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hero. He had a profile like on a
coin, was very expressive and showed a powerful temperament.
In 1985 Simonov
directed “The Three Ages of Casanova”. He combined
three plays by Russian poetess Marina Tsvetaeva in
one, making up a new title. Knyazev played the young
Casanova, while Vasily Lanovoy played the mature,
and Yury Yakovlev - the old Casanova. Knyazev
learned a lot from such eminent stage partners.
The public loved
this performance. The play was long and every time
it received a standing ovation in the end. Later on, Knyazev got the part of Don Juan in Pushkin’s
“Little Tragedies”. However, the times were changing.
The high style was becoming a thing of the past and Knyazev had turned to the part of cocaine-addicted
Count Obolyaninov, which demonstrated his ability to
play characters in deeply dramatic situations. G.Chernyahovsky, who directed “Zoyka’s Flat”, put up
a performance about people who were unable to give
up their old ways and to find a new role for
themselves in modern times.
In 1992, Knyazev met famous theatre director Petr Fomenko,
who was staging “The Trial” by Sukhovo - |
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Kobylin, in which the actor got the part played of clerkShilo. The part was small, but it led to further joint
work which became very important for both – in terms of
creativity and their personal relations . Knyazev played in
all major performances directed by Fomenko. In 1993, he
played the part of Neznamov in Ostrovsky’s “Guilty Without
Guilt”, for which he received the State Prize; in 1996 – the
pat of Germann in Pushkin’s “The Queen of Spades”; in 1999 –
the part of Ashill in “St. Anthony’s Miracle”. These were
the major stages of the actor’s life work. Petr Fomenko
became his mentor.
However, Fomenko went to
set up his own theatre. New plays were staged at Knyazev’s
home stage – the Vakhtangov Theatre, but he was not
satisfied with them. This was the time of self-search. Two
Moscow theatres offered him places, but he refused. In the
end, he remained true to his old Vakhtangov Theatre.
In 1999, director S. Golomazov staged the play “The Homage to Eve”. He reworked
the play in many ways and put up an elegant story about the
passionate and the compassionate aspects |
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