The frank diaries of Nicholas II about Matilda Kshesinskaya have been published for the first time. Matilda Kshesinskaya - ballet star with a scandalous reputation (19 photos) Kshesinskaya's husband

Matilda Kshesinskaya - not just outstanding ballerina, whose technology significantly exceeded the abilities of our domestic contemporaries. She is one of the most influential people late XIX- beginning of the 20th century. An example of its meaning is the words of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nikolai Nikolaevich. During the First World War, when the army Russian Empire suffered greatly from a shortage of shells, he claimed that he was powerless to do anything with the artillery department, since the ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya influenced artillery affairs and participated in the distribution of orders between various organizations.

Matilda Kshesinskaya was born on August 31, 1872 in creative family. Father - Russian Pole Felix Kshesinsky, discharged from Poland as best performer his favorite mazurka, mother - Yulia Dominskaya, a rich widow ballet dancer Lede. Matilda’s sister is ballerina Yulia Kshesinskaya (referred to as “Kshesinskaya 1st”, in her marriage Zeddeler), brother is dancer and choreographer Joseph Kshesinsky.

The girl enters the Imperial Theater School and graduates in 1890. Everyone was present at the graduation ceremony royal family, and at the gala dinner Kshesinskaya sat next to the heir to the throne, Nicholas. Then Alexander III, watching Matilda’s movements with delight, utters the fateful words:

“Mademoiselle! Be the decoration and glory of our ballet!”

Matilda is accepted into the ballet troupe Mariinsky Theater, on the imperial stage of which Kshesinskaya 2nd (the 1st was officially called her sister Yulia) danced for 27 years.

Career at the Mariinsky Theater

Matilda Kshesinskaya danced in the ballets of Marius Petipa and Lev Ivanov (who was one of her teachers at the school). Kshesinskaya's first performances were 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.

After 6 years of work in the theater, Kshesinskaya was awarded the status of “prima ballerina of the imperial theaters,” despite the objections of the chief choreographer Petipa. According to some reports, it was connections at court that helped him quickly advance to the very top of the ballet hierarchy.

For her sake, only a few ballets were staged, which were subsequently not included in the list of ballet heritage. For example, in 1894, on the occasion of a wedding Grand Duchess Ksenia Alexandrovna and Grand Duke Alexander Mikhailovich presented the ballet “The Awakening of Flora” with the main role of Kshesinskaya.

Despite her stable position in the theater, Matilda Kshesinskaya constantly improved her technique, since 1898 attending private lessons from the famous teacher Enrico Cecchetti. She became the first Russian ballerina to perform 32 fouettés in a row on stage.

In 1904, Matilda Kshesinskaya quit her job. at will from the Mariinsky Theater and after the benefit performance she switched to performing on a contract basis. She earned 500 rubles for each appearance on stage, and subsequently the payment increased to 750 rubles.

The ballerina has said more than once that academically trained artists can dance anything; it is no coincidence that Mikhail Fokine invited her to his performances: “Eunika” (1907), “Butterflies” (1912), “Eros” (1915).

Intrigue

Matilda Kshesinskaya strongly opposed the invitation of foreign ballerinas to the troupe. She tried in every way to prove that Russian ballerinas were worthy of leading roles, while most of them were given to foreign artists.

The subject of intrigue was often the Italian ballerina Pierina Legnani, who, despite Kshesinskaya’s attitude, worked at the Mariinsky Theater for eight years. But the director of the Imperial Theaters, Prince Volkonsky, could not withstand Matilda’s influence; he left the theater after refusing to restore the ancient ballet “Katarina, the Robber’s Daughter.” The influential ballerina herself named the stumbling block of the costume for the Russian dance from the ballet “Camargo”.

In 1899, her long-time dream came true - Marius Petipa gave her the role of Esmeralda, and since then she has solely owned this role, which causes discontent among her colleagues. Before Matilda, this role was performed exclusively by Italians.

In addition to foreign ballerinas, “our worst enemy» Kshesinskaya was considered by the organizer of the “Russian Seasons” Sergei Diaghilev. He invited her to perform in London, which attracted Matilda much more than Paris. For this, the ballerina had to use her connections and “break through” for Diaghilev the opportunity to perform with her enterprise in St. Petersburg and get a reprieve military service for Nijinsky, who became liable for military service. For Kshesinskaya’s performance “ Swan Lake“, and not by chance - in this way Diaghilev gained access to the scenery that belonged to her.

The attempt was unsuccessful. Moreover, Diaghilev was so angry at the futility of the petition that his servant Vasily seriously suggested that he poison the ballerina.

Personal life

The personal life of Matilda Kshesinskaya is even more full of intrigue than professional activity ballerinas Her fate is closely intertwined with representatives of the Romanov dynasty.

It is believed that from 1892 to 1894 she was the mistress of Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich. After meeting, he regularly attends her performances, their relationship develops rapidly, although everyone realizes that the romance does not have a happy ending. In order to maintain decency, a mansion was bought for Kshesinskaya on the Promenade des Anglais, where they met without any interference.

“I fell in love with the Heir from our first meeting. After 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...”, writes an enthusiastic Matilda Kshesinskaya in her diary.

The reason for the breakdown of relations with the future was his engagement to Queen Victoria's granddaughter Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt in April 1894.

The ballerina's direct participation in the life of the royal family did not end there - Matilda Kshesinskaya had close relationships with the Grand Dukes Sergei Mikhailovich and Andrei Vladimirovich. On October 15, 1911, according to the Highest Decree, the patronymic “Sergeevich” was given to her son Vladimir, who was born on June 18, 1902 in Strelna. In his family he was simply called “Vova”, and his last name was “Krasinsky”.

On January 17 (30), 1921 in Cannes, in the Archangel Michael Church, Matilda Kshesinskaya entered into a morganatic marriage with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, who adopted her son and gave him his patronymic. In 1925, Matilda Feliksovna converted from Catholicism to Orthodoxy with the name Maria.

On November 30, 1926, Nicholas II's cousin Kirill Vladimirovich assigned her and her descendants the title and surname of Prince Krasinski, and on July 28, 1935 - His Serene Highness Prince Romanovsky-Krasinski.

In exile

In February 1917, Kshesinskaya and her son were forced to wander around other people’s apartments, having lost their luxurious real estate - a mansion that had turned into “ Main Headquarters Leninists", and dachas. She decides to go to Kislovodsk to see Prince Andrei Vladimirovich in the hope of returning home soon.

“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,” says Kshesinskaya in her memoirs.

At the beginning of 1918, “the wave of Bolshevism reached Kislovodsk,” and Kshesinskaya and Vova went to Anapa as refugees by the decision of Andrei’s mother, Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna. The year 1919 was spent in relatively calm Kislovodsk, from where the refugees left for Novorossiysk on a train of 2 cars. It is interesting that Maria Pavlovna and her entourage traveled first class, while Matilda and Vova were awarded third class.

Living conditions continued to deteriorate - for 6 weeks high society lived right in the carriages, while typhus was taking people all around. They then sail from Novorossiysk and receive French visas. On March 12 (25), 1920, the family arrived in Cap d’Ail, where the ballerina’s villa was located.

In 1929, Matilda Kshesinskaya opened her own ballet studio in Paris. Teacher Kshesinskaya had a calm disposition - she never raised her voice to her students.

Movies and books

The biography of Matilda Kshesinskaya, rich in events and famous people, is a subject often covered in art. Thus, the novel “Coronation, or the Last of the Novels” from the series “The Adventures of Erast Fandorin” tells about the preparations for the coronation of Emperor Nicholas II. One of the characters is Isabella Felitsianovna Snezhnevskaya, whose prototype is Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya herself.

In another work, Matilda Kshesinskaya is a key character. Presented on October 26, 2017 new picture"Matilda", which caused a public outcry even before its premiere. The plot of the film is about Kshesinskaya’s relationship with Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich, the future Emperor Nicholas II.

The scandal arose after the release of the first official trailer, containing scenes of an erotic nature with the participation of the leading actors and.

Social movement « Royal cross" accused the filmmakers of "distorting historical events"and "anti-Russian and anti-religious provocation in the sphere of culture." This prompted, known for its veneration of Nicholas II, to contact the Prosecutor General’s Office with a request to check the material.

The audit did not reveal any violations, but launched a series of mutual appeals and accusations from public figures, politicians and filmmakers.

Death

At the age of 86, 13 years before her death, Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya had a dream - she heard bells ringing, church singing and saw in front of her the figure of Alexander III, who uttered a fatal phrase about decoration and glory Russian ballet. That morning, she decided to write memoirs that lifted the veil of secrets about the personal life of the legendary Kshesinskaya.

Memoirs of Matilda Kshesinskaya were published in 1960 in Paris on French. The work was published in Russian only in 1992.

The outstanding ballerina lived a long life - she died at the age of 99 a few months before her centenary, on December 5, 1971.

Her body was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery in the suburbs of Paris in the same grave with her husband and son. The epitaph is inscribed on the monument: “The Most Serene Princess Maria Feliksovna Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya, Honored Artist of the Imperial Theaters Kshesinskaya.”

Mistress of the House of Romanov

125 years ago, a young ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya completed her first season at the Imperial Theater in St. Petersburg. A dizzying career awaited her ahead and whirlwind romance with the future Emperor Nicholas II, about whom she spoke extremely frankly in her Memoirs.

In 1890, for the first time, the royal family led by Alexander III was supposed to be present at the graduation performance of the ballet school in St. Petersburg. “This exam decided my fate,” Kshesinskaya would later write.

Fateful dinner

After the performance, the graduates watched with excitement as they walked along the long corridor leading from theater stage Members of the royal family slowly walked into the rehearsal hall where they were gathered: Alexander III with Empress Maria Feodorovna, four brothers of the sovereign with their spouses and the still very young Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich. To the surprise of everyone, the emperor loudly asked: “Where is Kshesinskaya?” When the embarrassed student was brought to him, he extended his hand to her and said: “Be the decoration and glory of our ballet.”

Seventeen-year-old Kshesinskaya was stunned by what happened in the rehearsal hall. But further events this evening seemed even more incredible. After the official part, a large festive dinner was given at the school. Alexander III took a seat at one of the lavishly served tables and asked Kshesinskaya to sit next to him. Then he pointed to the seat next to the young ballerina to his heir and, smiling, said: “Just be careful not to flirt too much.”

“I don’t remember what we talked about, but I immediately fell in love with the heir. Like now, I see his blue eyes with such 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 next to me throughout the dinner, we no longer looked at each other the same way as when we met; a feeling of attraction had already crept into his soul, as well as into mine...”

Later, they accidentally saw each other several times from afar on the streets of St. Petersburg. But the next fateful meeting with Nikolai happened in Krasnoe Selo, where, according to tradition, a camp gathering for practical shooting and maneuvers was held in the summer. A wooden theater was built there, where performances were given to entertain the officers.

Kshesinskaya, who from the moment of the graduation performance dreamed of at least seeing Nikolai up close again, was infinitely happy when he came to talk to her during intermission. However, after the preparations, the heir had to leave for 9 months trip around the world.

“After the summer season, when I could meet and talk with him, my feeling filled my entire soul, and all I could think about was him. It seemed to me that although he was not in love, he still felt attracted to me, and I involuntarily gave myself up to dreams. We had never been able to talk alone, and I didn’t know how he felt about me. I found out this only later, when we became close...”

Matilda Kshesinskaya. Mysteries of life. Documentary

More details and a variety of information about events taking place in Russia, Ukraine and other countries of our beautiful planet can be obtained at Internet Conferences, constantly held on the website “Keys of Knowledge”. All Conferences are open and completely free. We invite everyone who wakes up and is interested...

Matilda Kshesinskaya first appeared on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater at the age of four. The ballerina, whom Alexander III called “the adornment of Russian ballet,” participated in Diaghilev’s Seasons and became His Serene Highness Princess Romanovskaya.

“Her dance is as varied as the sparkle of a diamond.”

Matilda Kshesinskaya was born in 1872 in the family of dancer Felix Kshesinsky and ballerina Yulia Dolinskaya. At eight years old, the girl entered the Imperial Theater School. Kshesinskaya easily repeated complex steps and diligently practiced at the barre. She was compared to a butterfly fluttering around the stage - and at the age of nine she was given a role in Ludwig Minkus's ballet Don Quixote.

In her senior year, Kshesinskaya suddenly lost interest in ballet and even decided to quit school. She was inspired by the dance of the Italian ballerina Virginia Zucchi from the ballet “A Vain Precaution.” Kshesinskaya later recalled: “It seemed to me that for the first time I began to understand how to dance in order to have the right to be called an artist. I immediately came to life and understood what I needed to strive for.” Two years later, she brilliantly repeated the flirtatious dance at the graduation concert.

At the graduation party, Matilda Kshesinskaya met Tsarevich Nicholas, the future Nicholas II: Alexander III himself invited her to the imperial table with the words: “Be the decoration and glory of our ballet.” Soon the heir to the throne and the young ballerina fell in love with each other. Their romance was encouraged by the imperial couple; Nikolai bought gifts for Kshesinskaya with money from a specially created fund.

Matilda Kshesinskaya. Photo: wikimedia.org

Matilda Kshesinskaya. Photo: marta-club.ru

Matilda Kshesinskaya. Photo: wikiquote.org

During these years, Kshesinskaya danced on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. After her debut in Pyotr Tchaikovsky's ballet The Sleeping Beauty, court choreographer Marius Petipa created roles especially for her. Russian and European critics wrote about her impeccable technique and “ideal lightness.”

Tsarevich Nikolai tried not to miss a single performance of Kshesinskaya. He gave the ballerina a mansion. Later she recalled how Nikolai danced in the living room of her new house - he performed the parts of Little Red Riding Hood and the Wolf from the ballet “Sleeping Beauty”. Their romance ended in 1894, when Alexander III died. A week after the funeral, Emperor Nicholas II married Grand Duchess Alexandra Fedorovna.

Matilda Kshesinskaya went on tour to Monte Carlo, then to Poland. Triumph awaited her in Warsaw. “Gazeta Polska” wrote: “Her dance is varied, like the shine of a diamond: sometimes it is distinguished by lightness and softness, sometimes it breathes fire and passion; at the same time, he is always graceful and delights the viewer with the wonderful harmony of all movements.”

When the ballerina returned to Russia, celebrations were being prepared in St. Petersburg to mark the coronation of Nicholas II. Especially for Matilda Kshesinskaya, Marius Petipa included the role of the “yellow pearl” in the ceremonial performance.

"The first star of Russian ballet"

In 1899, Matilda Kshesinskaya performed the role of Esmeralda in Petipa's ballet. After the premiere, the choreographer himself, usually reserved in his assessments, called Kshesinskaya the first star of Russian ballet.

Matilda Kshesinskaya. Photo: rusiti.ru

The ballerina carefully prepared for each performance. On the eve of the performance, she refused visits and receptions and followed a strict regime and diet. On the day of the performance, I spent all the time in bed, with practically no food or water. Kshesinskaya rehearsed without rest and studied additionally with Italian choreographer Enrico Cecchetti. She was the first among Russian ballerinas to perform a special ballet trick on stage - 32 fouettés in a row. Kshesinskaya's repertoire quickly expanded.

“Of all the ballets, more than half of the best belong to her. She considered them her property and could give or not let others dance them.”

Vladimir Telyakovsky, theater figure

Matilda Kshesinskaya supported her talented colleagues. It was she who insisted that Marius Petipa pay more attention to Anna Pavlova. Before Tamara Karsavina's premiere, Kshesinskaya gave her her stage costume. With the future “unsettling star” Vaslav Nijinsky, the ballerina honed her lifts.

After serving in the theater for 10 years, Matilda Kshesinskaya organized her own benefit performance (although according to the rules, the first benefit performance was due after 20 years of work). At a gala dinner, the ballerina met cousin Nicholas II Prince Andrei Vladimirovich. A romance broke out between them. In the fall of 1901, the lovers went on a trip to Europe, and on the way back, Matilda Kshesinskaya realized that she was expecting a child.

The ballerina danced on stage while she managed to hide her pregnancy. In June 1902, Kshesinskaya’s son Vladimir was born, and two months later she returned to the stage.

During these years, the era of Mikhail Fokin began at the Mariinsky Theater. He experimented with classical ballet choreography, making it more emotional and liberated: “Body movements should not descend to banal plasticity... dance must reflect the soul.” Kshesinskaya, an academic ballerina, had difficulty getting used to innovations, but still participated in Mikhail Fokine’s productions of Evnika, Butterflies, and Eros.

In 1911, Sergei Diaghilev invited Kshesinskaya to be a soloist in his ballet company. During the five weeks of her London tour, Kshesinskaya performed nine times - in Sleeping Beauty, Carnival, and Swan Lake. In 1912, Kshesinskaya performed with Diaghilev's troupe in Vienna and Monte Carlo.

Your Serene Highness Princess Romanovskaya

During the First World War, Matilda Kshesinskaya performed at the front and in hospitals, participated in charity concerts. Last time she danced in Russia in 1917 - her favorite number “Russian” on the stage of the Petrograd Conservatory.

Matilda Kshesinskaya with her son. Photo: media.tumblr.com

Matilda Kshesinskaya. Photo: blogspot.com

Matilda Kshesinskaya. Photo: liveinternet.ru

After the Revolution, Kshesinskaya's mansion was occupied by the Bolsheviks. Everything that was in the house - several pounds of silverware, jewelry from Faberge, valuable interior items - went into the hands of the sailors. The ballerina did the impossible: she filed a lawsuit against the Bolsheviks and won. But the property and mansion were never returned to her. In the summer of 1917, Matilda Kshesinskaya and her son left St. Petersburg and went first to Kislovodsk to see Andrei Vladimirovich, and then all together abroad. They settled in Provence, where the ballerina had own house. In France, Kshesinskaya and Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich got married, and the ballerina received the title of Most Serene Princess Romanovskaya.

In Paris, Matilda Kshesinskaya opened her ballet studio. Her students were the daughters of Fyodor Chaliapin, Marina and Daria, and future stars of English and French ballet- Margot Fonteyn, Yvette Chauvire, Pamela May. Kshesinskaya worked hard and did not give up teaching even after she developed arthritis. She continued to teach her students when she herself could walk with a cane.

The ballet school was Kshesinskaya’s only source of income: in the late 40s, the ballerina became interested in playing roulette and almost went bankrupt. They called her “Madame Seventeen”: she always bet on this number. This was explained by the fact that it was at the age of 17 that she met Nicholas II.

In 1958, Matilda Kshesinskaya attended a performance Bolshoi Theater, which toured in Paris. The artist recalled: “Although I don’t go anywhere else... I made an exception and went to the Opera to see the Russians. I cried with happiness. It was the same ballet that I had seen more than forty years ago, with the same spirit and the same traditions.”

Kshesinskaya lived for almost 100 years and died a few months before the anniversary. She is buried in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois cemetery near Paris. The epitaph is engraved on her monument: “The Most Serene Princess Maria Feliksovna Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya, Honored Artist of the Imperial Theaters Kshesinskaya.”

In October of this year, viewers expect the premiere of the best-selling film “Matilda” (Kshesinskaya). The film by Teacher Alexey was shot in the genre of historical melodrama. Its main character is the favorite of the Russian Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich in 1892-1894, prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater.

The public expects the show to be an event in cultural life countries. The film's budget is $25 million. More than 5,000 costumes were made for filming. The script was written by Russian writer Alexander Terekhov, laureate of the “Big Book” and “ National bestseller" The role of Nicholas II is played by German actor Lars Eidinger, who gives a sensational interpretation of Shakespeare's Richard III and Hamlet. The role of Kshesinskaya will be played by twenty-four-year-old Polish actress Michalina Olshanskaya.

The official trailer posted on the Internet presents upcoming picture as the main Russian historical blockbuster of 2017. The catchy advertisement does not skimp on epithets: “the secret of the House of Romanov,” “the love that changed Russia.” Filmmakers are trying to create maximum intrigue around this premiere.

And they seem to be succeeding. The Russian viewer was interested in the person who became the prototype main character paintings. Many wondered what she really was like, Matilda Kshesinskaya.

Controversial personality

Did Kshesinskaya’s love, as the film interprets it, really “change the history of Russia”? For the sake of objectivity, it should be said that for Nicholas II she was only the subject of a brief affair in her youth. Let's be honest: Kshesinskaya, who lived according to the principles of Madame Pompadour, as a person was not worth a candle to the sovereign.

The emperor was a deep, tragic person. He loved his wife Alexandra until his very end, adored his four daughters and sick son Alexei. He, an intelligent and gentle man, inherited huge problems in the country that he could not cope with. The brutal murder of him and his entire family ended the path of the earthly sovereign.

So who is she, the beautiful, slender, charming woman looking at us from the portraits? Is the angel what he seems? The last director of the imperial theaters, Vladimir Telyakovsky, wrote about her objectively: “an extraordinary, technically strong, but morally impudent, insolent, cynical ballerina, living with two great princes at once...”.

Matilda's appearance

Matilda Kshesinskaya was distinguished by her miniature and surprisingly well-cut figure. The ballerina's height - 1 meter 53 centimeters - undoubtedly contributed to the self-affirmation of the man standing next to her. The Russian emperor, undoubtedly, also instinctively felt her feminine fragility. According to the recollections of contemporaries, in her youth the girl was unusually lively and cheerful, she seemed as mobile as mercury, and had a light and cheerful disposition.

In a circle of mostly thin Mariinsky ballerinas feminine beauty and Matilda Kshesinskaya was especially distinguished by her proportional forms. She weighed slightly more than her colleagues, but not significantly.

Childhood, youth

The heroine of this article was born into an acting family of Russified Poles on August 19, 1872. Her dad, Felix Kshesinsky, danced on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater. Father future prima possessed European fame as an unsurpassed mazurka dancer. It was as a performer of his favorite dance that Emperor Nicholas I discharged him from Warsaw. The mother of the future prima, Julia Dominskaya, was a remarkable woman in her own way. She married Felix Kshesinsky, already having five children, and then gave birth to three more. Matilda was the youngest.

From the age of eight, my father gave youngest daughter student at the ballet school. In addition to Malechka (that’s what her family called her), her older sister, Yulia Kshesinskaya, also danced. Matilda graduated from the Imperial School theatrical arts. She had a decent ballet education. The girl was given lessons by well-known teachers in Europe:

• choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater Lev Ivanovich Ivanov, famous classical productions"The Nutcracker" and "Swan Lake";
• dancer and teacher Christian Joganson, who stayed in Russia out of love and was the leading dancer of the Stockholm Royal Opera (before Marius Petipa, the best performer of male ballet roles);
• prima of the Mariinsky Theater Ekaterina Vazem, trained in ballet by the French dancer E. Huguet.

The imperial family was present at the college graduation exam. Alexander III then singled her out among her fellow students. During the gala dinner, the monarch seated Matilda, frozen with happiness, next to Tsarevich Nicholas. Obviously, this was no accident. Perhaps it was the will of Emperor Alexander III, who singled her out among the graduates of the school, for his son to become a man before the wedding.

Matilda Kshesinskaya understood perfectly well: ballet dancers have always been loved by the powers that be. And she didn't miss her chance at the prom.

Theater ballerina

Upon completion of her studies in 1890, ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya was accepted into the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. At first, the actors called the new girl Kshesinskaya the second, since Kshesinskaya the first was her older sister.

In her first season, she took part in 21 operas and 22 ballets. However, this demand was explained not only by talent. Tsarevich Nicholas wanted to see the ballerina on stage.

Continuing acquaintance with the Tsarevich

The spectacular Matilda Kshesinskaya managed to interest the emperor even at the prom. And as a result, their romance lasted for two years.

And on the day of their first meeting, Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nikolai were spinning in a waltz. The twenty-year-old Tsarevich undoubtedly felt that the dance and this young girl were one whole. As if flying home on wings, his dance partner poured out her impressions in her diary. The text ended with a phrase regarding the heir to the Russian throne: “He will be mine anyway!”

The second time, Malya found the opportunity to meet the Tsarevich while performing at the Krasnoselsky Theater. Guards camps were set up near him, where the Tsarevich served in the Life Hussar Regiment.

At the end of the performances, the dancer made it a rule to flirt with the young officers. One day Nikolai found himself between them. He was literally charmed by the radiant, magnificent Matilda Kshesinskaya. The photos given in the article can confirm this impression.

The emperor clearly sympathized with the girl; an entry appeared in his diary: “Champagne flows in her instead of blood.”

The serious relationship between the crown prince and the ballerina began after Nicholas, in the uniform of a life hussar, came to her house incognito, calling himself Volkov. Then he gave the girl a gold bracelet with precious stones. It is noteworthy that for the time being their love was completely approved by their family. In particular, the Tsarevich bought gifts for Matilda, taking money from a separate family fund.

And soon Matilda Kshesinskaya lived in her own mansion. The memoirs of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich testify that this house became a place of fun and young pranks of the Romanov men. The little girl attracted them all like a magnet. Did you know what was happening in former house Rimsky-Korsakov on English Avenue, Alexander III? Without a doubt!

Kshesinskaya and theater

For Kshesinskaya, the Mariinsky Theater was not the holiday that it seemed to Tsarevich Nicholas. For her, he was associated with intrigue and the struggle for life. After all, on the same stage with her, who came and went, danced one of the best ballerinas of the 20th century, Anna Pavlova, as well as the famous prima with filigree technique, Yulia Sedova.

We must pay tribute to Matilda’s hard work. Not having Pavlova's talent, the ballet dancer through persistent training achieved recognized purity of movements. She was the first among Russian ballerinas to perform thirty-two fouettés in a row, for which she took private lessons in complex rotations and finger techniques from Italian choreographer Enrico Cecchetti.

Kshesinskaya Matilda on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater performed the ballet roles of Odette-Odile (Swan Lake), the Sugar Plum Fairy (The Nutcracker), Princess Aurora (The Sleeping Beauty), Nikia (La Bayadère).

The ballerina’s idol was the Italian prima Virginia Zucchi, who danced with her on the same stage for several years. This Italian woman received applause as soon as she appeared on stage; Chekhov mentioned her name in his stories, and Stanislavsky highly appreciated the Italian woman’s dramatic style of dancing. However, Matilda, unlike Virginia, did not intend to devote her entire life to ballet.

In 1896, Matilda Kshesinskaya became a prima ballerina of the imperial theaters. This is the top of the Russian ballet hierarchy. The objectivity of such an assessment remains controversial. The choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater, Marius Petipa, also disagreed with her. However, he could only bow his head to the will of the august persons in whose circle Matilda moved.

How Kshesinskaya prepared for performances

Matilda was talented and disciplined in her own way. She always separated her theatrical and personal life. She performed infrequently, but at the height of the season. A month before the performance, the ballerina devoted herself entirely to the gym, without taking anyone, went to bed early, followed a diet, and controlled her weight. Before the performance, I lay in bed for 24 hours, taking only a light breakfast. Two hours before the performance, Matilda arrived at the theater for makeup.

But the dancer allowed herself long breaks. She adored gambling into cards. She was always laughing and cheerful. According to the recollections of the Mariinsky ballerinas, sleepless nights did not spoil her appearance.

Diamond Ballerina

But after a couple of years, Kshesinskaya began to abuse high patronage. Matilda even danced as a beggar woman wearing diamond earrings and a pearl necklace. She always appeared before the audience in a new fashionable dress and her hair done in a Parisian style. The ballerina sparkled on stage with diamonds and sapphires - gifts from men from the Romanov family.

One day, the director of the Imperial Council of Theaters, Volkonsky, even fined Kshesinskaya for ignoring his order to act in a special costume. She complained, and a few days later the Minister of the Household canceled the fine.

After this, Prince Volkonsky resigned. This momentary victory outraged her theater world Russia, because the artists respected Volkonsky.

Could the Mariinsky's choreographer, Maurice Petipa, argue with an influential favorite who fired his minister? Last director Imperial Theaters Telyakovsky later wrote in his memoirs that ballet for her was not a way of life, but a means of gaining influence.

Supported by the imperial family, Kshesinskaya acted as if the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theater belonged to her. She appointed artists to roles, and completely deprived those who were undesirable of the opportunity to dance.

Her name was on the first lines of the posters, but it in a strange way turned out to be in no way connected with the Great ballet performances. Petipa staged several performances especially for Kshesinskaya: “The Awakening of Flora”, “The Seasons”, “Harlequinade”, “La Bayadère”.

In the last performance on the list, the choreographer condescended to have Matilda assisted by artists above her class: Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Fokin, Yulia Sedova, Mikhail Obukhov. From a ballet point of view, this was absurd.

Will the October blockbuster reflect the fact that prima Matilda Kshesinskaya actually failed the performances of “The Mikado’s Daughter” and “The Magic Mirror”? The film will most likely remain silent about this.

About Kshesinskaya’s relationship with the Romanovs

The date of Nikolai's engagement to Alice of Hesse - April 7, 1894 - became the point of no return in the relationship between the ballerina and Nikolai. They parted as friends; she was allowed to address him as “you” in her letters. The Emperor also generously promised to help the ballerina in everything she asked. Did Matilda Kshesinskaya suffer from a breakup with the main groom of Russia? A photo of her smiling in the company of her next lover, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, will be the answer. Nicholas I entrusted his retired mistress to the care of his cousin.

In 1902, the son of Matilda Kshesinskaya, Vladimir, was born, whose paternity remains controversial to this day. At her benefit performance at the Mariinsky Theater, the master of fouetté began an affair with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, and turned the latter’s head so that he behaved inappropriately for the Romanov family.

The fate of Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, shot near Sverdlovsk by the Bolsheviks and thrown into a mine without burial, is unenviable. During his lifetime, Kshesinskaya turned him into her shadow, a squire, and then abandoned him. Poor Sergei Mikhailovich did not start a family until the end of his days.

It is noteworthy that the patronymic of the ballerina’s son Vladimir was Sergeevich until he was ten years old, then he became Andreevich.

Benefit

In 1900, in honor of Kshesinskaya, who devoted only ten years of her life to the stage, the Mariinsky Theater gave a benefit performance. Although theatrical order To do this, you had to dance twice as long. The Ministry of the Court presented her with a platinum eagle with diamonds on a gold chain (Malya told Niki that the usual ring for these occasions would upset her).

In 1904, Kshesinskaya resigned from the Mariinsky, signing a contract with him to participate in individual performances. She knew how to keep herself in shape.

If we judge “in ballet terms,” then Kshesinskaya left the big ballet prematurely. Temptation rich life took her away from art. In 1908, she was persuaded to perform as a guest ballerina, and Matilda successfully toured the Grand Opera (Paris), demonstrating her 32 fouettés to the public. According to experts, this was the peak of her form.

Here she begins an affair with the artist Vladimirov, which ends in his duel with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich.

Kshesinskaya's ambitions

Malya, feeling that she had pulled out a lucky ticket in life, lived in grand style. There was a running joke in St. Petersburg that most of items from the Romanov court jeweler Faberge eventually end up in her box.

The fact remains: from a poor dancer she turned into the richest woman in Russia. Matilda Kshesinskaya, whose biography contains more questions about this than answers, clearly had more than the salary of the Mariinsky prima and even the gifts of Tsarevich Nicholas allowed her.

It is significant that in 1984 Kshesinskaya acquired a palace in Strelna, overhauled it and even electrified it by building a private power station. In the spring of 1906, she built herself a palace on Kronverksky Avenue. In its design, according to the ballerina’s plan, all European architectural trends alternate, but the Russian Empire style with the Louis XVI style is dominant. The palace is furnished and lit according to the Paris catalogue.

The question of where such significant investments came from, apparently, could be answered by her lover, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, who had access to the Russian military budget. This is not an unfounded accusation. In the diary of the Grand Duke, researchers found his complaint that Kshesinskaya’s appetites were preventing him from purchasing provisions.

The decline of Kshesinskaya's life

Matilda was a caliph for an hour, a lady who dreamed of wealth and found it from rich lovers. She was a gambler throughout her life; in the casino she was nicknamed “Madame 17” for her frequent bets on this number. She was hated by the Russian theater world for her intrigue. If it were possible to create such scales, on one side of which we put her achievements in art, and on the other - the damage she caused to the ballet of Russia and the authority of the royal house, then the second scale would confidently pull down.

After the revolution, its palaces were looted. And on February 19, 1920, Kshesinskaya sailed to Istanbul on the Semiramida liner. In 1921, she married Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. She was given the title of Most Serene Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya. The husband recognized her son Vladimir as his relative. In a controversial situation, thanks to the influence of the ballerina on the sovereign, the son received noble title and the supposedly returned surname of the bankrupt ancestors - Krasinsky.

In 1929, Matilda Kshesinskaya opened her ballet studio in Paris, which enjoyed great success. People even flew there from overseas to study. And the ballerina died at the age of 99. She was buried in the Russian cemetery of Saint-Genevier in Paris.

Conclusion

What was she like? The richest ballerina in Russia, Matilda Kshesinskaya? The film, which will be released this fall, will try to instill in us: passionate, romantic.

It should be admitted that the Russian lady of Polish origin had ballet talent, but was not eager to write her name in the history of art. Social life was more important to her. Ballet was only a means to attract the attention of crowned persons. Matilda lived not by the impulses of her soul, but by calculation and intrigue, trampling upon decency. Having secured the support of the sovereign, she arranged a comfortable, but ignoble life for herself, having affairs with two grand dukes at the same time, taking out the government money available to them from each.

Alexey Kulegin

Head of the editorial and publishing department of the State Museum of Political History of Russia, candidate historical sciences, author of the study “The Case of the Mansion. How the Bolsheviks “densified” Matilda Kshesinskaya” and “Diva for the Emperor. Nicholas II and Matilda Kshesinskaya" and the exhibition "Matilda Kshesinskaya: Fouette of Fate", which has been running at the Museum of Political History of Russia since 2015.

Family

Matilda Kshesinskaya came from a theatrical family. Her father Felix Yanovich (in Russian transcription - Ivanovich) was famous ballet dancer, performed at the Warsaw Opera. They even went on stage together: there is a photograph of them dancing the mazurka in the opera “A Life for the Tsar.” Felix Yanovich lived a very long life and died due to an accident: during

Felix Kshesinsky with his wife Julia

During one of the rehearsals, he accidentally fell into an open hatch, and, apparently, severe fright and injury brought his death closer. Kshesinskaya's mother Yulia Dominskaya was also an artist. Almost all her children went to ballet: Matilda’s older sister Julia did not become the same famous ballerina, but brother Joseph received the title of Honored Artist, which he retained in Soviet time.

Meeting the Imperial Family

In 1890, Matilda very successfully graduated from the Imperial Theater School (now the Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet. - Note A.K.) in 17 years. Prom and became a turning point in the fate of Kshesinskaya - there she met with the heir, the Tsarevich.

Nicholas II

According to tradition, the royal family is almost in full force attended this event. Ballet was considered a privileged art - as it was later, in Soviet times. The powers that be showed interest in him in every sense - often they were interested not only in the performances, but also in the ballerinas themselves, with whom the princes and grand dukes had many affairs.

So, on March 23, 1890, after exams, the royal family arrived at the school. After a short ballet fragment, in which Kshesinskaya also participated (she danced the pas de deux from “ Vain precaution"), followed by dinner with the pupils. According to Matilda, Alexander III wanted to meet her and asked where Kshesinskaya was. She was introduced, although usually in the foreground there should have been another girl - the best student in the graduating class. Then Alexander allegedly uttered the famous words that predetermined future destiny Kshesinskaya: “Be the beauty and pride of Russian ballet!” Most likely, this is a myth invented later by Kshesinskaya herself: she loved to engage in self-PR and left behind a diary and memoirs that do not match in some details.

Matilda Kshesinskaya

The Emperor sat Kshesinskaya together with Nicholas, who was four years older than Matilda, and said something like: “Just don’t flirt too much.” It’s interesting that Kshesinskaya initially perceived that historical dinner as a boring, routine thing. She didn’t care at all what great princes would be there, who would be nearby. However, they quickly had a casual conversation with Nikolai. Even when they parted, it was clear that this meeting was not accidental. Returning to Anichkov Palace, Nikolai left the following entry in his diary: “We went to a performance at the Theater School. There were short plays and ballet. I had a very good dinner with my pupils” - nothing more. However, he, of course, remembered his acquaintance with Kshesinskaya. Two years later, Nikolai will write: “At 8 o’clock. went to the Theater School, where I saw good performance drama classes and ballet. At dinner I sat with the pupils, as before, only little Kshesinskaya is sorely missing.”

Novel

Kshesinskaya was enrolled in the troupe of the Imperial Theaters, but at first she, a young debutante, was not given large roles. In the summer of 1890 she performed at the wooden Krasnoselsky Theater. It was built for the entertainment of guards officers, among whom were all the great princes, including Nicholas. Backstage, she and Matilda once met and exchanged in short phrases; Nikolai wrote in his diary: “I really like Kshesinskaya 2” Kshesinskaya First, in turn, was called Matilda’s sister Julia. They almost never saw each other alone. All in all, an innocent, sweet situation.

Then a famous event occurred - the heir’s round-the-world voyage on the cruiser “Memory of Azov”. Kshesinskaya was very worried that Nikolai would forget her. But this did not happen, although the journey lasted more than a year. Upon their return, the young people met at the theater, and in March 1892 their first private date took place. This is stated in the memoirs, although in fact Nikolai came to her parents’ apartment, and the three of them were in the room with her sister Kshesinskaya.

The first - in French - edition of Matilda Kshesinskaya's memoirs was published in Paris in 1960

You can learn how it was from Matilda’s diary. In the evening, Kshesinskaya felt unwell; the maid came into the room and announced that their acquaintance, the hussar Volkov, had arrived. Kshesinskaya ordered to ask - it turned out it was Nikolai. They spent more than two hours together, drinking tea, talking, looking at photos; Nikolai even chose a card, then said that he would like to write to it, received permission to reply letters and subsequently asked Kshesinskaya to address him on a first-name basis.

The climax of their relationship came in the winter of 1892–1893. Most likely, Nikolai and Matilda became lovers. The diary of Nikolai, a very closed and reserved person, is replete with descriptions of meetings: “I went to M.K., where I had dinner as usual and had a great time,” “I went to M.K., spent a wonderful three hours with her,” “I just left at 12 ½ straight to M.K. Stayed a very long time and had an extremely good time.” Kshesinskaya kept a very ladylike diary, where she described her experiences, feelings, and tears. Nikolai has no liberties. However, this is how he writes about the winter events: “January 25, 1893. Monday. In the evening I flew to my M.K. and spent the best evening with her so far. I am impressed by her - the pen is shaking in my hand.” Even in the description of much more formidable events, such strong emotions on Nikolai’s part are practically invisible. "January 27, 1893. At 12 o'clock went to M.K., who had until 4 hours left. (meaning, until four o'clock in the morning. - Note ed.). We had a good chat, and laughed, and messed around.” Later, they decided that Kshesinskaya should live separately: meeting with her parents was too inconvenient - especially since the girls’ small bedroom was adjacent to her father’s office. With the support of Nikolai, Kshesinskaya rented a house at 18 Anglisky Prospekt - from now on they saw each other there.

Kshesinskaya first asked permission from her father. At that time, moving an unmarried girl away from her parents was considered indecent, and Felix Yanovich hesitated for a long time. As a result, they talked: her father explained to her that this relationship was futile, the novel had no future. Kshesinskaya replied that she understood all this, but she was madly in love with Niki and wanted to remain at least somewhat happy. The following decision was made - the father allowed the move, but only with his older sister.

Nikolai Romanov began keeping a diary in 1882. The last entry was made 9 days before the execution - June 30, 1918

They started living in a house with very interesting story. Its most famous owner was the uncle of Emperor Alexander III, Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolaevich . In addition to the fact that he was a great liberal (and Alexander III could not stand him for this), Constantine was de facto a bigamist: he left his legal wife and lived there with a ballerina Anna Kuznetsova .

They usually say that the move took place in winter. Matilda is not in the diary exact date, but Nikolai has it. He wrote: “February 20 (1893). I didn’t go to the theater, but I went to M.K. and the four of us had a great housewarming dinner. They moved to a new home, a cozy two-story mansion house. The rooms are decorated very well and simply, but some things still need to be added. It is very nice to have a separate household and be independent. We sat again until four o’clock.” The fourth guest is Baron Alexander Zeddeler, a colonel whom Julia later married. Kshesinskaya described in detail how she was engaged in landscaping: she generally enjoyed doing construction work.

Gap

This was the climax of the novel and at the same time the beginning of the end. The prospect of marriage with Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt loomed more and more clearly, future Alexandra Fedorovna. Nikolai wrote quite interestingly in his diary: “A very strange phenomenon that I notice in myself: I never thought that two identical feelings, two loves, simultaneously combined in my soul. Now it’s been four years that I love Alix G. and constantly cherish the thought that if God allows me to marry her someday...” The problem was that his parents did not really approve of this choice. They had other plans - Maria Fedorovna, say, was counting on a marriage with a French princess; I looked at other options as well.

Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt - future Empress Alexandra Feodorovna

Nikolai came to Alice several times, but it was not possible to woo him - which Kshesinskaya was very happy about. She wrote: I was again glad that nothing had happened, that Niki had returned to me, that he was so happy. Was he really that happy or not? big question. Alice did not want to convert to Orthodoxy. It was an important condition dynastic marriage. Her sister Ella (Elizaveta Feodorovna) In 1918, the Bolsheviks threw her, along with other members of the imperial family, into a mine near Alapaevsk. In 1992, the Russian Orthodox Church canonized Elizaveta Feodorovna as a saint., who became the wife of the Moscow governor Sergei Alexandrovich He was killed in 1905 by revolutionary Ivan Kalyaev, also did not immediately agree to this. Alice hesitated for a long time, and only in the spring of 1894 the engagement took place. Even before this, Nikolai broke off relations with Kshesinskaya.

Matilda describes them in great detail last date- near some sheds on Volkhonskoye Highway. She came from the city in a carriage, he arrived on horseback from the guards camps. According to her version, Nikolai said that their love would forever remain the brightest moment of his youth, and allowed her to continue to contact him as you, promised to respond to any of her requests. Kshesinskaya was very worried - this is described in her memoirs and a little in her diaries, but after parting with Nikolai, the diaries ended. She probably abandoned them in frustration. At least, we know nothing about the existence of other similar records.

According to the memoirs of the emperor's valet, Nicholas drank a glass of milk every evening and meticulously wrote down everything that happened to him that day. At some point he simply stopped mentioning Matilda. At the beginning of 1893, Nikolai wrote something almost every day “about my Mala”, “about my M.K.” or about “flying to little M.” Then the mentions became less and less, and by 1894 they disappeared completely. But you need to take into account the nuances - his diaries could be read by strangers, parents, valet.

Attitude to the novel in the imperial family and in society

There are several versions about what the royal family thought about Nicholas’s affair with Matilda. It is believed that their first meeting was a well-prepared impromptu. Allegedly, Alexander III began to worry that the heir had become lethargic, inert, that he already seemed to be a grown-up young man, but there were still no novels. On the advice of Konstantin Pobedonostsev, Nikolai’s teacher and the main ideologist of the Russian Empire, Alexander decided to find him a girl - ballerinas were undoubtedly suitable for this purpose. In particular, Matilda - she had a slightly dubious, but still nobility, was young, not spoiled by high-profile novels, and perhaps even remained a virgin.

Judging by Matilda's diary, Nikolai hinted at intimacy, but could not make up his mind. Their romance was platonic for at least two years, which Nikolai emphasizes. According to Matilda, during a meeting in early January 1893, a decisive explanation takes place between them on an intimate topic, from which Kshesinskaya understands that Nikolai is afraid to be her first. Nevertheless, Matilda managed to somehow overcome this embarrassment. No one held a candle: there were no documents strictly confirming the erotic connection. Personally, I am sure that there was an intimate relationship between Nikolai and Matilda. Agree, “the pen trembles in the hand” was written for a reason - especially by the heir to the throne, whose choice is actually practically unlimited. No one doubts the romance itself - platonic or not. However, the historian Alexander Bokhanov Author of many books about Russian emperors - from Paul I to Nicholas II - and a history textbook Russia XIX century. Monarchist believes that there was no intimate relationship, otherwise Matilda would have tried to give birth to a child from Nikolai. Of course, there was no child, this is a myth. Well, in 1894 the romance definitely stopped. You can consider Nikolai useless statesman, but he was faithful to his family: his father’s nature, and not his grandfather’s, who had a lot of novels.

Alexander III with his wife, Empress Maria Feodorovna

Maria Feodorovna knew for sure about Nikolai’s affair. One of the ladies-in-waiting told her about this - before that, the empress complained that her son often did not spend the night at home. The lovers tried to disguise their meetings in a rather funny way. For example, Nikolai said that he was going to Grand Duke Alexei Alekseevich. The fact is that the mansion on English Avenue adjoined his house with a garden: the route was the same, the address was different. Or he said that he was going somewhere and stopped there after Matilda. There are known rumors about an affair, recorded by the owner of a high-society salon, Alexandra Viktorovna Bogdanovich. Her diary was published several times: she kept it from the 1870s until 1912. In the evening, after receiving guests, Bogdanovich carefully wrote down all the new gossip in her notebook. Also preserved are essays by the ballet figure Denis Leshkov. He writes that rumors reached the highest parents. Mom got angry and instructed one of her outhouse adjutants to go to Felix Yanovich (Matilda was still living with her family at that time) in order to forbid him, under any plausible pretext, to receive the crown prince at home. Felix Yanovich found himself in a very difficult situation. A solution was found in the spirit of Dumas’s novels, writes Leshkov: the young people saw each other in a carriage standing in a secluded alley.

IN famous mansion Kshesinskaya moved to Kuibysheva Street in the winter of 1906. By that time, she, the prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater, already had a son, Vladimir, and she herself was in a relationship with two other grand dukes - Sergei Mikhailovich Before the revolution, he was considered the father of Vladimir - therefore, since 1911, the child bore the patronymic “Sergeevich” And Andrey Vladimirovich He married Matilda Kshesinskaya in 1921 and adopted Vladimir - he changed his middle name to “Andreevich”. By that time they were living in France. Nikolai gave her a house on English Avenue, and we even know how much it cost - approximately 150 thousand rubles. Judging by the documents that I found, Kshesinskaya tried to sell it, and this figure is indicated there. It is not known how much Nikolai regularly spent on his novel. Kshesinskaya herself wrote that his gifts were good, but not large.

Of course, the newspapers did not mention the novel - there were no independent media at that time. But for the high society of St. Petersburg, the connection with Kshesinskaya was not a secret: not only Bogdanovich mentions her, but also, for example, Alexey Suvorin, Chekhov’s friend and publisher of Novoye Vremya - and unambiguously and in rather indecent expressions. In my opinion, Bogdanovich indicates that after the breakup, different options were discussed on what to do with Kshesinskaya. Mayor Victor von Wahl suggested either giving her money and sending her somewhere, or simply expelling her from St. Petersburg.

After 1905, an opposition press appeared in the country with materials very different levels. Well, the real squall begins in 1917. For example, in the March issue of the New Satyricon the cartoon “Victim of the New System” was published. It depicts a reclining Kshesinskaya, who reasons: “My close relationship with the old government was easy for me - it consisted of one person. But what will I do now, when the new government - the Council of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies - consists of two thousand people?

Matilda Kshesinskaya died on December 6, 1971 in Paris at the age of 99. In exile, she bore the title of Most Serene Princess, which was assigned to her by Grand Duke Kirill Vladimirovich, who in 1924 proclaimed himself Emperor of All Russia.