Meta Luts

Meta Luts (5 September 1905 – 1 July 1958)[1] was an Estonian actress. Known mostly for her appearances on stage, she also performed in radio theatre and appeared in several films. Her career spanned nearly forty years.

Meta Luts
Luts in the 1920s
Born(1905-09-05)5 September 1905
Riidaja municipality, Estonia
Died1 July 1958(1958-07-01) (aged 52)
Tallinn, Estonia
NationalityEstonian
OccupationActress
Years active1923–1958
RelativesKarin Luts (sister)
Julius Gentalen (cousin)

Early life and education

Meta Luts was born in the rural municipality of Riidaja in Valga County to parents Andres and Juuli Mari Luts (née Gentalen).[2] She had two older sisters, Lonny and Karin, and a younger brother named Elmar. Karin would go on to become a successful painter and graphic artist.[3] Her first couisn was artist Julius Gentalen. The family moved to Pärnu in her early childhood where she attended primary and secondary schools and took dance lessons from Marie Kalbek-Maddi, who worked as a dance instructor for the Endla Theatre. Later, when instructors from the Estonia Theatre (now, the Estonian National Opera) came to Pärnu to offer theatre courses, she studied dance with actor and dancer Robert Rood and was convinced by her father's friend, Estonia Theatre director and theatre pedagogue Karl Jungholz, to become a stage actress.[1]

Career

Stage

In 1923, Luts began an engagement at Endla Theatre that lasted until 1925, when she joined the Estonia Theatre in Tallinn. Luts left the Estonia Theatre in 1949 to begin an engagement at the Tallinn State Drama Theater (now, the Estonian Drama Theatre), where she appeared as an actress until her death in 1958.[4] During her prolific stage career, she appeared in productions in works by such varied international playwrights and authors as: William Shakespeare, Henrik Ibsen, Friedrich Schiller, Adolphe Adam, Maxim Gorky, Pierre Beaumarchais, Aleksis Kivi, Franz Grillparzer, Anton Chekhov, Konstantin Trenyov, and George Bernard Shaw. Luts also appeared in a number of roles in productions of works by Estonian author and playwrights, including those of: Hugo Raudsepp, August Kitzberg, Hella Wuolijoki, A. H. Tammsaare, and August Jakobson.[1]

Film

In 1947, Meta Luts was cast in the role of Mrs. Emilie Värihein in the Herbert Rappaport-directed Lenfilm drama Elu tsitadellis. Luts had performed the role on stage the year previously. The film was based on the 1946 play of the same name by Estonian author and communist politician August Jakobson and was the first post-World War II Estonian feature film following the annexation of Estonia into the Soviet Union.[5] The plot largely revolves around the arrival of the Soviets following the German occupation of Estonia in 1944 and justice being meted out to Estonians who had collaborated with German occupying forces. The film ends with jubilant Estonians celebrating their "liberation" and inclusion into the Soviet Union; accepting the communist ideology. The film and was awarded the Stalin Prize.[6][7] Other prominent film roles include that of Paula in the 1956 Viktor Nevežin-directed historical drama Tagahoovis, based on the 1933 story of the same name by author and playwright Oskar Luts (no relation), for Tallinna Kinostuudio (now, Tallinnfilm); and the role of Heli's grandmother in the 1957 Aleksandr Mandrõkin-directed drama Pöördel.[8][9]

Death

Meta Luts died in Tallinn at age 52. She had never married or had children. She was buried at Metsakalmistu in Tallinn.[10]

Acknowledgements

References
  1. "Meta Luts". Eesti Entsüklopeedia (in Estonian). 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  2. Jaska, Vello (13 June 2006). "Juured hargnesid Riidajast pärit õdede radadele". Postimees (in Estonian). Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  3. Talvistu, Tiiu (June 2003). "Karin Luts: an artist and her time". Inferno: Journal of Art History Volume 8 (2003). Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  4. "Luts, Meta". Valgamaa kodulooline andmebaas ISIK (in Estonian). 2005. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  5. Jill Nelmes, Jule Selbo. Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Springer, 2015. ISBN 9781137312372
  6. "Lia Laats: noorena kogusin filminäitlejate pilte ja kleepisin albumisse, see oli minu jaoks kättesaamatu maa. Siis äkki mängisin ise filmis!". Postimees (in Estonian). 10 August 2002. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  7. Joosepson, Alo. The Enemy in Estonian War Films. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  8. "Meta Luts". Eesti filmi andmebaas (in Estonian). 2018. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  9. "Kommunistliku Eesti Esimen Kino: Lavastaja-näitleja Gunnar Kilgas (77) räägib Ilmar Pallile oma filmitee algusest esimeses ENSV mängufilmis "Elu tsitadellis"". Keskus (in Estonian). 31 January 2004. Retrieved 22 January 2019.
  10. Purje, Pille-Riin (2010). Draamateatri kuus tippnäitlejannat (in Estonian). Tallinn: Eesti Teatriliit. ISBN 9789985860557.
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