Mitrofan Ivanov-KozelSkii

(stage name of M.T. Ivanov). Born 1850; died Jan. 15 (27), 1898, in St. Petersburg. Russian actor.

Ivanov-KozePskii began his stage career in 1869 in Zhitomir. He worked with the N.N. Diukov Kharkov troupe in 1873–74 and began touring Russian cities in 1875. Two of his early important roles were Zhadov in Ostrovskii’s A Profitable Post and Chatskii in Griboedov’s Woe From Wit. He was a favorite among the democratic intelligentsia; his acting was characterized by warmth, sincerity, and simplicity. His best performances displayed the splendid national character traits of the Russians: their nobility, courage, daring, and kindness.

Ivanov-Kozel’skii was also a gifted tragedian; he played Hamlet and Shylock in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and The Merchant of Venice, Uriel Acosta in Gutzkow’s play of the same name, and Kean in Genius and Debauchery by Dumas pére. The 1880’s saw the growth of political reaction, and the theme of the lonely man suffering from unbearably harsh social conditions began to appear in Ivanov-Kozel’skii’s art. He played “small people”—for example, Rozhnov in V.A. Krylov’s Woe-Misfortune and Sergei Artamonov in Arkad’ev’s There’s No Escaping Fate —with warmth and sympathy.

Ivanov-Kozel’skii’s artistry was a transition between the heroic style of his predecessors, P.S. Mochalov and N. Kh. Ryba-kov, and the “neurasthenic” acting of the 20th century, brilliantly exemplified by P.N. Orlenev, Ivanov-Kozel’skii’s student and admirer.