The National Theater “Ivan Vazov“ will recall moments from the life and creative path of the actor Petar Vassilev with an exhibition dedicated to the 115th anniversary of his birth. The exhibition will be opened today at 17:30 on the First Balcony as a sign of respect for the artist who left his mark in the history of Bulgarian theater. In front of FACTI, his daughter Rumyana Vasileva speaks.
- Mrs. Vasileva, on October 19, the National Theater will celebrate with an exhibition 115 years since the birth of your father Petar Vassilev. What do you most want the audience to remember, to learn about him through the exhibition?
- Those who have seen him on stage and on screen and have known him personally, remember him as a modest and frugal person, but as an actor with enormous energy on stage, mastering to perfection the great secret of complete reincarnation, a great artist of vivid stage images, who recreated an endless palette of Bulgarian and world drama.
And let those generations that come after him know that THEATRE was something sacred to him! That he grew up among those notable generations of great stage masters, that he knew what great art and great theater meant and for no reason would he allow compromises with his art.
- What was Petar Vassilev like at home — What was the difference between the man the audience knew from the stage and the father you knew up close?
- As he was with his colleagues, so he was with his friends, so he was with his family. Duplicity was absolutely alien to him. He was an artist only on stage, not in life. A great artist, but only in the theater!
As a father, he was exceptional! He dreamed of having a daughter and God gave it to him. My father watched over me like an eagle. I was the only child in the family, and at that, born late due to a number of circumstances... But he did not allow me any pampering, whims, etc. He was strict, but very fair. From the distance of many years, I can rightly say that he taught me many important things and prepared me well for life – responsibility, honesty, hard work, caring for those closest to him.
- Petar Vassilev dedicated decades of his life to the National Theater and created hundreds of stage characters. The recognition for him is great and he has not been forgotten. What feelings came over you when you were preparing the exhibition?
- It would not be moral to not first of all thank the current director of the National Theater - Mr. Vasil Vassilev, for his incredible responsiveness. Without his support, this would not have happened!
Everything I do related to my father excites me. He himself was very emotional and I inherited some of that.
- Which of his roles do you think most fully reveal his acting talent and is there an incarnation that remains particularly dear to your family?
- Each role revealed different sides of his talent. He played in comedies, in dramas, in tragedies. The range of his talent was very large. When years ago the great director Prof. Dr. Krustyo Mirski gave him in his production of “The Inspector“ by N. V. Gogol the role of Luka Lukich Khlopov says: “I can't imagine, Petre, a role that you can't do!“.
Personally, the most dear to me are the roles in which I have seen him since childhood! Mavrodi, Genko Ginkin, the King of Mordegundia, Svistikov, Kokichkov, Bridoison and more, and more, and more….
- You like to say that bohemianism was alien to him. What fueled his spirituality and how did he manage to maintain his curiosity and interest in art until the end of his life?
- He was interested in all the arts, in everything in the life around him. I don't remember a day when he returned home without a newly purchased book in his hand. He read a lot, he died with a book in his hand… He watched the performances in “his“ theater. But, not as an indifferent spectator. Everything simply excited him. He helped his young colleagues when they asked for help from him. He did it in a very discreet way, without beating his chest.
He maintained his spiritual and physical level with constant contact with nature, which he worshipped! He did not allow himself to be neglected, even in old age, neither spiritually nor physically! And, that is also great mastery, isn't it?
- What will the exhibition include — rare photographs, documents, memories of performances, personal shots?
- I have a huge amount of materials. But… Every exhibition has some limited possibilities. Therefore, the team that prepared it decided that it would only reflect his rich creative career, which lasted more than seven decades.
- You are also connected with the National Theater, so the preparation of this exhibition probably combines professional responsibility with very personal feelings. Is it difficult to present your father to the audience both as a great artist and as a close person whom you continue to carry in your memory?
- Without boasting, frankly speaking, it is not difficult for me. God granted him a very long life! (With this big age difference between the two of us, I could have been an orphan at 3, at 5, at 9 years old and… not have any memories of him) But we were together for many years. I have been going to this theater since I was a child. He took me to the theater, to performances, to rehearsals… I knew all his colleagues. I loved them! I remembered him perfectly as an actor, as a father, and as a person!
- What would you like young actors and today's audience to remember from Petar Vassilev?
- Let them know that he gave himself entirely to the audience. He never spared himself. He was on fire on stage. Even in rehearsals. He gave his whole heart and soul to the theater and the audience! Without any reservations!
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Petar Vassilev was born on October 9, 1911 in the village of Sladak Kladenets, Stara Zagora. He began his professional career on the theater stages in Varna, Plovdiv and Ruse, before becoming part of the troupe of the National Theater “Ivan Vazov“. Over the decades, he created hundreds of characters from Bulgarian and world drama, including Malvolio in “Twelfth Night“ by William Shakespeare, Zlatil in “Boryana“ by Yordan Yovkov and Luka Lukich in “The Inspector“ by Nikolai Gogol. An actor with a vivid stage presence and a deep interest in literature and the arts, Petar Vassilev dedicated his life to the theater, retaining his curiosity and spiritual energy until his last years.