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
The Cherry Orchard the day's events. Gayev is distant, virtually catatonic, and goes to bed without saying a word of the outcome of the auction. When Ranevskaya asks who bought the estate, Lopakhin reveals that he himself is the purchaser and intends to chop down the orchard with his axe. Ranevskaya, distraught, clings to Anya, who tries to calm her and reassure her that the future will be better now that the cherry orchard has been sold. Several weeks later, once again in the nursery (as in Act I), the family's belongings are being packed away as the family prepares to leave the