Matilda Kshesinskaya personal biography. Queen of intrigue: how prima ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya became the wife of Grand Duke Andrei Romanov
MOSCOW, August 31 – RIA Novosti. The famous ballerina and socialite Matilda Kshesinskaya was born 145 years ago. Her life is covered in rumors and legends: they tell, for example, about countless treasures that Matilda seemed to have hidden somewhere when leaving St. Petersburg in 1917. A brilliant dancer and star of the Imperial Theater, she is remembered primarily for her numerous novels.
Kshesinskaya herself wrote in her memoirs that she had been a coquette since childhood. The connection with the three great princes, including the future Emperor Nicholas II, is only a small part of the stories that she herself openly wrote about in her memoirs.
However, photographs of Kshesinskaya to some extent confirm rumors about her incredible femininity and charm. RIA Novosti publishes archival portraits of the dancer.
The Polish woman Kshesinskaya came from a creative family. Grandfather is a violinist and singer, father Felix Kshesinsky is a dancer. She claimed that her father performed the mazurka so exemplarily that thanks to him, this dance was included in the compulsory program of all balls in Russia.
Matilda herself was the third child of her parents. Her older sister Yulia and brother Yuzya also danced. It was Julia who was called Kshesinskaya the first in the theater, while Matilda was Kshesinskaya the second.
Matilda graduated from the Imperial Choreographic School. In her memoirs, she emphasized that teachers singled her out from childhood. In the theater, she gained the reputation of a headstrong woman. For example, she once changed her costume for a performance, supposedly uncomfortable, to her own, after which she was fined.
However, the famous ballerina was distinguished not only by her obstinate character, but also by her hard work. During the season she could dance in 40 performances (ballet and opera). Matilda did not stop working even later, already in exile: she created a ballet school in which up to 150 people could study at the same time.
Matilda also had weaknesses - throughout her life she played roulette. They say that allegedly, when she sat down at the gaming table for the first time, she bet on 17. This brought her a win. Since then, she only played roulette and bet on one number, for which she received the nickname Madame Seventeen.
Having fled St. Petersburg in 1917, Matilda first moved to Kislovodsk, where she spent almost a year. There she hoped to wait out the troubled times, but later it became clear that she would be safer in France.
Life in exile was obviously quieter and calmer than in the pre-revolutionary Russian capital. Kshesinskaya officially registered her marriage with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich (grandson of Alexander II), from whom she already had a son.
She did a lot to spread the traditions of Russian academic dance. Matilda created her own school and patronized the Federation of Russian Classical Ballet, which proclaimed the idea of continuing the traditions of Russian ballet in English dance schools. Kshesinskaya lived a long life - she died at the age of 99 (in 1971) in Paris and was buried next to her husband in the Russian cemetery of Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois in the suburbs of the French capital.
Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya (Maria-Matilda Adamovna-Feliksovna-Valerievna Kshesinskaya, Polish. Matylda Maria Krzesińska). Born on August 19, 1872 in Ligovo (near St. Petersburg) - died on December 6, 1971 in Paris. Russian ballerina, prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater, Honored Artist of His Majesty the Imperial Theatres, teacher. Mistress of Nicholas II.
Matilda Kshesinskaya was born on August 19, 1872 in Ligovo (near St. Petersburg) into a family of ballet dancers of the Mariinsky Theater.
She is the daughter of the Russian Pole Felix Kshesinsky (1823-1905) and Yulia Dominskaya (the widow of the ballet dancer Lede; she had five children from her first marriage).
Her sister is ballerina Yulia Kshesinskaya (“Kshesinskaya 1st”, married Zeddeler, husband Zeddeler, Alexander Logginovich).
Brother - Joseph Kshesinsky (1868-1942), dancer, choreographer, died during the siege of Leningrad.
According to family legend, Matilda’s great-grandfather, in his youth, lost his fortune, the title of count and the noble surname Krasinsky: having fled to France from assassins hired by his villainous uncle, who dreamed of taking over the title and wealth, having lost the papers certifying his name, the former count became an actor - and subsequently became one of the stars of Polish opera.
The family called Matilda Malechka.
At the age of 8 she entered the ballet school as a visiting student.
In 1890 she graduated from the Imperial Theater School, where her teachers were Lev Ivanov, Christian Ioganson and Ekaterina Vazem. After graduating from school, she was accepted into the ballet troupe of the Mariinsky Theater, where at first she danced as Kshesinskaya 2nd - Kshesinskaya 1st was officially called her older sister Yulia.
She danced on the imperial stage from 1890 to 1917.
Early in her career she was strongly influenced by the art of Virginia Zucchi. “I even had doubts about the correctness of the career I had chosen. I don’t know where this would have led if the appearance of Tsukki on our stage had not immediately changed my mood, revealing to me the meaning and significance of our art,” she wrote in her memoirs .
She danced in the ballets of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov: the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker, Paquita in the ballet of the same name, Odette-Odile in Swan Lake, Nikiya in La Bayadère.
After Carlotta Brianza left for Italy, she took over the role of Princess Aurora in the ballet The Sleeping Beauty. On November 18, 1892, on the day of the 50th performance of the ballet, the ballerina wrote in her diary: “Tchaikovsky arrived at the theater, and he was asked to come on stage (and I even took him to the stage) to present him with a wreath.”
In 1896 she received the status of prima ballerina of the imperial theaters- obviously, thanks to her connections at court, since the chief choreographer Petipa did not support her promotion to the very top of the ballet hierarchy.
To complement the soft plasticity and expressive hands characteristic of the Russian ballet school, with the distinct and virtuosic foot technique that the Italian school mastered perfectly, starting in 1898, she took private lessons from the famous teacher Enrico Cecchetti.
The first among Russian dancers to perform 32 fouettés in a row on stage- a trick with which only Italians, in particular Emma Besson and Pierina Legnani, had previously surprised the Russian public. It is not surprising that, returning his popular ballets to the repertoire, Marius Petipa often modified the choreographic text of the main parts, taking into account the physical abilities of the ballerina and her strong technique.
Although Kshesinskaya's name often occupied the first lines of posters, her name is not associated with productions of great ballets from the list of classical ballet heritage.
Only a few performances were staged especially for her, and all of them did not leave a special mark on the history of Russian ballet. In “The Awakening of Flora,” shown in 1894 in Peterhof specifically on the occasion of the wedding of Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich, and then remaining in the theater’s repertoire, she was assigned the main role of the goddess Flora. For the ballerina's benefit performance at the Hermitage Theater in 1900, Marius Petipa staged Harlequinade and The Four Seasons.
In the same year, the choreographer revived La Bayadere, which had disappeared from the stage after Vazem’s departure, especially for her. Kshesinskaya was also the main performer in two failed productions - the ballet "The Mikado's Daughter" by Lev Ivanov and Petipa's last work "The Magic Mirror", where the choreographer staged a magnificent pas d'action for her and Sergei Legat, in which the entourage of the prima ballerina and the premiere were such soloists like Anna Pavlova, Yulia Sedova, Mikhail Fokin and Mikhail Obukhov.
She took part in summer performances of the Krasnoselsky Theater, where, for example, in 1900 she danced the polonaise with Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Alexander Shiryaev and other artists and the classical pas de deux of Lev Ivanov with Nikolai Legat. Kshesinskaya's creative individuality was characterized by deep dramatic elaboration of roles (Aspiccia, Esmeralda).
Being an academic ballerina, she nevertheless participated in the productions of the innovative choreographer Mikhail Fokin “Evnika” (1907), “Butterflies” (1912), “Eros” (1915).
In 1904, Kshesinskaya left the theater of her own free will, and after the due farewell benefit performance, a contract was signed with her for one-time performances - initially with a payment of 500 rubles. for each performance, since 1909 - 750.
Kshesinskaya did her best to oppose the invitation of foreign ballerinas to the troupe and intrigued against Legnani, who, nevertheless, danced in the theater for 8 years, until 1901. Under her, the practice of inviting famous touring performers began to fade away. The ballerina was famous for her ability to build a career and defend her positions.
In some way, it was she who served as the reason for Prince Volkonsky’s departure from the theater: having refused to restore the ancient ballet “Katarina, the Robber’s Daughter” for Kshesinskaya, he was forced to resign from his post as director of the Imperial Theaters. According to the memoirs of the ballerina herself, the visible reason for the conflict was the fittings of the costume for Russian dance from the ballet “Camargo”.
During the German war, when the troops of the Russian Empire suffered greatly from a shortage of shells, the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, argued that he was powerless to do anything with the artillery department, since Matilda Kshesinskaya influenced artillery affairs and was involved in the distribution of orders between various companies.
In the summer of 1917 she left Petrograd forever, initially to Kislovodsk, and in 1919 to Novorossiysk, from where she and her son sailed abroad.
On July 13, 1917, Matilda and her son left St. Petersburg, arriving in Kislovodsk by train on July 16. Andrei, his mother Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna and his brother Boris occupied a separate house.
At the beginning of 1918, “the wave of Bolshevism reached Kislovodsk” - “until that time we all lived relatively peacefully and quietly, although there had been searches and robberies under all sorts of pretexts before,” she writes. In Kislovodsk, Vladimir entered the local gymnasium and graduated with success.
After the revolution, he lived with his mother and brother Boris in Kislovodsk (Kshesinskaya and her son Vova also came there). On August 7, 1918, the brothers were arrested and transported to Pyatigorsk, but a day later they were released under house arrest. On the 13th, Boris, Andrei and his adjutant Colonel Kube fled to the mountains, to Kabarda, where they hid until September 23.
Kshesinskaya ended up with her son, her sister’s family and the ballerina Zinaida Rashevskaya (the future wife of Boris Vladimirovich) and other refugees, about a hundred of them, in Batalpashinskaya (from October 2 to October 19), from where the caravan, under guard, moved to Anapa, where she decided to settle under escort of Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna.
In Tuapse everyone boarded the Typhoon steamer, which took everyone to Anapa. There Vova fell ill with the Spanish flu, but he was taken out.
In May 1919, everyone returned to Kislovodsk, which was considered liberated, where they remained until the end of 1919, leaving there after the alarming news for Novorossiysk. The refugees traveled on a train of 2 carriages, with Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna traveling in a 1st class carriage with her friends and entourage, and Kshesinskaya and her son in a 3rd class carriage.
In Novorossiysk we lived for 6 weeks right in the carriages, and typhus was raging all around. On February 19 (March 3), we sailed on the steamship Semiramida of the Italian Triestino-Lloyd. In Constantinople they received French visas.
On March 12 (25), 1920, the family arrived in Cap d’Ail, where the then 48-year-old Kshesinskaya owned a villa.
In 1929 she opened her own ballet studio in Paris. Among Kshesinskaya’s students was the “baby ballerina” Tatyana Ryabushinskaya. During lessons, Kshesinskaya was tactful; she never raised her voice to her students.
Matilda Feliksovna's elder brother Joseph Kshesinsky remained in Russia (danced at the Kirov Theater) and died during the siege of Leningrad in 1942.
In exile, with the participation of her husband, she wrote memoirs, originally published in 1960 in Paris in French. The first Russian publication in Russian was published only in 1992.
Matilda Feliksovna lived a long life and died on December 5, 1971, a few months before her centenary.
She was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery near Paris in the same grave with her husband and son. The epitaph on the monument: “Your Serene Highness Princess Maria Feliksovna Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya, Honored Artist of the Imperial Theaters Kshesinskaya”.
Matilda Kshesinskaya. Mysteries of life
Matilda Kshesinskaya's height: 153 centimeters.
Personal life of Matilda Kshesinskaya:
In 1892-1894 she was the mistress of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich - the future.
Everything happened with the approval of members of the royal family, starting from Emperor Alexander III, who organized this acquaintance, and ending with Empress Maria Feodorovna, who still wanted her son to become a man.
After the exam there was dinner, mutual flirting between two young people and years later an entry in Kshesinskaya’s memoirs: “When I said goodbye to the Heir, a feeling of attraction to each other had already crept into his soul, as well as into mine.”
For Matilda, the young Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich was simply Niki.
Relations with the Tsarevich ended after Nicholas II's engagement to Alice of Hesse in April 1894. By Kshesinskaya’s own admission, she had a hard time surviving this breakup.
Later she was the mistress of Grand Dukes Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich.
The Grand Duke idolized his beloved so much that he forgave her everything - even a stormy affair with another Romanov - the young Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. Soon after the coup, when Sergei Mikhailovich returned from Headquarters and was relieved of his post, he proposed marriage to Kshesinskaya. But, as she writes in her memoirs, she refused because of Andrei.
On June 18, 1902, a son, Vladimir, was born in Strelna, whose family name was “Vova.” According to the Highest Decree of October 15, 1911, he received the surname “Krasinsky” (according to family tradition, the Kshesinskys were descended from the Counts Krasinsky), the patronymic “Sergeevich” and hereditary nobility.
Matilda Kshesinskaya. Ballet and power
In 1917, Kshesinskaya, having lost her dacha and the famous mansion, wandered around other people's apartments. She decided to go to Andrei Vladimirovich, who was in Kislovodsk. “I, of course, expected to return from Kislovodsk to St. Petersburg in the fall, when, as I hoped, my house would be liberated,” she naively believed.
“A feeling of joy to see Andrei again and a feeling of remorse that I was leaving Sergei alone in the capital, where he was in constant danger, were fighting in my soul. In addition, it was hard for me to take Vova away from him, in whom he doted on,” she recalled ballerina.
In 1918, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, along with other Romanovs, was executed by the Bolsheviks in Alapaevsk. The Romanovs were pushed to the bottom of an abandoned mine, doomed to a slow, painful death. When, after the arrival of the White Guards, the bodies were raised to the surface, it turned out that Sergei Mikhailovich was clutching a medallion with a portrait of Matilda in his hand.
On January 17 (30), 1921 in Cannes, in the Archangel Michael Church, she entered into a morganatic marriage with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, who adopted her son (he became Vladimir Andreevich).
In 1925 she converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy with the name Maria.
On November 30, 1926, Kirill Vladimirovich assigned her and her offspring the title and surname of Prince Krasinski, and on July 28, 1935 - His Serene Highness Prince Romanovsky-Krasinski.
Repertoire of Matilda Kshesinskaya:
1892 - Princess Aurora, The Sleeping Beauty by Marius Petipa
1894 - Flora*, “The Awakening of Flora” by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
1896 - Mlada, “Mlada” to music by Minkus
1896 - goddess Venus, “Astronomical pas” from the ballet “Bluebeard”
1896 - Lisa, “Vain Precaution” by Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov
1897 - goddess Thetis, “Thetis and Peleus” by Marius Petipa
1897 - Queen Nisia, “King Candaules” by Marius Petipa
1897 - Gotaru-Gime*, “The Mikado’s Daughter” by Lev Ivanov
1898 - Aspiccia, "The Pharaoh's Daughter" by Marius Petipa
1899 - Esmeralda “Esmeralda” by Jules Perrot in a new edition by Marius Petipa
1900 - Kolos, Queen of Summer*, “The Seasons” by Marius Petipa
1900 - Columbine*, Harlequinade by Marius Petipa
1900 - Nikiya, La Bayadère by Marius Petipa
1901 - Rigoletta*, “Rigoletta, the Parisian Milliner” by Enrico Cecchetti
1903 - Princess*, “The Magic Mirror” by Marius Petipa
1907 - Evnika*, “Evnika” by Mikhail Fokin
1915 - Girl*, “Eros” by Mikhail Fokin
* - the first performer of the part.
Bibliography of Matilda Kshesinskaya:
1960 - Matilda Kshessinskaya. Dancing in Petersburg
1960 - S.A.S. la Princesse Romanovsky-Krassinsky. Souvenirs de la Kschessinska: Prima ballerina du Théâtre impérial de Saint-Pétersbourg (Reliure inconnue)
1992 - Memories
Matilda Kshesinskaya (1872 – 1971) | Who was she: a courtesan or a great talent? Heterosexual or smart device? Probably all together...Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya (Maria-Matilda Adamovna-Feliksovna-Valerievna Krzesinska; August 19, 1872, Ligovo (near St. Petersburg) - December 6, 1971, Paris) - a famous Russian ballerina and teacher, also known for her intimate relationships with the august persons of the Russian Empire.
Her name was "Madame Seventeen". The reason for this was her addiction to playing roulette in the Monte Carlo casino and a constant bet on the number 17. It was at this age, on March 23, 1890, that she first met the heir to the royal throne, Nikolai Alexandrovich or Niki. This meeting determined the entire future fate of Maria-Matilda Adamovna-Feliksovna-Valerievna Krzhezinskaya, or in the version better known to us, Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya. The more I read about this famous ballerina, about her life, love, work, the more often I ask myself the same question: who and what would she be without the support of the Romanovs?
Who is she more - a courtesan or a femme fatale? The authors of many stories very diligently avoid this topic, as if “lubricating” this facet of Matilda Kshesinskaya’s “talent”. But in reality, everything is not so simple, and this is confirmed by numerous memories of her contemporaries and the actions of the ballerina herself.
Thomson M.N. Portrait of Matilda Kshesinskaya. 1991
The world of theater is not so simple, if for ordinary spectators it is a holiday, then for the servants of melpomene it is a struggle for life, intrigue, mutual claims and the ability to do everything to be noticed by the superiors of this world. Ballet dancers have always been loved by the upper class: grand dukes and nobles of lower rank did not shy away from patronizing this or that ballerina. Patronage often did not go beyond a love affair, but still some even dared to take these beauties as wives. But such people were in the minority; the majority were destined for the sad fate of “flashing up as a bright star” on the stage and then quietly fading away outside it. Matilda Kshesinskaya escaped this fate...
Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya was a hereditary “balletist” - she was born on August 31, 1872 into a theatrical family of a Pole, dancer and opera singer Felix Kshesinsky and ballerina Yulia Dolinskaya (in another transcription Dominskaya) in St. Petersburg.
Felix Kshesinsky and Yulia Dominskaya
Matilda became the last, thirteenth child in this family and had an affectionate name - Malya, Malechka. Felix Kshesinsky's eldest daughter, Yulia, danced with her father and is often confused with Matilda Feliksovna in photographs today.
Sister Yulia - Kshesinskaya 1st
Matilda's brother Joseph also became a ballet dancer. It was in such an atmosphere of the theater world that young Malechka grew up.
Matilda with her father in the Polish act of the opera "A Life for the Tsar" 1890s
At the age of 8 she became a visiting student at the Imperial Theater School, and at the age of 15 she took lessons from Christian Ioganson, who became her teacher for many years, even after she became a recognized ballet dancer.In the spring of 1890, after graduating from college, she was enrolled in the group of the Mariinsky Theater and in her first season she danced in 22 ballets and 21 operas.
Not a bad start... and it may seem that talent is to blame. But is it? In fact, this is not entirely true - on March 23, 1890, during the final exam, the first meeting of the future Emperor Nicholas II, a phlegmatic and lethargic young man, with a cheerful and cheerful Polish woman took place. Everything happened with the approval of members of the royal family, starting from Emperor Alexander III, who organized this acquaintance, and ending with Empress Maria Fedorovna, who still wanted her son to become... a man.After the exam there was dinner, mutual flirting between two young people and years later an entry in Kshesinskaya’s memoirs: “When I said goodbye to the Heir, a feeling of attraction to each other had already crept into his soul, as well as into mine.”
Their truly serious relationship began only two years later, after the heir came home to Matilda Kshesinskaya, under the name of Hussar Volkov. Notes, letters and... gifts, truly royal. The first was a gold bracelet with large sapphires and two diamonds, on which Matilda engraved two dates - 1890 and 1892 - the first meeting and the first visit to her home.
But... Their love was doomed and after April 7, 1894, when the engagement of the Tsarevich to Alice of Hesse was officially announced, Nicholas never came to Matilda again.
However, as you know, he allowed her to contact him in letters on a first name basis and promised to help her in everything if she needed help.
But... as they say, a holy place is never empty: “In my grief and despair, I was not left alone. Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, with whom I became friends from the day the heir first brought him to me, stayed with me and supported me.
I never felt a feeling for him that could be compared with my feeling for Niki, but with all his attitude he won my heart, and I sincerely fell in love with him,” Matilda Kshesinskaya later wrote in her memoirs. She fell in love... however quickly and again... Romanova.
And it is not surprising that her career was going uphill. She became the prima of the Mariinsky Theater and virtually the entire repertoire was built around her. Yes, her contemporaries did not refuse to recognize her talent, but latently everyone understood that this talent made its way to the top not through a terrible struggle for existence, but in a slightly different way. But let’s give the floor to the witnesses; Vladimir Arkadyevich Telyakovsky, director of the imperial theaters, wrote about this especially well in his “Memoirs.”
From the memoirs of V.A. Telyakovsky: “M. Kshesinskaya danced beautifully and was also an undeniably outstanding Russian ballerina. For (Kshesinskaya) ... success on stage was a means: her aspirations were more grandiose and extensive, and the role of only a ballerina, although outstanding, did not satisfy her from a young age, M. Kshesinskaya, already in her thirteenth year of service, left the ballet troupe of her own free will.
She saved her strength for another purpose. M. Kshesinskaya was an undeniably smart woman. She perfectly took into account both the strengths and, especially, the weaknesses of men, these eternally searching Romeos, who say everything they like about women, and from whom women make whatever they, women, want."
From the memoirs of V.A. Telyakovsky: “It would seem that a ballerina, serving in the directorate, should belong to the repertoire, but then it turned out that the repertoire belongs to M. Kshesinskaya, and just as out of fifty performances, forty belong to balletomanes, and in the repertoire - from all the ballets more than half of the best belong to the ballerina Kshesinskaya.
with Vera Trefilova in the ballet "Pharaoh's Daughter"(?)
She considered them her property and could give or not let others dance them. There were cases when a ballerina was discharged from abroad. Her contract stipulated ballets for tours. This was the case with the ballerina Grimaldi, invited in 1900.
But when she decided to rehearse one ballet, indicated in the contract (this ballet was “Vain Precaution”), Kshesinskaya declared: “I won’t give it, this is my ballet.” The telephones, conversations, telegrams began. The poor director was rushing here and there. Finally, he sends an encrypted telegram to the minister in Denmark, where he was with the sovereign at that time. The case was secret and of special national importance. And what? She receives the following answer: “Since this ballet is Kshesinskaya’s, it should be left to her.”
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich loved Matilda Kshesinskaya faithfully for 25 years. He pampered her, protected her, saved her... In Strelna, in the name of Kshesinskaya, he bought a magnificent dacha.
Later she would write: “In order to console and entertain me at least a little, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich pampered me as best he could, did not deny me anything and tried to forestall all my desires.”
And then a word from the historian A.B. Shirokorad, a quote from the book “The Fall of Port Arthur”: “...The question arises: how did the poor dancer Matilda Kshesinskaya become one of the richest women in Russia? The salary of the soloist of the Mariinsky Theater? Yes, she spent more on outfits ! Communication in 1890-1894 with the heir to the throne, Tsarevich Nicholas? There were also pennies there.
At the end of the 1890s, Kshesinskaya bought a country palace in Strelna. The ballerina overhauled it and even built her own power plant. “Many envied me, since even in the [Winter Palace. - A. III.] there was no electricity,” Kshesinskaya noted proudly. In Kshesinskaya's Strelna Palace, tables were set for more than a thousand people. On Matilda’s birthday, the railway schedule of trains passing through Strelnya even changed.
In the spring of 1906, Kshesinskaya bought a plot of land on the corner of Kronverksky Prospekt and Bolshaya Dvoryanskaya Street and commissioned the architect Alexander von Gauguin to design a palace. By the end of 1906, the construction of the two-story palace was completed.The famous Kshesinskaya mansion in St. Petersburg Photo of the early twentieth century
salon 1916
Its length was 50 meters and width - 33 meters. They wrote about the palace - everything was built and furnished according to Kshesinskaya’s wishes and tastes: the hall was in the Russian Empire style, the salon was in the style of Louis XVI, the bedroom and restroom were in the English style, etc. The stylish furniture was supplied by the famous French manufacturer Meltzer. Chandeliers, sconces, candelabra and everything else, even the latches, were ordered from Paris. The house with the adjacent garden is a small masterpiece of Matilda Kshesinskaya’s imagination. Well-trained maids, a French cook, a senior janitor - a Knight of St. George, a wine cellar, carriages, cars and even a cowshed with a cow and a cowwoman. Matilda loved to drink milk. There was, of course, a large winter garden. Where does all this come from? It’s not hard to guess that the source of Matilda’s well-being... was Russia’s huge military budget.”
The same budget to which the Grand Dukes and in particular Sergei Mikhailovich had access. In all her roles, she “shone”: she appeared on stage, hung with real jewelry - diamonds, pearls, sapphires... She was served by Faberge himself and made many things commissioned by the Grand Dukes.
THE DOG COLLAR NECLACE (“dog collar”) Matilda is shown wearing a similar necklace in almost all photographs. Despite such an unpoetic name, this type of necklace flourished for almost half a century.
Yes, she dances all this time, but ballet is not work for her, but just entertainment, although, to her credit, she is talented and does everything to stay in shape. And all in order to remove competitors and rivals! There is an interesting entry on this subject in the memoirs of the great ballerina Tamara Karsavina.
From the memoirs of ballerina Tamara Karsavina: “I remember another incident with a fine, which had serious consequences. It occurred during Volkonsky’s directorship. Once Matilda Kshesinskaya wore her own costume to a performance, ignoring Volkonsky’s order to go on stage in a suit specially tailored for the role. The next day she was fined, Kshesinskaya became angry and began to seek cancellation, and a few days later an order from the Minister of the Court to cancel the fine appeared in the Vestnik.
ballet "Camargo"
Prince Volkonsky immediately resigned. He was deservedly much loved, and the community was indignant at the disrespect shown to one of its members. Hostile demonstrations directed against Kshesinskaya began to take place in the theater - she paid dearly for her short-term triumph. At that time she was at the peak of her talent. In terms of virtuosity, she was not inferior to Legnani, and in terms of acting qualities she even surpassed her.
Matilda chose the time for her performances herself and performed only at the height of the season, allowing herself long breaks, during which she stopped regular classes and indulged in unbridled entertainment. Always cheerful and laughing, she loved tricks and cards; sleepless nights did not affect her appearance or spoil her mood. She had amazing vitality and exceptional willpower.
During the month preceding her appearance on stage, Kshesinskaya devoted all her time to work - she trained hard for hours, did not go anywhere and did not receive anyone, went to bed at ten in the evening, weighed herself every morning, always ready to limit herself in food, although her diet was without that she was quite strict. Before the performance, she remained in bed for twenty-four hours, only eating a light breakfast at noon. At six o'clock she was already at the theater in order to have two hours at her disposal for exercise and makeup. One evening I was warming up on stage at the same time as Kshesinskaya and noticed how feverishly her eyes sparkled.
From the very beginning she showed me great kindness. One autumn, during my first season of work at the theater, she sent me an invitation to spend a weekend at her country house in Strelna. “Don’t bother taking fancy dresses with you,” she wrote, “we have a village style here. I’ll send for you.” The thought of the modesty of my wardrobe worried me greatly. Matilda apparently guessed this. She also thought that I didn’t know her secretary by sight, so she came to the station to pick me up herself. She had a small group of friends staying with her.
As a hostess, Matilda was excellent. She had a large garden near the coast. Several goats lived in the pen, one of them, a favorite who appeared on stage in Esmeralda, followed Matilda like a dog.
caricature by N. and S. Legat "Esmeralda"
All day Matilda did not let me go, showing countless signs of attention... I got the impression that everyone around me fell under the charm of her cheerful and good-natured nature. But even I, with all my naivety, understood that the sycophants around her exuded a lot of flattery. And this is understandable, taking into account the position occupied by the famous dancer, rich and influential. Envy and gossip constantly followed her. All that day I had a feeling of bewilderment - could this charming woman really be the same terrible Kshesinskaya, who was called an unscrupulous intriguer who destroys the careers of her rivals.
If anyone hurts you, come straight to me. “I will stand up for you,” she said later, and subsequently kept her word: she had the opportunity to intervene and stand up for me. I began to get significantly fewer roles, and it turned out that the director was led to believe that I had too much work.
One famous ballerina, who apparently was not one of my well-wishers, unexpectedly showed excessive concern for my health, asking the director not to overwork me, since I was sick with consumption. The director, thus misled by this feigned concern, showing true sympathy, began to gradually reduce my repertoire."
with colleagues (ballerinas, choreographers, dancers) (in the first row, in the center to the left of the man in military uniform)
On February 13, 1900, theatrical Petersburg celebrated the tenth anniversary of Kshesinskaya’s creative life on the Imperial stage. The sons of Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich - Kirill, Boris and Andrei - were invited to dinner after the anniversary performance.
With the latter, the ballerina began a whirlwind romance. She was six years older than Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich.
At the same time, Matilda officially lived with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich. In June 1902, Matilda Feliksovna had a son. The boy was named Vladimir in honor of the father of Grand Duke Andrei. Only, from which Romanov this child was born is still unknown. Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich considered him his son until the end of his life. And again the word to V.A. Telyakovsky.
Matilda Kshesinskaya with her son Vladimir. 1916
From the diary of Vladimir Telyakovsky:
“Is this really a theater, and is it really me who is in charge? Everyone is happy, everyone is happy and glorifying an extraordinary, technically strong, morally impudent, cynical, insolent ballerina, living simultaneously with two great princes and not only not hiding this, but, on the contrary, intertwining and this art in its stinking, cynical wreath of human carrion and depravity told me that Kshesinskaya herself says that she is pregnant; wanting to continue dancing, she remade some parts of the ballet in order to avoid risky movements. It is still unknown who the child will be assigned to. Some speak to Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, and some speak to Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, others speak about the ballet Kozlov."
In 1904, she left the stage, but retained the right to roles in performances and did not allow anyone else to dance them. In 1908, Matilda Kshesinskaya successfully tours the Paris Grand Opera and amazes the audience with her 32 fouettés!And at the same time she immediately starts an affair with her partner Pyotr Vladimirov, who is 21 years younger than her, which ends in a duel in the forest near Paris between the latter and Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich.
And then there was a revolution and everything went to pieces. Her luxurious mansion was plundered, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich died in Alapaevsk: dying in an abandoned mine, he clutched in his hand a small gold medallion with a portrait of Matilda Kshesinskaya and the inscription “Malya”. On February 19, 1920, she sailed to Constantinople on the Italian liner Semiramis. In January 1921, in France, they married Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, and Matilda received the title of Most Serene Princess Romanovskaya.
In 1929, Kseshinskaya opened her ballet studio in Paris, where students from as far away as England, the USA, and Spain took lessons from her.
"Russian", Covent Garden, London, 1936
Matilda Kshesinskaya in the last years of her life. 19541969
Son Vladimir
1950s(?)
“In 1958, the Bolshoi Theater ballet troupe came to Paris. Although I don’t go anywhere else, dividing my time between home and the dance studio where I earn money to live, I made an exception and went to the Opera to see the Russians. I cried with happiness. This was the same ballet that I saw more than forty years ago, possessing the same spirit and the same traditions...” - this is what she wrote in her memoirs.
She died at the age of 99 in 1971 and was laid to rest in the Russian cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois in France.
Matilda Kshesinskaya's grave at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery
In 2010, a television program from the series “More than Love” was prepared about the history of the relationship between Matilda Kshesinskaya and Prince Andrei Romanov.
Matilda Kshesinskaya and Prince Andrei Romanov, TV show "More than Love"
Who was she anyway: a courtesan or a great talent? Heterosexual or smart device? Probably all together, but one thing is clear, her role in the art of Russian theater and the “art” of Russian life was far from the last... but such is Russia.
Original post and comments at
Little was written about the famous Russian ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya in Soviet times. People spoke of her as “the Romanovs’ mistress,” and there were always a lot of rumors and gossip around her name.
Maria - Matilda Kshesinskaya was born on August 19, 1872 at the Ligovo station near St. Petersburg. Her father, Felix Kshesinsky, came from Warsaw to Russia in the mid-nineteenth century. He was discharged from Poland by Nicholas 1 as the best performer of his favorite mazurka.
Felix married a wealthy widow with five children, Yulia Deminskaya, a corps de ballet soloist, and remained in Russia forever. Matilda's father was one of the best performers of character dances; he performed on stage until he was 83 years old. In the family, except for Malechka, everyone affectionately called Matilda; from this marriage there were two more children - older sister Julia and brother Joseph, who also became ballet soloists.
It is not surprising that at the age of eight, Matilda entered the St. Petersburg Choreographic School, which she brilliantly graduated from as an external student at the age of 17. The entire royal family was present at the graduation ceremony, and at the gala dinner Kshesinskaya sat next to the heir to the throne, Nicholas.
From that day on, their correspondence and short meetings began. The affair with the heir proceeded with the full approval of Nicholas's parents. Maria Feodorovna was very concerned that her son was lethargic and apathetic and did not pay any attention to women. And no matter what beautiful girls were “presented” to him, Nikolai was cold and indifferent to them. And only after meeting Kshesinskaya did he seem to come to life.
It was a mutual deep feeling. Nikolai attended all the performances with her participation, and she danced only for him, putting all of herself into the dance. Soon he bought a house for her on Angliysky Prospekt, where the composer Rimsky-Korsakov had previously lived, and where Nikolai and his friends later came.
In 1891, Nikolai went on a trip around the world, Matilda was worried about his departure, but Nikolai was soon forced to return to Russia because... There was an attempt on his life in Japan. And on the very first evening he escaped from the palace and came to her.
But, as the song says, “no king can marry for love,” this youthful infatuation ended in 1894, at the time of Nicholas’s engagement. The future emperor chose the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, and Kshesinskaya supported him in this choice.
But after Nikolai’s wedding, Matilda became a recluse for a long time. Already, as emperor, Nicholas entrusted the care of Matilda to his cousin Sergei Mikhailovich, and it was he who later became her lover.
The brothers of the late Nicholas I also favored the ballerina, they gave her jewelry, expensive gifts and patronized her in every possible way. But Kshesinskaya became an outstanding ballerina not only because she was a favorite of the royal family, but, to a greater extent, thanks to her talent and hard work. Kshesinskaya worked a lot, in the first year after graduating from college she was involved in 22 ballets and 21 operas, it was hard, hard work.
For eight years, Matilda Feliksovna fought with foreign touring dancers (mostly Italians) who filled the Russian stage, proving in every way, and with her talent and hard work, first of all, that Russian ballerinas deserve more attention from the public.
In this case, Kshesinskaya resorted to the help of her great patrons and came into conflict with the theater authorities (at this time the director of the Imperial Theaters, Prince Volkonsky, was forced to resign).
In 1899, her long-time dream came true; Marius Petipa offered her the role of Esmeralda, and since then she has solely owned this role, which many actresses did not like. Before Matilda, this role was performed exclusively by Italians.
The ballerina appeared on stage covered in precious stones and shone both literally and figuratively. She danced very femininely and at the same time energetically, she was piquant and charming.
It was at this time that a stormy romance began between Matilda and Prince Andrei Vladimirovich, Nikolai’s cousin, she was six years older than him.
Later, in January 1921, their wedding took place in Paris, after which she was given the title of Most Serene Princess Romanovskaya. Only after the death of Maria Pavlovna did Prince Andrei decide to legitimize his son’s position and enter into a legal marriage with Matilda.
Andrei and Matilda went on a trip to France and Italy in 1901, where she became pregnant and gave birth to a son in June 1902, who was named Vladimir.
Kshesinskaya went on tour in Paris, Warsaw, London, Vienna. In 1903, she received an invitation to America, but refused it; she preferred the stage of the Mariinsky Theater to all other stages, where she danced in both old and new ballets such as Chopiniana, Eros, The Phantom of the Rose, Petipa called her “the first star of Russian ballet.”
Matilda by that time was a well-to-do woman, she had at her disposal a palace on Kronverksky Prospekt, a Dacha in Strelna and a huge amount of jewelry, but her only concern was how long she would remain a ballet prima on stage. But, unfortunately, age has already begun to show itself, and the primacy began to pass to younger actresses.
In 1904, the great ballerina decided to leave the stage, but she still danced in some performances. In 1908, Kshesinskaya went on tour to Paris and was a huge success. There she begins a new love affair with her partner Pyotr Vladimirov, who was 21 years younger than her. This novel ended with a duel between Prince Andrei and Vladimirov in the forest near Paris. The prince shot Peter in the nose so badly that he had to undergo plastic surgery.
Nevertheless, Kshesinskaya was a loving wife and a wonderful, caring mother. Matilda did not like to part with her son Volodya and often took him on tours to Paris, Monte Carlo, and London. She did not leave her son even when he ended up in fascist dungeons in 1943. She did everything possible and impossible and saved him.
Few people knew about her charitable activities. During the First World War, Matilda Kshesinskaya organized an infirmary with her own money, inviting the best doctors there. Then she organized her own benefit performance, and donated the proceeds from it to the Russian theater society, to the families of actors drafted into the army.
With the beginning of the revolution, the career of the court ballerina was over. The last time Kshesinskaya performed in Russia was in May 1917. Immediately after this, she and her family urgently leave for Kislovodsk, and from there Denikin sends them all to Anapa.
There Kshesinskaya settled in the twelve-bed Metropol Hotel, and her mother and princes Andrei and Boris lived in the house of a rich Cossack. Here the son of Prince Andrei and Matilda fell ill with the Spanish flu, but everything ended well, the boy was cured by the local doctor N. Kupchik.
From Kshesinskaya’s memoirs it follows that the family had a very good time in Anapa, but the Reds were advancing from all sides. And in 1920, Matilda and her family left their homeland, going to France, where they found themselves completely without a livelihood.
But Matilda Feliksovna was a strong woman and had excellent business qualities. She began giving lessons, opening a studio in Paris, students from all over the world came to her, and in this new field she achieved outstanding success.
In 1936, at the age of 64, Matilda Feliksovna, at the invitation of the Directorate of London's Covent Garden, appeared on stage, easily and impeccably dancing her number - the legendary "Russian", in a sundress embroidered with silver threads and a pearl kokoshnik. She was called 18 times, which was unthinkable and unimaginable for the reserved English public! The entire stage and the passages to it were littered with flowers. In the same 1936, Kshesinskaya finally left the stage.
In the early forties, Kshesinskaya unexpectedly became interested in gambling, roulette and almost went bankrupt. Matilda Feliksovna played big and always bet on 17, her lucky number. But it did not bring her luck: the money received for houses and land, as well as the funds that were obtained for Maria Pavlovna’s diamonds, went to the croupier from the Monte Carlo casino.
Matilda Kshesinskaya died in Paris in 1971, at the age of 99, 8 months short of her centenary. The great Russian ballerina was buried in the Russian cemetery of Saint-Genevieve-des-Bois. Such is fate...
She survived the occupation of France and the arrest of her son, the death of her adored husband in 1956, a broken hip that threatened her with complete immobility, farewells to numerous friends who went into oblivion before her. But nothing could break her! Every morning she met her students in her studio with an elegant stick in her hand and everything began anew: batman, plié, attitude, jeté-à-tournan, pas de bras, and the constant fouette cascade... Dance lesson. Life lesson. Lesson of victory!
Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya born on September 1, 1872 in Ligovo, near St. Petersburg, in a family of ballet dancers of the Mariinsky Theater.
The girl's father was a dancer and opera singer Felix Kshesinsky, and mother is a ballerina Yulia Dolinskaya. Matilda was the last thirteenth child in a creative family and had the affectionate nickname Malechka, Malya. Matilda's older brother and sister were also actors. So the creative atmosphere in the family could not but affect the girl’s development.
At the age of 8, Matilda began attending the Imperial Theater School, and at the age of 15 she took lessons from Christian Johanson, who remained her teacher for many years, even when she became a recognized artist. In 1890, Matilda was enrolled at the Mariinsky Theater, where in her first season she danced in 21 operas and 22 ballets.
Romance of Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nicholas II
But was it only thanks to her talent that the young ballerina achieved such success? Of course not!
The Imperial Ballet has always been a part of court life. During the prom, Matilda meets a modest young man and future emperor, Nicholas II.
This acquaintance was approved by Nikolai's parents, who wanted their son to become a man.
Flirting between young people led to mutual attraction. The fire that engulfed Matilda also burned the weak-willed, inert Nikolai. And how it burned! 60 years later, Kseshinskaya will read in the diary of the last Russian Tsar, published abroad, how he felt that summer: “Kseshinskaya... I really really like it,” “Standing at the theater teased memories...”, “I returned... to Krasnoye Selo was at the theater that same evening...” The crown prince's feeling was sincere. After the first date, when the heir arrived at the Kshesinskys’ house under the guise of Hussar Volkov, he wrote to Matilda: “I still walk as if in a daze...”
In 1984, the engagement of the Tsarevich to Alice of Hesse was announced and the love of the young people was doomed. But Nikolai promised to help Matilda in everything and allowed her to contact him in letters on a first name basis. Nikolai did not go to Kshesinskaya again. But, a man of honor, having parted with his beloved, he asked Prince Sergei Mikhailovich to take care of her.
Matilda Kshesinskaya was not considered an impeccable beauty, but, undoubtedly, she was an extraordinary woman. She had enormous energy, amazing willpower and was well versed in life's problems. She knew how to do good, but also knew how to take revenge in a sophisticated way. Numerous photographs showed this woman smug, with a defiant look.
Was Kshesinskaya a great ballerina?
Of course not. In any case, she cannot be compared with Anna Pavlova. And yet, it was Kshesinskaya who ruled the St. Petersburg ballet stage. The entire repertoire of the theater was under her jurisdiction. Prima simply informed the management of the Mariinsky Theater that such and such a performance would be danced at that time - and it was done!
Championship on stage was the main thing for her, and she never gave it up without a fight.
Matilda enjoyed her power in the theater. She directed the Mariinsky Theater. Her first victim was Prince Volkonsky. In an effort to somehow hide her short legs, the ballerina refused to wear fake clothes, for which the management imposed some trivial fine on her. But the tsar intervened, the order was immediately canceled, and Prince Volkonsky was forced to resign.
Kshesinskaya’s whims decided everything. Often this ended in injustice to the other ballerina. The favorite kept a vigilant eye on her competitors, performed the main roles in half of the performances herself, and kept the management, as they say, with a tight rein. If Kshesinskaya was not given a role in the next ballet, the emperor immediately found out about it, and she received it. When Matilda Kshesinskaya was deliberately not given a role in the ballet intended for the coronation day (sparing the feelings of the young empress), she, as always, turned to Niki. The composer was asked to complete the ballet especially for Kshesinskaya - as a result, a new part of the “yellow pearl” was introduced into the performance.
The Romanovs' mistress - Matilda Kshesinskaya
But Kshesinskaya, we must give her credit, knew how to touch the hearts of balletomanes. Her technique was impeccable, and she constantly polished her skills. One of Ksieshinskaya's signature parties was the party of Esmeralda. The ballerina came out in a white tunic, pink tights and satin shoes, in a lovely hat decorated with gold coins. In a word, it was not Hugo’s Esmeralda, but Petipa’s. But her greatest creative success was Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. The success was stunning. Kshesinskaya received praise from Tchaikovsky himself, who even decided to write a ballet for her. Alas, this was never destined to come true - the composer soon died.
In all games, Matilda's appearance remained unchanged. The newspapers sneered: “It was in vain that Mrs. Kshesinskaya, playing a beggar woman, did not take off her diamond earrings and luxurious pearl necklace. Begging for alms, and suddenly wearing diamonds - it’s absurd.” Her dancing style was also unchanged: technique always prevailed over feelings. While Anna Pavlova put her whole soul into her character, Kshesinskaya remained a brilliant premiere in all her roles.
The art of Matilda Kshesinskaya could flourish only in the conditions of the imperial theater, closely connected with the royal court. It is no coincidence that she was called a monarchist ballerina, a dancer of Russian classical academicism. And this implied royalty, aristocracy, and cold severity of manners. Containing classical completeness, her dance was still distinguished by bravura, flirtatiousness, and piquancy. And although Kshesinskaya’s dance style became more and more archaic, the virtuosity of the ballerina’s technique delighted the Mariinsky audience.
She wanted to dance everything. But, despite titanic efforts - she studied in St. Petersburg and abroad with the best teachers - the championship slipped away. Kshesinskaya reigned in ballet for several years and left the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, still full of strength; in 1903, the time began for the ballerina to tour Europe.
Matilda Feliksovna was economical and quite prudent - she always kept expense books. Unthinkable wealth gave her the opportunity to buy a plot in the best part of St. Petersburg, on Kronverksky Prospekt, and also to build a palace, which was not inferior in luxury to the royal apartments. In addition, there was a wine cellar where fine wines were stored, a laundry, a cowshed, garages for cars, driveways...
Kshesinskaya’s special passion was jewelry, each of which she kept in a special bag or box. In her diary, she enthusiastically describes the priceless trinkets that she received in abundance from the royal family, including the first gift from Nika - a gold bracelet with precious stones. The gift was indeed “small” - then the offerings became more and more luxurious...
She had a weakness - roulette. In the casino, Matilda Feliksovna was called “Madame 17” because she only bet on 17. A prudent player, Matilda knew how to lose. When she got up from the table after a loss, she always smiled. She did not lose shape, participated in performances, and went on tour. In 1936 she performed at a London charity concert, and she was already 64 years old.
The blows of fate did not break this woman. When the money ran out, she and her husband settled in a small house in a Parisian suburb. No one ever heard any complaints from her. During difficult times for the family, Kshesinskaya opened a ballet studio in Paris. Her students were prominent dancers, our own and foreign stars - Margot Fonteyn herself came from London to take lessons from her.
In 1958, the Bolshoi Theater troupe came on tour to Paris. Could she not go to their performances? “I cried with happiness,” she recalled. “Russia is capable, like no one else, of combining technology and inspiration.” Galina Ulanova delighted her. Matilda Feliksovna asked one of her friends to approach the ballerina and convey her admiration for her skill and talent. She didn’t dare - communication, even short, with an emigrant like her was too dangerous for Ulanova.
Having far outlived her husband, Kshesinskaya retained an excellent memory until the end of her life. She took up her pen and left us living evidence of the past.
Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya lived a very long life: as they say, the “Methuselah Age” - almost a hundred years. She died in Paris in 1971 and is buried in the famous Russian cemetery at Genevieve-du-Bois.
who took part in the show of Ilya Averbukh and Channel One.
BOLERO performed by Natalia Osipova and Roman Kostomarov.
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