all, but in fact Schwartz, or in Russian - Chernyaeva, Chernushkina and all that. Let's pull the "pedigree" further, from the Internet:
Lyudmila Vasilievna Maksakova was born in 1940 in Moscow in the family of opera singer Maria Petrovna Maksakova. My father was also a singer at the Bolshoi Theater [??? - MK], but Lyudmila never saw him.
<...>L.V. got married for the second time. Maksakova was published in the mid-70s. This event caused a lot of noise, since her chosen one was German citizen Peter Andreas Igenbergs.
<...>Daughter - Maria Maksakova (Igenbergs), from her second marriage, graduated from the vocal department at the Gnessin Institute with Zurab Sotkilava, actress.
It turns out that the actress and State Duma deputy who voted for the vile “Dima Yakovlev’s law” is not “Maria Maksakova”, but Maria Peterovna Igenbergs! Well, was her mother “L.V. Maksakova” actually born “from someone unknown”? From the Internet:
Maksakova's daughter: - Mom never found out who her father was. There are two versions: either this is the futurist poet Vasily Kamensky, or the SMERSH general Vasily Novikov. What speaks in favor of these versions: the mother’s patronymic is Vasilievna, the grandmother shared the successes of her little daughter with both, and both came to the house. Maksakova-mother: - To be honest, I wasn’t really looking for my father. Masha wanted to know who he was. I never discussed this topic with my mother. Mom was a regal woman both on stage and in life, and if she didn’t start a conversation herself, then there was no need to ask her.
This is the first version, and here is the second - from the Internet, from the same Maksakova-daughter (sic!):
The founder of the creative dynasty, Maria Petrovna Maksakova, was born in 1902 into the prosperous family of Sidorov, an employee of the Volga Shipping Company. But it so happened that the family lost its breadwinner early and eight-year-old Masha, the eldest of the children, had to earn money. She went to sing in a church choir, for which she received as much as a ruble a month. By the age of seventeen, Maria had mastered her voice so much that she was enrolled in the troupe of the Astrakhan Opera Theater, where she was entrusted with performing the second main roles. At this time, the famous baritone, opera entrepreneur Maximilian Karlovich Maksakov [Max Schwartz! - MK]. He himself was from Austria, and since he was not distinguished by his heroic stature, which was unforgivable for a baritone at that time, he could not make a decent career in the theater. That's why he created the enterprise. Maximilian Karlovich noticed a thin, vocal girl, but immediately categorically stated: “Your voice is wonderful, but you don’t know how to sing.” Marusya got angry and went to audition for the Petrograd Conservatory... where she received exactly the same resume. Distressed, the girl returned to Maksakov.
- I don’t know if tragedy can be called luck? But it was precisely the fact that at that very time Mark Karlovich became a widower that played a decisive role in the fate of my grandmother. According to legend, his wife said before her death: “Marusya is a good girl, marry her.” So he did, promising to make his grandmother a real singer. Then he was fifty years old, and she was only eighteen.
And indeed, three years later, Maria Maksakova made her debut at the Bolshoi Theater with the role of Amneris in the opera “Aida”, and so successfully that for many years she became the leading voice of this stage. True, once she quarreled with the management, Maria performed at the Mariinsky Theater for two seasons... but this did not harm her popularity at all. God is fair, and if he gives career success, he takes away personal well-being. At the end of 16 years of a happy marriage, Maria Petrovna’s husband, teacher and friend dies; a year later, having endured mourning, she marries the Soviet diplomat Y.Kh. Dovtyan, goes abroad with him... One day, after a brilliant concert in the Hall of Columns, the couple return home and meet a “black funnel” at the doorstep. Maria Petrovna never saw her husband again.
“For two years, my grandmother sat on her suitcases and shuddered at every rustle outside the door. From an energetic laugher with a cheeky character, she turned into a gloomy, silent, frightened woman. And then, as a consolation, my mother was born in 1940. Who her father was remained a mystery until her grandmother’s death. The middle name was written down as Vasilievna... The grandmother was terribly scared, because in fact the father of her child was the Bolshoi Theater baritone Alexander Volkov, who two years after the birth of his daughter emigrated to America - the Soviet government would not have forgiven the grandmother for this.
In general, as they say, L.V. Maksakova - “neither like his mother nor his father, but like a passing fellow,” “like a baritone, but like someone else...”.
