Vera Maretskaia

Born July 18 (31), 1906, in Moscow. Soviet Russian actress. People’s Artist of the USSR (1949).

In 1924, Maretskaia graduated from the studio-school of the Evgenii Vakhtangov Theater and entered the theatrical studio of Iu. A. Zavadskii (later known as the Theater-Studio Under the Direction of Iu. A. Zavadskii; from 1936 to 1940 the theater was in Rostov-on-Don). In 1940 she joined the Mossovet Theater in Moscow. Maretskaia’s first important roles were Glafira in Ostrovskii’s Wolves and Sheep, Betty Dorlange in Verneuil’s The School of Defaulters, and the title role in Trenev’s Liubov’ larovaia (in Rostov-on-Don). She has performed in films since 1925 (Katia in The Tailor From Torzhok ). Her portrayal of Aleksandra Sokolovna in the film Member of the Government in 1940 particularly won her popularity. Maretskaia’s best stage roles have included Mirandolina in The Innkeeper by Goldoni, the title roles in Mashen ’ka by Afinogeriov and Nadezhda Durova by Lipskerov and Kochetkov, and Zhivka in Madame Minister by Nusic. Among her best film roles have been Praskov’ia Luk’-ianovna in She Defends Her Country (1943; known abroad as No Greater Love ) and Varvara Vasil’evna in The Village Schoolteacher (1947).

Maretskaia’s bold and brilliant theatricality is as natural as her lyrical expression. Her lyrical roles are marked by clarity of articulation, and in her most burlesque and grotesque roles she does not lose her natural charm. During Maretskaia’s long association with Zavadskii, she adopted the achievements of the psychological school of the Moscow Art Theater and the innovative discoveries of the Soviet theater of the 1920’s. A recipient of the State Prize of the USSR four times (1942, 1946, 1948, and 1951), the actress has also been awarded four orders and various medals.