Nelly Weissel

Nelly Weissel (26 June 1920 – 13 August 2010) was a Uruguayan actress of the stage. Weissel's career as a South American leading lady spanned more than 40 years. Known for her headstrong independence and spirited personality, she regularly played strong-willed, sophisticated women. A long-time cast member of the Comedia Nacional, she was best known for her theatre roles as Mary Cavan Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's 1956 play Long Day's Journey into Night. Her performance in Huit Clos by Satre was praised among those of Katharine Hepburn and Cacilda Becker. Starring in several other performances, Weissel won Uruguay's Best Actress of 1959 and 1961.

Nelly Weissel
Born
Nelly Weissel Urbin

(1920-06-26)26 June 1920
Montevideo, Uruguay
Died13 August 2010(2010-08-13) (aged 90)
Montevideo, Uruguay
Occupation(s)Actress, director, author
Years active1950–1990
SpouseJuan Fernando Vieytes Pérez
ChildrenMaria del Carmen Vieytes

Early life

Weissel was born in Montevideo to merchant Leopoldo Weissel Hefele and Luisa Urbin, coming from a family of Austrian, Spanish and Italian descent.. While in Montevideo, she studied at the Deutsche Schule, after which she wrote a weekly column for La Mañana. Later, Weissel married the celebrated Uruguayan artist Juan Fernando Vieytes Pérez.

Career

In 1951, Weissel debuted in the Uruguayan theatre scene with her writing of and subsequent performance in the prize-winning play "Gabriela"; acted by the highly noted ‘El Tinglado’ theatre group.[1][2]

Fuelled by this success, in 1953 Weissel went on to create her own, later highly acclaimed, theatre company "La Escena" – later renamed to La Máscara.[3][4][5] Founded Escena alongside Rafael Bangueses, Estela Vera Neleis and others; each successful in their own right.[6]

Weissel's first major play at La Escena was "They Came to a City" by Priestley. A play on the experiences of various people who have come to live in their "ideal" city, and explores their hopes and reasons for doing so. During the period of success following, Weissel played several acclaimed roles in plays including as a titular character in Satre's Huit Clos, where her performance was praised among to that of Katharine Hepburn and Cacilda Becker.[7] In Tea and Sympathy by Robert Anderson, Nelly played the lead character Laura, who helped a boy further explore his homosexuality.[8][9] Later, Weissel also starred in Rodolfo Usigli's Corona de Sombras.[10] In 1959, Weissel was crowned Uruguay's Best Actress.[11]

Time at the Comedia Nacional

In 1961, Weissel joined the most prestigious theatre in Uruguay, the Comedia Nacional.[12][13][14][15][16] Here, she played her highly acclaimed role as Mary Cavan Tyrone in the Tony Award winning Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O’Neill alongside the also celebrated Uruguayan Actor, Alberto Candeau.[17][18][19]

She later won the 1961 award for Best Actress.[20] In her later life, Nelly had a temporary break from the theatre after an episode of her personal life forced her to pause her acting.[21] She re-joined the cast of the Comedia Nacional in 1972, and remained until 1990.

Plays from her career
Sketch published in El Pais
Year Category Film Result Winner
1959 Best Actress in Uruguay — Won —
1961 Best Actress in Uruguay — Won —

References
  1. "El teatro nacional está de duelo". LaRed21. 17 August 2010. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: Nelly Weissel, actress, author and director, was born in Montevideo on June 26, 1920 and was one of the founders of the La Mascara theater. Her acting career began unexpectedly when, author of a single work, "Gabriela" (El Tinglado, 1951), had to replace the actress who played the leading role.
  2. Calero, Jorge Pignataro (1994). Directores teatrales del Uruguay: 50 retratos (in Spanish). Editorial Proyección.
  3. El Uruguay de nuestro tiempo, 1958–1983 (in Spanish). Centro Latinoamericano de Economía Humana. 1983.
  4. Ullive, Ugo (2007). Memorias de teatro y cine. Trilce. pp. 133–134. ISBN 978-9974-32-465-7.
  5. Ehrlich, Ricardo (22 October 2009). "Se renueva La Máscara". Intendencia de Montevideo. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: El teatro La Máscara funciona en el edificio Ateneo Popular, ubicado en calle Río Negro 1180, propiedad del Sindicato Único de la Aguja. La IMM colaborará en las obras para la reapertura de esta sala.
  6. Teatro latinoamericano, siglo XX: selección de lecturas (in Spanish). Editorial Pueblo y Educación. 1989.
  7. Marcha (in Spanish). 1971. surely idealized, every spectator keeps Katherine [sic] Hepburn, Cacilda Becker or Nelly Weissel in the
  8. Thomas, Bob (17 May 1956). "Deborah Kerr Signs For Unusual Role". Associated Press at the Milwaukee Sentinel. Part 2, Page 15. Retrieved 8 November 2013.
  9. Américas. Vol. 12–13. Organization of American States. 1960. p. 25. The La Máscara group achieved a run of over a hundred performances with the well-known Tea and Sympathy, by Robert Anderson, with Nelly Weissel in the leading role.
  10. Municipales, Montevideo (Uruguay) Comisión de Teatros (1958). Revista (in Spanish).
  11. Wilcox, Robert (5 August 1963). "Carmen, 19, in U.S. With Little Cash but High Hopes". Press-Telegram. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
  12. Nacional, Comedia. "Nelly Weissel". Comedia Nacional. Retrieved 22 October 2018.
  13. Riccetto, María (1993). Teatro Uruguayo Contemporáneo. Ediciones Colihue. p. 41. ISBN 950-581-112-8.
  14. Muslera, Fernanda (13 June 2018). Sin maquillaje: Historias de la Comedia nacional en el Siglo XXI. Penguin Random House. pp. 4, 111, 113, 413, 796. ISBN 9789974888401.
  15. Reyes, Carlos (27 July 2018). "Como experiment, es interessante". El Pais. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: Lógicamente que quien recuerda... Nelly Weissel- esta ultima en el rol de Poncia, que ahora hace Bananita Gonzalez- en aquella version que la Comedia Nacional hizo en 1892.
  16. Reyes, Carlos (4 October 2017). "La Comedia Nacional Festejó 70 Años: Un estreno y cuatro ejemplos". El Pais. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: Jorge Triador encabezaba un elenco (en el que estaban Maruja Santullo, Sonia Repetto, Marina Sauchenco y Nelly Weissel, entre otros), dando vida a un personaje que recordaba su vida desde la postración y la vejez, mientras el autor deslizaba una mirada sobre el compromiso social y sus debilidades.
  17. "Tragedia NorteAmericana con Gran Elenco: Clásico que resurge en manos de Jorge Denevi". El Pais. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: I was always an admirer of Candeau, and I was always going to see what I was doing, even if I had bad reviews, which I often had, and in that work it was fantastic, I remember every moment that I saw, as something magical. Nelly Weissel, I remember very well what the characters' relationships were like, and now they are completely different, I know the theme of Candeau very well: it was an amazing modernity, it was of a plausibility, what I was doing was so absolutely clear. pompous: in some role he may have been.
  18. Guerra, Fabio (20 November 2014). "Comprame almidón". Brecha. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: —¿Recordás quiénes actuaban?- Recuerdo a Alberto Candeau, Delfi Galbiati, Nelly Weissel.
  19. Delgado, Juan María Vanrell (1987). La historia de la Comedia Nacional (in Spanish). Intendencia Municipal de Montevideo.
  20. Gerardo, Mantero (May 2015). "Entre el teatro y la novela negra" (PDF). Findesiglo. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: Fue mi primera obra representada en La Máscara, con dirección de Nelly Weissel. En ella apareció quien después sería uno de los grandes actores Uruguayos.
  21. Prieto, Ricardo. "Plays". Alternativateatral. Retrieved 22 October 2018. Background: 'MINOR SINS', starring Nelly Weissel after her departure from the National Comedy (1995).
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