Birth and family
Mark was born on October 13, 1933 in Moscow.
His mother, Galina Sergeevna Bardina, born in 1909, always wanted to be an actress. In her youth, she studied at the theater studio of teacher and director Yuri Zavadsky, but never played on stage. She was engaged in teaching activities in children's amateur drama groups. She had to work very hard to provide for her family. Galina Sergeevna died at the age of 54 from a broken heart.
Mark Zakharov in childhood
My mother’s grandfather, Staff Captain Sergei Zakharov, served in Kolchak’s army. After the revolution, he, his wife and daughter ended up in Vladivostok, and from there emigrated to Australia. But the grandfather sailed away alone, the family remained in Russia. Grandmother, Bardina Sofya Nikolaevna, returned to Moscow and worked as the head of an orphanage. During the war years, the family was evacuated to the Tatar village of Sheremetyevka, where the grandmother died and was buried.
Father, Anatoly Shirinkin, studied at the cadet corps in Voronezh. When the revolution began, he joined the Red Army. Then he taught physical education at a high school. My paternal grandparents had an estate and seven children, all of them except dad Mark Zakharov and his sister died at the front, fighting for the Fatherland, the Tsar and the faith.
Mark's father and mother met in 1931. A year later they formalized the marriage, and the following year, 1933, their only son was born. When Mark was one year old, dad was arrested and sentenced to three years under Article 58 for counter-revolutionary activities. Under this article, at that time a huge number of citizens of the USSR were repressed, even those completely far from politics. When the prison term ended, dad was sent to Ryazan without the right to live in Moscow.
Zakharov's only love
In the personal life of Mark Anatolyevich until 2014, everything was calm and measured. He met Nina Lapshinova while studying at GITIS - she was a year younger.
After Zakharov was assigned to Perm, a year later she herself asked to join the troupe of the same provincial theater.
For some time, the lovers lived in a civil marriage, and later formalized their relationship. The couple worked together at the Moscow Gogol Theater. A child was born into their family: the daughter of Mark Zakharov and Nina Lapshinova, Alexandra Zakharova, serves at the Lenkom Theater.
Zakharov and Lapshinova lived together for more than half a century. Nina Tikhonovna never doubted her husband’s talents and supported him in every possible way. It was thanks to his wife that Zakharov did not stop at the level of Perm , but became one of the leading directors of our time.
In the last years of her life, Nina Lapshinova resisted a serious cancer disease, but the disease turned out to be stronger. Mark Zakharov's wife died in 2014. The death of his wife greatly broke Mark Anatolyevich, but he tried not to demonstrate his grief and sadness in public.
Mark Zakharov died on September 28, 2020, he was 85 years old. The cause of death of the artistic director of the Moscow Lenkom Theater was pneumonia; the director died after several months of treatment. On October 13, the great director would have turned 86 years old.
Childhood
Mark spent most of his childhood with his mother. When my father was imprisoned, my mother quit her studies at Zavadsky’s theater studio and went to her husband’s logging camp. The little son stayed with his nanny and grandmother. They lived in an apartment at the orphanage where their grandmother worked. She often brought her grandson toys and sweets from work, thanks to which Mark created a feeling of well-being and prosperity. He naively believed that all people in the Soviet Union lived just as carefree and happily.
Mark Zakharov in his youth
When my father was transferred from logging to Ryazan, my mother returned to Moscow. Dad received permission to visit his family in the capital on weekends. These memories remained in Mark Zakharov’s memory as the happiest moments of his childhood. He woke up in the morning and heard his father’s voice, ran to his parents’ bedroom, climbed into their bed, and mom and dad kissed, hugged him and spoke kind words.
During the Great Patriotic War, my father fought in the units defending the capital. After demobilization, his criminal record was cleared and he was allowed to live in Moscow. In the post-war years it was very difficult, dad combined teaching physical education at school with unloading cars at a freight station, and mom had to agree to a part-time job - leading a drama club in a children's colony.
The family lived in a large communal apartment; their room was partitioned in the middle with a sheet of plywood. Mark knows well the joys and everyday problems of populous Moscow courtyards. They kicked a soccer ball with friends and went to the captured Germans to exchange cartridges and cartridges for food.
Andrey Mironov, Mark Zakharov and Alexander Shirvindt
Her mother introduced her son to art. Together they went to the Obraztsov Puppet Theater. In high school, Mark began attending a drama club at the House of Pioneers under the guidance of his mother. He studied there with Andrei Tarkovsky, who later also became a famous director.
Youth
After school, Mark Zakharov’s own future biography seemed vague, because he did not have clear goals. I entered the architectural institute, but did not pass the competition. He applied to the Military Engineering Academy, but he was not accepted because of his father’s criminal record. Mom was initially against Mark connecting his life with a creative profession. But then she saw in a dream her son’s calling, and Zakharov began to try to enroll in theater universities.
The Moscow Art Theater School-Studio was chosen first. Mark read Burns’s “Briar Honey” very loudly in front of the admissions committee, but did not impress the teachers. Then his mother helped him learn “The Song of the Merchant Kalashnikov,” Zakharov submitted documents to GITIS and became a student in the acting department.
The genius of our time is gone: Kirkorov on the death of Mark Zakharov
Star Russian singer Philip Kirkorov commented on the news about the death of the legendary director Mark Zakharov.
https://www.instagram.com/p/B28zRfqInh_/?utm_source=ig_embed
On his Instagram, the performer admitted: the director’s work “shaped us and me personally” on the path to art.
“And now another Genius of Our Time is gone,” writes Kirkorov.
Director of the Lenkom Theater Mark Varshaver previously confirmed that Zakharov died at the age of 86 after a long illness.
Source
Theater activities
Mark Zakharov entered the theater stage in his second year at the institute. In 1955, after graduation, he was assigned to Perm to the drama theater. The years spent in Perm turned out to be very fruitful for Mark. He wrote and drew caricatures a lot, his works and illustrations were published in local publications. He worked part-time on the radio and enjoyed organizing skit parties. Here he first tried himself as a director in a student amateur group at the university and felt that he had the necessary qualities to work with actors. Mark had a lot of ideas, and everyone willingly listened to them.
Zakharov works with actors in the theater
In 1959, Zakharov returned to the capital, where his creative biography continued at the Gogol Theater. He did not work here for long, a year later he was already appearing on the stage of the Moscow Theater of Miniatures (now called the Hermitage).
By 1963, the realization came that I didn’t like being an actor. Mark wanted to channel all his energy and thoughts into directing. He left the Theater of Miniatures and began to try himself in the student team of Moscow State University as a director. His debut work was the play “Dragon” based on the work of Evgeniy Schwartz. This was followed by productions of “The Career of Arthur Wee” and “I Want to Be Honest.”
In 1965, Zakharov was invited to the position of director of the Satire Theater, where he worked for eight years. During this time, he staged performances known to the capital’s theatergoers:
- "Plum";
- "Banquet";
- "Rise and Shine";
- "Mother Courage and Her Children";
- "Eccentric man."
In 1973, director Zakharov headed the capital's Lenkom Theater. One after another, he presented his masterpieces to the Moscow audience: “Til,” “The Star and Death of Joaquin Murieta,” “Not on the Lists.”
Rock opera staged by Zakharov “Juno and Avos”
And when in 1981 the premiere of the production “Juno and Avos” took place at Lenkom, the Moscow theater scene exploded, it was impossible to buy tickets, the audience cried at the finale and sang along with the choir “Hallelujah of Love.” Since 1983, theater actors have traveled with this performance all over the world. The tour was triumphant; in Holland, Germany, and the USA, spectators gave a standing ovation to the main characters Count Rezanov and Conchita, performed by Nikolai Karachentsev and Elena Shanina. In Paris, the rock opera was presented to French audiences by the famous couturier Pierre Cardin.
Over the 45 years of work at Lenkom, Mark Zakharov staged almost forty performances, the best of which:
- "Ivanov";
- "A guy from our city";
- "Optimistic tragedy";
- "Memorial prayer";
- "Crazy Day, or The Marriage of Figaro";
- "Gull";
- "Royal Games";
- "Jester Balakirev";
- "The Cherry Orchard";
- "Peer Gynt".
Mark Zakharov's anniversary at Lenkom
Among the latest productions of the famous director are “Walpurgis Night” (2015) and “The Day of the Oprichnik” (2016).
Movie
In 1972, Zakharov began to try his hand at cinema. The debut was the joint work of Mark Anatolyevich and director Alexander Orlov - the fairy tale film “Train Stop - Two Minutes”.
Each subsequent film made by Zakharov became a classic. They are still relevant and fresh, hit the mark, are quotable, and amaze with their brilliant cast:
- “The Same Munchausen”;
- "Kill the Dragon";
- "The House That Swift Built";
- "12 chairs";
- "An Ordinary Miracle";
- "Love Formula".
Director Mark Zakharov on the set of the film “That Same Munchausen”
Since 1983, Mark Anatolyevich, in addition to directing, has also been involved in teaching. He is a professor at the Department of Directing, worked at GITIS, and now teaches at RATI.
For his creative achievements and enormous contribution to the development of Russian culture and art, Mark Zakharov has many awards and titles. He is a full holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland, I, II, III, IV degrees, and was awarded the titles of People's Artist of the RSFSR, People's Artist of the USSR and Hero of Labor of Russia. In 1987, for the play “Juno and Avos” he was awarded the USSR State Prize.
Russian President V.V. Putin awards M.A. Zakharov
Mark Zakharov now
Now the director still remains the artistic director of his native theater group. In 2020, Mark Anatolyevich became the director of the play “Falstaff and the Prince of Wales.” In addition to his original works, Zakharov supervises the performances of other theater directors - Pavel Safonov, Gleb Panfilov, Oleg Glushkov and others.
Documentary film “Mark Zakharov: “I’m an optimist, but not that much...”
On October 13, 2020, theater fans, television viewers and colleagues of Mark Zakharov approached the solemn date - the master’s 85th anniversary. TV channels presented holiday programs. Channel One produced a documentary film “Mark Zakharov: “I’m an optimist, but not that much...” and a television version of the birthday greeting “Mark Zakharov’s Anniversary Evening at the Lenkom Theater.”
Preview of the 2020 film “Mark Zakharov: My Present, Past and Future”
Mark Anatolyevich also became a guest of Tatiana Ustinova’s program “My Hero” on the TV Center channel. And the program of the “Culture” channel included a documentary film “Mark Zakharov: my present, past and future.” Article found on 24smi.org.
