Olga Knipper Olga Knipper Olga Leonardovna Knipper-Chekhova (; – 22 March 1959) was a Russian and Soviet stage actress. She was married to Anton Chekhov. Knipper was among the 39 original members of the Moscow Art Theatre when it was formed by Constantin Stanislavski in 1898. She played Arkadina in "The Seagull" (1898), played Elena in the Moscow premiere of "Uncle Vanya" (1899), and was the first to play Masha in "Three Sisters" (1901) and Madame Ranevskaya in "The Cherry Orchard" (1904). Knipper married Anton Chekhov, the author of these plays, in 1901. Knipper-Chekhova played Ranevskaya again in 1943, when the theatre
Uncle Vanya Serebryakov is an immoral waste of vitality. Astrov is forced to depart to attend a patient, but not before delivering a speech on the preservation of the forests, a subject he is very passionate about. Act I closes with Vanya declaring his love for an exasperated Yelena. The dining room, several days later. It is late at night. Before going to bed, Serebryakov complains of being in pain and of old age. Astrov arrives, having been sent for by Sonya, but the professor refuses to see him. After Serebryakov is asleep, Yelena and Vanya talk. She speaks of the discord