VAHE SHAHVERDIAN: METAKSIA HAS BEEN AND WILL REMAIN BEAUTIFUL FAIRY-TALE AND UNIQUE CHARM OF ARMENIAN THEATER
Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Apr 10 2006
YEREVAN, APRIL 10, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. “Metaksia has been
and will remain the beautiful fairy-tale and the unique charm of the
Armenian theater. I don’t know and can’t say when a new Metaksia will
be born in the Armenian theater. Her place on the stage is vacant
up to this day,” Vahe Shahverdian, Art Director of Gabriel Sundukian
National Academic Theater, declared at the April 10 event dedicated
to well-known actress Metaksia Simonian’s 80th birth anniversary. Vahe
Shahverdian said that he is always angry when he hears such expressions
as “a beautiful actress”, “an attractive actress” addressed to
Metaksia as Metaksia became beautiful and attractive on the stage as
“her charm had a talent and her talent had a charm”. This was the
talent of being unusual and unique that Metaksia had on the stage. The
evidence of this are numerous roles the talented actress played with
an attraction and charm no one else has ever played on the stage
of the Armenian theater”. According to V.Shahverdian, Metaksia
Simonian’s best role was the role of Nastasya Philipovna in the
“Idiot” by Feodor Dostoyevski. At the Moscow tour in 1970, this role
played by the actress was estimated by well-known theatrical critics
Svobodin and Rudniski as “the best Nastasya Philipovna in the Soviet
Union”. “For unknown reasons, the Armenians have never spoken about
this. The theatrical world did not like her. The theatrical world
persecuted her. I can ground my words by articles and publications
written about her at that time,” V.Shahverdian declared. According
to the Art Director of the National Academic Theater, the actress
having an exclusive talent should have been buried in the Pantheon
after Komitas: “She should rest near the other Armenian great figures.
Metaksia’s place is there”. Vahe Shahverdian also mentioned that a week
of performances will be held on the occasion of the 80th anniversary
of the actress with the participation of theaters of Armenia, Artsakh
and Tbilisi, which will be concluded by a distribution of prizes.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress