The sight of Galina Volchek, exhausted by illness, in a wheelchair worried fans of the actress. Why Galina Volchek is in a wheelchair: health problems and the nervous work of the artistic director Family and children of Galina Volchek

On December 19, the wonderful actress and artistic director of the Sovremennik Theater Galina Borisovna Volchek turned 85 years old. Congratulate a talented woman on this significant date students, friends, and colleagues came. The President presented a huge bouquet of flowers to the birthday girl Russian Federation Vladimir Putin. Didn't miss my birthday close friend and Alla Pugacheva.

The celebration in honor of the birthday girl was held within the walls of her native Sovremennik Theater, which Volchek has directed since 1972. Galina Borisovna was handed a telegram signed by the first person of the state.

“Belief in the high purpose of art, a responsible attitude towards your calling, love for your native theater and spectators - were fully embodied in your inspired creativity and service Russian culture, people, country, have earned you unquestioned authority and great respect,” the message quotes Russian President Kremlin press service.

Kristina Orbakaite, who has recently been playing the main role in Galina Volchek’s play “Two on a Swing,” congratulated her director and teacher. And Alla Borisovna Pugacheva prepared a heartfelt speech for her dear friend.

The legendary women have been in close contact for many years and often appear together on various events. Looking at the photo, many did not fail to note that at 85, Galina Volchek looks no worse than Alla Borisovna Pugacheva, who is preparing for her 70th birthday. The director moves mainly on wheelchair, but this does not in the least prevent her from leading the theater productively.

Galina Volchek stood at the origins of the formation of the Sovremennik Theater. Together with a group of young artists led by Oleg Efremov, she created a troupe that brought fresh air in musty theater world. Galina Borisovna staged her first play when she was only 29 years old. It was she who was entrusted by the theater staff with leadership when Oleg Efremov was offered to head the Moscow Art Theater.

Galina Volchek's first husband was the famous artist Evgeny Evstigneev. In this marriage, their common son Denis was born. The family union lasted only nine years. Evstigneev had a romantic interest on the side, and Volchek herself packed his suitcase. Soon Galina Borisovna married Doctor of Technical Sciences Mark Abelev. He was smart and subtle person, but was terribly jealous of his star wife. Nine years later, this marriage also broke up.

Now Volchek relies on the help and support of his son in everything. Denis Evstigneev made successful career in cinema, as a director, cameraman and producer.

Galina Volchek is a Soviet and Russian theater director, actress and teacher, who in 1989 received the title of People's Artist of the USSR. In the theatrical environment, for example, it is called “ The Iron Lady" - they idolize and fear, respect and adore. Galina has done a lot in her life to raise culture to a high level, for which she became a holder of the Order of Merit for the Fatherland.

Galina Volchek was born in the early 30s in Moscow, into a family that was directly related to the stage and cinema. Galina’s mother, Vera Maimina, is a Soviet film screenwriter, and her father, Boris Volchek, is a famous director and cameraman who shot Soviet film hits “Pyshka”, “Thirteen”, “Lenin in October” and others.

As a child, Galya loved reading, so she rarely free time The girls passed without their favorite book in their hands. Seeing his daughter’s interest, the father pushed Galina to enter the only Literary Institute in the Union named after. But it is unlikely that a child who has absorbed the life of an actor and director from the cradle would have chosen a different path. Galina entered the Moscow Art Theater School, where she studied until 1955.

Theater

The theatrical biography of Galina Volchek is full of significant events from the very beginning. A year after graduation, Galina Volchek, together with Liliya Tolmacheva, founded the new “Studio of Young Actors”, which will soon turn into cult theater"Contemporary".

And if in the late 50s Volchek appeared on stage as an actress, then in 1962 Galina Borisovna began her directorial career, which would go down in the history of Soviet and Russian art. Looking ahead, we note that in 10 years Galina will become the main director of the theater, and in the late 80s she will head the theater as artistic director.

In 1984, Galina Volchek plays Martha in the production of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, and this role becomes Volchik's last appearance in the theater as an actress. From this moment on, the artist focuses on her directorial career.

Volchek’s first directorial experience brings tremendous success. This was a production of William Gibson's play “Two on a Seesaw,” which has not left the Sovremennik stage for more than 30 seasons. Two more significant works director - " An ordinary story"based on the novel and the play "Three Comrades" based on the novel by Erich Maria Remarque. The first of them brought Galina Volchek the USSR State Prize, and the second in 1999 “raised the ears” of Moscow and created a real sensation.

Galina Volchek was the first Soviet director to break the cultural blockade between Soviet Union and the United States. She staged several performances based on Russian classics in American theaters, including the famous Broadway, where the Russian troupe played for the first time since 1924. And these were not just performances “for show”. Volchek’s tours were awarded one of the most prestigious US national awards in the field drama theater- the Drama Desk Award, which for the first time in the long history of this award was awarded to a non-American theater.

The famous director shared her experience with the new generation, and taught mainly not in Russia, but abroad. For example, Galina Volchek recently conducted a course of lectures and practical classes at New York University.

Galina Volchek’s last production to date was William Gibson’s play “Two on a Swing” in 2015. This is the same work with which Volchek’s directorial career began. Fans see a mystical and cyclical meaning in this and note with sadness that the first work may be chosen by the director for production specifically in order to become the last.

Movies

Galina Volchek made her screen debut in 1957 in the film adaptation of the Spanish classic novel"Don Quixote", playing the role of the strong maid Maritornes. Then there were roles in the films “The Sinful Angel”, “A Bridge is Being Built”, “King Lear” and others.

Sometimes the actress appeared only in episodes, but she also made them bright and unforgettable. For example, in the tragicomedy “Beware of the Car,” she simply played a tape recorder buyer in a store, but managed to attract the attention of the audience in ten seconds.

In the fairy tales “About Little Red Riding Hood” and “The Little Mermaid”, Volchek has negative roles of the wolf mother and the sea witch, but in them the actress perfectly realized her own talent. The films “Autumn Marathon”, “Unicum” and “Tevye the Milkman” were also successful.

In 1996, the actress stopped acting in artistic paintings, but began to appear annually in documentary projects.

In the new millennium, Galina Volchek starred in a number of films dedicated to the actress’s colleagues: “The Life of Desdemona. ", "Unknown", ". Furious actor", "Three Loves", ". From hatred to love", ". A man with a past" and others.

The actress also starred in multi-part documentary projects “To Be Remembered”, “Idols” and “Film About a Film”, where she also talked about her colleagues, and not about herself. So far only books have been written about Galina Borisovna herself: “Galina Volchek. In the absurd and tragic mirror" by Gleb Skorokhodov, "Galina Volchek. As a rule, outside the rules" and "Galina Volchek. By itself” by Marina Raikina.

Galina Volchek tried herself in cinema and as a director. True, for a long time she simply filmed her best theatrical productions “An Ordinary Story”, “Hurry to Do Good”, “ The Cherry Orchard" and many others. But she also had experience filming original scripts, for example, the heavy psychological dramas “Echelon” and “ Steep route».

In 2015, Galina Volchek suddenly returned to television screens as an actress in a feature series. The actress played herself in the drama “Mysterious Passion”, a film adaptation novel of the same name. The series talks about real creative people of the last century, which, for the sake of artistic storytelling, bear fictitious but easily decipherable names.

Personal life

Officially, Galina Volchek was married twice. The first husband of the actress - famous actor Evgeny Evstigneev, with whom she lived for 9 years and gave birth to a son. The son of Volchek and Evstigneev also could not leave the world of cinema and became a director. The child did not save the acting marriage; Volchek and Evstigneev separated.

Volchek claims that she was the initiator of the divorce from Evgeniy Alexandrovich. Despite subsequent relationships, the actress did not have any more children; the son from Evstigneev remained the only child of Galina Volchek.

Galina's second husband is the Soviet scientist Mark Abelev, Doctor of Technical Sciences, who taught at the Moscow Institute of Civil Engineering. Their union also did not last long, and the couple divorced.

Galina Volchek’s third marriage was civil and lasted almost 10 years, but the director prefers not to remember this period. In her own words, she “had two husbands, several affairs and one misunderstanding.” After this relationship, she did not try to start a family anymore, considering that it was impossible to give herself completely theatrical activities and at the same time be a happy family man.

Galina Volchek’s main hobby, as the director likes to say, is “making stars.” Of course, you can’t argue that thanks to Galina Borisovna, the world learned about a huge number of artists. But if we talk about hobbies, it is worth noting that Volchek is a good fashion designer and has created a number of memorable outfits.

In 1995, Galina Volchek agreed to nominate her own candidacy for the elections to State Duma and entered the federal list of the electoral association “All-Russian socio-political movement “Our Home is Russia”.

For four years, the director sat in the State Duma and worked as a member of the Culture Committee, but in 1999, by her own decision, she left the walls of parliament.

Galina Volchek now

Recently, the 83-year-old star’s health has begun to fail. The director often ends up in hospitals, last time Galina Volchek was diagnosed with suspected pneumonia on March 21, 2016. After Galina Borisovna’s health condition stabilized, the director returned home.

Today Galina Volchek uses a wheelchair, but details about the director’s health are not disclosed. The press has not come to a consensus on this matter: some claim that Galina Borisovna is confined to a wheelchair and no longer walks, others adhere to the optimistic theory that the director is simply trying not to burden himself and give the body rest.

At the same time, a wheelchair does not prevent Galina Volchek from organizing creative evenings, meeting with friends and attending social events.

On April 28, 2017, Galina Volchek received the title of Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation with the wording “for special labor services to the state and people.” Also in 2017, Galina Borisovna celebrated a double theatrical anniversary: ​​60 years of working at Sovremennik, 45 of them as chief director.

Filmography

• 1970 - “King Lear”
• 1975 - “Waves of the Black Sea”
• 1977 - “About Little Red Riding Hood”
• 1979 - “Autumn Marathon”
• 1983 - “Unicum”
• 1983 - “Black Castle Olshansky”
• 1985 - “Tevye the Milkman”
• 1992 - “Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”
• 2008 - “Contemporary”
• 2010 - “Catherine III”
• 2015 – “Secret Passion”

The popularity of Galina Volchek has long gone beyond Russia. She is simply incredibly talented and hardworking, back in the 70s she was invited to America and Europe to give lectures, stage plays, and was given any stage of her choice. She practically lifted Sovremennik, long years is its permanent leader and ideological inspirer. Volchek not only stages performances, but is always ready to help any artist if suddenly his role doesn’t work out.

People's Artist of the USSR Galina Volchek was glorified by the theater. She is a famous director, actress and teacher. In her piggy bank there is a great variety theatrical productions. She doesn't have one in the movies leading role, but her minor heroines were never forgotten.

Childhood and youth

Galina Volchek was born on December 19, 1933 in Moscow, in a family of cinema workers. Father Ber Volchek (changed his name to Boris) is a renowned master of cinematography, cameraman and director, author of scripts for many films, has numerous prizes and awards of the USSR. His homeland is Vitebsk.

Mom Vera Maimina, screenwriter, graduated from VGIK. Her parents were Jews, but Galina herself recognized only Russian culture. She never saw her Jewish ancestors, she doesn’t know Yiddish, and she was raised by a Russian nanny. However, she was not ashamed of her origin. For many years she bore the middle name Berovna, and when her father became Boris, she straightened out her documents.

In the photo Galina Volchek as a child

Her parents divorced when Galya was still going to school. Mostly, after a divorce, children stay with their mothers, but Galina chose her father.

She had a very complex nature, the girl learned the taste of cigarettes early, dyed her hair and put a lot of makeup on her face. This all terrified her calm dad.

But this was after her parents’ divorce, and before that she was an ordinary “gray mouse”, wore constant pigtails on her head and did not let go of the book. The girl played her first role at the age of fourteen; she took a risk for the sake of a boy she liked. His parents were called to school, and the girl pretended to be his aunt. I put on my mother’s high-heeled shoes, put an incredible hat with a veil on my head, put on more makeup on my lips, and went to the head teacher of the school. The most incredible thing was that the head teacher did not notice the catch.

In those same years, she became friends with a neighbor, a student at VGIK, whose classmates were and. She often disappeared in their company, and despite the fact that she was much younger, she found a common language with them.

When the time came to go to college, dad strongly recommended that his daughter try her hand at the Gorky Literary Institute, but Galina insisted on her own and became a student at the Moscow Art Theater School. Volchek received her university diploma in 1955.

Theater

Only a year has passed since graduation from the institute, and many events have already happened in the biography of Galina Volchek. It was at this time that she and her colleagues decided to create the “Studio of Young Actors,” which later became the Sovremennik Theater.

In the late 50s, Galina was involved there as an actress, and since 1962 she became the director of this theater. Ten years later, she took the chair of the chief director of this theater, and in the late 80s she became its artistic director.

In 1984, Volchek appeared before the theater public for the last time as an actress. It was Martha in the play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf. After that, she devoted all her energy to directing.

Galina didn’t think about her career at all theater director, this was the advice of her friend - . At first she was even offended by him, because she decided that he considered her a useless actress. But life showed what it did right choice and reached unprecedented heights.

Galina Volchek's debut as a director was triumphant. She staged the play “Two on a Swing,” and for thirty seasons it was part of the theater’s repertoire. After this there were productions of “Ordinary History” and “Three Comrades”. The first work was awarded the USSR State Prize, and the entire Moscow theater audience was delighted with the second.

Galina managed to become the first among Soviet directors to go on tour in the United States. Thus collapsed cultural blockade between two countries. Her performances in Russian classical works were successfully performed in US theaters. The troupe even performed on their famous Broadway, and this was the first performance of a Russian troupe since 1924. After these tours, Galina Volchek received the most prestigious American award - the Drama Desk Award, which had previously been awarded exclusively to American theaters.

Galina Volchek’s biography also includes teaching activities, which she was engaged in exclusively abroad. She recently returned from New York University.

In 2015, Galina Volchek presented the audience with her latest production, “Two on a Swing.” This is exactly the performance from which the triumphant career of the eminent director began. Fans decided that Volchek specifically chose this performance to make it clear to everyone that the cycle was closed, and this production puts an end to her career.

Movies

Galina Volchek's cinematic career began in 1957, when she starred in the film Don Quixote. After this there were works in the films “A Bridge is Being Built,” “Sinful Angel,” “King Lear.”

Very often the actress is called to cameo roles, but they did not go unnoticed. In the film “Beware of the Car,” Volchek appeared in the role of the buyer of a tape recorder, but this insignificant shot did not escape the attention of the audience.

After that there was whole line films in which the actress again played supporting roles or appeared in episodes. In 1996, Volchek disappeared from feature films to participate in documentaries every year.

The new millennium brought to Galina Volchek's collection paintings about the life and work of her colleagues - Oleg Efremov, Evgeny Lebedev, Evgeny Evstigneev,.

Creative path Galina Volchek herself has not yet been filmed, although many books have already been written about her. Galina Volchek also has directorial work in cinema. At first she worked on film adaptations of her most striking theatrical productions, and then began filming real films. Volchek directed the films “Steep Route” and “Echelon.”

Galina Volchek’s return to cinema took place in 2015. She starred in the film “Mysterious Passion”, where she got the role of herself. The film tells the story of the life and work of artists of the last century, performing under invented names that are very well deciphered.

Personal life

In Galina Volchek’s personal life there were two official marriages. The first time she married, and their marriage lasted nine years. In 1961, their son Denis was born, who also became the successor of the glorious dynasty of directors. The birth of a child did not cement this marriage; the couple soon divorced.

Galina always told everyone that it was she who initiated this divorce. Afterwards she had a relationship, but she no longer has children. Son Denis only child Galina Volchek.

For the second time, Galina married the scientist Mark Abelev. He was a Doctor of Technical Sciences, a teacher at the Moscow Civil Engineering Institute. This marriage was also quite short.

Volchek lived in a civil marriage with her third husband for ten years, but she is trying to erase these years from her memory. Galina always jokingly said that she was married twice and had several affairs, one of which was a misunderstanding. After breaking up with common-law husband, Volchek no longer tried to arrange her personal life.

The woman came to the conclusion that she could not be torn in two between the theater and a happy family.

Galina Volchek considers her greatest hobby to be discovering new stars. And this is true, because a great many young actors passed through her hands, who, thanks to her care and participation, achieved something in this life. The director's talent in the field of clothing modeling has also awakened. Volchek knows how to create original outfits.

In 1995, Galina Volchek ran for election to the State Duma. For four years, she participated in all meetings of the Duma and was a member of the Culture Committee. In 1999, the actress left politics.

Health status

Galina Volchek often ends up in the hospital. In March 2016, the director was hospitalized and doctors diagnosed her with pneumonia. After the course of treatment, Volchek was discharged home.

Now she can only move with the help of a wheelchair, but what causes this remains a mystery. According to some statements, Galina does not walk at all and is forced to move in this way. And others believe that Volchek decided not to put a lot of stress on her body and allows it to rest.

Galina Volchek now

Even in this unusual form Galina Volchek did not disappear from theatrical life. She is still the organizer of creative evenings, meets with friends and attends social events.

In the spring of 2017, Galina Volchek was awarded the title of Hero of Labor of the Russian Federation. Thus the government recognized her invaluable contribution in development national culture and art. 2017 was the year of Galina Volchek’s double anniversary. Sixty years have passed since she worked at the Sovremennik Theater, and forty-five years as chief director.

Galina Volchek celebrated her 85th birthday on December 19, 2018. Naturally, at such an advanced age, she has health problems.

Theater productions

• 1962 - “Two on a Swing”
• 1964 - “On the wedding day
• 1966 - “An Ordinary Story”
• 1968 - “At the Lower Depths” by M. Gorky
• 1976 - “The Cherry Orchard”
• 1982 - “Three Sisters”
• 1988 - “The Scaffold”
• 1989 - “Steep Route”
• 1990 - “Murlin Murlo”
• 1994 - “Pygmalion”
• 1999 - “Three Comrades”
• 2013 - “The Gin Game”

People who have noticed drastic changes, like appearance actress and artistic director, and her lifestyle. the site tried to understand the situation and will give a reasoning answer to the question “Why in wheelchair».

Galina Volchek's health status

In fact, there is no need to panic; the woman feels quite self-sufficient. There are many health problems, but at her advanced age this is normal. Yesterday, December 19, the artist turned 85 years old. She managed to outlive the old-timers of Sovremennik, among whom we remember Oleg Efremov, Nina Doroshina, Oleg Tabakov... Moreover, Galina Borisovna is older than all those who started with her acting career many years ago: Valentin Gaft, Liya Akhedzhakova, Marina Neelova...

Therefore, all my life, all my creative career Galina Volchek dedicated it to the theater, which opened in 1956. She was one of the founding members cultural institution, and after the death of Oleg Efremov, she took his place, becoming the artistic director of Sovremennik.

62 years of faithful and devoted service for the benefit of the theater and spectators could not but affect their health People's Artist. IN Lately She uses a wheelchair, but Galina did not give any information about why she ended up in it.

However, the editors of JoinfoMedia became aware of the reasons why the artistic director spends most of his time in a vehicle. For the first time, Galina Borisovna was noticed in a stroller in 2017 in the Kremlin at an award ceremony. It was then that rumors like “paralyzed” began to arise, but everything turned out to be completely different.

Galina Volchek can move all her limbs without hindrance. The only reason she uses a wheelchair is because of back problems. She was diagnosed with an intervertebral hernia. Taking into account body weight and constant physical stress It is extremely difficult for the artist to walk without support due to pain. At the same time, the theater noted that since 2014 the pain has been increasing. For a long time she struggled with her condition, then decided to take care of herself and her health by using a wheelchair.

Typically, such situations require surgical intervention. However, given that spinal surgery is considered one of the most dangerous, the artistic director refused it, especially since no one will give a 100% guarantee anyway. She also refused because of a bad heart, and the intense and stressful work in the theater for so many years affected her nervous system, which also caused her to have lung problems and later led to hypertension.

However, despite the entire “track record” of illnesses, Galina Volchek, at 85 years old, continues to creative activity, she knows what the viewer needs and how to convey the idea to the actor, in which her experience as a chief director undoubtedly helped her. And even skirmishes with Chulpan Khamatova did not throw one of the best Russian artists of both the last and present century off track.

Deception of Chulpan Khamatova

The other day, Galina Volchek shared with the press a story that happened to her and Chulpan Khamatova. It turns out that Kristina Orbakaite plays one of the leading roles in the play “Two on a Swing” for a reason. She replaced the talented Chulpan Khamatova.

The performance, which was a success, almost closed due to one incident. Chulpan came to Galina Borisovna and told her that she needed a creative break for six months. She can't rehearse, perform, play, nothing. Volchek entered the situation and, of course, as one of the best artists her theater, she allowed me to take a break. But under the agreement that these six months the actress with Tatar roots will not take part in productions anywhere. Meanwhile, the star of “Moon Dad” disobeyed her director and simultaneously took up other work in other theaters.

As a result, after reflection, Galina Volchek decides to take on the role of Chulpan, whom she has loved since the release of the film “Scarecrow,” in the play. And according to the statement artistic director, she made the right decision, since Pugacheva’s daughter is doing an excellent job in her new role.

It should be noted that Galina Borisovna does not hold a grudge against Chulpan; moreover, she continues to claim that Khamatova is a very talented artist, but, of course, they don’t act that way.

Main photo: about.theatre

The funeral service took place in her native theater, and many colleagues came to say a few farewell words to Nina Mikhailovna.

Among them was Galina Volchek, who has headed Sovremennik for many years. Those present noticed that Galina Borisovna looked exhausted and sick.

84-year-old Volchek was brought to the funeral ceremony in a wheelchair. She barely held back tears and hid her swollen eyes under dark glasses. Galina Borisovna looked so sick that many thought she was paralyzed.

In fact famous actress and the director has not been able to walk fully for several years now due to severe pain in back.

Experts diagnosed Galina Volchek - intervertebral hernia. Discs weakened by a herniation poorly fix the vertebrae of the body along the physiological axis, increasing the load on the muscles and causing unbearable pain. With this diagnosis, emergency surgery is sometimes prescribed.

Galina Borisovna turned for help to the Israeli Center for Spinal Surgery, where one of the world's most famous specialists in this field, surgeon Ilya Pekarsky, works.

At one time, he performed spinal surgery on Evgeni Plushenko, helped Stanislav Govorukhin and others Russian stars. The main problem is that Volchek does not have a very strong heart, so the operation can lead to fatal consequences.

Behind last years Volchek was admitted to the intensive care unit several times with various diagnoses. The position of artistic director of a complex creative team brings stress and nervous situations every day.