...We twisted the bottle and kissed. We rolled in the snow in the park near the Leninsky Komsomol Theater in Leningrad and took part in skits. We met and parted. And then I called a communal apartment on the corner of Nevsky and Liteiny, where Allochka occupied one of the rooms, and said: “There was a rumor that you have one free place...” Thus began our life together.
Emmanuel Vitorgan : — Probably, Allochka could scold the uninvited guest for his impudent visit, or even worse: drive him away. But at that moment I didn’t even think about it. Getting wet in the rain, I stood in front of her door, so lonely and so pitiful that she had mercy and let me in. We were young, happy and passionately in love with each other. Although officially I was still married, my daughter Ksyushka , and my first wife Tamara , of course, did not want to put up with my leaving. But, you know... It seems to me that when one spouse leaves the other, it’s not the one who leaves who is to blame, but the one who stays. This does not mean that Tamara was so bad and I was so good. Rather, it’s the other way around: I, the bad one, left so as not to spoil the good.
I have nothing to reproach any of the women with.
Tatyana Ulanova, AiF.ru: - Tamara was also an actress? How did you meet?
— We studied together at the theater institute, although in different courses. And they got married only when they started working. I'm generally a late bloomer when it comes to girls. Over the years, of course, he compensated for the lack of communication with the fair sex. But during my studies I was so passionate about theater that I was constantly stuck at the institute. It’s not that girls aren’t interested in me at all, but let’s just say that other students in my place would have allowed themselves more.
After graduating from the institute, I received an invitation to two Leningrad theaters at once: them. Pushkin and them. Komissarzhevskaya. But I didn’t stay in any of them. This was the time when Romeo and Juliet were played not by young boys and girls, but by People's Artists of the USSR of pre-retirement age: Aslamov, Babanova... Not wanting to put up with this, we, several graduates of LGITMIK, invited our director and rushed to small cozy Pskov. A premiere was released every two months. We gained experience.
I am grateful to all the women I have met in my life. I have nothing to blame for any of them. On the contrary, I am grateful to each one.
— Emmanuel Vitorgan
There, in Pskov, my first, as I then imagined, true love happened. Our entire group - about 20 people - was resettled in dormitory-type apartments. Tamara and I turned out to be neighbors. It would probably be more interesting if I said nasty things about her now. If one wife were a bastard, and the other was beautiful. But I am grateful to all the women I have met in my life. I have nothing to blame for any of them. On the contrary, I am grateful to each one.
Personal life
In life, Alla Davidovna Balter was an amazing person whom I wanted to emulate. Despite the fact that the woman had exceptional beauty, according to her colleagues, she did not hear envious phrases addressed to her. It is also known that the theater’s colleagues never addressed the actress by her first name and patronymic, but called her by her affectionate name – Allochka. Balter always took care of herself and surprised fans with her femininity and charm.
Emmanuel Vitorgan and Alla Balter
Little is known about Alla Davidovna’s first wife. The beloved's name was Emmanuel Anbrokh, he was the goalkeeper of FC Tavriya from Simferopol. Balter's next chosen one was People's Artist of the Russian Federation Emmanuel Vitorgan. Their love was perhaps the most romantic story of the theater backstage. For the sake of Alla Davidovna, in 1970, Vitorgan divorced his previous wife Tamara Rumyantseva and left his daughter Ksenia.
“It took me a lot of strength to break off our relationship with my first wife. I am sorry that I caused grief to my loved ones back then. But if everything came back, I would have done the same,” the actor admitted in an interview with the FACTS newspaper.
Alla Balter and son Maxim Vitorgan
In 1972, the lovers had a son, Maxim Vitorgan, who is familiar to viewers from the films “Mommies” (2015), “Election Day 2” (2016), the TV series “Londongrad” (2015) and other notable works.
That evening we kissed for the first time
- How did love come to you?
— In those years, in the Leningrad House of Actors on Nevsky there was a very active youth section, headed by Seryozha Yursky , where theater artists performed with their skits. One day I saw a very impressive girl there. "Who is this?" - I asked my friends. “Alla Balter, actress,” they answered me. She served in the Leningrad Lenkom, I visited there often, but for some reason I never saw her in performances. Allochka was extraordinarily beautiful, flexible, and well-built. She sang beautifully and moved wonderfully. She was very active, there was always a swarm of men around her.
Fate favored me: after I played the role of Levinson in Fadeev’s , the management invited me to stay in this young, lively theater. And then Tovstonogov began staging the musical “West Side Story,” giving me the main role of Bernardo right away. At first Anita was supposed to be played by another actress, but after taking a closer look, Georgy Alexandrovich decided to appoint Allochka as my partner. The performance required a lot of dedication: we had to sing, dance, and spent a lot of time at rehearsals. “...history” was a great success, it brought us closer. And soon the baton of “pandering” was taken over by Tovstonogov’s son Sandro , inviting Alla and me to the play “Yarovaya Love”. I played Lieutenant Yarovoy, she played Panova.
One day after an evening performance we decided to walk through the park next to Lenkom. We were in a good mood, we were laughing, fooling around, and suddenly we fell into the snow!.. I asked: “What if we roll like this to the exit of the park?” Allochka immediately responded: “Come on!” Although the distance was considerable. We hugged and rolled. Having reached our destination, we kissed for the first time that evening.
However, our love did not happen at first sight, not at all. When I saw Allochka for the first time, I noted to myself that she was a very beautiful woman. Yes, and at first she assessed me only as a good, textured artist. And only later did she admit that she thought I was a very handsome man, but... with some infinitely long legs and arms.
Allochka did not want to accept my advances for a long time. Having grown up in a theatrical environment (her mother was a flutist at the Kiev Ivan Franko Theater, and Allochka spent her childhood years behind the scenes, sitting on the lap of dad Kirill Lavrov , and then Pavel Luspekayev ), she got used to treating artists only as colleagues. In her opinion, personal life and acting are poorly compatible. Once upon a time, of course, Allochka, like many, fell in love with artists, even dedicating poems to them. But I was no longer one of these lucky ones and, in order to win her heart, I resorted to all sorts of tricks.
Once, for example, when our theater was on tour in Kharkov, I started a rumor that in the evening a new film by Fellini . The artists bought into the prank like children! After the performance, without even washing off their makeup, they ran headlong to take their seats. Imagine their disappointment when, instead of another masterpiece by the maestro, they saw their colleague Vitorgan on the stage! I announced that there would be no “kina”, gave Allochka a bouquet of flowers I had bought in advance and invited her to take a walk in the park. For some reason she didn't refuse.
Emmanuel Vitorgan: “If you want to love, then you have to love” Read more
Alla Balter: biography
Alla Balter is a famous Russian theater and film actress, People's Artist of the Russian Federation. She is familiar to viewers for her roles in films that have become cult: “Degree of Risk”, “The Casket of Marie de Medici”, “Black Square” and many other works. Alla Davidovna Balter was born on August 23, 1939 in the hero city of Kyiv. The girl grew up and was brought up in a creative environment: her father David Balter, a Jew by nationality, served in the Kiev theater named after Lesya Ukrainka.
Actress Alla Balter
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According to rumors, Alla Davidovna dreamed of becoming an actress since childhood: she was not afraid of the hard work of her father, who was on tour for days on end and returned home tired, but on the contrary, she was captivated by the world of elegant and authentic stage art. After graduating from school, Balter continued her studies at the Kiev Theater School at KUADT named after I. Ya. Franko, where she showed talent and undeniable artistic abilities.
Alla Balter in her youth
Having received her diploma, Alla Davidovna began her creative biography on the stage of Lenkom. She also performed on the stage of the Lesya Ukrainka Theater and was the leading actress of the V.V. Mayakovsky.
Alla Balter as Cleopatra
Balter showed herself as a versatile dramatic actress: on stage she appeared before the audience either in the image of the fatal temptress Cleopatra (“Play of Shadows”, Y. Edlis), or transformed into Mrs. Linne, a girl who, after the death of her husband, was left without a livelihood (“ A Doll's House", G. Ibsen).
She was dumbfounded: her ex-husband was sitting in the hall
— By that time, Allochka was already divorced from her first husband?
- Yes. That marriage of hers was very short. Surprisingly, the first husband’s name was also Emmanuel. They said he was a good goalkeeper, played for the Tavriya team. It’s a strange combination, of course, - an actress and a football player - but anything can happen in life. During our romance, we talked a lot with her about our past lives, did not hide anything from each other. Allochka, I remember, always remembered her first husband with kind words. Emmanuel was a wonderful person, but she was always afraid that one day he would tell her: “Quit the theater, stay at home!” Alla always dreamed of one thing: to play, play and play. Emmanuel loved Allochka madly and even years later appeared in her life, reminding her of himself. She once told me that before the performance (we were already working at Mayakovka) she accidentally looked out from behind the scenes to look at the hall, and was dumbfounded: her ex-husband was sitting in the hall. Allochka felt bad, she almost lost consciousness and then was barely able to play...
It is believed that if a woman takes a man away from her family, then she is a bastard. Alla suffered, afraid of becoming a homewrecker, she always wanted to run away. She loved, waited, and at the same time convinced herself: she needed to stop everything, disappear...
— Emmanuel Vitorgan
It is believed that if a woman takes a man away from her family, then she is a bastard. Alla perceived all the vicissitudes that took place around my former family painfully. She said: “You shouldn’t, there’s a child there...” She didn’t demand anything, didn’t pursue me, didn’t take absolutely any steps towards us being together, sometimes it even seemed to me that Alla didn’t want this. She suffered, afraid of becoming a homewrecker, and wanted to run away all the time. She loved, waited and at the same time convinced herself: she needed to stop everything, disappear... At some point she did just that: she went on vacation, hid so as not to see me, the very thought of my double existence was unpleasant to her, she weighed on her. We were already visible in Leningrad, became popular, and many people interfered in our lives, creating additional problems for us. It was real torture. It would have been easier to leave, no matter where. We no longer wanted to go to the provinces; we worked there. Moscow remained.
Friends were twisting their heads: “What are you doing, you crazy people?!” What are you throwing? Where are you going? The wise Alexander Moiseevich Volodin reasoned philosophically: “You are young, talented, beautiful, loving each other... THEY will not forgive you for this!” Tovstonogov, when he found out that we were going to leave Lenkom, called us to the BDT and immediately suggested: “Guys, come to me!” But we have already decided to leave. Georgy Alexandrovich was even offended at first: “Are you crazy?” Then I understood everything and gave an amazing letter of recommendation “To any theater in Moscow.” We, of course, knew that he treated us well, but we didn’t imagine that he was so good.
So, turning the Leningrad page and hiding behind it all the bad things we had done before, we started life anew. Many years later, Allochka was surprised: “When I think that in one year I was able to change a man, a house, a theater, a city, and get pregnant almost in the same year, I simply don’t believe it.” And we didn’t even notice how easily we did everything. There was a large supply of strength, energy, and a great desire to be happy.
After everything we had experienced, we were ashamed to be unhappy. Many even thought that we were very wealthy, wealthy people. They often borrowed money from us. And we couldn't refuse. If there was no money in the house, they reborrowed it themselves so as not to lose their mark. In a word, they showed off. Although Allochka had a rather modest wardrobe, we had no titles and huddled in the dormitory of the Theater for quite a long time. Stanislavsky. There Maxim was born. True, due to the fact that I was officially married to Tamara, and Allochka and I were not married for several years, I then had to adopt him. I’m afraid to lie whether Tamara gave me a divorce or not, I won’t blame her for this. Allochka and I were completely indifferent to this. We lived amicably both without the stamp and with it, did not attach any importance to it and went to the registry office four years later. I don’t even remember what actually was the reason for registration.
It was summer, August 5, everyone was on vacation. And only colleagues at the Stanislavsky Theater, Natasha Varley and Vasya Bochkarev , who were experiencing a stormy romance at that time, for some reason were in Moscow. They became our witnesses. We went to the registry office, joked, laughed, then came to our home and celebrated this event nicely, at which, besides the four of us, only my nephew was present. There were no special wedding dresses. Allochka put on a red leather miniskirt in the shape of the then fashionable “barrel”. I also had something on “for going out,” but my clothes at that moment interested me, perhaps, the least of all.
“I don’t have time to rest”! Emmanuel Vitorgan - about love and obedient Sobchak Read more
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When you can't breathe without your loved one. / Photo: www.games-of-thrones.ru
Only when he met her did he learn what true love was. Emmanuel Vitorgan and Alla Balter were often called the most beautiful theatrical couple in the Soviet Union. But they had to pay a terrible price for their love and happiness.
"West Side Story"
Vitorgan and Balter together on stage.
/ Photo: www.kino-teatr.ru Emmanuel first saw the beautiful and incredibly talented young actress in the play “The Three Musketeers” in the role of Milady. He was fascinated by her. Not by her acting, not by her beauty, but by the integrity of her nature. “She was incredibly beautiful, flexible, wonderfully built and sang amazingly - it’s surprising that I had not seen her before, although I attended performances at her theater quite often,” Vitogran later recalled.
And then they had the chance to play lovers in Georgy Tovstonogov’s musical “West Side Story.” This determined the course of their entire future lives. They rehearsed together for a long time, enthusiastically playing at love. And the moment came when it became clear to both that they were not playing at love. They like.
Emmanuel Vitorgan with his first wife Tamara Rumyantseva. / Photo: www.games-of-thrones.ru
Vitorgan by this time had been married to Tamara Rumyantseva for a long time, and believed that he and his wife had an almost ideal family. They did not quarrel, they raised little Ksenia together. Everything changed with the appearance of Allochka in the theater, when Emmanuel simply stopped breathing.
Alla Balter. / Photo: www.games-of-thrones.ru
Ironically, the actress’s husband’s name was also Emmanuel; he was the goalkeeper of the Tavriya football club, Anbroch. But Vitorgan completely captured her heart. There was love on stage and behind the scenes. Emmanuel Vitorgan had no doubt - this is the real feeling. When you can't breathe without your loved one. He could not look enough at his beloved, he could not live without seeing her.
Happiness built on misfortune
Emmanuel Vitorgan and Alla Balter.
/ Photo: www.material.ru Alla and Emmanuel destroyed previous marriages to create their own family. They both always worried that Vitorgan’s daughter was left without her father’s cares. Ksenia never forgave her father for this betrayal. But what could be done with those feelings that did not allow them to live apart? Even human condemnation touched them little. They saw, felt, heard only each other and their hearts.
Alla Balter and her son Maxim Vitorgan. / Photo: www.games-of-thrones.ru
They lived together for four years before becoming husband and wife. They moved to Moscow and began working first at the Stanislavsky Theater and then at the Mayakovsky Theater. Then Emmanuel and Alla had Maxim, and only after that they got married. The wedding was very quiet, the only guests were Natasha Varley and Vasily Bochkarev, who witnessed their wedding.
Love is the beginning of all beginnings
Emmanuel Vitorgan and Alla Balter.
/ Photo: www.vokrug.tv Alla and Emmanuel were happy. They both understood that family is constant work. Willy-nilly, each of them had to make some compromises in order to achieve complete harmony in the family. For a very long time they lived in a dormitory, in a tiny room blocked off by closets. Behind this makeshift partition stood my son’s crib. When Vitorgan turned 40, his patience ran out and he demanded housing for himself and his family. They were finally given a separate apartment. Now Emma's beloved could soak in the bath. And he himself was glad that he was able to achieve such a small, but such an important victory for the family.
Vitorgan with his beloved wife on vacation. / Photo: www.fenixclub.com
They say that in a couple, one always loves, and the other allows himself to be loved. But in the family of Alla and Emmanuel this law did not apply. They both loved. This is probably why Emma never considered it shameful to cook borscht or wash the dishes. He knew for sure that his beautiful wife deserved to play royalty on stage, and not peasant women with tired hands. He also knew how to make gifts that would be remembered for a lifetime. Once in Varna, Vitorgan saw a yacht with scarlet sails, made an appointment at the local yacht club and, on Alla’s birthday, arranged a boat trip for her.
Emmanuel Vitorgan, Alla Balter, their son Maxim. / Photo: www.kino-teatr.org
Alla, for her part, always supported her husband. When it was especially difficult for him due to lack of demand, she consoled him and predicted great popularity and many fans in the future. Her prophecies came true quite quickly. She was jealous of his countless fans, but she considered it wrong to make a scene about it. She was very wise, his beloved Allochka.
Victory and defeat
She begged for his life.
/ Photo: www.family-values.ru When Vitorgan was diagnosed with lung cancer, Balter made every effort to defeat his disease. She took him to the best doctors and always accompanied him to complex procedures. Every day she entered his room with a smile, firmly convinced that he had to live. And she was able to overcome this terrible illness of her husband. Alla begged and begged for his life. She breathed life into him, snatching him from the clawed clutches of death.
A few years later she herself became ill and was diagnosed with spinal cancer. Alla tried not to show her weakness and infirmity to anyone. She put on a tight corset and went to the theater for a performance, overcoming incredible pain and weakness. When she appeared on the theater stage for the last time, her colleagues actually carried her around the stage in their arms, she was so weak.
Alla Butler wanted to remain young and cheerful in people's memories. / Photo: www.kino-teatr.ru
Then there were hospitals, collecting money for surgery. Her beloved Emmanuel did everything to save his wife. But the disease was too terrible. When on July 13, 2000, Vitorgan received a call and was told that we were talking about the last minutes of her life, he immediately rushed to the hospital. They spent the whole day talking and reminiscing. And at night Allochka left. On Alla Balter’s grave there is only the date of her death. She wanted to remain young and cheerful in people's memories.
He always remembers his Allochka. / Photo: www.bskltd.ru
The actor took the death of his wife very hard. He couldn't understand why she left him. He looked for her face in the crowd, waited to meet her in a dream. But she did not come to him in his dreams.
Next to him for 15 years has been another woman, Irina Mlodik, who pulled him out of depression and gave him the strength to live on. But even now, many years after Allochka’s death, he cannot hold back his tears, remembering his beloved.
Emmanuel Vitorgan found the strength to live on after the death of his beloved, carefully preserving the light of love left by her.
Konstantin Khabensky will always remember his wife, who sacrificed her life for the birth of their son.
“Dad, why are you biting mom?”
— The birth of your son probably changed your life a lot; you just moved to a new theater. How did Alla Davydovna decide to take this step?
“We loved each other so much that we didn’t really think about birth control.” Allochka once admitted that she separated from her first husband partly because she was not yet ready to become a mother. We met not young, and, of course, she already wanted a child. By the way, when she became pregnant, she began to tell everyone that she dreamed of having a boy. Her friends didn’t understand her; women, as a rule, expect girls. And she told me: “I want us to have a boy like you. Imagine, I will have two such wonderful men!” Her dream came true, she was incredibly happy.
The birth of our son changed little in our crazy life: Allochka went to work almost immediately. Having “allowed” herself to become pregnant, she felt a little guilty before the theater management and her colleagues. It seemed to her that she had no right to sit at home with her child, having previously played only one role in someone else’s theater. And, by the way, the director even once expressed his dissatisfaction to her: “You specifically decided to give birth in order to establish your position here.” Probably someone got in line for an apartment this way. We had to wait for her for 8 years. But we didn't care much about that. We were obsessed with work, life and getting out as best we could.
As soon as Alla gave birth, a long-distance call rang in the hostel where we lived, and a young woman Elya , a strange fan from Leningrad, said: “I know how important the theater is for Allochka, God forbid she remains unemployed. Therefore, I will come to you and sit with Maxim for three years.” After all, we didn’t have any grandparents in Moscow, but this woman came as promised, and until we sent our son to kindergarten, she babysat him. Elya adored Allochka. In those years, she received some pennies from her miserable job, but she always came to performances with flowers. We settled her on Polezhaevskaya, in a room for which we exchanged Alla’s St. Petersburg communal apartment, and we ourselves stayed in the hostel of the Theater. Stanislavsky on Smolenskaya Square.
Allochka was torn between the theater and the child, but she was a wonderful mother! Simply amazing! How she loved Maxim! How I worked with him! After all, I often disappeared on the set, the two of them communicated more, and they developed a very trusting relationship. Maxim was more frank with his mother. Now I see: he repeated her correctness, attentiveness, and tolerance. But we are all still terribly shy. I remember Maxim was in first grade, and one day, returning from school, he asked Alla: “Mom, teach me not to be shy.”
Allochka and I always worked like crazy. Maxim hardly saw us and in the fifth grade, apparently out of despair, he wrote “The Tale of Lost Parents.”
— Emmanuel Vitorgan
Allochka and I always worked like crazy. Maxim hardly saw us and in the fifth grade, apparently out of despair, he wrote “The Tale of Lost Parents.” I was constantly filming, Alla played a lot in the theater, it was a sin to complain. But, by the way, she could not take the role from another artist, she could not approach the director and ask what he would stage in the next season. Moreover, when she found out that some director was preparing a new play for production in our theater, she almost stopped saying hello to him, it was inconvenient for her to “remind” herself. Lyudmila Maksakova , once telling Allochka’s hand, was still amazed: “I’m not an actor at all.”
All 30 years, Allochka and I had a very good time together. Maxim never heard us raise our voices at each other or quarrel. Sometimes, of course, we quarreled, but only when they talked about rehearsals, about the role. Start a scandal over unpeeled potatoes, uncooked dinner, unwashed laundry? Lord, what nonsense this is all! I myself enjoyed peeling potatoes, washing them, washing them: both mine and Allochka’s. Take care of her hands. She never played peasant women, more and more queens. And, although the opportunity to buy a washing machine and dishwasher came late, honestly, we never had any economic problems.
Alla, I remember, was very fond of quoting Lope de Vega : “The more you demand in love, the less you receive, sister.” We didn’t demand anything from each other: no money, no coffee in bed, no walks with the child or the dog. For a very long time, Allochka, as a Soviet girl, was shy about diamonds. She thought it was indecent to wear them. She was a unique woman. If I wanted a fur coat, this desire lasted exactly one and a half minutes. There was no such end in itself; Alla could not spend her last money, risk everything for the sake of a fur coat. By and large, she was truly happy at work. I thought that when it’s bad in the theater, it’s much more difficult in the family. I was terribly worried if something didn’t go well with me or Maxim. If we got sick, she couldn’t find a place for herself.
Emmanuel and Maxim Vitorgan. Photo: RIA Novosti
Emmanuel Vitorgan and his wives
The actor's first marriage happened during his student years.
Emmanuel and his future wife studied in the same course at the Leningrad Theater University. Tamara Rumyantseva, that was the girl’s name, eventually gave Vitorgan a daughter, Ksyusha. But before the girl had time to go to school, her parents separated. The reason was Emannuil’s affair with Alla Balter. After the divorce, Tamara asked Vitorgan not to traumatize her daughter’s psyche and move to live in another city. Later, the actor admits that by cheating on his wife, he committed the biggest sin in his life.
Thus, the actors left for Moscow. Soon Balter married Vitorgan and gave birth to his son Maxim, who also chose the acting profession, like his parents. The Vitorgan-Balter couple was considered the most beautiful among domestic television and film actors.
But in 2000, Alla died of cancer. The actress struggled with spinal cancer for a long time, but the disease won. After the death of his beloved wife, the actor suffered a long depression, which Irina Mlodik, manager of a theater agency, helped him cope with.
At first it was just friendship, which over time grew into love. In 2003, the couple got married. Today, Irina and Emmanuel organize joint evenings of music and poetry and tour Russian and European cities.
She didn't want me to leave early
- Alla Davydovna saved you from a terrible disease...
- This is a sad topic. She saved, but I couldn’t...
Then, many years ago, Allochka simply grabbed me, drowning, by the hair and pulled me out. I really didn’t want me to leave earlier. I didn't want to be left alone. Her desire was so great that she even managed to hide the terrible diagnosis from me. I only knew that I had problems with my lungs and needed surgery, and if it weren’t for Allochka, I would have put off going to the doctor for a very long time. I would have pulled until the last minute until I fell.
I had been out of breath for a long time, but I attributed all my health problems to smoking, because I smoked like a locomotive. I suffered from pneumonia on my legs, then again, again... When everything ended well, I got out of the cancer center, although without a lung, but alive (Vitorgan is the pride of Kashirka!), Alla and I thought a lot about how such a thing could happen to me trouble. We decided that the reason was in the semi-basement damp room of the branch of our theater on Sretenka, where we often had to play. Even now, 15 years later, driving past it, I begin to choke. Since then I have never been there. But after Allochka left, he started smoking again. Although I shouldn’t do this under any circumstances...
It was with great difficulty that Allochka forced me to get examined. She accompanied me to the hospital, Maksimka to school, and she herself (I later learned this from her friend) at that time walked back and forth around the empty apartment and literally howled. How did you endure it? How did you not fall apart? At the same time, she continued to work and play. And she answered all the questions from her colleagues in the theater with a smile: “Don’t worry, everything is fine with us.” She found the best doctors, turned herself inside out, tried to be cheerful and neither at home nor in the theater showed how hard it really was for her. We didn’t even tell my parents anything...
On the morning of January 9, 1987, I was taken naked on a gurney to the operating room. The entire teaching staff, almost the entire medical staff, gathered. I don’t remember whether the then chief physician Blokhin , but it’s certain that his wife was there. The students “had their internship” right there. At critical moments, you try to somehow defuse the situation, make a joke. “Well, one for all and all for one?” - I smiled. Someone was quick to say, “Aha!” After that, he covered my face with a mask. How Allochka found the strength to perform the play that day is still a mystery to me.
Many years later it is easy to talk about this. And then they didn’t bring me funeral wreaths to the oncology center. However, as soon as I came to my senses after anesthesia in the intensive care unit, I was already scribbling a letter to Allochka. There was some nonsense that she laughed at for a long time: “It’s raining and snowing over Stockholm. There is sun in Venice. Will there be a revolution in Zimbabwe? She read and didn’t believe her eyes, because I was very weak. But I so wanted to amuse her, to distract her from her worries.
I really liked giving pleasure to my beloved. Very... He often gave me tulips and wildflowers, for some reason I liked them more than others. It happened that she would go to bed without looking and find herself in a flower meadow. And on one of our visits to my parents in Astrakhan, we found ourselves in an amazing place: a backwater with lotuses. These are extraordinary flowers! So huge and so tender! You cannot tear them, even if you place them in their native water, they will still die quickly. But we had a chance to swim in the creek. Unforgettable impressions!
Emmanuel Vitorgan: “She pulled me into life by force” Read more
Tears welled up in Allochka’s eyes
- And you also really loved giving gifts to your wife on... your birthday. How was this tradition born in your family?
“I never liked being like everyone else, in the crowd.” New Year and International Women's Day were not enough for me; I wanted to give an unexpected gift, even if it was some kind of crap. And then one day, while on tour in Cherepovets, I decided to try it. I took a thick notebook, covered it with all sorts of events that happened to me, feelings, observations, added newspaper clippings, drawings, menus, napkins... and sent it all to Alla. Can you imagine how surprised she was? But I was pleased, and I loved this business so much that I began to practice. He could have taken mustard somewhere in the dining room and put it in an envelope along with the letter. When leaving home, he left “traces” everywhere. Let’s say, Allochka opened the closet, and there was some kind of “tuland”. I was making the child’s bed and came across a note in the crib. She went to bed herself and again found a letter under her pillow. But these are not gifts, just cute signs of attention. And for my birthday, by the way, I once gave her a bathrobe, painted all over with my name: Emmanuil.
I liked to give surprises to my parents too, until Alla forbade it. Mom and Dad were already old, and when I suddenly, without warning, flew to them, they got scared and cried.
But I tried especially hard on Alla’s birthday. After all, it’s during her vacation, on August 23, so I always wanted to come up with something unusual. One day we were in the House of Actors in Sochi and Maxim and I decided to prepare a surprise for her. We collected a lot of white plastic tables and chairs, put them right in the sea and brought our whole group of friends there. And one day in August a whole group was vacationing in Varna: Valera Garkalin , David Smelyansky , and other guys. And then one day, while swimming in the sea, I suddenly saw in the distance a yacht with scarlet sails. I quickly went to the local yacht club and made an agreement. Then I bought some toy pipes and drums. And on August 23, he put everyone on a small children's train and took them away. The guys were terribly intrigued, but I didn’t say anything to anyone. Why, guys, the whole of Varna was on ears. We got to the port, and there was a real yacht with scarlet sails! The friends' mouths dropped open in surprise, and Allochka's eyes welled up with tears. On this yacht under scarlet sails we began to celebrate her birthday. And after a couple of hours they returned to the shore and continued.
I loved giving surprises to Allochka. But in recent years I began to suffer, not knowing what to give. I really wanted the gift to last. She once mentioned that she had seen Coco Chanel perfume in Sheremetyevo. And suddenly I’m flying somewhere without her, I go to duty free, and there’s Coco. Such a thrill! Without any celebration, I gave my wife great pleasure.
We were often called the perfect couple. We honestly didn't understand why. In our families, it was common to take care of each other. My parents lived together for 60 years. Mom took care of me and my brother, she had a house and cattle. My father worked hard from morning to night and only when he retired at 70 did he begin to understand what a real family was. How they looked after each other when someone was sick! May God grant the young people such devotion and love! Mom left earlier. When she fell ill, dad did not let anyone near her. My brother and I shouted: “Hire a woman.” And he, old and weak, washed his mother himself, dried him, fed him...
“I won’t forgive betrayal, but just go for a walk!”
— You filmed a lot, you were often away. Has Alla ever been jealous of you?
“I was really away from home for a long time.” But this does not mean that there was always close attention to me as an artist. Once upon a time it didn’t exist at all, and I thought that I would die without knowing what popularity, fame, autographs, fans were. Allochka reassured: “You will have everything, dear!” And she turned out to be right. Then one theater magazine even called me “the Russian Stallone.” Women began to look at me, bring flowers to the theater, and say nice words. Alla was an actress herself, she understood that I needed it and, I think, was not jealous of such trifles. “I will not forgive betrayal. And so - walk, dance. “I allow it,” she said, laughing.
Although, I confess, I gave her reasons for jealousy. If I had to play love, I always tried to establish a trusting, warm relationship with my partner on stage or in films. I had to love the whole time I was filming, rehearsing or acting on stage. It seemed to me that it couldn’t be any other way in our work, otherwise falsehood would come out, the viewer wouldn’t believe such “love.” Maybe sometimes it went beyond the limits, Allochka was jealous.
Alla was a wise woman and did not pay attention to rumors, otherwise she would simply go crazy. And I have never had anyone closer and dearer than her.
— Emmanuel Vitorgan
While filming the film “The Grandmaster,” I had to kiss Larisa Malevanna . It seemed to us that the kiss was already quite long and passionate, but director Sergei Mikaelyan was still dissatisfied. After this film, I nicknamed him the country's main sexologist. He stood with a stopwatch and commanded: “More!.. More!..”
Then, there will always be “kind” people who will call and report. They thought they heard something - and now the wife was already upset. Thank God, I never threw tantrums or scandals. She was a wise woman and did not pay attention to rumors, otherwise she would simply go crazy. And I’ve never had anyone closer and dearer than her.
I wasn’t even jealous of Alla. The men looked at her, and I was happy. They looked at my wife with lust, and it was pleasant for me. However, Allochka never gave any reason to doubt her love. And I trusted her very much.
Emanuel Vitorgan and Alla Balter at the Slavic Bazaar restaurant, 1980. Photo: RIA Novosti/Galina Kmit
“Is it true that she didn’t consider herself beautiful?”
- Oddly enough, yes. After the performances, the audience very often admired her: “How beautiful you are, Allochka!” And she was offended, angry: “At least once someone said that I played wonderfully!” This was much more important to her. But I don’t know why Alla didn’t consider herself a beauty. She once told me that when she was at school, she was often told that her mother was beautiful. Alla was amazed: “What’s so special about her? The Russian teacher is truly beautiful: she has big gray eyes, thick lips and blond hair.” Probably everyone has a different concept of beauty. For me, there was no one more beautiful than Allochka. And I think it will never happen again.
She was a woman of God. Always in shape, well-groomed. With hair done, perfumed. You know, in the theater she was even considered a trendsetter of fashion and style. Although Allochka’s wardrobe could not be called luxurious. She just knew how to mix and match things, came up with something, invented something. Sometimes I was surprised: “Where did you get this new blouse?” Alla just laughed. She was an optimist and loved life. She never looked sick. And, even when this terrible period of fatal illness began, she insisted that operations be performed during vacation. Therefore, her colleagues did not know about her diagnosis for a long time: at the beginning of the season, she, as always, appeared in the theater, and everyone noted how wonderful Allochka looked. And she underwent difficult operations every year for three years.
Alla was treated by all our best doctors, both Israeli and American, I got some special medicines... But, apparently, we missed the moment when the disease could still be stopped.
— Emmanuel Vitorgan
At first I still hoped that the diagnosis was wrong. And the doctors instilled such hope. However, the leukemia progressed very quickly. Alla was treated by all our best doctors, both Israeli and American, I got some special medicines... But, apparently, we missed the moment when the disease could still be stopped.
Allochka was preparing for her first operation, and I had to go to Israel with the theater. The situation was almost hopeless: I really didn’t want to leave her alone, but I couldn’t disrupt the tour. Alla insisted on the trip. I called her from morning to evening, spending all the money I earned in Israel on negotiations. But we did not let our colleagues down.
Then she worked for a year, it seemed to us that the worst was over. But the metastases went further. The next operation was necessary. On the spine. We took her to Israel, giving her the opportunity to play for another year after that. I think, to a greater extent, because Alla felt needed by the theater, she held on. I knew that being an actress, no matter what, was the most important thing in life for her, and I could not allow her to be left alone with her illness, sitting at home. There was no point in talking to her about this. Moreover, until the very end we tried not to change the usual rhythm of life, we even went on vacation to Turkey. I wanted so much to believe that everything would be fine...
But Allochka was forced to spend her last autumn in the hospital again. I held on as best I could, assuring my colleagues that she would soon be discharged, and they sent her tender, touching letters through me. In December she returned to the theater with such a thirst for work that everyone was amazed. Alla played in several performances.
And then it was my birthday, my sixtieth anniversary, and Evgenia Simonova danced our number from the play “The Adult Daughter of a Young Man.” Allochka admired us for a while, but couldn’t resist, jumped up and also joined in the dance. She did it so easily, so skillfully that I was stunned: sick, after a serious operation, in a corset!.. Still, she loved life very much.
A scene from the play “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” by T. Williams. Margaret - actress Alla Balter. Moscow Academic Order of the Red Banner of Labor Theater named after. Vl. Mayakovsky. Photo: RIA Novosti/Perventsev
Movies
Alla Davidovna made her debut in front of director's cameras in 1968, it was Ilya Averbukh's feature film “Degree of Risk”. The plot of the film tells about the medical everyday life of surgeon Mikhail Ivanovich Sedov, who has to perform a risky operation to replace a heart valve in order to save the patient’s life. In this film, Balter played the role of anesthesiologist Alla. The actress was lucky enough to work on the same set with famous movie stars: Boris Livanov, Innokenty Smoktunovsky and Alla Demidova.
Alla Balter in the film “Degree of Risk”
Alla Davidovna appeared in the next film only seven years later - the actress took part in the detective series “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts. Strike Back (1975), where she played the role of Lyalya. In the same 1975, Balter got the role of Lydia Pavlovna in Konstantin Khudyakov’s series “Such a Short Long Life.”
Alla Balter in the film “The Investigation is Conducted by Experts”
In 1980, the actress appeared in the cult Soviet film based on the novel by publicist Eremey Parnov “The Casket of Marie de Medici,” which tells the story of the mystical disappearance of the antique dealer Savigny. The police captains will have to find out not only the circumstances of the disappearance, but also visit the troubled 13th century to reveal the secret of the famous casket. In this film, Alla Davidovna got the role of Denise Monsegur, Madeleine’s mother.
Alla Balter in the film “The Casket of Marie de Medici”
Two years later, Alla Balter reappears on the film set. She played a woman nicknamed Mermaid in the drama Transit. This film tells the story of evil intent and treachery of fate. Two lonely people, Vladimir (Mikhail Ulyanov) and Tatyana (Marina Neyolova), meet under quite ordinary circumstances: a man was late for a train and met a woman who agreed to give the out-of-towner tea before the upcoming wait. During their fleeting communication, Vladimir and Tatyana realized what true love at first sight is, but the die is cast in such a way that the paths of their new acquaintances diverge in different directions.
Alla Balter in the film "Transit"
“The Last Visit” (1984) is the next film in Alla Balter’s filmography. This time, the charming actress got the leading role of Saira Burton, the wife of a journalist who was trying to make a sensation out of the involvement of the multi-billionaire Chever in dark events in the Latin American country. However, professional curiosity ruined Tom, so Sayre's widow began her own investigation, full of risk and intrigue.
Alla Balter in the film “Black Square”
In 1992, Alla Davidovna appeared in the film Black Square by Yuri Moroz, where Dmitry Kharatyan, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan and Vitaly Solomin also played. Balter played her last role (Tamily Shalvovna Bartosh) in the television series “Kamenskaya” (episode “Death and a Little Love”). The cast of this serial detective also included Elena Yakovleva, Sergei Nikonenko, Dmitry Nagiyev and other actors.
