Yuri Solomin was admitted to the hospital on February 16, 2021 with coronavirus. The head of the Maly Theater is alive, returned home after illness on February 26 and is eager to go to work.
At the turn of 2020-2021. Coronavirus has claimed the lives of many great actors. Therefore, when the press reported that 85-year-old Yuri Solomin was urgently hospitalized on February 16, fans of his talent began to worry about his health. The situation worsened when it became known that the actor did not contact doctors until recently, until he developed a high temperature and a test confirmed COVID-19. Doctors and relatives did not give any comments, they only said that Yuri Methodievich’s condition was stable, which did not reassure, but on the contrary, caused anxiety. After all, in 2012 he underwent gallstone surgery, and since 2021 he has been treating diabetes; before that he suffered clinical death during an unsuccessful operation.
Good news appeared on February 26, 2021. Theater director Tamara Mikhailovna told RBC that Solomin had been discharged and would be home very soon.
“A car followed him and would take him home. He feels great and really wants to go to work.”
Childhood and studies
In the family of music teachers, the Solomins, the eldest son, Yuri, was born in 1935. His childhood was spent in Chita, where he realized that he would connect his life with the theater. The boy’s father tried to develop his acting abilities, but his mother dreamed that her son would become a surgeon.
Yura took part in performances at the local House of Pioneers, and during the war he performed in a military hospital. The actor fondly remembers the years spent in Chita and does not like it when his small homeland is spoken of as a province.
“I love the province - I’m from there. I studied at the institute in Moscow, and before that my whole life was in Transbaikalia. There they taught me everything - how to live, how to respect, how to despise someone, how to even hate.”
His fate was determined by chance. The boy watched the film “Maly Theater and Its Actors” at the local cinema, after which he firmly decided that he should become one of them. He looked at the address of the establishment at the end of the tape and remembered it. But he could not know that his whole life would be connected with the Maly Theater, but he firmly decided to go to Moscow to enroll.
At the Higher Theater School named after. M.S. Shchepkina Solomin successfully completed 2 rounds. But a misfortune happened: his father, waiting for his son in the park, was robbed. They took everything: money, documents, tickets. It was unclear what to do next. Familiar Chita residents helped and bought Methodius a ticket. Yuri flatly refused to leave. He told this incredible story in front of the selection committee, after which Vera Nikolaevna Pashennaya replied: “Then stay.” So Solomin became a student in the People's Artist course.
A doctor's mistake almost caused the death of Yuri Solomin
In the life of Yuri Solomin there was an unpleasant incident related to hospitals. In 2002, he was hospitalized with severe pain in the stomach. They took him to the clinic and did a gastric lavage because they thought it was poisoning. But it turned out that he had an inflammation of the appendix, and during the procedure it was torn.
After this he was sent to a hotel, and after a while he became so ill that he could not move. The performance was out of the question. The ambulance crew rushed him to hospital when they realized what had happened. Despite the fact that he was on the verge of death, the artist was saved. Now Solomin recalls that he then felt as if he were in flight.
That same year he suffered a great loss. Solomin’s brother, Vitaly, died. That day he played the main role on stage in the play “Krechinsky’s Wedding”, and held on until the last minute. When the curtain closed he sat down and could no longer get up. An ambulance took Vitaly to Sklifosovsky, but they could not save him.
At the same time, Yuri Solomin later said that on that day, opening his eyes, he saw his late father in front of him. When he closed and opened his eyes again, he was no longer there. But the artist realized that something serious had happened. Soon he learned of his brother's death.
https://youtu.be/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy-43x4h6lw
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Popularity
The fate of Yuri Solomin is inextricably linked with the Maly Theater. He began playing there in his second year, and after graduation he was accepted into the troupe. Since 1985, he headed the theater, where he remains artistic director to this day.
Boris Lyubimov, theater critic
“Yuri Methodievich Solomin worked at the Maly Theater for sixty years, and this is a unique story. In fact, it is even longer and begins with the Shchepkinsky School, which he entered in 1953. From a young age, as a student, he appeared in crowd scenes and found the legendary “old men” of the Maly Theater Yablochkova and Turchaninova and their partners.”
But Solomin’s finest hour came when he began acting in films. Usually, when his name is mentioned, the Soviet film “His Excellency’s Adjutant” comes to mind.
Still from “His Excellency’s Adjutant”
But even earlier, Yuri Methodievich starred in the Soviet-Italian film “The Red Tent,” where Sean Connery and Claudia Cardinale also played.
It was the role of Captain Pavel Koltsov that brought popularity to Solomin and gave him a pass into world cinema. After watching the film, Akira Kurosawa invited the actor to star in his film “Dersu Uzala”. The cult movie received an Oscar, which Yuri Methodievich, who played the main role, learned about later.
Still from “Dersu Uzala”
His filmography includes more than 100 films, the most popular:
- “Walking in Torment”, 1974;
- "Blockade", 1974–1977;
- “An Ordinary Miracle”, 1978;
- "The Bat", 1978;
- “TASS is authorized to declare...”, 1984
The last movie Solomin starred in was “Boulevard Ring” in 2013.
“I really love old Soviet films. But I almost never watch new ones. Or I turn on the TV when I know that my students are playing there.”
In the summer of 2021, the director turned 85 years old, but he does not plan to leave his favorite hobby.
Even after suffering from coronavirus, he plans to return to the theater.
"Age? The strength is leaving. But I gain them again over time, I recharge when I see a good performance: be it music, a play, ballet, football or gymnastics. Or, for example, little kids in different TV programs - the way they answer questions, sometimes you can die from laughter! And they do such acrobatic stunts that you think: God, what a great guy. I also really love films about animals, thank God, they are shown a lot - both ours and foreign ones.
And of course, the most important thing in my life is the Maly Theater. I am a happy man. I have a Theater House"
To the point! Why did Elina Bystritskaya, Maly Theater actress, die?
Theater
Yuri Methodievich devoted his entire life to his native Maly Theater. He first appeared on its stage when he was in his 2nd year. The actor played a craftsman in the production of “Ivan the Terrible.” Other roles followed, small and large, but each time he gave 150 percent on stage, gained experience, honed his skills, and revealed his talent.
His partners on stage at that time were such masters as Mikhail Tsarev, Boris Babochkin, Mikhail Zharov, Igor Ilyinsky. Already in his youth, Yuri Solomin became one of the leading actors of the theater. The turning point for him was Khlestakov from Nikolai Gogol’s comedy “The Inspector General”. Later he played Bezais in the play “When the Heart Burns” and Misha in the production “The Chamber”. His lyrical charm and subtle humor captivated the audience.
Yuri played superbly in the plays “The Deep” and “The Living Corpse,” which gave him a start as a dramatic actor. The man was helped by his natural knowledge of psychology - he plunged into his characters so deeply and accurately that critics never doubted his talent.
On the stage of the Maly Theater, Yuri Solomin appeared in diverse roles. The actor was involved in more than 50 performances, including “Uncle Vanya”, “Virgin Land” and others. He treated Chekhov’s work with special reverence; in the theater he was called a Chekhov actor. He considers his best theatrical work to be his role in Uncle Vanya.
As a director, Yuri Methodievich also preferred the classics. His works include the plays “The Seagull”, “Three Sisters”, “Dowry”, “The Inspector General”. In 1988, Solomin became artistic director of the Maly Theater. He still works in this position today. In the early 90s, Yuri Solomin was the Minister of Culture of the RSFSR for a year.
In 2016, the actor received the Golden Mask theater award in the category “For Contribution to Art.”
Friends and acquaintances
Yuri Methodievich is a conservative person and monogamous. There were many friends in his life, but his family always remained in the foreground.
And he had many students - almost all the artists who passed through the Maly Theater.
Boris Lyubimov
“I am not touching on such incarnations of him as directing or teaching work at the Shchepkinsky School. I’ll just say that all the actors who have come to the Maly Theater over the past 30 years are in one way or another connected with Solomin’s pedagogical school.”
Yuri Solomin was urgently hospitalized in Moscow
It became known about the emergency hospitalization of the artistic director of the Maly Theater and People's Artist of the USSR Yuri Solomin. Information about this was confirmed by the theater’s press service, and they also reported that his condition had already returned to normal. While the artist is in the hospital, under the supervision of doctors.
Now Solomin is 84 years old and his health leaves much to be desired. The artistic director had a high fever for several days. He also suffered from severe pain. At the same time, he was at home, and went to the hospital for help only when his condition worsened sharply.
Solomin was not placed in intensive care. So far he is arriving in a regular ward, but it is too early to talk about discharge. Doctors prescribed treatment and are monitoring him. There was preliminary information that he had pneumonia. But the theater claims that this is a routine examination. For a long time, Solomin suffered from diabetes. His health is not in any danger now.
Personal life
Yuri and his wife studied together at drama school and got married in their 4th year. Despite the millions of fans who pursued the handsome actor and everyday difficulties at the beginning, the Solomin family remained exemplary.
With wife and granddaughter
They lived together for more than 60 years. In 2021, Olga Nikolaevna died.
Yuri Solomin: My wife Olga and I lived together for 62 years
Yuri Solomin has a daughter, Daria, and a granddaughter, Alexandra. Both are pianists.
Photo: GLOBAL LOOK PRESS
Olga Solomina, actress, professor of the department of acting skills, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation died on May 27. She was 88.
It so happened that a few days before this sad event, Komsomolskaya Pravda spoke with Yuri Solomin, her husband, artistic director of the Maly Theater. The reason for the conversation was his upcoming birthday - on June 18, the actor will turn 84 years old. In the conversation, Solomin hinted that a person close to him was sick, and he had alarming premonitions. It was clear that Yuri Methodievich was talking about his wife.
"Apologized for the braid"
— Yuri Methodievich, how did you find your soulmate?
— Olya and I studied at the Higher Theater School named after M. S. Shchepkin with our teacher Vera Nikolaevna Pashenna. One day in her last year, Olya came running to class, and there was only one free seat left - next to me. She sat down and since then we have been inseparable. Together for 62 years.
Vera Nikolaevna Pashennaya loved Olya very much. And when I saw her long braid for the first time, she said: “Why did you braid yourself such a braid?” Olga was confused: “This is my own braid.” Vera Nikolaevna didn’t believe it: “It can’t be! Come on, let it go!” Olga dismissed. After this, Vera Nikolaevna apologized to her.
—Are you a devoted person? Often men look for younger women...
— Olya and I have always been looking for creative self-realization. You know, I rarely give interviews, but now the weather outside is good, and I don’t really want to go home. The circumstances in the family are difficult. And I don’t want to sit at home alone. A loved one is sick in the hospital...
- Wife?
- I don’t want to talk about it. I listen to my intuition. And now there are some premonitions that I don’t want to listen to. For people in our profession, all this is developing very well...
The artist with his wife Olga. In her youth, the girl had a very remarkable braid.
Photo: SOCIAL NETWORKS
Learn from the beasts of devotion
— Artists often get married and divorced.
— It depends on the people, I know many famous, good artists who have lived with their soulmate and have lived for decades. We must learn, for example, from animals, dogs, cats, birds, how to treat our children and each other. Something happened to us a few years ago. I went out into the yard and saw people standing. It turned out that a dog had been hit. She was lying there, and a male dog was sitting next to her and snapping at everyone. It was as if he was saying: come on in, we’ll sort it out without you.
I left for work. But this picture sank into my soul. I arrived home, and the male continued to sit next to her. They brought him food. But he didn’t eat... It was true love and devotion.
— What breeds of dogs do you have now?
- Mongrels. I have had dogs and cats at my dacha for 10-12 years. A good place. They are fed there. To relax, I always go to the country. Not to Crimea or abroad, just a few days with my “guys” is enough for me. How they greet me! So much joy and barking and squealing and licking...
Became Minister of Culture by accident
— You had the opportunity to work as the head of the Ministry of Culture. How did this happen?
— It was 1991. I was walking with my granddaughter at the dacha. I saw a black car pull up. "We're behind you." I say: “Where are you taking me?” "To the big house." They probably watched big films with my participation and decided at the top that I could do this kind of work (at the Ministry of Culture - Ed.). And then I was already the artistic director of the Maly Theater. I say: “No, no, I can’t become a minister now. I won’t give up the theater.” They answered: “And who forces you to work, if you can, both in the theater and in the Ministry of Culture.” So it was for a year and a half: before six o’clock I am a minister, and after six I am an artist.
Then he left because they wanted to merge the Ministry of Culture with another organization.
Didn't compete with brother Vitaly
— Did you and your brother have creative jealousy?
- To be proud - yes, but to be jealous - no... I’m almost seven years older than my brother. Last year I was in Chita on tour. The first thing I did was find the maternity hospital where Vitalka was born in 1941. I often remember my brother and sometimes talk to him in my mind... It’s bitter to lose loved ones.
AND THERE WAS ANOTHER CASE
“My father started drinking to get rid of the KGB”
— I read that your father liked to drink?
“When I became an adult, he tried to explain to me where it all started. After my grandfather’s arrest (in 1938), he was often summoned to the authorities. He was a well-known person in the city (he ran the House of Folk Art), and sociable. They wanted to involve him in the so-called cooperation. He was very burdened by these challenges. One late evening, after another conversation, he, upset, went out into the corridor to smoke. And there is a neighbor, an NKVD worker. They got to talking, and his father told him that he did not want to cooperate with the authorities, but did not know how to refuse. A neighbor advised him to compromise himself. And the father “compromised” himself - he started drinking. Then I couldn’t stop anymore. He was a very gifted man. He treated his mother and us children well.
I am grateful to my parents for trying to introduce me to real high art since childhood. For example, my father once took me to see the film “Rome - Open City.” Children under 16 were not allowed to attend, but through his connections he took me to the Pioneer cinema. I sat stunned and cried with delight.
LIFE STORIES
State Prize and Curses
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After graduating from college, Solomin was almost drafted into the army. He was about to go to the assembly point, shaved bald, when two prominent figures from the Maly Theater intervened in his fate. Yuri Solomin recalled: “One day I came to the theater already shaved. The actors were surprised. I explained, then they forced me to go to Mikhail Ivanovich Tsarev. Together we went to Elena Nikolaevna Gogoleva. She urgently went somewhere. Later I found out that she went to the Minister of Defense Malinovsky (he took this post in 1957) and explained everything to him. He said: “Of course, let him stay. He will do more for the army in theater and cinema...”
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“When I saw myself for the first time on the screen (in 1959, in the film “Sleepless Night.” - Ed.), I was horrified. Only one thought was spinning in my head: “Oh my God, what a freak I am! The nose is crooked, the ears are at different levels, the eyes are slanted, and even lame”... In general, I didn’t like myself when I was young - I was just a freak. Now, in my opinion, I have become much better..."
***
“One day the State Prizes of the RSFSR were to be awarded,” Solomin recalled. — I returned home, already with a bonus, late in the evening. Raising the collar of his coat and pulling his cap over his eyes so as not to be recognized, he went down to the subway. The journey was long: to Belorusskaya, then on bus 167 to home. Buses ran rarely in those years and were always overcrowded... When it was time to get off the bus, it turned out that the passengers were so compacted that it was almost impossible to break through this wall to the exit. I regretted that I was traveling on the bus incognito. Now shouting that you are the very “adjutant of His Excellency” was both pointless and ridiculous. I literally had to fight my way to the treasured doors. In response, curses and sometimes very painful pokes were hurled at the back. Liberation cost several uprooted buttons, stained trousers and bruises on the back. The day when I became a laureate of the State Prize of the RSFSR ended so sadly.
The most famous film roles
“His Excellency’s Adjutant” (1969) - Pavel Andreevich Koltsov
“Dauria” (1971) - Semyon Nagorny, blacksmith, Bolshevik
“Walking through torment” (1974) - Ivan Ilyich Telegin
“An Ordinary Miracle” (1978) - innkeeper Emil
“TASS is authorized to declare...” (1984) - Vitaly Vsevolodovich Slavin, KGB Colonel
"The Bat" (1978) - Heinrich Eisenstein
Works as a film director:
“The Scandalous Incident at Brickmill” (based on the play by J. Priestley, 1980)
“The Shore of His Life” (1984) - directed and played the main role by Nikolai Miklouho-Maclay
“The Inspector General” (jointly with E. Ya. Vestnik and M. E. Orlov, 1985)
"Three Sisters" (television play, 2005)
