Disappointments in love and serious illnesses: the difficult fate of Galina Volchek
'03.01.2020'
Source: StarHit
The playwright built a brilliant career, but put an end to her personal life: two unsuccessful marriages and an affair with a married man assured her that it was better to be alone. In recent years, Galina Volchek was seriously ill, and her body could not cope with complications after pneumonia, writes "StarHit".
In theatrical circles, the solid and uncompromising Galina Volchek was often called the Iron Lady. Another nickname was attached to her - the “top”, which perfectly describes the director’s active work. Galina Borisovna was respected, idolized, and sometimes feared, but it was impossible to reproach her with an unfair attitude to the actors.
The playwright treated the charges as relatives: always ready to help with at least advice, at least financially, she made Sovremennik her family. However, plunging headlong into creativity, Galina Volchek neglected her lovers and husbands.
However, devotion to the theater did not always become the reason for breaking Volchek with the chosen ones. According to rumors, Evgeny Evstigneev cheated on Galina Borisovna. Be that as it may, in recent years the director chose to spend alone, being content with a company of colleagues and friends. There was plenty of love in her heart: what was the touching interaction of the playwright with the children of Alla Pugacheva Lisa and Harry, with whom she replaced her grandmother.
Since 2013, reports about the hospitalization of the artist have appeared on the web more and more often. On December 19, the director celebrated her 86th birthday, and on the 23rd it became known that she was in intensive care with bilateral pneumonia. Unfortunately, Galina Borisovna could not be saved, and on December 26 she died after a serious illness. We recall the difficult but bright fate of Galina Volchek.
Actress and Director
Galina Borisovna grew up in a family of cinema workers: her dad, Boris Volchek, shot the films “13” and “Pyshka”, and her mother, Vera Maimina, was a famous screenwriter. The girl loved to read, and her father hoped that she would connect fate with the Literary Institute. But could a child who saw the interesting life of actors and directors choose a different path?
Following the call of the heart, Galina Volchek entered the Moscow Art Theater School. From the very beginning, her creative biography was full of bright events. A year after graduation, the artist, along with Oleg Efremov, Evgeny Evstigneev and Oleg Tabakov, founded the Studio of Young Actors, which soon became known as Sovremennik.
In the 60s, the activities of Galina Borisovna as a director, and not an actress, began, and in 1989 she took over as the artistic director of the theater. How successful Volchek was as a director, it is easy to judge by the fame of her performances: “Two on a Swing” for 30 years enjoyed the love of fans of “Sovremennik”, and “Ordinary History” received the USSR State Prize. When a playwright, the Russian troupe played for the first time in a long time on tour on Broadway. By the way, from the 70s Galina Volchek began to film the plays so that even more viewers saw her “The Cherry Orchard”, “Three Comrades” and “Hurry to Do Good”.
In parallel with the theater, Volchek's career in cinema also developed. She made her screen debut in Don Quixote as a maid. Galina Borisovna quickly gained a reputation as a talented and memorable artist: the audience easily recognized her even in small episodes. So, in Beware of the Car, she played a customer in a store, and this short scene graced the film.
On the subject: Actress and director Galina Volchek passed away
Volchek did not refuse negative roles, knowing that in them it is possible to reveal new facets of talent. In the fairy tale “About Little Red Riding Hood”, she appeared in the image of an evil wolf, and in “The Little Mermaid” she brilliantly performed the sea witch. The bright works of Galina Borisovna were the paintings “Autumn Marathon”, “Unicum” and “Russian Project”, and in her last movie “Mysterious Passion” she played herself.
Galina Volchek was respected not only at home, but also abroad. She often went abroad to teach, and in Russia she lit the stars.
“Galina Borisovna lifted me from the floor in the literal sense of the word,” recalled actor Vladislav Vetrov. - At first I lived in the dormitory of Sovremennik and slept in pieces of wood, because there was no sofa in the room: there were not enough funds to buy, I had to endure! Colleagues knew about the problem, but no one could help out. Once at a rehearsal Volchek called to her. I remember that the light was fading in the hall. I ask: "What is it?" And she whisper: “Take it! It’s on the sofa, ”and holds out the money. I was confused because of her perseverance. Counted, there were about five thousand rubles, more than enough. Then he returned everything, of course. I’m still wondering who told her about my situation. ”
It is symbolic that in 2018 Volchek again presented the play “Two on a Swing” on the stage of Sovremennik, from which she began the director's path. The circle closed: the play was the last work of the playwright in the theater.
Unhappy love
Together with Yevgeny Evstigneev, Galina Borisovna created the theater, so it is not surprising that feelings broke out between like-minded people. The actors got married, and soon their son Denis appeared. Alas, the child could not keep parents together for a long time. It is worth paying tribute that Evstigneev was a wonderful father, but his husband turned out to be unfaithful.
“Eugene sometimes bothered Denis more than I did,” Volchek noted. - At night I went up to the bed and listened to the baby’s breathing. Every day brought him a balloon: other toys were expensive. And yet one day I told my husband a phrase that put an end to our family life: “If you have the courage to betray me, then why is it not enough to admit it?”
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Self-sufficient and strong, the actress divorced her husband. But then she was not going to put an end to her personal life. The second husband of the artist did not belong to the theater world: Doctor of Technical Sciences Mark Abelev taught at the Engineering Institute. For almost 10 years, the scientist put up with the fact that "Contemporary" wife devotes more time than home, but eventually gave up.
“We broke up because I was jealous of the theater. In addition, she did not dare to children, I think, because of her love for the theater and for the profession. Then it seemed to me that our marriage was dead. Every day is a theater, ”Abelev complained in an interview for the film“ Galina Volchek. They know that I love them. ”
Could such a strong personality as Galina Borisovna find a companion to match? “I had two husbands, several novels, and one misconception,” she said, referring to the last disappointment of the common-law spouse, whose name she refused to even utter.
So who was Volchek's chosen one? “This is a married physicist named Volodya, whom Galya loved very much,” said Tatyana Putievskaya. - She went from Mark to Vladimir. True, the physicist was very ill with her mother, so it was difficult to make time for meetings. ”
It was rumored that the family of a physicist became a stumbling block in the relationship of lovers: he did not dare to leave his wife. The director was tired of waiting, and in the usual harsh manner, she ordered the chosen one to never call her again.
In recent years, the playwright lived alone, noting that this is natural for a person who "sold himself into slavery to the theater." However, Sovremennik replaced Galina Borisovna’s family long ago, and she reciprocated, always helping her colleagues.
“I will always try to figure it out, help,” Volchek said. - And not only to the leading artist. The team is not one of the actors. I remember I went to ask for one of our workers, whom I respect and appreciate very much. His situation was terrible: in one room in a communal apartment several people lived plus a sick child. In the prefecture, I had to step back three tall flights before I got to the right office. Thank God, an apartment was given to our employee. ”
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Severe illness
Age spares no one, and Galina Borisovna has long been faced with health problems. So, in 2013, she underwent cataract surgery, and a year later she was in intensive care with heart block. Then the director’s colleagues consoled the fans: the playwright didn’t even cancel the rehearsals of the theater, being sure that she would soon get on her feet.
In March 2015, relatives of Volchek again had reasons for concern: serious back problems brought her to Israel. For help, the director turned to a well-known surgeon who had surgery on the spine, Evgeni Plushenko. Galina Borisovna went to the doctor not alone, but with friends - Alla Pugacheva and Alina Redel.
In 2016, the director was hospitalized in the clinic of the capital. Information about her condition was contradictory.
“We can say that now Galina Volchek has complications after the flu,” explained representatives of the StarHit artist.
Volchek's list of ailments was soon supplemented with lung problems. To improve her health, she flew away to rest in a sanatorium in Italy. The question hung in the air: what if something happened to Galina Borisovna, who would replace her as artistic director? The director herself noted that she would pass the “baton” to the famous artist Valery Fokin, and later appointed Chulpan Khamatova as her deputy.
December 19 Galina Volchek celebrated her 86th birthday. Nothing boded ill, but on December 23, the director complained of chest pain, and after calling an ambulance, the doctors transported her to the clinic. Literally a few hours later, the artist fell into a coma. Doctors diagnosed the playwright with bilateral pneumonia and a blockage in the pulmonary artery. Galina Borisovna was connected to a ventilator.
Unfortunately, despite the efforts of doctors, the director’s weakened organism could not stand the next complication: brain atrophy began, atelectasis developed, which made breathing difficult. December 26, Galina Volchek died at the Botkin Hospital. Colleagues until the last hoped that the director will get out. "Contemporary" as if orphaned, having lost a brilliant leader.
