Aleksey Uchitel's film "Matilda" has finally been released in Russia - a seemingly ordinary drama about the romance between the last Russian emperor and a ballerina, which suddenly, quite unexpectedly, caused an unprecedented seething of passions, scandals and even serious death threats against the director and members of the film crew . Well, while the intrigued Russian public, in a state of some confusion, is preparing to personally assess the source of the all-Russian hype, Vladimir Tikhomirov tells what Matilda Kshesinskaya was like in life.
Ballerina of blue bloods
According to the Kshesinsky family legend, Kshesinsky’s great-great-great-grandfather was Count Krasinsky, who possessed enormous wealth. After his death, almost the entire inheritance went to his eldest son - Kshesinskaya’s great-great-grandfather, but his youngest son I received practically nothing. But soon the happy heir died and all the wealth passed to his 12-year-old son Wojciech, who remained in the care of a French teacher.
Wojciech's uncle decided to kill the boy in order to take possession of his fortune. He hired two killers, one of whom repented at the very last moment and told Wojciech’s teacher about the plot. As a result, he secretly took the boy to France, where he registered him under the name Kshesinsky.
The only thing that Kshesinskaya has preserved as proof of her high-born origin is a ring with the coat of arms of the Counts Krasinski.
From childhood - to the machine
Ballet was Matilda's destiny from birth. The father, Pole Felix Kshesinsky, was a dancer and teacher, as well as the creator of a family troupe: the family had eight children, each of whom decided to connect his life with the stage. Matilda was the youngest. At the age of three she was sent to ballet class.
By the way, she is far from the only one of the Kshesinskys who achieved success. Her older sister Julia shone for a long time on the stage of the Imperial Theaters. And Matilda herself was called “Kshesinskaya the Second” for a long time. Her brother Joseph Kshesinsky, also a famous dancer, also became famous. After the revolution he remained in Soviet Russia, received the title of Honored Artist of the Republic. His fate was tragic - he died of hunger during the siege of Leningrad.
Love at first sight
Matilda was noticed already in 1890. At the graduation performance of the ballet school in St. Petersburg, which was attended by the emperor Alexander III with his family (Empress Maria Feodorovna, four brothers of the sovereign with their spouses and the still very young Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich), the emperor loudly asked: “Where is Kshesinskaya?” When the embarrassed pupil was brought to him, he extended his hand to her and said:
Be the decoration and glory of our ballet.
After the exam, the school gave a large festive dinner. Alexander III asked Kshesinskaya to sit next to him and introduced the ballerina to his son Nicholas.
Young Tsarevich Nicholas “I don’t remember what we talked about, but I immediately fell in love with the heir,” Kshesinskaya later wrote. - 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 next to me throughout the dinner, we looked at each other differently than when we met; a feeling of attraction had already crept into his soul, as well as into mine...
The second meeting with Nikolai took place in Krasnoye Selo. A wooden theater was also built there to entertain the officers.
Kshesinskaya, after conversations with the heir, recalled:
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...
The main thing is to remind yourself
The romance between Matilda and Nikolai Alexandrovich began in 1892, when the heir rented a luxurious mansion on English Avenue for the ballerina. The heir constantly came to her, and the lovers spent a lot of time there together. happy hours(he later bought and gave her this house).
However, already in the summer of 1893, Niki began to visit the ballerina less and less.
And on April 7, 1894, Nicholas's engagement to Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt was announced.
Nicholas II and Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt It seemed to me that my life was over and that there would be no more joys, and that there was much, much sorrow ahead,” Matilda wrote. “What I was worried about when I knew that he was already with his bride is difficult to express. The spring of my happy youth has ended, a new one has begun, hard life with a broken heart so early...
In her numerous letters, Matilda asked Nicky for permission to continue to communicate with him on a first-name basis, and also to turn to him for help in difficult situations. Over the subsequent years, she tried in every possible way to remind herself of herself. For example, patrons in Winter Palace they often informed her about plans for Nicholas to move around the city - wherever the emperor went, he invariably met Kshesinskaya there, enthusiastically sending “dear Niki” air kisses. Which probably drove both the Tsar himself and his wife to white heat. It is a known fact that the management of the Imperial Theater once received an order banning Kshesinskaya from performing on Sundays - on this day usually royal family visited theaters.
Mistress for three
After the heir, Kshesinskaya had several more lovers from among the representatives of the Romanov family. So, immediately after breaking up with Niki, Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich consoled her - their romance lasted for a long time, which did not prevent Matilda Kshesinskaya from making new lovers. Also in 1900, she began dating 53-year-old Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich.
Soon Kshesinskaya began a whirlwind romance with his son, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, her future husband.
A feeling that I had not experienced for a long time immediately crept into my heart; “It was no longer an empty flirtation,” Kshesinskaya wrote. - From the day of my first meeting with Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, we began to meet more and more often, and our feelings for each other soon turned into a strong mutual attraction.
Andrei Vladimirovich Romanov and Matilda Kshesinskaya with their son However, she did not break off relations with the other Romanovs, taking advantage of their patronage. For example, with their help she received a personal benefit performance dedicated to the tenth anniversary of her work at the Imperial Theater, although other artists were entitled to similar honors only after twenty years of service.
In 1901, Kshesinskaya found out that she was pregnant. The child's father is Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich.
On June 18, 1902, she gave birth to a son at her dacha in Strelna. At first she wanted to name him Nikolai, in honor of her beloved Niki, but in the end the boy was named Vladimir - in honor of the father of her lover Andrei.
Kshesinskaya recalled that after giving birth she had a difficult conversation with Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich, who was ready to recognize the newborn as his son:
He knew very well that he was not the father of my child, but he loved me so much and was so attached to me that he forgave me and decided, despite everything, to stay with me and protect me as a good friend. I felt guilty before him, because the previous winter, when he was courting a young and beautiful Grand Duchess and there were rumors about a possible wedding, I, having learned about this, asked him to stop courting and thereby put an end to conversations that were unpleasant for me. I adored Andrei so much that I didn’t realize how guilty I was before Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich...
As a result, the child was given the middle name Sergeevich and the surname Krasinsky - for Matilda this meant special meaning. True, after the revolution, when in 1921 the ballerina and Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich got married in Nice, their son received the “correct” middle name.
Gothic in Windsor
In honor of the birth of the child, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich gave Kshesinskaya a royal gift - the Borki estate in the Oryol province, where he planned to build a copy of the English Windsor on the site of the old manor house. Matilda admired the estate of the British kings.
Soon, the famous architect Alexander Ivanovich von Gauguin, who built the very famous Kshesinskaya mansion on the corner of Kronverksky Avenue in St. Petersburg, was discharged from St. Petersburg.
Construction took ten years, and in 1912 the castle and park were ready. However, the prima ballerina was dissatisfied: what kind of English style is this if in a five-minute walk through the park you can see a typical Russian village with thatched huts?! As a result, the neighboring village was razed to the ground, and the peasants were evicted to a new location.
But Matilda still refused to go on vacation to the Oryol province. As a result, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich sold the “Russian Windsor” in Borki to a local horse breeder from the count’s Sheremetyev family, and he bought the ballerina Villa Alam on the Cote d’Azur of France.
Mistress of the ballet
In 1904, Kshesinskaya decides to leave the Imperial Theater. But at the beginning of the new season she receives an offer to return on a “contractual” basis: she is obliged to pay her 500 rubles for each performance. Crazy money for those times! Also, Kshesinskaya was assigned all the parties that she liked.
Soon all theater world knew that Matilda's word is law. Thus, the director of the Imperial Theaters, Prince Sergei Volkonsky, once dared to insist that Kshesinskaya appear on stage in a costume that she did not like. The ballerina did not comply and was fined. A couple of days later, Prince Volkonsky himself resigned.
The lesson was learned and new director At the Imperial Theaters, Vladimir Telyakovsky already preferred to stay away from Matilda.
It would seem that a ballerina, serving in the directorate, should belong to the repertoire, but then it turned out that the repertoire belongs to Kshesinskaya, Telyakovsky himself wrote. - She considered it her property and could give or not let others dance.
Matilda's Withering
In 1909, Kshesinskaya's main patron, Nicholas II's uncle, Grand Duke Vladimir Alexandrovich, died. After his death, the attitude towards the ballerina at the Imperial Theater changed in the most radical way. She was increasingly offered episodic roles.
Vladimir Alexandrovich Romanov Soon Kshesinskaya goes to Paris, then to London, and again St. Petersburg. Until 1917, no fundamental changes occurred in the life of the ballerina. The result of boredom was the ballerina’s romance with dancer Pyotr Vladimirov, who was 21 years younger than Matilda.
Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, accustomed to sharing his mistress with his father and uncle, was furious. During Kshesinskaya's tour in Paris, the prince challenged the dancer to a duel. The unfortunate Vladimirov was shot in the nose by an insulted representative of the Romanov family. Doctors had to piece him together.
On the run
At the beginning of February 1917, the police chief of Petrograd advised the ballerina and her son to leave the capital, since unrest was expected in the city. On February 22, the ballerina gave her last reception in her mansion - it was a dinner with luxurious serving for twenty-four people.
The very next day she left the city, engulfed in a wave of revolutionary madness. On February 28, the Bolsheviks, led by Georgian student Agababov, broke into the ballerina’s mansion. He began hosting dinners in a famous house, forcing the chef to cook for him and his guests, who drank elite wines and champagne from the cellar. Both Kshesinskaya's cars were requisitioned.
Kshesinskaya's mansion in St. Petersburg At this time, Matilda herself wandered with her son to different apartments, fearing that her child would be taken away from her. Her servants brought food to her from home; almost all of them remained faithful to Kshesinskaya.
After some time, Kshesinskaya herself decided to go to her house. She was horrified when she saw what he had become.
I was offered to go up to my bedroom, but it was simply terrible what I saw: a wonderful carpet, specially ordered by me in Paris, was all covered in ink, all the furniture was taken to the lower floor, the door and all the shelves were torn out of the wonderful wardrobe with its hinges taken out, and there were guns there... In my restroom, the bathtub-basin was filled with cigarette butts. At this time, student Agababov approached me... He invited me, as if nothing had happened, to move back and live with them and said that they would give me their son’s rooms. I didn’t answer anything, this was already the height of impudence...
Until mid-summer, Kshesinskaya tried to return the mansion, but then she realized that she just needed to run away. And she left for Kislovodsk, where she was reunited with Andrei Romanov.
Lenin, Zinoviev, Stalin and others worked in her mansion over the years. From the balcony of this house Lenin repeatedly spoke to workers, soldiers and sailors. Kalinin lived there for several years, from 1938 to 1956 there was a Kirov Museum, and since 1957 - the Museum of the Revolution. In 1991, the Museum of Political History of Russia was created in the mansion, which is still located there.
In exile
In 1920, Andrei and Matilda and their child left Kislovodsk and went to Novorossiysk. Then they leave for Venice, and from there to France.
In 1929, Matilda and her husband find themselves in Paris, but the money in their accounts is almost gone, and they need to live on something. Then Matilda decides to open her own ballet school.
Soon, children of famous parents begin to come to Kshesinskaya’s classes. For example, the daughters of Fyodor Chaliapin. In just five years, the school grows so that about 100 people study there annually. The school also operated during the Nazi occupation of Paris. Of course, at some moments there were no students at all, and the ballerina came to an empty studio. The school became an outlet for Kshesinskaya, thanks to which she survived the arrest of her son Vladimir. He ended up in the Gestapo literally the very next day after the Nazi invasion of the USSR. The parents raised all possible connections so that Vladimir would be released. According to rumors, Kshesinskaya even secured a meeting with the head of the secret German state police, Heinrich Müller. As a result, after 119 days of imprisonment, Vladimir was finally released from the concentration camp and returned home. But Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich really went crazy during his son’s imprisonment. He supposedly imagined Germans everywhere: the door opened, they came in and arrested his son.
Final
In 1956, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich died in Paris at the age of 77.
With the death of Andrei, the fairy tale that was my life ended. Our son remained with me - I adore him and from now on he is the whole meaning of my life. For him, of course, I will always remain a mother, but also the greatest and true friend...
It is interesting that after leaving Russia, not a single word about the last Russian emperor is found in her diary.
Matilda died on December 5, 1971, a few months shy of her centenary. She was buried in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois cemetery near Paris. On the monument there is an epitaph: “The Most Serene Princess Maria Feliksovna Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya, Honored Artist of the Imperial Theaters Kshesinskaya.”
Her son Vladimir Andreevich died single and childless in 1974 and was buried next to his mother’s grave.
But the Kshesinskaya ballet dynasty did not fade away. This year to the ballet troupe Bolshoi Theater Matilda Kshesinskaya's great-niece Eleonora Sevenard was adopted.
Subscribe to our channel in Yandex.Zen!
Click "Subscribe to channel" to read Ruposters in the Yandex feed
Early years. Family
Matilda Kshesinskaya was born on August 31 (old style - 19) 1872 in St. Petersburg. Initially, the surname of the family sounded like “Krzezinski”. Later it was transformed into “Kshesinsky” for euphony. 
Her parents are ballet dancers of the Mariinsky Theater: her father Felix Kshesinsky was a ballet dancer, who in 1851 from Poland to Russian Empire Nicholas I himself invited, and his mother Yulia Deminskaya, who at the time of their acquaintance was raising five children from her deceased first husband, dancer Lede, was a soloist in the corps de ballet. Matilda's grandfather Jan was a famous violinist and opera singer, who sang from the stage of the Warsaw Opera.
At the age of 8, Matilda became a student at the Imperial Theater School in St. Petersburg, where her brother Joseph and sister Julia were already studying. The day of the final exam - March 23, 1890 - was remembered by the talented girl who completed her studies as an external student for the rest of her life.
According to tradition, Emperor Alexander III sat on the examination committee, who was accompanied that day by his son and heir to the throne, Nicholas II. The 17-year-old ballerina performed wonderfully, and at parting the emperor gave her parting words: “Be the decoration and glory of our ballet!” Later in her memoirs, Matilda wrote: “Then I told myself that I had to live up to the expectations placed on me.”
Ballerina career
Immediately after graduating from college, Matilda was invited to the main troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Already in the first season, she was assigned small roles in 22 ballets and 21 operas. 
Colleagues recalled Matilda as an incredibly efficient dancer who inherited her father’s talent for dramatic expressiveness. She could stand at the ballet barre for hours, overcoming the pain.
In 1898, the prima began taking lessons from Enrico Cecchetti, an outstanding Italian dancer. With his help, she became the first Russian ballerina to masterfully perform 32 fouettés in a row. Previously, only the Italian Pierina Legnani succeeded in this, whose rivalry with Matilda continued for many years.
After six years of work in the theater, the ballerina was awarded the title of prima. Among her repertoire were the Sugar Plum Fairy (“The Nutcracker”), Odette (“ Swan Lake"), Paquita, Esmeralda, Aurora ("Sleeping Beauty") and Princess Aspiccia ("Pharaoh's Daughter"). Her unique style combined the impeccability of the Italian and lyricism of the Russian ballet schools. A whole era is still associated with her name, a great time for Russian ballet.
Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nicholas II
The relationship between Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nicholas II began at a dinner party after the final exam. The heir to the throne became seriously infatuated with the airy and fragile ballerina, and with the full approval of his mother. 
Empress Maria Feodorovna was seriously worried about the fact that her son (before meeting Kshesinskaya) did not show any interest in girls, so she encouraged his romance with Matilda in every possible way. For example, Nikolai Alexandrovich took money for gifts for his beloved from a fund specially created for this purpose. Among them was a house on the Promenade des Anglais, which previously belonged to the composer Rimsky-Korsakov.
For a long time they were content chance encounters. Before each performance, Matilda looked out the window for a long time in the hope of seeing her lover ascending the steps, and when he came, she danced with double enthusiasm. In the spring of 1891, after a long separation (Nicholas went to Japan), the heir first secretly left the palace and went to Matilda.
Trailer for the film "Matilda"
Their romance lasted until 1894 and ended due to Nicholas's engagement to the British princess Alice of Darmstadt, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, who stole the heart of the emperor's successor. Matilda took the breakup very hard, but supported Nicholas II with all her heart, understanding that the crowned lady could not marry a ballerina. She was on the side of her former lover when the emperor and his wife opposed his union with Alice.
Before his marriage, Nicholas II entrusted the care of Matilda to his cousin, Prince Sergei Mikhailovich, president of the Russian Theater Society. For the next few years, he was a faithful friend and patron of the ballerina.
However, Nicholas, already an emperor at that time, still had feelings for his former lover. He continued to follow her career. It was rumored that it was not without his patronage that Kshesinskaya received the position of prima of the Mariinsky in 1886. In 1890, in honor of her benefit performance, he presented Matilda with an elegant diamond brooch with a sapphire, which he and his wife had been choosing for a long time.
Documentary film about Matilda Kshesinskaya with video chronicle
After that same benefit performance, Matilda was introduced to another cousin of Nicholas II - Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich. As the legend goes, he stared at the beauty and accidentally spilled a glass of wine on her expensive dress sent from France. But the ballerina saw this as a happy sign. Thus began their romance, which later ended in marriage.
In 1902, Matilda gave birth to a son, Vladimir, from Prince Andrei. The birth was very difficult; the woman in labor and her newborn were miraculously rescued from the other world.
Life at the beginning of the 20th century
In 1903, the ballerina was invited to America, but she refused the offer, preferring to stay in her homeland. At the turn of the century, the prima had already achieved all imaginable heights on stage, and in 1904 she decided to resign from the main troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. She didn't stop dancing, but now she worked under a contract and received a huge fee for each performance. 
In 1908, Matilda went on a tour to Paris, where she met the young aristocrat Pyotr Vladimirovich, who was 21 years younger than her. They began a passionate affair, which is why Prince Andrei challenged his opponent to a duel and shot him in the nose. In France, the already middle-aged Kshesinskaya opened a ballet school
During the war, Kshesinskaya fell ill with arthritis - since then, every movement was given to her with great difficulty, but the school still flourished. When she gave herself completely new passion, gambling, the studio became her only source of rather depleted income.
Death
Matilda Kshesinskaya, mistress of the last Russian emperor, lived a bright, amazing life. She did not live a few months before her 100th birthday. On December 6, 1971, she died and was buried in the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery in the same grave with her husband. 
In 1969, 2 years before Matilda’s death, Soviet ballet stars Ekaterina Maksimova and Vladimir Vasiliev visited her estate. As they later wrote in their memoirs, on the threshold they were met by a completely gray-haired, withered old woman with surprisingly young eyes full of sparkle. When they told Matilda that her name was still remembered in her homeland, she replied: “And they will always remember.”
Matilda Kshesinskaya is an outstanding ballerina, whose unique style is due to the impeccability of the Italian and lyricism of the Russian ballet schools. Her name is still associated today with an entire era, a great time for Russian ballet. This unique woman lived a very long and eventful life, only a few months short of reaching her centenary.
Matilda Kshesinskaya was born on August 31, 1872 in St. Petersburg in the family of ballet dancer Felix Kshesinsky, whom Nicholas I himself invited from Poland in 1851. Her mother, Yulia Deminskaya, was a soloist in the corps de ballet. Matilda's grandfather Ian was famous violinist and an opera singer - he performed at the Warsaw Opera. The ballerina herself studied at the Imperial Theater School in St. Petersburg, and successfully graduated as an external student on March 23, 1890. On this day, Alexander III traditionally sat in the examination commission, accompanied by his son and heir to the throne, Nicholas II. The seventeen-year-old ballerina performed remarkably well, and the emperor himself predicted that she would soon become the adornment and pride of the Russian ballet.
Immediately after college, Matilda was invited to the Mariinsky Theater. Her older sister Yulia already worked there, so Matilda was called “Kshesinskaya the Second” for a long time. The young ballerina was distinguished by her incredible ability to work: she could practice for hours at the barre, overcoming the pain in her legs.
In 1898, the girl began taking lessons from the outstanding Italian dancer Enrico Cecchetti, and after 6 years the ballerina became a prima ballerina. Her repertoire included Odette, Paquita, Esmeralda, Aurora and Princess Aspiccia. Russian and foreign critics noted her impeccable technique and “ideal lightness.”
Matilda Kshesinskaya is the first Russian ballerina to successfully perform 32 fouettés in a row. Before her, only the Italian Pierina Legnani succeeded in this, the rivalry with whom continued for many years.
Revolution and move of Kshesinskaya
After the revolution of 1917, the Kshesinskaya mansion was occupied by the Bolsheviks, and Matilda and her son were forced to leave Russia. In Paris, Kshesinskaya opened her own ballet school. Meanwhile, the family of Nicholas II was shot.
In 1921, Matilda Kshesinskaya married Andrei Vladimirovich. The couple lived together for the rest of their lives.
Her husband died in 1956, and her son died in 1974. Matilda wrote memoirs - they were published in 1960. Great ballerina died in 1971. She was buried in the suburbs of Paris at the Sainte-Genevieve-des-Bois cemetery.
Matilda Kshesinskaya and Nicholas II, brief facts about their relationship.
The relationship between the ballerina and the Tsarevich, who was 22 years old at the time, began immediately after the final exam at a dinner party. The heir to the throne became seriously interested in the aerial ballerina. Empress Maria Feodorovna reacted with approval to her son’s hobby, since she was seriously worried that before meeting Matilda, her son did not show interest in the fair sex.
For a long time, lovers were content with casual meetings. Matilda looked out the window for a long time before each performance, hoping to see her lover ascending the steps, and when she noticed his presence, she danced with even more enthusiasm.
In the spring of 1891, after a long trip to Japan, the heir first went to Matilda.
In January 1892, their candy-bouquet period ended and the relationship moved into the next phase - Nicholas II began to stay overnight in the ballerina’s apartment. Soon the Tsarevich gave the ballerina a mansion. Their relationship lasted two years, but the young emperor understood that he would have to enter into an “equal marriage” and part with the beautiful ballerina.
Before his marriage, the Tsarevich instructed his cousin, Prince Sergei Mikhailovich, who was at that time the president of the Russian Theater Society, to take care of Matilda. At that time, the young emperor still had feelings for his former lover. In 1890, he presented a beautiful diamond brooch with a sapphire and two large diamonds to a reception in honor of her benefit performance.
According to rumors, Kshesinskaya became the prima of the Mariinsky in 1886 thanks to the patronage of Nicholas II.
The break in the romance between Nicholas II and Kshesinskaya
The prima ballerina's romance with the emperor lasted until 1894 and ended after Nicholas's engagement to Princess Alice of Darmstadt, granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
Matilda was very worried about the breakup, but did not condemn Nicholas II, because she understood that the crowned lady would not be able to connect her life with the ballerina. Matilda was ready for such an outcome - she restrainedly said goodbye to Nicholas, bearing herself with the dignity of a queen, but not with the melancholy of an abandoned lover.
The relationship was completely broken off, but Matilda continued to soar over the stage with enthusiasm, especially when she saw her former crowned lover in the royal box. Nicholas II, having put on the crown, was completely immersed in state concerns and in the maelstrom family life with the former Princess Alice of Hesse-Darmstadt.
After her ten-year benefit performance, Matilda was introduced to another cousin of the emperor, Prince Andrei Vladimirovich. While staring at the beauty, the prince accidentally knocked a glass of wine onto her chic French dress. But Matilda decided that this was a lucky sign. And indeed, this romance soon ended in marriage, and in 1902 the ballerina gave birth to a son, Vladimir.
IN Soviet era The name of this ballerina was remembered mainly in connection with her mansion, from the balcony of which V.I. Lenin delivered speeches. But once upon a time the name of Matilda Kshesinskaya was well known to the public.
Matilda Kshesinskaya was a hereditary ballerina. Her father, the Polish dancer Felix Kshesinsky, was an unsurpassed mazurka performer. Emperor Nicholas I loved this dance very much, which is why F. Kshesinsky was sent to St. Petersburg from Warsaw. Already in the capital, he married ballerina Yulia Dominskaya - they had four children, of whom Matilda was the youngest. She was born in 1872.
As is often the case with children from theatrical families, Matilda became acquainted with the stage at the age of four - she performed the small role of the little mermaid in the ballet “The Little Humpbacked Horse.” But soon the girl developed a serious interest in the art of dance, and her abilities were obvious. At the age of eight, she began to attend the Imperial Theater School as a visiting student, where her older sister Julia and brother Joseph studied. Matilda was bored in class - she had already mastered what was taught there at home. Maybe the girl would have given up ballet, but everything changed when she saw the performance of an Italian dancer touring Russia in the ballet “Vain Precaution.” The art of this ballerina has become for her an ideal to which she wants to strive.
By the time of graduation, Matilda Kshesinskaya was considered one of the best students. According to established tradition, three best After the concert, the graduates were introduced to the emperor and his family, who certainly attended the event. One of the three was Matilda, who that evening performed Lisa from the ballet "". True, she - because of her status as an incoming student - had to stay apart, but Emperor Alexander III, amazed by her performance, asked to present him with a live, miniature girl. The young ballerina was given an unprecedented honor - at a gala dinner she sat between the emperor and Tsarevich Nicholas, who did not forget this meeting.
After graduation, Matilda became an artist of the Mariinsky Theater “Kshesinskaya - 2” (the first was her sister Yulia). During the first theater season, she performed in twenty-two ballets and dance scenes in twenty-one operas. True, her parts were small, but effective. For an aspiring ballerina, such a number of roles is an incredible success, and the reason for this was not only her outstanding talent, but also the tender feelings of the heir to the throne for the dancer. This romance was encouraged to a certain extent by the imperial family... Of course, no one took this story seriously. But, if a fleeting passion for a ballerina distracts the crown prince’s attention from Alice of Hesse, whom the emperor considered not the best match for the heir, then why not?
Did Matilda Kshesinskaya guess about this? It’s unlikely... She loved the heir, her “Nicky,” and met him in the house on Anglisky Avenue, which the Tsarevich purchased for her.
Kshesinskaya was not only a favorite of the Romanovs, but also a first-class professional. If there is no skill and talent, even the highest patronage will not help - everything becomes obvious in the light of the ramp. Matilda understood how imperfect her dance technique was compared to the technique of Italian virtuosos who were fashionable at that time. And the ballerina begins to study hard with the famous Italian teacher Enrico Cecchetti. Soon she was already sporting the same “steel toe” and sparkling spins as her Italian rivals. Kshesinskaya was the first in Russia to begin performing 32 fouettés and did it brilliantly.
First leading role ballerina became the role of Marietta-Dragoniazza in the ballet Calcabrino. This happened thanks to a happy accident - the Italian prima Carlotta Brianza, who was supposed to play this role, suddenly fell ill. A real star ballet stage, she performed tricks previously only available to male dancers, including aerial turns. Going on stage, Kshesinskaya understood that the audience would compare her with the brilliant Italian, looking for the slightest mistakes... “The main thing is not to jump into the orchestra,” Marius Petipa jokingly admonished her before the performance.
The performance, which was associated with so much excitement, became a triumph for Kshesinskaya. “Her debut can be considered as an event in the history of our ballet,” the theater newspaper summed up. The French magazine Le Monde Artiste echoes her: “The young prima ballerina has everything: physical charm, impeccable technique, completeness of performance and ideal lightness.”
When Carlotta Brianza left St. Petersburg, Matilda Kshesinskaya took over her roles, including Princess Aurora in the ballet The Sleeping Beauty, created by Marius Petipa for this Italian touring performer. Aurora became one of the best roles of the Russian prima. One day after a performance, P. I. Tchaikovsky came into her dressing room, expressed his admiration for her and expressed his intention to write a ballet for her... Alas, it did not come true - the composer died six months later, and the ballerina did not even understand that she was talking with a genius... She believed Tchaikovsky is a good “composer of ballet scores”. Subsequently, when in Paris she was invited to perform with her memoirs at an evening in honor of the composer’s 100th anniversary, she refused - she had nothing to tell.
In 1896, Matilda Kshesinskaya became prima ballerina of the Mariinsky Theater. Her repertoire included roles such as Aspiccia (“Pharaoh’s Daughter”), Esmeralda and Paquita in the ballets of the same name, the Sugar Plum Fairy in “The Nutcracker,” Odette-Odile in “,” and Lisa in “A Vain Precaution.” For Kshesinskaya he resumed La Bayadère and other ballets, technically complicating her parts.
Matilda loved to dance the royal daughter of the pharaoh Aspiccia, shining on stage with technique and... Romanov diamonds. She found a lot of personality in the role of the poor street dancer Esmeralda, in love with the brilliant officer Phoebus, engaged to the proud aristocrat Fleur de Lys...
Matilda Kshesinskaya occupied a special position in the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. She was called the queen of the St. Petersburg stage. The ballerina considered many parts to be her personal property and did not allow anyone to dance without her permission.
Several ballets were staged for her, but there were no masterpieces among them. The audience loved and still loves the charming “The Puppet Fairy” by J. Bayer, directed by the brothers Nikolai and Sergei Legat. This was their gift to the wonderful Fairy - ballerina Matilda Kshesinskaya, whom they bowed to while performing the roles of two Pierrots. Kshesinskaya highly valued Nikolai Legat, the teacher with whom she studied for many years.
Matilda Kshesinskaya could afford what was forbidden to others - for example, a benefit performance in honor of ten years of stage activity (usually ballerinas were entitled to a benefit performance only after twenty years of service). For this benefit performance, Marius Petipa staged two ballets by Alexander Glazunov - “The Seasons” and “Harlequinade”.
The ballerina left the Mariinsky Theater in 1904, signing a contract for one-time performances. She was the first partner of the young Vaslav Nijinsky, and danced in some ballets (“Eunika”, “Butterflies”, “Eros”). But, in general, Kshesinskaya was a supporter of the “old” academic imperial ballet, virtuoso technique and the cult of the prima. Mikhail Fokine’s “New Ballet” did not inspire her.
Matilda Kshesinskaya left Russia in 1919. In exile, she married Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich Romanov. While living in France, she refused offers to perform on stage, despite the fact that she needed money. In 1929, she opened a ballet school and made a living by giving lessons. Among M. Kshesinskaya’s students are M. Fontaine, I. Shovir, T. Ryabushinskaya (one of the famous “baby ballerinas”).
The last time Matilda Kshesinskaya performed was in 1936 in London on the stage of the Covent Garden Theatre. She was 64 years old, but this did not prevent her success: she was called eighteen times!
Subsequently, M. Kshesinskaya was engaged in teaching. She died in 1971, nine months before her centenary. The ballerina wrote “Memoirs”, where she told, somewhat embellishing the events, about her stormy personal life and the brilliant career of the St. Petersburg imperial prima.
The name of Matilda Feliksovna Kshesinskaya is inscribed in golden letters in the history of Russian ballet. Feature films and documentaries have been created about her.
Musical Seasons
The famous Russian ballerina did not live to see her centenary for several months - she died on December 6, 1971 in Paris. Her life was like an unstoppable dance, which to this day is surrounded by legends and intriguing details.
Romance with the Tsarevich
The graceful, almost tiny Little Boy, it seemed, was destined by fate itself to devote herself to the service of Art. Her father was a talented dancer. It was from him that the little girl inherited a priceless gift - not just to perform a part, but to live in dance, to fill it with unbridled passion, pain, captivating dreams and hope - everything with which her own destiny would be rich in the future. She adored the theater and could watch the rehearsals go on for hours with a fascinated gaze. Therefore, it was not surprising that the girl entered the Imperial Theater School, and very soon became one of the first students: she studied a lot, grasped it on the fly, charming the audience with true drama and easy ballet technique. Ten years later, on March 23, 1890, after a graduation performance with the participation of a young ballerina, Emperor Alexander III admonished the prominent dancer with the words: “Be the glory and adornment of our ballet!” And then there was a gala dinner for the pupils with the participation of all members of the imperial family.
It was on this day that Matilda met the future Emperor of Russia, Tsarevich Nikolai Alexandrovich.
What is true and what is fiction in the novel of the legendary ballerina and heir to the Russian throne is debated a lot and greedily. Some argue that their relationship was pure. Others, as if in revenge, immediately recall Nikolai’s visits to the house where his beloved soon moved with her sister. Still others are trying to suggest that if there was love, it came only from Mrs. Kshesinskaya. The love correspondence was not preserved, in diary entries Emperor there are only fleeting mentions of Malechka, but there are many details in the memoirs of the ballerina herself. But should we trust them unquestioningly? A charmed woman can easily become “deluded.” Be that as it may, there was no vulgarity or triviality in these relations, although St. Petersburg gossips competed, setting out the fantastic details of the Tsarevich’s “romance” with the actress.
"Polish Malya"
It seemed that Matilda was enjoying her happiness, while being perfectly aware that her love was doomed. And when in her memoirs she wrote that “priceless Nicky” loved her alone, and the marriage with Princess Alix of Hesse was based only on a sense of duty and determined by the desire of her relatives, she, of course, was cunning. Like a wise woman, at the right moment she left the “scene”, “letting go” of her lover, as soon as she learned about his engagement. Was this move an accurate calculation? Hardly. He most likely allowed the “Pole Mala” to remain a warm memory in the heart of the Russian emperor.
The fate of Matilda Kshesinskaya was generally closely connected with the fate of the imperial family. Her good friend and patron was Grand Duke Sergei Mikhailovich.
It was him who Nicholas II allegedly asked to “look after” Malechka after the breakup. The Grand Duke will take care of Matilda for twenty years, who, by the way, will then be blamed for his death - the prince will stay in St. Petersburg for too long, trying to save the ballerina’s property. One of the grandchildren of Alexander II, Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich, would become her husband and father of her son, His Serene Highness Prince Vladimir Andreevich Romanovsky-Krasinsky. It was precisely the close connection with the imperial family that ill-wishers often explained all of Kshesinskaya’s “successes” in life
Prima ballerina
The prima ballerina of the Imperial Theater, who is applauded by the European public, the one who knows how to defend her position with the power of charm and the passion of her talent, who supposedly has influential patrons behind her - such a woman, of course, had envious people.
She was accused of “tailoring” the repertoire to suit herself, going only on profitable foreign tours, and even specially “ordering” parts for herself.
Thus, in the ballet “Pearl”, which was performed during the coronation celebrations, the part of the Yellow Pearl was introduced especially for Kshesinskaya, allegedly on the Highest instructions and “under pressure” from Matilda Feliksovna. It is difficult, however, to imagine how this impeccably well-mannered lady, with an innate sense of tact, could bother her former Beloved with “theatrical trifles,” and even at such an important moment for him. Meanwhile, the part of the Yellow Pearl became a true decoration of the ballet. Well, after Kshesinskaya persuaded Corrigan, presented at the Paris Opera, to insert a variation from her favorite ballet Pharaoh’s Daughter, the ballerina had to encore, which was an “exceptional case” for the Opera. So isn’t it based on true talent and dedicated work? creative success Russian ballerina?
Bitchy character
Perhaps one of the most scandalous and unpleasant episodes in the ballerina’s biography can be considered her “unacceptable behavior,” which led to the resignation of Sergei Volkonsky from the post of Director of the Imperial Theaters. “Unacceptable behavior” was that Kshesinskaya replaced the uncomfortable suit provided by the management with her own. The administration fined the ballerina, and she, without thinking twice, appealed the decision. The case was widely publicized and inflated to an incredible scandal, the consequences of which were the voluntary departure (or resignation?) of Volkonsky.
And again they started talking about the ballerina’s influential patrons and her bitchy character.
It is quite possible that at some stage Matilda simply could not explain to the person she respected that she was not involved in gossip and speculation. Be that as it may, Prince Volkonsky, having met her in Paris, took an active part in arranging her ballet school, gave lectures there, and later wrote an excellent article about Kshesinskaya the teacher. She always complained that she could not stay “on an even note,” suffering from prejudice and gossip, which eventually forced her to leave the Mariinsky Theater.
"Madame Seventeen"
If no one dares to argue about the talent of Kshesinskaya as a ballerina, then their teaching activities are sometimes not very flattering. On February 26, 1920, Matilda Kshesinskaya left Russia forever. They settled as a family in the French city of Cap de Ail in the Alam villa, purchased before the revolution. “The imperial theaters ceased to exist, and I had no desire to dance!” - wrote the ballerina.
For nine years she enjoyed a “quiet” life with people dear to her heart, but her searching soul demanded something new.
After painful thoughts, Matilda Feliksovna goes to Paris, looks for housing for her family and premises for her ballet studio. She worries that she won’t have enough students or will “fail” as a teacher, but the first lesson goes brilliantly, and very soon she will have to expand to accommodate everyone. It’s hard to call Kshesinskaya a secondary teacher; one only has to remember her students, world ballet stars Margot Fonteyn and Alicia Markova.
While living at the Alam villa, Matilda Feliksovna became interested in playing roulette. Together with another famous Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova, they whiled away the evenings at the table in the Monte Carlo casino. For her constant bet on the same number, Kshesinskaya was nicknamed “Madame Seventeen.” The crowd, meanwhile, savored the details of how the “Russian ballerina” squandered the “royal jewels.” They said that Kshesinskaya was forced to decide to open a school by the desire to improve her financial situation, undermined by the game.
"Actress of Mercy"
The charitable activities that Kshesinskaya was involved in during the First World War usually fade into the background, giving way to scandals and intrigues. In addition to participating in front-line concerts, performances in hospitals and charity evenings, Matilda Feliksovna took an active part in the arrangement of two modern exemplary hospital-infirmaries for that time. She did not personally bandage the sick and did not work as a nurse, apparently believing that everyone should do what they know how to do well.
And she knew how to give people a holiday, for which she was loved no less than the most sensitive sisters of mercy.
She organized trips for the wounded to her dacha in Strelna, arranged trips for soldiers and doctors to the theater, wrote letters from dictation, decorated the wards with flowers, or, throwing off her shoes, without pointe shoes, simply danced on her fingers. She was applauded, I think, no less than during her legendary performance in London’s Covent Garden, when 64-year-old Matilda Kshesinskaya, in a silver embroidered sundress and a pearl kokoshnik, easily and flawlessly performed her legendary “Russian”. Then she was called 18 times, and this was unthinkable for the prim English public.
