Mathilde Kschessinska

Mathilde-Marie Feliksovna Kschessinska ( – 6 December 1971), also known as Princess Romanovskaya-Krasinskaya upon her marriage, was a Polish-Russian ballerina from the noble Krzesiński family. Her father, Felix Kschessinsky, and her brother and sister danced in Saint Petersburg. She was a mistress of the future Emperor Nicholas II of Russia before his marriage, and later the wife of his cousin Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia. She was known in the West as Mathilde Kschessinska or Matilda Kshesinskaya.

Early life Kschessinska was born at Ligovo, near Peterhof, the youngest child of Adam-Felix Kschessinsky and Julie Kschessinska. Her Polish father arrived in St. Petersburg on 30 January 1853, one of five Warsaw mazurka dancers invited by the tsar, where he performed in the Mariinsky Theatre. In 1880, at the age of eight, Mathilde entered into the Imperial Theatre School, where she studied under Yekaterina Vazem, and was inspired by Virginia Zucchi. On 30 August 1881, she danced for the first time on the Grand Theatre stage in the ballet Don Quixote. Kschessinska's graduation exam dance was the pas de deux from La Fille Mal Gardée, to the music of Stella Confidenta. The performance was attended by Tsar Alexander III of Russia and the rest of the Imperial family, including the Tsesarevich, the future Tsar Nicholas II. After the performance, the tsar said "Be the glory and the adornment of our ballet." On 22 April 1890, she made her debut on stage, performing the same dance for Papkov's farewell, and graduated at the age of 18.

Prima ballerina

In 1896, she obtained the title of prima ballerina assoluta of the Saint Petersburg Imperial Theatres; she was the only Russian dancer to receive the title before the Russian Revolution of 1917. Despite this, Pierina Legnani continued to receive the best roles, including in Bluebeard by Marius Petipa. Later that year, she received a brooch as a gift from the imperial family.

Relationship with Petipa According to Mathilde, "My whole artistic career, until Fokine's appearance, had been linked with Petipa. The success of his ballet, La Fille du Pharaon, which was, as I have said, to become my favorite role, had at once assured him fame in Russia. where he came on 24 May 1847, invited by the Imperial Theatres Administration, after working several years in Spain." Petipa created roles for Kschessinska in Le Réveil de Flore (1894), Mlada (1896), Le Roi Candaule (1897), Les Aventures de Pélée (1897), The Pharaoh's Daughter (1898), Harlequinade (1900), and La Esmeralda (1899). She also mastered the 32 fouettés en tournant of Legnani. In 1901, he was succeeded by V.A. Teliakovsky.

However, Kschessinska wrote that "Serge knew for certain that he was not the father of the child" and that she was "full of my love for André and my son." She goes on to state "We decided to call our son Vladimir, in honor of the Grand Duke Vladimir, André's father." She claims in her memoirs that they turned it into a kind of pigsty; she went to court to recover it, only to receive death threats; once when she passed near the house, she saw Alexandra Kollontai in the garden wearing one of her overcoats. The Bolsheviks were forced to abandon the house only after the July Days.

Move to France

Kschessinska fled her home, with her son Vova, on 27 February 1917 (Old Style), during the February Revolution. Her home occupied by the Bolsheviks, Kschessinska wrote "And Petrograd was a nightmare world of arrests, the assassination of officers in the streets, arson, pillage". After staying with friends and relatives for a time, she left Petrograd on 13 July, ending up in Kislovodsk with Andrei. On 30 December 1919, the White Army no longer able to stop the Red invasion of the Caucasus, she was forced to flee to Novorossiysk. On 13 February 1920, Mathilde, Vova, and Andrei boarded a Lloyd Triestino liner, leaving behind Russian soil. On 12 March 1920, they arrived at Kschessinska's Cap-d'Ail villa.