Soviet postcard, no. A 11254, 1966. Photo: G. Vajpja.
Soviet postcard, no. A 07692, 1969.
Joining an illustrious family of Georgian filmmakers
Ariadna Vsevolodovna Shengelaya née Sprinck (Russian: Ариа́дна Все́володовна Шенгела́я) was born in Tashkent on in 1937. Her father, Vsevolod E. Sprinck, was a German-born scientist, economist, and translator who spent a significant amount of time in Stalin's labour camps.
In 1960, Ariadna completed her studies at the All-Union State Institute of Cinematography (VGIK) in Vladimir Belokurov's class. During her studies, Ariadna made her film acting debut in the romantic drama Ekaterina Voronina (Isidor Annensky, 1956) as Irina. The film was watched by 27.8 million Soviet viewers. She appeared in two other films while still a student at the Institute of Cinematography: the Opera film Yevgeni Onegin / Eugene Onegin (Roman Tikhomirov, 1959) and Evgeniya Grande / Eugenia Grande (Sergei Alekseyev, 1960). For Yevgeni Onegin, Ariadna won the II All-Union Film Festival's Award for 'Best Actor' in 1959. The film is a screen version of the famous 1879 opera 'Eugene Onegin' by Pyotr Tchaikovsky, based on the 1825-1832 novel in verse by Alexander Pushkin. Her role was sung by Galina Vishnevskaya.
Her delicate, aristocratic beauty and her old Greek name, Ariadne, were liked by the audience. She appeared in such intriguing films as the Fyodor Dostoevsky adaptation Belye nochi / White Nights (Ivan Pyriev, 1959), starring Oleg Strizhenov, the musical comedy Ostorozhno, babushka! / Be Careful, Grandma! (Nadezhda Kosheverova, 1960) opposite Faina Ranevskaya, and the romantic drama Granatovyy braslet / The Garnet Bracelet (Abram Room, 1964). For her performance in The Garnet Bracelet, she was selected Best Actress in a 1965 poll by the publication 'Soviet Screen'.
On stage, Ariadna Shengelaya played the roles of Anne Frank in 'Anne Frank's Diary' by E. Goodrich and A. Heckett and Cleopatra in 'Caesar and Cleopatra' by George Bernard Shaw. Ariadna joined the troupe of the Griboedov Russian Dramatic Theatre in Tbilisi, in the Georgian Soviet Socialist Republic, and worked for the Grouzia-film production studios. She married director Eldar Shengelaya and changed her last name from Sprinck to Shengelaya.
Her husband directed her in such films as the romantic drama Belyy karavan / The White Caravan (Tamaz Meliava, Eldar Shengelaya, 1963), which was entered into the 1964 Cannes Film Festival, and the masterpiece Sherekilebi / The Eccentrics (Eldar Shengelaya, 1974). By her marriage, she joined an illustrious family of Georgian filmmakers. Her mother-in-law, actress Nato Vachnadze, was one of the biggest names in Georgian cinema, who tragically perished in an aeroplane disaster. Her father-in-law, Nikolai Shengelaya, was a well-known film director. Their sons, Eldar and Georgy, also achieved success as filmmakers and won numerous significant international accolades. Georgy wed the well-known actress Sofiko Chiaureli. Ariadna and Eldar had two daughters: actress Natalia 'Nato' Shengelaya (1958) and Ekaterina Shengelaya (1967).
Soviet postcard. Ariadna Shengelaya in Yevgeni Onegin / Eugene Onegin (Roman Tikhomirov, 1959).
Co-productions with Hungary, East Germany, India and China
Ariadna Shengelaya appeared in many Georgian films, including the classic comedy-drama Ne goryuy! / Don't Cry! (Georgiy Daneliya, 1968). In Hungary, she played in the Hungarian-Soviet epic musical-drama Szerelmi álmok – Liszt / Dreams of Love – Liszt (Márton Keleti, 1970) based on the biography of the Hungarian composer and pianist Franz Liszt.
In East Germany, she appeared in the drama Goya – oder der arge Weg der Erkenntnis / Goya or the Hard Way to Enlightenment (Konrad Wolf, 1971), starring Donatas Banionis as painter Francisco Goya. The film, based on a novel by Lion Feuchtwanger, was entered into the 7th Moscow International Film Festival, where it won a Special Prize.
In 1980, Ariadna Shengelaya and her husband divorced, and that year, she became a member of the cast of the Gorki Film Studio. She appeared in the family film Uchenik lekarya / The Doctor's Pupil (Boris Rytsarev, 1984) and the drama V Krymu ne vsegda leto / Not Every Year in Crimea (Villen Novak, 1988).
Shengelaya played the role of the Queen Mother in the Indian-Russian coproduction Ajooba / Черный принц Аджуб / Wonder (1991) starring Amitabh Bachchan as the Prince of the Kingdom of Baharistan. The film was produced and directed by Shashi Kapoor and also co-directed by the Soviet filmmaker Gennadi Vasilyev. The Superhero film was loosely based on Arabic folklore, such as 'One Thousand and One Nights'. It was the last successful collaboration between the Indian and Soviet film industries.
She also appeared in a Chinese-Russian coproduction, the fairytale Volshebnyy portret /The Magical Portrait (Gennadiy Vasilev, 1997). Her final screen appearance was in the TV film Babi Yar (Lyudmila Shtogarenko, Nikolay Zaseev-Rudenko, 2002) with Elina Bystritskaya. Ariadna Shengelaya was designated a People's Artist of Russia and the Georgian SSR in 1979, respectively (2000). Her second husband, actor Igor Koptchenko, died in 2003.
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 1641, 1961. Ariadna Shengelaya and Yulian Panich in Ostorozhno, babushka! / Be Careful, Grandma! (Nadezhda Kosheverova, 1961).
East German postcard by VEB Progress Film-Vertrieb, Berlin, no. 145/71. Ariadna Shengelaya in Szerelmi álmok – Liszt / Dreams of Love – Liszt (Márton Keleti, 1970).
Sources: Wikipedia and IMDb.
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