Matilda Kshesinskaya is a story of life and love. Sinful Matilda. How the ballerina Kshesinskaya drove the men of the Romanov house crazy
The amazing Matilda, who charmed the men of her time, was not only a delightful dancer and an extravagant woman of her time, challenging with her whole life the public morality of the time, like Anna Karenina - she was also a mother. And here there is much less similarity with the heroine of Tolstoy’s novel. Details of the fate of the mysterious ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya and her son.
Herself expectant mother writes in her memoirs: “I continued to dance this season (during pregnancy), as I expected - until February, being in the fifth month of pregnancy. It was completely invisible from my work and even from my figure.”
The fate of the son of ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya: Infancy
The son was born on June 18, 1902 in a village in the suburbs of St. Petersburg, where his mother had a dacha. The birth was difficult, and only Matilda’s love of life and optimism allowed her to recall them with such ease: “My personal doctor, who was supposed to deliver the child, was away, I had to call Professor Ott’s assistant, Dr. Dranitsyn, from Peterhof, he and his personal doctor Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaevich, Zander, and accepted the child. I was barely saved, the birth was very difficult, and the doctors were worried which of us would survive: either me or the baby. But they saved us both. I had a boy, it was early in the morning of June 18, at two o’clock. I lay there for a long time with a strong fever, but since I was strong and healthy by nature, I began to feel better relatively soon.”
She also described the choice of name surprisingly easily, although much can be read behind these lines from Kshesinskaya’s memoirs:
“A difficult question arose before me, what name to give my newborn son. At first I wanted to call him Nikolai, but I couldn’t do that, and I didn’t have the right to do it for many reasons. Then I decided to give him the name Vladimir, in honor of Andrei’s father, who always treated me so sincerely. I was convinced that he would have nothing against it. He agreed"
Baptized little Volodya Orthodox priest By Orthodox custom, even though my mother was from a Catholic family. Grand Duke Vladimir Aleksandrovich, the child’s father, presented his son with a cross made of Ural malachite stone. Matilda's sister became godmother.
“In my life at home, I was very happy: I had Volodya, whom I adored, I loved Andrei, and he loved me, my whole life was in them. Sergei behaved incredibly touchingly, he treated the baby as if he were his own and continued to spoil me very much.” - recalls the ballerina.
The fate of the son of ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya: Youth and flight
But the idyll in which Andrei grew up was disrupted by the revolution. Having distorted everything familiar to the boy, the entire established way of life his family with the luxury, splendor and glory of his mother, the seventeenth year made young Volodya and his family refugees. Until the twentieth year, they moved from city to city, spent the night wherever they had to, and miraculously did not catch typhus, which was rampant everywhere.
Finally, having arrived in France, they began to improve their life, but there was little money, and it was not possible to fully adapt to the new conditions. Kshesinskaya’s son did not hide, but flaunted his Russian origins, mentioned his noble roots everywhere and even worked to lead a community of Mirgan nobles in France. Personal life did not work out. The women who appeared in Vladimir's life did not like his mother.
After the German invasion of Russia, he was arrested on the southern coast of France, where his whole family fled from Paris.
Matilda failed to achieve the quick release of her son, and he refused to cooperate with the fascist troops. Nevertheless, after almost six months, Volodya was released.
The fate of the son of ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya: Heirs
After the end of the war, Vladimir’s life was not full of bright events. His health was seriously compromised, and information about later life Romanov are contradictory. Whether he actually collaborated with Churchill - historians are inclined to believe in the veracity of this version.
Towards the end of his life, the son of Nikolai’s mistress returned to his Soviet homeland, but as a British intelligence officer.
Romanov lived only a few years longer than his brilliant mother and rests in France. Vladimir did not leave behind either an official marriage or children, at least the biographers of the Romanov family do not know about this.
Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya (August 19, 1872 – December 6, 1971), Russian ballerina.
The figure of Matilda Kshesinskaya is so tightly shrouded in a cocoon of legends, gossip and rumors that it is almost impossible to discern a real, living person... A woman full of irresistible charm. Passionate, addicted nature. The first Russian fouetté performer and ballerina who could manage her own repertoire. A brilliant, virtuoso dancer who ousted foreign touring performers from the Russian stage...
Matilda Kshesinskaya was petite, only 1 meter 53 centimeters tall. But, despite the growth, the name of Kshesinskaya for many decades did not leave the pages of gossip columns, where she was presented among the heroines of scandals and “femme fatales.”
Kshesinskaya was born into a hereditary artistic environment, which for several generations was associated with ballet. Matilda's father was a famous dancer and a leading artist in the imperial theaters.
Father became his first teacher youngest daughter. Already from the very early age she showed an ability and love for ballet - which is not surprising in a family where almost everyone dances. At the age of eight, she was sent to the Imperial Theater School - her mother had previously graduated from it, and now her brother Joseph and sister Julia were studying there.
At first, Malya did not study particularly diligently - she had long studied the basics of ballet art at home. Only at the age of fifteen, when she got into the class of Christian Petrovich Ioganson, Malya not only felt a taste for learning, but began to study with real passion. Kshesinskaya discovered extraordinary talent and enormous creative potential. In the spring of 1890, she graduated from college as an external student and was enrolled in the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Already in her first season, Kshesinskaya danced in twenty-two ballets and twenty-one operas. The roles were small, but responsible, and allowed Mala to show off her talent. But talent alone was not enough to obtain so many games - one important circumstance played a role: the heir to the throne was in love with Matilda.
Malya met Grand Duke Nikolai Alexandrovich - the future Emperor Nicholas II - at a dinner after the graduation performance, which took place on March 23, 1890. Almost immediately they began an affair, which proceeded with the full approval of Nikolai’s parents. truly them 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.
On October 20, 1894, Emperor Alexander III died in Livadia - he was only 49 years old. The next day, Alice converted to Orthodoxy and became Grand Duchess Alexandra Feodorovna. A week after the emperor’s funeral, Nicholas and Alexandra got married in the Winter Palace - for this purpose, the mourning imposed at court for a year was specially interrupted.
Matilda was very worried about parting with Nikolai. Not wanting anyone to see her suffering, she locked herself at home and hardly went out. 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 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... but quickly and again... Romanov.
Due to mourning, there were practically no performances at the Mariinsky Theater, and Kshesinskaya accepted the invitation of entrepreneur Raoul Günzburg to go on tour to Monte Carlo. She performed with her brother Joseph, Olga Preobrazhenskaya, Alfred Bekefi and Georgy Kyaksht. The tour was a great success. In April, Matilda and her father performed in Warsaw. Felix Kshesinsky was well remembered here, and the audience literally went wild at the performances of the family duet. She returned to St. Petersburg only in the 1895 season and performed in R. Drigo’s new ballet “The Pearl,” which Petipa staged specifically for the accession to the throne of Nicholas II.
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. 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...
The beginning of Kshesinskaya’s activity was associated with performances in classical ballets staged by the famous choreographer M. Petipa. They not only revealed her virtuosic technique, but also revealed her extraordinary dramatic talent. After Kshesinskaya’s debut in P. Tchaikovsky’s ballet “The Sleeping Beauty,” Petipa began choreographing parts specifically for her “coloratura” dance. Only long mourning after the death of Alexander III prevented their collaboration.
The ballerina was distinguished not only by her talent, but also by her enormous hard work. She was the first after the Italian virtuosos to perform a rare ballet number for that time - thirty-two fouettés. As one reviewer noted, “having performed thirty-two fouettés, without leaving her place, literally nailed to the fulcrum, she, having answered the bows, again went out to the middle of the stage and unscrewed twenty-eight fouettés.”
From this time on, a ten-year period of Kshesinskaya’s dominance on the Russian ballet stage began. It ended in 1903, when M. Petipa retired. At this time, at the request of Emperor Nicholas, Kshesinskaya was under the care of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich. In his house she met the Tsar’s cousin, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. Many believed that their relationship would not last long, but soon their son Vladimir was born, and Kshesinskaya became common-law wife Grand Duke. True, they got married many years later, in 1921, when they were in exile.
Kshesinskaya had a hard time getting used to innovations in choreographic art. For a long time she could not find a suitable choreographer for herself, and only collaboration with M. Fokin helped her overcome the crisis situation. Their relationship changed several times. Kshesinskaya either idolized Fokin or tried to remove him from the St. Petersburg stage. However, Fokin’s popularity could not leave her indifferent, and, despite everything, they continued to work together.
In general, Kshesinskaya was always sharp and often came to the right decision only after making many mistakes. This is how, for example, her relationship with S. Diaghilev developed. He approached her in 1911 with a request to become the main soloist in the program of ballet performances he had planned. At first, Kshesinskaya rejected his proposal, since shortly before that she had triumphantly performed in Paris and London in several performances staged by the influential French newspaper Le Figaro. However, after thinking, or perhaps simply learning that the largest dancers of that time - M. Fokin and V. Nijinsky - agreed to perform in Diaghilev’s troupe, she gave her consent. After this, especially for Kshesinskaya, Diaghilev bought the scenery and costumes for the ballet from the directorate of the imperial theaters. Swan Lake", made according to sketches by A. Golovin and K. Korovin.
The performances of Diaghilev's troupe in Vienna and Monte Carlo turned into a real triumph for Kshesinskaya, and the collaboration itself continued for many years.
Only after the outbreak of the First World War did the ballerina stop performing abroad, and on February 2, 1917, she last time appeared on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater.
Kshesinskaya understood that after the February Revolution she needed to disappear from the sight of journalists for several months. Therefore, together with her son, she went to Kislovodsk to see her husband. After the Bolsheviks came to power, they left for Constantinople, and then settled for several years in the Alam villa on Mediterranean coast France. Soon Kshesinskaya realized that she could not count on returning to the stage, and she needed to look for another way to earn money. She moves to Paris and opens a ballet studio at the Villa Monitor.
At first she had only a few students, but after visiting the studio by Diaghilev, as well as A. Pavlova, their number rapidly increased, and soon more than a hundred students studied with Kshesinskaya. Among them were F. Chaliapin’s daughters Marina and Dasia. Later, such famous ballerinas as R. Nureyev’s partner M. Fontein and I. Shoviré studied with Kshesinskaya.
The outbreak of World War II upended her well-established life. Fearing bombing, she moves to the suburbs, and when the German army approaches, she and her family go to Biarritz, on the border with Spain. But soon they came there too German troops. Kshesinskaya's situation was complicated by the fact that her son was soon arrested for anti-fascist activities. And only a few months later he was able to escape from the camp, and then from France.
After the liberation of France in 1944, Kshesinskaya returned to Paris and, with the help of her students Ninette de Valois and Margot Fonteyn, organized a traveling ballet troupe that performed concerts for the soldiers. At the same time, classes resumed in her studio. In 1950, Kshesinskaya went to England, where she became the head of the Federation of Russian Classical Ballet, which included fifteen choreographic schools.
During the first tour of the Bolshoi Theater in France, Kshesinskaya specially went to Paris to attend performances on the stage of the Grand Opera, in which G. Ulanova performed.
Kshesinskaya published several books. The most famous were her memoirs, which were simultaneously published in France and the USA.
Matilda Feliksovna lived 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. On the monument there is an epitaph: “The Most Serene Princess Maria Feliksovna Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya, Honored Artist of the Imperial Theaters Kshesinskaya.”
Fate was favorable to the young graduate of the Imperial Theater School, Matilda Kshesinskaya. In the spring of 1890, at a graduation viewing, Emperor Alexander III liked the ballerina so much that at a gala dinner he seated her next to his eldest son, the 22-year-old heir to the throne, Nicholas. “I don’t remember what we talked about, but I immediately fell in love with the heir. I can see him now Blue eyes with such a kind expression. I stopped looking at him only as an heir, I forgot about it, everything was like a dream. When I said goodbye to the heir, who sat through the entire dinner next to me, we no longer looked at each other the same as when we met; a feeling of attraction had already crept into his soul, as well as into mine,” Kshesinskaya recalled about that feast in her memoirs.
Portrait of Kshesinskaya
The 18-year-old ballerina was passionate about continuing her promising relationship. However, the phlegmatic Tsarevich was either too shy or too busy state affairs. For more than a year he hardly made himself known. Only at the beginning of 1892 did the servants report to the ballerina about the visit of some “hussar Volkov”. Nikolai stood on the threshold. Their first night was stormy. Meetings became regular; not only the entire high society, but even St. Petersburg cab drivers knew about the visits of “Hussar Volkov” to Matilda. The secret police, naturally, were also aware of their relationship. One day, the mayor himself burst into Kshesinskaya’s boudoir: the emperor urgently needed to see his son, and the governor had to pull the heir to the throne out of his mistress’s bed. Theater career Kshesinskaya went up sharply. Despite the fact that the chief choreographer Maurice Petipa did not really like her dance, he was forced to give her the main roles - the heir’s patronage extended to the entire Mariinsky Theater, and no one wanted to upset such a benefactor.
No matter how Kshesinskaya exaggerated Nikolai Alexandrovich’s love for her in her memoirs, judging by the development of events, he did not lose his head. In 1894, before the official engagement to Princess Alice of Hesse, the future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna, he said goodbye to his passion. The heir to the throne understood perfectly well that youthful amusements are one thing, but marital fidelity is quite another. The ballerina's lover became a wonderful family man.
Young Nikolai Alexandrovich
Matilda grieved, but not for very long. She found a new partner (and not on the ballet stage) again among the members of the ruling dynasty. The 25-year-old Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich was her former lover’s cousin. He had a very strong feeling for the ballerina, which stood the test of time and Matilda’s frivolity. She was very loving, although her hobbies rarely went beyond the imperial family. In 1901, she began an affair with Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, and a little later with his son, Andrei Vladimirovich, who was seven years younger than Kshesinskaya. Having started a relationship with “Andryusha,” Matilda did not interrupt relations with “Seryozha,” skillfully maneuvering between the two grand-ducal families and receiving generous gifts from both sides.
At the end of the same 1901, while traveling around France, Kshesinskaya discovered that she was pregnant. She could only guess who the father of the unborn child was, and paternity tests did not yet exist. Yes, he was not required in this case - both grand dukes were ready to recognize the boy born on June 18, 1902 as their son. Kshesinskaya at first wanted to name her son Kolya, but this might not have pleased Nicholas II, who had already become Emperor. Therefore, the boy became Vladimir Sergeevich. It seems that she chose his father simply because of his seniority.
Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich
In 1904, Kshesinskaya left the Mariinsky Theater troupe, but continued to dance the main roles on its stage under separate contracts with record fees. No one in the ballet world dared to contradict her. Her conflict with the director of the Imperial Theaters, Prince Volkonsky, over some costume ended in a personal reprimand to the prince from the emperor himself, followed by her resignation.
Despite the fact that Kshesinskaya not only rested on her laurels, but constantly improved her ballet skills (she was the first Russian ballerina to perform 32 fouettés in a row), she was poorly known outside of Russia. In 1911, she danced in Swan Lake during Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in London. The initiator of this cooperation was Sergei Diaghilev. He hoped, through the mediation of Matilda, to spend his seasons in St. Petersburg and save his lover Vaslav Nijinsky, who became liable for military service, from military service. The idea, for which Matilda did not really bother, failed. Diaghilev was not invited to the capital of the empire, and the title of deserter was added to Nijinsky’s regalia. After this story, Diaghilev’s trusted servant seriously suggested that Kshesinskaya, who turned out to be guilty of all mortal sins, be poisoned.
Kshesinskaya Mansion
During foreign tours, Matilda was inevitably accompanied by one of her high-born lovers. Nevertheless, the ballerina managed to party here too. The rage of the great princes knew no bounds. But it didn’t fall on their flighty friend. In Paris, Andrei Vladimirovich challenged the young ballet dancer Pyotr Vladimirov to a duel and shot off his nose. The poor fellow's olfactory organ was pieced together by French doctors.
Kshesinskaya moved to her own luxurious mansion in St. Petersburg in 1906. Even the astronomical fees would not be enough to build this palace. Evil tongues said that Sergei Mikhailovich, a former member of the State Defense Council, stole large chunks from the military budget to give to his mistress. These rumors came back to haunt the ballerina during the First World War, when the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich, justified defeat at the fronts by saying that “Matilda Kshesinskaya influences artillery affairs and participates in the distribution of orders between various companies.”
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich
But the fate of the ballerina was influenced not by accusations of corruption, but February revolution. The mansion left by Kshesinskaya was occupied by Bolshevik organizations. A couple of weeks later, not a trace remained of the rich decoration, and Lenin, who had returned from emigration, began making speeches from the high balcony. Matilda tried to return the taken property and went to court, and one of the defendants was “candidate of rights V.I. Ulyanov (literary pseudonym - Lenin).” On May 5, 1917, the court decided to return the mansion to its rightful owner, but the Bolsheviks wanted to sneeze at the decision of the magistrate. In July, Kshesinskaya and her son left Petrograd forever and went to Kislovodsk, where Andrei Vladimirovich was waiting for them. “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, whom he doted on,” she wrote in her memoirs.
After long adventures and misadventures in 1920, Andrei, Matilda and Vova reached the Kshesinskaya mansion on the Cote d'Azur. A year later, the old lovers finally got married legally, and Volodya, officially adopted, became Andreevich instead of Sergeevich. Matilda Kshesinskaya will live a very long life, receive the title of Most Serene Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya, teach ballet to French girls, meet with Gestapo chief Müller to free her son from a concentration camp, write memoirs about her stormy youth, will outlive her husband by 15 years, and, a few months short of reaching the age of a century, in 1971 she will rest in the cemetery of Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery near Paris.
Kshesinskaya aged
By that time, her two high-born lovers were long dead. Their lives ended in the Urals in 1918. Nicholas II and his family were shot in Yekaterinburg. Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, along with other members of the imperial family, was taken to Alapaevsk. On July 18, the Reds decided to execute the prisoners and took them to the old mine. The prince resisted and was shot. We can say that he was lucky: his relatives were thrown into the adit alive. When, after a month and a half, the whites who occupied Alapaevsk raised the bodies upstairs, it was discovered that in Sergei Mikhailovich’s hand was clutched a gold medallion with a portrait of Kshesinskaya and the inscription “Malya”.
In 1890, 18-year-old Matilda Kshesinskaya - still unknown to anyone, but giving more hope girl, graduates from the Imperial Theater School. According to custom, after the graduation performance, Matilda and other graduates are presented to the crowned family. Alexander III showed particular favor towards the young talent, enthusiastically watching the dancer’s pirouettes and arabesques. True, Matilda was a visiting student of the school, and such people were not supposed to attend the festive banquet with members royal family. However, Alexander, who noticed the absence of the fragile dark-haired girl, ordered her to be immediately brought into the hall, where he uttered the fateful words: “Mademoiselle! Be the decoration and glory of our ballet!”
At the table, Matilda was seated next to Tsarevich Nicholas, who, despite his position and young age (he was then 22 years old), had not been seen by that time in any amorous story where he could demonstrate his ardor and temperament. Fervor and temperament - no, but devotion and tenderness - very much so.
Dreams of marriage
In January 1889, at the invitation of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich, Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt, granddaughter, arrived in St. Petersburg Queen of England Victoria. The girl staying at the Beloselsky-Belozersky Palace was introduced to Tsarevich Nicholas (Alexander III was the princess godfather). During the six weeks that the future Empress of Russia arrived in St. Petersburg, she managed to conquer the meek heart of the future emperor and awaken in him a frantic desire to tie the knot with her. But when rumors reached that Nikolai wanted to marry Alice, he ordered his son to forget about this desire. The fact is that Alexander and his wife Maria Fedorovna hoped to marry their son to the daughter of Louis-Philippe, a contender for the throne of France, Louise Henriette, whom the American newspaper The Washington Post even called “the incarnation of women's health and beauty, a graceful athlete and a charming polyglot.”
By the time he met Kshesinskaya, Nikolai already intended to marry Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
It was only later, in 1894, when the emperor’s health began to deteriorate sharply, and Nicholas, with unusual vehemence, continued to insist on his own, the attitude changed - fortunately, Alice’s sister Grand Duchess Elizaveta Fedorovna contributed not only to the rapprochement of the heir to the throne and the princess, helping in the correspondence of lovers, but also influenced Alexander using hidden methods. As a result of all these reasons, in the spring of 1894, a manifesto appeared in which they announced the engagement of the Tsarevich and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt. But that was after.
“Baby” Kshesinskaya and Nikki
And in 1890, when Nikolai could only correspond with his Alice, he was unexpectedly introduced to Matilda Kshesinskaya - according to some historians, the cunning Alexander decided that it was necessary to distract Nikolai from his love and direct his energy in a different direction. The emperor’s project was a success: already in the summer, the Tsarevich wrote in his diary: “Little Kshesinskaya positively fascinates me...” - and regularly attends her performances.
Matilda Kshesinskaya fell in love with the future emperor at first sight. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org “Baby” Kshesinskaya perfectly understood what game she was entering into, but she could hardly realize how far she would advance in relations with members of the royal family. When there was a shift in communication with Nikolai, Matilda announced to her father, a famous Polish dancer who performed on the Mariinsky stage, that she had become Nikolai’s lover. The father listened to his daughter and asked only one question: does she realize that the affair with the future emperor will not end in anything? To this question, which she asked herself, Matilda replied that she wanted to drink the cup of love to the bottom.
The romance between the temperamental and bright ballerina and the future emperor of Russia, who was not used to demonstrating his feelings, lasted exactly two years. Kshesinskaya had really strong feelings for Nikolai and even considered her relationship with him a sign of fate: both he and she were “marked” with the number two: he was supposed to become Nicholas II, and she was called Kshesinskaya-2 on stage: she also worked in the theater older sister Matilda Julia. When their relationship had just begun, Kshesinskaya enthusiastically wrote in her diary: “I fell in love with the Heir from our first meeting. After the summer season in Krasnoe Selo, when I could meet and talk with him, my feeling filled my entire soul, and I could only think about him...”
The lovers met most often in the house of the Kshesinsky family and did not particularly hide: at court no secrets were possible, and the emperor himself turned a blind eye to his son’s affair. There was even a case when the mayor came to the house, hastening to inform that the sovereign was urgently demanding his son to come to the Anichkov Palace. However, to maintain decency, a mansion was bought for Kshesinskaya on the Promenade des Anglais, where lovers could see each other without any interference.
End of story
The relationship ended in 1894. Matilda, ready from the very beginning for such an outcome, did not fight in hysterics, did not cry: when saying goodbye to Nicholas with restraint, she behaved with dignity befitting a queen, but not an abandoned mistress.
The ballerina took the news of the separation calmly. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org It is impossible to say that this was a deliberate calculation, but Kshesinskaya’s behavior led to a positive result: Nikolai always remembered his friend with warmth, and in parting he asked her to always address him as “you”, to still call him by his home nickname “Nikki” and in In case of trouble, always turn to him. Kshesinskaya would indeed later resort to the help of Nikolai, but exclusively for professional purposes relating to behind-the-scenes theatrical intrigues.
At this point, their relationship was completely broken. Matilda continued to dance and soared above the stage with special inspiration when she saw her husband in the royal box. ex-lover. And Nicholas, who put on the crown, completely immersed himself in the worries of state that fell on him after the death of Alexander III, and in a quiet whirlpool family life with the desired Alix, as he affectionately called - former princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt.
When the engagement first took place, Nikolai honestly spoke about his connection with the ballerina, to which she replied: “What is past is past and will never return. We are all surrounded by temptations in this world, and when we are young, we cannot always fight to resist the temptation... I love you even more since you told me this story. Your trust touches me so deeply... Will I be able to be worthy of it?..”
P.S.
A few years later, Nicholas faced terrible shocks and a terrible end: Russo-Japanese War, Bloody Sunday, killing spree high-ranking officials, the First World War, popular discontent that grew into a revolution, the humiliating exile of him and his entire family, and finally, execution in the basement of the Ipatiev House.
Matilda Kshesinskaya with her son. Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org
A different fate awaited Kshesinskaya - fame as one of the richest women in the Empire, love affair with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, from whom she will give birth to a son, emigration to Europe, an affair with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, who will give the child his middle name, and fame as one of the best ballerinas of her time and one of the most attractive women an era that turned the head of Emperor Nicholas himself.
Matilda Kshesinskaya is a famous Russian ballerina, a person who went down in history not only thanks to her talent, but also public affairs. Of course, there were always some intrigues around the ballerina, connections with famous personalities, but she always remained a professional in her field. The biography and personal life of Matilda Kshesinskaya deserves special attention, since she was familiar with the Romanov imperial family and even had close relations with the emperor.
Kshesinskaya was born in August. She was born in 1872. In this creative family, everyone was connected with art. My father studied dancing and was Nicholas I’s favorite mazurka performer. That is why the latter discharged Felix from Poland. He lived in this country, although he was Russian by nationality. The mother was not directly involved in creativity. However, she was the widow of a former ballet dancer.
My own sister also became a ballerina, and brother Joseph studied dancing and became a choreographer. Everyone, absolutely all of Matilda’s relatives, were connected with creativity. Some were directly involved in ballet - dancing, participating in tours. Others were connected to art indirectly, for example, Matilda's mother.
At all young girl doesn't change family direction and also goes into creativity. She goes to the Imperial Theater School and enrolls in a ballet dancing course. There she studied until 1880 and successfully completed the course. The school was organized graduation party, which included a dinner in a formal atmosphere. young girl, resplendent with the beauty of her youth, sat very close to a very influential person. This man was the heir to the throne himself, the future monarch of the empire, Nicholas II.
That same evening, Alexander the Third said wonderful words. He carefully watched all the girl’s movements and, admiring them, uttered a prophecy, which later became a reality. He said that Matilda would become not only a brilliant decoration, but also a brilliant glory for Russian ballet.
However, such delight is not surprising. This aspiring ballerina truly amazed the imagination with her beauty, incredible grace and skill.
Upon completion of her studies, Matilda was immediately accepted into the Mariinsky Theater. She will work as part of this ballet troupe for a very long time. She devoted 27 years of her long life to the imperial stage. Over the years, she will have time to show her talents and win the hearts of many. Of course, the biography, personal life, photos of Matilda Kshesinskaya have all been preserved, since the ballerina made a huge contribution to the development of Russian art.
Matilda Kshesinskaya was an amazing ballerina. She was a leader in her time and had incredible superiority over the people of her time. Kshesinskaya would be a leader among talents of all centuries. In addition, Matilda is one of the most influential crossroads girls of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
She was a very significant figure of that time. This is confirmed by the way he himself spoke about her. great emperor Nikolai Nikolaevich! Russian Empire experienced great difficulties in the First world war. Many units experienced supply problems, and the artillery had an acute shortage of ammunition.
At the same time, the prince himself made statements that it was simply impossible to take any measures. After all, Ballerina Matilda has excessive influence on artillery affairs and takes part in the redistribution of government orders between different enterprises. In fact, the artillery department was under her control.
Career at the Mariinsky Theater
Matilda participated in many major state events. She danced a wide variety of ballets, both under the direction of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov. The ballerina’s very first roles came in such works as “Swan Lake”, “The Nutcracker” and “La Bayadère”. She successfully coped with all the work that was assigned to her.
Then the ballerina went to Italy for a short period. Working abroad was not to Kshesinskaya’s liking. She didn't really want to stay for a long time in Italy, the language barrier, love for her homeland all this hindered her. Therefore, she did not spend a long time in foreign theaters, and then happily returned home. Upon her return, she got the role of Princess Aurora, in which the girl showed herself especially well. It was an incredible comeback that many fans had been waiting for.
6 years of daily work have already passed, which includes both the need to reflect on the creative component and exhaust oneself with dance movements that require a fair amount of effort. physical training and dexterity. During this period, Matilda achieved a lot on the creative battlefield. Among the achievements there were also the most important. So, highest value had the status of “prima ballerina of the imperial theaters.” In this regard, not everything was smooth, because the chief choreographer was against issuing such a title.
However, he resisted in vain - even in those days there were rumors that Matilda’s rapid advancement up the ladder of the theatrical hierarchy was directly related to the presence of connections in the courtyard. Modern historians have disputes related to this issue. However, a considerable part of people are of the opinion that everything was exactly like that.
There are only a few ballets staged for the sake of Matilda, which did not become a significant element in the legacy Russian culture. The most striking example will be the ballet staged on the occasion of the wedding of Ksenia Alexandrovna and Alexander Mikhailovich. At this solemn event, a performance was presented, the most significant part of which was performed by Matilda. In fact, if we talk about the personal life and biography of Matilda Kshesinskaya, then many facts can be mentioned, but not all of them have official confirmation.
Matilda in the ballet production "Pharaoh's Daughter"
Kshesinskaya had a very strong position in the theater. Especially considering what level of the hierarchy she was at.
However, the ballerina did not want to stop there and continued to develop. She regularly attended Enrico Cecchetti's classes. This famous teacher helped Matilda improve her skills to higher and higher levels.
The level of development of her skill at that time was perfectly demonstrated by the new record. Kshesinskaya became a kind of pioneer of Russian ballet. She was able to perform as many as 32 fouettés in a row at once - until that moment, none of the Russians had been capable of this.
However, at the same time, Kshesinskaya decided to leave the theater stage. When it was 1904, she left the Mariinsky Theater. The dismissal occurred due to at will and there was a very logical explanation for this. Benefissa knew perfectly well what she was doing. She switched to another form of work - performing on a contract basis. It was much more profitable than working full-time. For just going on stage she received five hundred rubles. However, this was not the limit.
After some period of time, she began to earn one and a half times more and received seven and a half hundred for a single performance. Her incredible talent and the fame and popularity she had already acquired by that time helped her earn money, which was quite good for Russia at the beginning of the 20th century.
One could often hear the phrase from Matilda that artists are capable of much. We were talking about people of academic endurance. The ballerina claimed that they were able to dance anything. She attached such statements to very real actions. For this reason, Matilda took part in many performances, some of which were staged by M. Fokin. For example, "Eros", which was played in 1915.
The intrigues of Matilda Kshesinskaya
The girl resisted with all her might when it came to invitations to foreign troupes. Her opinion was that Russian artists should on our own to prove their abilities - that they are worthy of playing the main and most significant roles. However, not all of her contemporaries agreed with this opinion. Most ballerinas happily accepted foreign offers, playing even the most unpromising roles in ballets of foreign troupes. At that time, the biography and personal life of Matilda Kshesinskaya was discussed only in certain circles. Thus, little is known with certainty.
The most frequent subject of intrigue is Pierina Legnarni. This ballerina was a foreigner, originally from Italy. She was able to work with Matilda for eight whole years, despite the negative attitude and negative attitude the last one. True, this could not last longer. Kshesinskaya already had incredible influence, at least in the theater itself. Even the director himself could not withstand such pressure and had to make concessions.
The artist had one dream that she had been dreaming about for many years. It came true in 1899, when Marius Petipa offered her the role of Esmeralda. For Matilda, this was not only a professional, but also an ideological victory. After all, until this moment the role was performed only by Italians.
And now she, a Russian, has won the right to play this game! Matilda performed so well that this game did not turn out to be her last.
From that moment on, she had a complete takeover. Since then, she has been the sole owner of this role, playing it from time to time. No one else had a chance to play Esmeralda, which was the reason for many indignations from other ballerinas.
If you fully disclose the personal life of Matilda Kshesinskaya, you can find out many hidden facts about her relationships with men. Since she communicated in high circles, she knew a lot of information about political structure country, state problems. By by and large she remained part of history. But, like for anyone famous person there comes a moment when you gradually lose interest in everything and want to coexist in a quiet and peaceful life. Matilda Kshesinskaya retired from ballet and lived to be 99 years old.
Matilda Kshesinskaya: Wikipedia, photo, height, weight, her children
The biography and personal life of Matilda Kshesinskaya deserves a separate discussion. There was even more fighting on Matilda’s personal front than on the creative one. After all, her fate was intertwined with one of the most significant families - the Romanov dynasty. For two whole years she was in a very close relationship with Nikolai Alexandrovich. Having met a young, ardent girl, he regularly becomes a visitor to her performances.
The expansion of their relationship is happening extremely rapidly, however, each side understands that this intensity of passions will not have a happy ending.
Their relationship ended immediately after the engagement of the Tsarevich to the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, which occurred in April 1894. However, Matilda did not lose her influence on the life of the royal family even after this.
She had good relationship with Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich. Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich will subsequently adopt the ballerina’s son and marry her, and four years later Matilda (from now on Feliksovna) will convert from Catholicism to Orthodoxy, taking the name Maria. Her decision was determined by many factors that took shape at that time. She also loved her husband very much and valued the relationship.
The biography and personal life of Matilda Kshesinskaya interests many fans of her talent. The woman made a huge contribution to the history of our state. In fact, today few people remember the ballerina as she was before.
This woman, who became a prominent figure in the history of Russia and Russian ballet, lived for almost a hundred years. The ballerina died in 1971. She became an icon of style and ballet art. Many fans from all over the world are interested in the fate that befell her.