Maria Zankovetska
Maria Kostiantynivna Zankovetska, née Adasovska (4 August 1854, Zanky village in the Chernihiv region — 4 October 1934, Kyiv), was a Ukrainian theatre actress and a coryphaeus of the Ukrainian stage. From the age of ten she studied at a private boarding school in Chernihiv and later took vocal lessons in Sveaborg. In 1875 she married the officer Khlystov (divorced 1888). Her professional debut took place on 27 October 1882 in Yelysavetgrad as Natalka in Kotliarevskyi's 'Natalka Poltavka'. She performed in the troupes of Kropyvnytskyi, Starytskyi, Sadovskyi, Saksahanskyi and Karpenko-Karyi. In 1918 Hetman Pavlo Skoropadskyi granted her a lifetime state pension, and the same year she founded the 'Ukrainian Troupe under the direction of M. K. Zankovetska'. In 1922 she became the first woman to receive the title of People's Artist of the Ukrainian SSR. Among her more than thirty roles were Natalka, Halia, Kharytyna, Olena, Tsvirkunka, Aksiusha and Aza. She is buried at the Baikove Cemetery in Kyiv. The Lviv Ukrainian Drama Theatre bears her name.Collection1