Melpomeni Cobani (1928-2016)
Actress of the pioneering generation of the State Theater and Estrade. At the same time, she acted in several films of Kinostudio. “People’s Artist” & Order “Naim Frashëri” 1st Class.
Born on June 6, 1928 in Tirana with the name Melpomeni Mihal Cubonja on “Kavaja” street. She took part in the resistance movement during World War II, the reason for changing his last name to “Cobani”. From 1943, she took part in the amateur festivals of the workers in the “Mihal Duri” factory where she worked in the printing press.
In 1945, she became active with the theater group of the city of Tirana, from where she caught the eye of the “People’s Artist”, Pandi Stillu, who invited her to work as an actress in the “Teatri Popullor” (now the National Theatre). Thus, in 1947, she started as a propist in this theater, and a year later she became an actress. Her first role will be in the drama “Liza and Sula”. In this period, she breaks away from the theater to engage in sports activities.
Thus, as an athlete of the most famous sports club in Albania, “Partizani” Melpomeni would set several records in Track and Field, and become the country’s champion with this team in Volleyball and Table Tennis. In 1955, she finally returned to acting, but this time in the Estrada of Tirana. This is a troup for which Melpomeni Çobani was one of its co-founders in 1952.
The artistic activity would continue further with the establishment of the Puppet Theater and the participation in the humor transmission of Radio Tirana “Ora Gazmore”.
Her roles in the Theater have been many, both in dramas and comedies. Here we can mention Nena in the comedy “Motorri” by K. Jakove; Hajria in “Prefekti”; “Fejesa”, “Halili and Hajria”, “Rrenje te thella”, “Vajza nga fshati”; “Auditor” etc. Among all her roles performed during this period, the one in “Kopeshti i jargavaneve” can be singled out. The last role in the National Theater was the one in “Kopja e pare”.
During her 40-year career in Estrada, she performed more than 1,500 roles from the most diverse in short genres of humor and satire, with a free and spontaneous interpretive game, full of comic flair, in her roles she feels the characteristic colors of the types Albanian.
She has successfully interpreted the figures of talkative women, ladies, but those conceited and incompetent ones, as we can remember the monologue “Nikoqirja”, “Me mire syri se nami”, or those roles of mothers and proud women, some naive and uneducated but always loved ones and others who are often subjected to the dictates of men.
Here we can mention the monologues “Nene Sania”; “Zgjimi”; “Brigadieri”; as well as the skits “Pastruesja e zyrave”; “Ne stalla” etc.
She was one of the comic actresses who skillfully interpreted the monologue on various topics in which she created an endless gallery of characters. Such were the performances “Transferimi”; “Magic armchair”; “In search of events”; “Flowers of Life” a humorous version of “Othello”; “Engagement” etc.
In cinematography, she has an episodic role in the first Albanian Soviet film “Skënderbeu” and later in the first entirely Albanian film “Tana”. In other roles, we can mention those in the films “Kapedani”, “Estrada na ekran”, “Violin Strings”, “Radio Station etc.
For the merits her artistic work has been appreciated with many Awards and Titles, where through others we can mention in 1961 she was decorated with the title “Merited Artist” while in 1976 Melpomeni Çobani was awarded with the highest title “People’s Artist”. She received the “Brevery” medal and the “Remembrance” Medal. Cobani passed away on October 26, 2016 at the age of 88.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
1958 — Tana…..The wife of the chairman of the Cooperative
1968 — Estrada on The Screen…
1970 – – Bronze Bust…….wife of Bamkë Qylollari
1972 – – Captain…Conductor
1973 — Operation “Fire”…
1974 — The Youngest City in The World..
1977 — Circus in The Village ….Conductor
1979 — Radio station…
1979 — Face to face…..Bedrija, the cleaner
1983 — The Fracture…..Gardner
1987 — Strings for Violin……Aunt
1987 — A long year
1988 — Park benches.
Other monologues, skits, comedy and theater pieces:
“Engagement”; “Magic armchair”; “Lilac Garden”; “Liza and Sula” “Napoleon and Amalia”; “Troubleshooter”.
24/03/1949 — “The deep roots” of Xh. Gou. and A. Jusso
11/11/1950 — “Halili and Hajria” by Kolë Jakovo
04/03/1952 — “Revisory” by Gogol
30/04/1954 — “Girl from the village” by Fatmir Gjata
06/04/ 1969 — Besim Lëvonja’s “The Prefect” (Honored Artist)
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Albanian Cinematography in activity since 2013
Reference: Various news from Albanian online portals / “Albanian Encyclopedia, Theater and Cinematography” – Toena 2009 / p. 73.
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