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Boris
Asafovich Messerer

Russia • born in 1935

Biography and information

Member of the Union of Artists of the USSR.

 

(1933) Theater. artist, painter, graphic artist. The son of A.M. Messerer. Graduated from MARCHI (1956). He lived and worked in Moscow. Since 1959 he designed performances in Moscow. t-rakh, since 1990 gl. artist of the Moscow Art Theater. Close to dissident circles in his workshop on Povarskaya St. came up with the idea of uncensored alm. Metropol (1979, compiled by V. Aksenov, A. Bitov, Victor Erofeev, F. Iskander and E. Popov). Wife - poet B. Akhmadulin.

Corresponding Member of the Academy of Arts of the USSR (1991), People's Artist of the Russian Federation (1994), Laureate of the State Prize of the Russian Federation (1995).

 

Born March 15, 1933 in Moscow, the son of ballet dancer and choreographer A. Messerer and silent film actress A. Sudakevich. He graduated from the Moscow Architectural Institute (1956), where he studied under A. Deineka, visited the workshop of the graphic artist A. Fonvizin. In 1956-1957, as part of the author's group (A. Goncharov, A. Vasnetsov, V. Elkonin, I. Bruni) he worked on the Moscow panel for the main pavilion of the EXPO-58 exhibition in Brussels. The first theatrical work was the play The Third Wish of V. Blazhek in Sovremennik (staged by E. Evstigneev, 1960). Subsequently, Messerer’s collaboration with Sovremennik continued, he designed the performances of Snow White and the seven dwarfs L. Ustinov and O. Tabakov (staged by Tabakov, 1961), the older sister of A. Volodin (staged by B. Lvov-Anokhin, 1962), Appointment of Volodin (production by O. Efremov, 1963), Cyrano de Bergerac E. Rostan (production by Efremov and I. Kwashi, 1964), Princess and lumberjack M. Mikaelyan and G. Volchek (production by Volchek and O. Dahl, 1969).

 

After collaborating with Sovremennik, Messerer worked on scenography for performances of various theaters, including: Unfinished dialogue by V. Chichkov (dir. E. Simonov, 1976) and Three Ages of Casanova by M. Tsvetaeva (dir. E. Simonov, 1985) - at the Theater. Evgeny Vakhtangova; Next - the silence of V. Delmar (dir. A. Efros, 1969) and Ornifle, or the Through breeze of J. Anouil (dir. S. Jurassic, 1986) - in the Theater. Moscow City Council; The kid and Carlson, who lives on the roof of A. Lindgren (staged by M. Mikaelian, 1968), Suicide N. Erdman (dir. V. Pluchek, 1982, resumed in 1987), Tribunal V. Voinovich (dir. Pluchek, 1989) - at the Satire Theater; Sailing briefcase M. Zoshchenko (dir. O. Remez, 1966), Adventures of the gallant soldier Schweik J. Hasek (dir. Remez, 1971), Undergrowth D. Fonvizin (dir. Remez, 1975) - in the Theater named after Pushkin; Pokrovsky Gate L. Zorin (dir. M. Kozakov, 1974) - in the theater on Malaya Bronnaya; Circle of S. Maugham (dir. T. Akhramkova, 1988), Valencian madmen L.de Vega (dir. Akhramkova, 1990), Hunchback S. Mrozheka (dir. A. Goncharov, 1991) - in the theater named after Mayakovsky and others

 

Having started cooperation with Efremov in the Sovremennik in the early 1960s, Messerer later continued it, designing the performances of the Moscow Art Theater headed by Efremov Sweet bird of youth T. Williams (staged by V. Shilovsky, 1975), Prince and the Pauper S. Mikhalkov according to M. Twen (production by L. Tanyuk, 1980), The Tragedies and Comedians V. Arro (production by N. Skorik, 1991), Last Night by Otto Weininger E. Sobol (dir. G. Besser, 1991), Shards of Shattered, composition by J. Smolensky after A. Averchenko (dir. R. Sirota, 1991), From the life of earthworms of P.-U. Enquist (dir. M. Kochetkov, 1991), G out of their minds A. Griboedov (staged by Efremov, 1992), Milk van no longer stops here Williams (staged by V. Dolgachev, 1993), Mishin’s anniversary of A. Gelman and R. Nelson (staged by Efremov, 1994), Boris Godunov Pushkin (staged Efremova, 1994), Crime and Punishment according to F. Dostoevsky (dir. V. Sergachev, 1996), Ghosts of H. Ibsen (dir. Skorik, 1999).

 

In 1990-1997 Messerer - chief artist of the Moscow Art Theater. Chekhov. Messerer is also the author of scenography for a number of opera and ballet performances. At the premiere of his first ballet, Second Lieutenant Kizhe S. Prokofiev at the Bolshoi Theater (choreographers A. Lapauri, O. Tarasova, 1963) A. Tyshler said: "A new artist was born." Cooperation with musical theaters was fruitful: Cinderella of Prokofiev (Tbilisi Opera and Ballet Theater named after Paliashvili, choreographer V. Chabukiani, 1966), Carmen Suite by J. Bizet-R. Shchedrin (Bolshoi Theater, choreographer A. Alonso, 1967), Romeo and Juliet Prokofiev (Tbilisi Theater named after Paliashvili, choreographer D. Dadishkiliani, 1969), Levsha B. Alexandrova (Leningrad Opera and Ballet Theater named after Kirov, choreographer K. Sergeyev, 1976), Spartak A. Khachaturian (Yerevan Opera and Ballet Theater named after Spendiarov, choreographer V. Galstyan, 1978), The Nutcracker P. Tchaikovsky go (The Kremlin Ballet Theater, choreographer A. Petrov, 1993), The Little Humpbacked Horse Shchedrin (Bolshoi Theater, choreographer N. Androsov, 1999), etc.

 

Among the foreign works are The Queen of Spades (Leipzig, 1964) and Tchaikovsky Swan Lake (Sofia, 1981). Messerer designed television films and performances Give way to tomorrow (Next - silence) (dir. A. Efros, 1969), Enchanting comedy (bedbug). Dir. S. Yutkevich, 1971), Lev Gurych Sinichkin (dir. A. Belinsky, 1974), Twelve chairs (dir. M. Zakharov, 1980) and others. For many years he was engaged in the design of books. In 1980 he participated in the publication of the Metropol magazine together with B. Akhmadullina, A. Bitov, V. Erofeev and others. He also worked as a cartoonist, created costumes for folk dance ensembles.

 

He was engaged in easel painting, graphics, collage, installation. Member of Moscow, All-Russian, All-Union and foreign art exhibitions, including in London, Sao Paulo, Prague, Milan, Venice, Edinburgh, Boston. Solo exhibitions of the Messerer: MOSH of the RSFSR (Moscow, 1981), Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists (Moscow, 1983), Exhibition Hall of the Union of Artists of Georgia (Tbilisi, 1984), Palace of Arts (St. Petersburg, 1989), Central House of Artists (Moscow, 1990), State Museum of Fine Arts. A. Pushkin in conjunction with the Russian Academy of Arts (2000).