Lia Koenig

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Lia Koenig

Lia Koenig , also Leah Koenig, (born November 30, 1929 in Łódź , Poland ) is an Israeli actress .

Life

Family and childhood

Lia Koenig comes from a family of actors. Her parents were esteemed, recognized actors. Her father Joseph Kamien (1900–1942) was one of the founders of the Vilna Troupe , an outstanding Yiddish theater company that decisively influenced, modernized and led to new artistic paths in the Yiddish theater at the beginning of the 20th century . Her mother Dinah Koenig (1907–1964) appeared as an actress in various genres of Yiddish theater; she played a wide repertoire ranging from the Yiddish "Shund" Theater to the classics of theatrical literature.

During the Second World War , Koenig fled the Soviet Union with her parents ; her parents performed briefly in Tashkent as a result. After Kamien's death, her mother married the Jewish actor Isaac Chavis (1911–1991). After the end of the Second World War, Koenig moved with her mother and stepfather to Romania , where the family settled in Bucharest . Her mother Dina Koenig received an engagement at the Jewish State Theater in Bucharest.

Education and career in Romania

At the age of 17, Koenig began her acting training on the advice of actor, writer and playwright Zevi Stolper (1922–1998). Stolper recognized her talent and promoted her acting career. She completed a two-year acting course at the Jewish State Theater in Bucharest, where she was mainly taught using the Stanislavski acting method. She played her first major roles at the Jewish State Theater in Bucharest. These included Toinette in The Imaginary Sick , Havah in Tevye, the Milkman in Sholem Alejchem and Katarina in Alexander Ostrovski's play Thunderstorm . In 1957 she played the title role in a stage version of Anne Frank's diary . Her portrayal was considered outstanding because, as a grown woman, she was able to convincingly portray the then 13-year-old Anne Frank . For her performance she received a prize from the Romanian Ministry of Culture.

Career in Israel

In 1961 Koenig went to Israel with her husband Zevi Stolper. She received numerous role offers for Yiddish theater in Israel, which she initially turned down. After arriving in Israel, she learned Hebrew in four months and received an engagement at the Habima National Theater , Israel's national theater . Her first role in Hebrew was Eva in Bertolt Brecht's play Herr Puntila and his servant Matti (1962). Shortly afterwards she played Eve in Aaron Megged's piece Genesis (1962): for this she received the Joseph Klausner Prize.

Koenig was part of the Habimah Theater ensemble for over 40 years. Koenig was considered a “virtuoso actress with a charismatic stage presence.” Her repertoire ranged from cabaret to the representation of realistic figures. She portrayed a large number of characters. In the following period, however, she was often given only smaller roles in plays that were sometimes of little importance, as she largely escaped the stereotypes of the theater cast.

In the 1970s, Koenig took on numerous roles of mature women under the direction of director David Levin . She played the old woman in Eugène Ionesco's play The Chairs (1970); 1975 followed the title role in Brecht's mother Courage and her children . She had other leading roles as Naomi in Kaddish by Allen Ginsberg (1976), as Tsirel Horwitz in A Simple Story Based on Motifs by Samuel Agnon (1979) and as the shopkeeper Leitche in Hillel's play Makolet (English: The Shop ; 1982). In the 1980s she became the "First Lady" of Israeli theater with her age roles. The representation of older charismatic women made her famous nationwide in Israel. She played u. a. Mahlah in Jacob Gordin's play Mirele Efros (1987), in which she played two different roles , Lyubow Andrejewna Ranjewskaja in The Cherry Orchard (1988), Levivah Popoch in Hanoch Levin's play The Labor of Life (1989), Claire Zachanassian in The Visit of the Old Lady (1994) and the Old Woman in Three Great Women by Edward Albee (1997). She also appeared in her husband Zevi Stolper's monodrama Stars with No Heaven , which is based on Yiddish plays.

Parallel to her career at the Habima National Theater, Koenig became one of the leading actresses in the Yiddish theater in Israel. Her husband Zevi Stolper often translated and adapted pieces for Koenig, which he tailored to her acting skills. In the 1960s Koenig and Stolper went on tour with Yiddish plays. In the years 1968-69 both performed together in South America .

In 1999 the playwright Hillel Mitte wrote the role of Marga Weisberg especially for Lia Koenig in his play The Tourist's Guide to Warsaw . Koenig played the role in the 1999 premiere at the Habima Theater. In June 2013 Koenig took over this role again at the Yiddishpiel Theater in Tel Aviv .

In September 2014 Koenig performed at the De Doelenzaal Theater in Amsterdam at the age of 85 . She interpreted, in Yiddish and Hebrew, highlights of her stage career and sang with piano accompaniment.

Movie and TV

Koenig has played various roles in Israeli cinema and television since the 1970s. However, the focus of her artistic work was always her theater work. In the movie Kisses, Kittens and Camels (1971), the actor and musical star Shmuel Rodensky was her partner. In 2013 Lia Koenig appeared in the film Hannas Reise , a German-Israeli co-production shot in Israel. She embodied the Jewish Holocaust survivor Gertraud Nussbaum. The role was Koenig's international cinema debut.

Awards

Koenig has received several awards as an actress in the course of her career. In 1986 she received the Israel Prize for her outstanding performance as an actress. In 1999 she received the Israeli Theater Prize for her life's work (The Theater Lifetime Achievement Award). She also received the Rosenblum Actor's Award (1997), the Moshe Halevi Theater Prize, the Kinor David Prize and Theater Awards from the City of Tel Aviv for her roles in The Chairs (1970) and Mother Courage (1975). In 2008 she received an honorary doctorate from Tel Aviv University . 2012 received the Emet Prize for Art, Science and Culture in the category "Acting".

Private

In 1950 she married her mentor, the actor, director and author Zevi Stolper in Bucharest. The marriage lasted almost 50 years; she remained childless. Stolper died in 1998.

Filmography

  • 1970: Lupo (feature film, Israel)
  • 1971: Kisses, Kittens and Camels (Movie, Israel)
  • 1971: Hedva Ve'Shlomik (TV series, Israel)
  • 1980: Al Tishali Im Ani Ohev (movie, Israel)
  • 1995: Zihron Devarim (movie, Israel)
  • 1999: Kadosh (feature film, Israel)
  • 2000–2004: Shemesh (TV series, Israel)
  • 2007: Melech Shel Kabzanim (movie, Israel)
  • 2011: Yom Nifla (short film, Israel)
  • 2013: Hannas Reise (feature film, Germany / Israel)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Lia Koenig ; Vita; Weizmann Institute of Science. Retrieved June 25, 2015
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g LIA KOENIG as Gertraud ; Vita in the press booklet for Hanna's trip . Retrieved June 25, 2015
  3. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j Erga Netz: The First Lady of Israeli Theater Biography. Retrieved June 25, 2015
  4. ↑ a b Center's A Visitors Guide to Warsaw - in Yiddish MidnightEast on June 17, 2013. Accessed June 25, 2015
  5. ↑ a b c d e Lia Koenig-Stolper ( Memento of the original from June 26, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Vita; 2012 Laureates of Emet Prize. Retrieved June 25, 2015 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / en.emetprize.org
personal data
SURNAME King, Lia
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Koenig, Lea; Koenig, Leah; Koenig-Stolper, Lea (married name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Israeli actress
DATE OF BIRTH November 30, 1929
PLACE OF BIRTH Łódź , Poland