The wedding of Tamara Karsavina with Vasily Mukhin. Life story

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina(February 25, 1885, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire - May 26, 1978, London, UK) - Russian ballerina. She was a soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre, was a member of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet and often danced in tandem with Vaslav Nijinsky. After the revolution, she lived and worked in Great Britain. Sister of the historian and philosopher L.P. Karsavin.

Biography

The ballerina was born on February 25 (March 9), 1885 in St. Petersburg in the family of the dancer of the imperial troupe Platon Karsavin and his wife Anna Iosifovna, nee Khomyakova, grandniece of the famous Slavophil A. S. Khomyakov. Brother - Lev Karsavin, Russian philosopher.

In 1902 she graduated from the Imperial Theater School, where she learned the basics of ballet from teachers Pavel Gerdt, Alexander Gorsky and Enrico Cecchetti, then joined the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Karsavina quickly achieved the status of a prima ballerina and performed leading roles in the ballets of the classical repertoire - Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, etc. Since 1909, at the invitation of Sergei Diaghilev, Karsavina began performing on tours organized by him Russian ballet dancers in Europe, and then in the Diaghilev Russian Ballet. The most notable works of the ballerina during the period of collaboration with Diaghilev were the leading roles in the ballets The Firebird, The Phantom of the Rose, Carnival, Petrushka (staged by Mikhail Fokin), Three-Cornered Hat, Women's Whims (staged by Leonid Myasin). ) and etc.

She played the role of Belgium in the pantomime performance "1914", the author and director of the book. S. M. Volkonsky (premiered January 6, 1915 at the Mariinsky Theatre). The performance was the "prom night" of the Rhythmic Gymnastics Courses, which closed with the outbreak of the First World War.

In 1917, Karsavina married the British diplomat Henry Bruce, and in 1918 she went with him to London. In exile, she, without stopping performing on stage and touring with the Russian Ballet of Diaghilev, was engaged in teaching. In addition, in the early 1920s, the ballerina appeared in episodic roles in several silent films produced in Germany and Great Britain - including the film The Path to Strength and Beauty (1925) with the participation of Leni Riefenstahl. From 1930-1955 she served as Vice President of the Royal Academy of Dance.

Karsavina is bred as one of the main characters of the story by Agatha Christie from the series "The Mysterious Mr. Keen" [specify]

Ilze Liepa played the role of Tamara Karsavina in the television series Empire Under Attack.

The historical costume collection of fashion historian Alexander Vasiliev includes Tamara Karsavina's 1925 evening dress, created in the fashion house Mouna Katorza. Previously, this dress was in the personal collection of Serge Lifar.

Karsavina Tamara Platonovna - the famous Russian ballerina, famous artist During her long life she experienced a lot of excitement and anxiety, difficulties and trials, but she was forever remembered by the grateful audience as a talented performer of complex and intricate tricks.

Tamara Karsavina (years of life 1888 - 1978) created more than a dozen bright, unforgettable images on stage, talentedly conveying the emotions, feelings and sensations of her characters with dance.

What is special about this dancer? What is her creative activity and personal life? You will find answers to these and many other questions in this article. There will also be photos of Tamara Karsavina on stage and in everyday life.

Talented Parent

The biography of Tamara Karsavina originates in Tsarist St. Petersburg, where the future famous ballerina was born in the spring of 1885, in the family of a talented dancer Platon Karsavin, who served in the Imperial Theater. Father, possessing a virtuoso technique of performing jumps and pirouettes, did not become an outstanding artist, but nevertheless, after retiring, he used his right to become a hereditary honorary citizen of the Russian Empire.

It happened six years after the birth of Tamara. However, having stopped performing, the father did not leave the stage. For some time he taught ballet skills at the theater school in St. Petersburg.

According to the memoirs of Tamara Karsavina "Teatralnaya Street", the family did not live well, often experiencing material difficulties. Because of this, the parents of the future ballerina were often forced to change their place of residence in search of a cheaper and better apartment.

But, despite all life's difficulties and problems, the father was the real head of the family. He introduced children to art, instilled in them a love for dance and music, encouraged them to pay attention to their creative potential.

Another recollection of Tamara Karsavina about the influence of her father on her life is connected with her parents' library, which she read from the age of six. The complete works of Pushkin, Lermontov and other classics have become real guides for the subtle and sensual soul of the future ballerina Tamara Karsavina. The poetry and prose of these literary geniuses taught life and provided much material for reflection.

The understanding, early matured soul of the girl was deeply imbued with the ideals of classical works, she sensitively perceived their essence and their meaning.

Strict mother

The mother of the future ballerina Tamara Karsavina, Anna Iosifovna Khomyakova, was a rather strict but loving parent. She never tried to instill in them moral and spiritual standards, but at the same time, the woman was sensitive and attentive to her kids. They always knew that mother would forgive everything, that mother would understand everything.

The children grew up, and Anna Iosifovna tried to help them choose their own path in life. She developed the talents of her son and daughter, providing the necessary opportunities and means for this.

Very soon, the woman noticed that Tamarochka loves to dance, that some pirouettes are good for her. Then Anna Iosifovna decided to send the baby to a ballet school in order to develop her natural talents and inclinations.

controversial issue

Watching his daughter's dance technique, her father also saw extraordinary abilities in her. There was something in the girl's dance that made me wonder and admire at the same time. It wasn't tenderness or smoothness. There was no expressionism or intensity inherent in some in Tamara's performance. No. However, the girl conveyed the emotions of music in such a peculiar way, so original that it was simply impossible to reject her talent and innate skill.

And yet the father did not want to see his daughter as a ballerina. He knew too much about this profession, too often was behind the scenes of theatrical performances, to allow his own child to fall into this hornet's nest.

He saw the character of his heiress and considered her a modest and vulnerable young lady, unable to resist the terrible intrigues and harsh treatment of the theater group.

However, the mother, seeing the talent of her favorite and her ardent desire to dance, insisted that the girl try to pass the exams at the ballet school. What came of it?

Education

Tamara Karsavina got into ballet at the age of ten, when she impressed the admission committee of the Imperial Theater School with her dancing abilities. She was accepted despite great competition and limited vacancies.

And it couldn't be otherwise. The girl was distinguished by pleasant manners, prepossessing good looks and suitable height. Karsavina Tamara, both in childhood and in adulthood, did not differ in either a too large article or an unnecessarily fragile figure. Graceful, plastic and flexible, she seemed like a real little princess.

In an educational institution, Tamara Karsavina was able to overcome her natural shyness and become more relaxed and more artistic. In addition, thanks to her perseverance and constant training, she was able to reach the required heights in the manner of performance. Now her dance compositions were characterized by noble grace and jewelry precision, so necessary for every ballerina.

What was behind such progress? As the dancer herself admits, she worked hard and inexorably, torturing herself with additional training in the evenings and weekends. And the result was worth it.

First steps on the big stage

Immediately after graduating from college (which happened in 1902), Tamara Karsavina was accepted into one of the ballet troupes of the Mariinsky Theater, where Matilda Kshesinskaya, a prima ballerina and dance teacher, immediately began to sympathize with her. However, another talented performer, Anna Pavlova, disliked the young dancer. As Tamara Karsavina repeatedly wrote in her memoirs, Anna Pavlovna humiliated her several times in front of everyone and tried to ridicule or insult her. Perhaps the older Pavlova saw her rival and rival in the aspiring artist.

One of the first performances of Tamara Karsavina on the big stage of the Mariinsky Theater were solo, single performances. However, later the aspiring ballerina confidently declared herself as a professional talented dancer.

To a greater extent, this was facilitated by her acquaintance with the main dancer of the theater, Mikhail Fokin, who boldly tried himself in the image of a choreographer. In his first productions, Mikhail Mikhailovich involved Anna Pavlova, but later he began to invite the younger and more plastic Karsavina to lead roles. Since then, the direction in the work of Tamara Karsavina was determined - she became a real prima ballet.

Less than a year later, the girl shone on the stage of the Mariinsky Theater, performing central roles in the famous classical ballets Giselle, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake and others.

However, later a bitter disappointment awaited her - Tamara was diagnosed with malaria. For treatment, the girl went with her mother to Italy, where she fully recovered and was able to take lessons from the famous Katharina Beretta. Returning to St. Petersburg, she began to dance even better and better, more fans and offers appeared. The royal family itself celebrated the performance of the artist and sent her their gifts of thanks.

Touring Europe

In 1909, a ballet enterprise was founded, in which Karsavina was to play a second role after Pavlova. However, Anna Pavlovna, for some unknown reason, quarreled with the head of the troupe and left her. Thus, Tamara Platonovna Karsavina took the central place in all productions.

She had a chance to play magnificent roles, perform on the famous stages of musical Europe, win the reverence of the public and the approval of critics.

Some brilliant performances of a talented ballerina

Among the most outstanding performances of that period, mention should be made of the one-act pantomime ballet Carnival, first staged by Diaghilev in his Russian Seasons in the spring of 1910. At first, the show was held in Berlin, then the success was repeated in Paris and St. Petersburg.

The ballet was staged in just three days of rehearsals and meant the performance of artists not only on stage, but also in the auditorium. Such an innovative approach was unusual and original, and brought success not only to Karsavina, but to the entire Russian troupe.

Performing the part of Colombina, Tamara Platonovna, dressed as the heroine of Italian comedies, looked charming, and her jewelry pirouettes were subtly combined with some sharpness in her movements. Karsavina's partners in the role of Harlequin were Leonid Leontiev, Vatslav Nijinsky and Mikhail Fokin in turn.

It is also necessary to recall the one-act ballet The Firebird, written by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky and designed by outstanding artists and decorators Alexander Golovin and Leon Bakst. The production premiered at the Paris Opera in the summer of 1910.

The ballet, based on Russian folk tales about the firebird, was an original fusion of rhythm and tenderness, seething emotions and hidden joy. The young composer, worried about his brainchild, was present at all rehearsals, helping Tamara and her partner Mikhail Fokin to realize the fusion of sounds and correctly convey them in their grotesque dance.

The success of the ballet, like that of Karsavina, was impressive. Many compared it to a tongue of flame, burning with its rhythmic movements and caressing with its grace and tenderness of execution.

Watching the artist dance, the audience was delighted, freezing from her unexpected jumps and pirouettes. The admiration of the audience was manifested in long applause and silent adoration that accompanied the young prima wherever she went.

The following year, Tamara Karsavina performed in Mikhail Fokine's one-act ballet "The Phantom of the Rose" or ("The Vision of the Rose"), set to music by Carl von Weber and poetry. The premiere of the show took place at the Monte Carlo Opera in the spring of 1911.

The plot of the ballet was an interweaving of the memories of a girl who had just returned from her first ball, and her dreams. She remembers her boyfriends and dreams of the only one with whom she will be comfortable and calmly dancing all her life. However, with the first rays of the sun, the dance of the young lovers breaks off, the ghost of the rose begins to melt, and the girl wakes up.

The leading roles in the production were played by Vatslav Nijinsky (Phantom of the Rose) and Tamara Karsavina (Girl). They looked so harmonious (not only in this ballet, but also in many other productions) that they went down in history as one of the best ballet couples of that time. Young artists subtly felt not only the musical rhythm, but also each other, which helped them to work harmoniously and fruitfully in the future on numerous joint duets.

Their next successful joint performance was the ballet in four scenes "Petrushka", where young people played the roles of Petrushka and Ballerina.

The premiere of the production took place in the summer of 1911 in the Parisian Chatelet, it was a story of a puppet character in which life woke up and emotions appeared.

The bright and extraordinary talent of young performers manifested itself as never before in the lively and rhythmic music of the ballet.

Personal life at the peak of fame

The success of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes was simply phenomenal. The more popular the troupe itself became, the more famous and in demand its artists became. The success of Tamara Karsavina was simply amazing. She impressed everyone not only with her plasticity, beauty and artistry, but with a rich inner world, erudition, education. Thanks to this, the girl has a lot of fans who want to give her not only their hand, but also their heart.

One of them was the promising officer Karl Mannerheim, the court physician Sergei Botkin and even the choreographer Fokin. However, the artist chose a completely different person as her husband - a poor and complaisant aristocrat Vasily Mukhin, who loves the art of music and the dancer herself.

However, this union lasted only a few years. In 1913, Tamara Karsavina's personal life changed dramatically. Prima met Henry Bruce, the British ambassador to the Russian Empire. The man was so inflamed with passion for the artist that he decided to take her away from the family to his homeland, where they signed in 1917. Soon the young woman gave birth to a son.

Naturally, pregnancy and childbirth affected the dancer's career. For a while, she left the stage to take on the most important role - the role of the mother of the family.

Life abroad

However, Tamara Karsavina was not going to leave the stage. She still shone in Diaghilev's ballet performances, touring with the troupe throughout Europe and even America.

The most successful post-war performance of a young woman can be called Leonid Myasin's ballet "The Three-Cornered Hat", designed by Pablo Picasso and first staged at the London Alhambra in 1917. The piece was later shown again in 1920 in Paris and Monte Carlo.

The ballet was a harmonious combination of classical and folk dances. Written in the style of Spanish folklore, it consisted of several central numbers linked to each other by pantomime scenes.

The plot was simple and uncomplicated - Melnik and his Wife (Tamara Karsavina) live in love and harmony, but the Governor (Leonid Vuytsikovsky) tries to seduce a woman, which leads him to general ridicule.

Other activities

Without leaving the ballet, the young woman simultaneously performed in the English dance ensemble Balle Rambert and performed solo compositions at La Scala.

In addition to dancing, the Russian ballerina was engaged in teaching. For example, starting in 1930, she served for twenty years as vice president of the British Academy of Dance, where she developed a new technique for recording dance movements.

In the 1920s, the artist participated in the filming of several German and British films, for example, "The Path to Strength and Beauty." True, she got minor, one might even say episodic roles, but still she was involved in the art world and in demand. And that was the most important thing for her.

Life with husband

According to numerous responses, Tamara Karsavina lived soul to soul with her husband, a diplomat. Henry Bruce was a very polite and gentle man who adored his wife and admired her unimaginable talent.

However, as other sources say, not everything was smooth in this union. For example, for a long time there were rumors about a romantic relationship between the American poetess of Spanish origin Mercedes de Acosta and the heroine of our article. It is worth mentioning that Mercedes de Acosta is more famous not for her literary works, but for her bright and long lesbian romances with Hollywood movie stars. Whether the rumors about her connections with Tamara Platonovna are reliable or whether it is a figment of the imagination of journalists and paparazzi is not known for certain. However, the question of Tamara Karsavina's sexual orientation is still open.

A famous dancer in London has died at the age of ninety-three.

St. Petersburg, "Basement of the Stray Dog", 1914. 22 researcher. with col. ill., sheet music and facsimile. In col. publishing cover according to fig. S. Sudeikina. On the region name: "Karsavina". Paper, ink, paint; manuscript, drawings 10x18 cm, 4 sheets. facsimile, 7 author's illustrations, including flowers and vignettes in the text. On the outside of the bottom cover is the publisher's stamp of the cabaret Stray Dog. Artist M.V. Dobuzhinsky. The book is accompanied by a leaflet with a version of the anthem M.A. Kuzmin "From the birth of the basement", sent to the actual members of the "Stray Dog" and invited. The poems are reproduced in facsimile. In the collection N. Evreinov, M. Kuzmin, A. Akhmatova, N. Gumilyov, G. Ivanov, and others, portraits of T. Karsavina by S. Sudeikin, Kainer, V. Serov, S. Sorin, Sargent.

The publication was timed to coincide with a theme evening in honor of the famous ballerina T.P. Karsavina. Tamara Platonovna danced in The Stray Dog on March 28, 1914. By this time, she had become famous in Russia and abroad thanks to the ballets of M.M. Fokine and Diaghilev's Russian Seasons in Paris. The book includes drawings by Sergei Yuryevich Sudeikin (1882-1946), a Russian painter, graphic artist, theater designer; sketches by Kainer (from the collection of T.P. Karsavina); poems by Anna Andreevna Akhmatova (1889-1966) and Mikhail Leonidovich Lozinsky (1886-1955), Russian poet, translator, one of the founders of the Soviet school of poetic translation. Wed a passage from Khlebnikov's story "Before the War" (1922), probably inspired by the dances of T.P. Karsavina in Stray Dog: “She danced shamelessly, throwing off her last silks, and, repeated in her eyes, was reflected in the mirrors of the basement, crowded with military youth, on silvery planes that divided the walls and ceiling of the basement; the whole basement was like a mirror box.” On one of the pages is written in gold ink a letter of praise from the director, playwright, theater theorist and reformer, theatrical art historian, philosopher and actor, musician, artist and psychologist Nikolai Nikolaevich Evreinov (1879-1953). The book is a kind of dedication to the great ballerina, contains unique drawings and notes of the brightest representatives of the culture of the early 20th century.

So, on Tamara Karsavina's birthday in 1914, she was invited to the Stray Dog and asked to perform an impromptu dance. After that, her friends presented her with the collection “A Bouquet for Karsavina”, which had just been published, and included works by famous poets and artists created in her honor. Colombina Karsavina danced in M.M. Fokine's "Carnival" to the music of R. Schumann (premiere - February 20, 1910 in the Pavlova Hall in St. Petersburg), Salome - in the ballet of the French composer Florent Schmitt "The Tragedy of Salome" directed by B.G. Romanov (premiere - June 12, 1913 at the theater on the Champs Elysees in Paris).

"T.P. Karsavina"

Half the sky in a distant street

The swamp clouded the dawn,

Only a lone skater

Draws lake glass.

Capricious runaway zigzags:

Another flight, one, another...

Like the edge of a diamond sword

The monogram is cut by an expensive one.

In the cold glow, isn't it

And you lead your pattern,

When in a brilliant performance

At your feet - the slightest glance?

You are Columbine, Salome,

You are not the same every time

But brighter and clearer,

The word "beauty" is golden.

Mikhail Kuzmin (March 1914)

The collection also included a poem by A. Akhmatova:

... How do you compose a song a light dance,

He told us about glory.

There is a blush on pale cheeks,

And every minute more and more prisoners,

Forgotten their existence.

And leans again in the sounds of the blessed

Your flexible body.

From the book by Vitaly Ryzhenkov “IN THE SECOND YARD THE BASEMENT…”:

"... This season was marked by another bright evening, which cabaret visitors could not forget. On March 28, 1914, T.P. Karsavina danced in the Dog. S. Sudeikin described this event in his memoirs no less colorfully: an evening of Karsavina, that goddess of the air. Eighteenth century - music by Couperin. "Elements of Nature" staged by Boris Romanov, our trio on ancient instruments. A scene in the middle of the hall with real wooden cupids of the 18th century, standing on a wonderful blue carpet of the same era with candelabra "An unprecedented intimate charm. 50 balletomanes (50 rubles each) watched with bated breath as Karsavina released a living child - Cupid from a cage made of real roses. " Karsavina herself recalled this evening in Teatralnaya Street: "I danced straight among the public in a small space surrounded by garlands of fresh flowers.

"Stray Dog", literary-artistic. cabape. Opened on December 31, 1911 in the basement of the 2nd courtyard of the house on Mikhailovskaya Square. (now Arts Square, 5). Founders: writer A.N. Tolstoy, artists M.V. Dobuzhinsky, N.N. Sapunov, S.Yu. Sudeikin, theater. figure N.N. Evreinov, architect. I.A. Fomin and others, ch. inspirer and organizer - director and actor B.K. Pronin (1875-1946). The name goes back to the parody-romantic image of a lonely artist - "a homeless stray dog". The creators of "B. s." tried to implement one of the cardinal ideas of the early 20th century. - synthesis of the arts (poetry, music, painting and theater), to unite artists of new directions. In "B. s." poetic, musical and theatrical evenings lasting all night, lectures on art, honoring Russian and foreign artists were arranged. Among the regular visitors: poets - A.A. Akhmatova, N.S. Gumilyov, M.A. Kuzmin, O.E. Mandelstam, G.V. Ivanov, K.D. Balmont, V.V. Mayakovsky; actors, musicians and composers - V.G. Karatygin, I.A. Sats, M.F. Gnesin, Yu.A. Shaporin, S.S. Prokofiev, Yu.M. Yuriev, E.I. Time, T.P. Karsavin; arch. V.A. Schuko. The visitors were united by consciously playful behavior, readiness to take part in any spontaneously arising game situation (from a scandal to reading poetry and singing romances). Favorite genre in "B. s." was a parody. The desire of the wealthy public (post. visitors called them "pharmacists") to join the artistic. the spirit of the cabaret has somewhat changed the world, but the conflict between the "bourgeois" and the "artist" was in the "B. s." largely playful, parodic character. In 1915, due to financial difficulties, "B. s." closed, its successor was "Halt of Comedians".

Karsavina, Tamara Platonovna(March 9, 1885, St. Petersburg, Russian Empire - May 26, 1978, London, UK) - a famous Russian ballerina. She was a soloist at the Mariinsky Theatre, was a member of Diaghilev's Russian Ballet and often danced in tandem with Vaslav Nijinsky. After the revolution, she lived and worked in Great Britain. The ballerina was born on February 25 (March 9), 1885 in St. Petersburg in the family of the dancer of the imperial troupe Platon Karsavin and his wife Anna Iosifovna, nee Khomyakova, daughter of a cousin (that is, great-niece) of the famous Slavophil A.S. Khomyakov. Brother - Lev Karsavin, Russian philosopher.

In 1902 she graduated from the Imperial Theater School, where she learned the basics of ballet from teachers Pavel Gerdt, Alexander Gorsky and Enrico Cecchetti, then joined the troupe of the Mariinsky Theater. Karsavina quickly achieved the status of a prima ballerina and performed leading roles in the ballets of the classical repertoire - Giselle, The Sleeping Beauty, The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Carnival, etc. Since 1909, at the invitation of Sergei Diaghilev, Karsavina began performing in the tour of Russian ballet dancers organized by him in Europe, and then in the Diaghilev Russian Ballet. The most notable works of the ballerina during the period of cooperation with Diaghilev were the leading roles in the ballets The Firebird, The Phantom of the Rose, and Petrushka.

"You are Colombina, Solomeya,

You are not the same every time

But brighter and clearer,

the word is golden: "beauty" ... "

These lines in March 1914, the acmeist poet M.A. Kuzmin dedicated Tamara Karsavina, the ancestor of fundamentally new trends in performance in the ballet theater of the 1920s, recognized as the "Queen Columbine". Tamara Karsavina grew up in an intelligent family, and was the great-niece of the famous writer and Slavophil philosopher Alexei Stepanovich Khomyakov. Tamara's brother Lev Karsavin was a medievalist historian and original thinker, for which, together with others, he was expelled from Russia in 1922 on the famous "philosophical ship". The brother and sister were friendly, Lev called Tamara "the famous virtuous sister", and she called him "the young sage." Mom Karsavina was a graduate of the Institute for Noble Maidens and devoted a lot of time to raising children, she herself studied with her eldest son, and little Tamara, playing nearby, listened.

She learned to read early and books became her passion. There were a lot of them in the house. My father bought cheap editions and bound them himself. Possessing an excellent memory, the girl easily memorized Pushkin's poems and loved to recite them. She was attracted to the theater since childhood. But her father, Platon Karsavin, a dancer at the Mariinsky Theater and then a teacher at the Theater School, was against her daughter following in his footsteps. He believed that she did not have a “ballerina character”, that she was too delicate and shy and would not be able to protect their interests. And yet, supported by her mother, the girl began to prepare for admission to the school. On the day of the exam, she was very worried. The competition was great, and there were few vacancies. Only 10 girls were admitted, Tamara was among them. The school was located on Teatralnaya Street (now Architect Rossi Street). Subsequently, Karsavina wrote: “Teatralnaya Street will forever remain for me a masterpiece of architecture. Then I was not yet able to appreciate all the beauty that surrounded me, but I already felt it, and this feeling grew over the years.

That is why she called the book of memoirs "Theater Street". The first year at school was not marked by much success. But soon she was taken into his class by P. Gerdt, a wonderful teacher who brought up many famous ballerinas, among whom was the incomparable Anna Pavlova. The girl became more artistic, confidence appeared. Gerdt began to entrust her with the main roles in student performances. Karsavina loved her teacher and always remembered him with boundless gratitude. She successfully passed the final exams, received the first award and the right to choose a book. Tamara chose a deluxe edition of Goethe's Faust. On the title page was the inscription: "Tamara Karsavina for diligence and success in the sciences and dances and for excellent behavior." After the end of the exams, all graduates were given 100 rubles for equipment and were allowed to go home for one day. It was necessary to purchase a complete wardrobe, and the wealth in the family was very modest. Therefore, Tamara's mother decided to go to a small Jewish shop where they sold second-hand things. In her book, Karsavina recalls this visit. The owner of the shop, Minna, tried to pick up good, almost new things. After talking to her husband in Jewish, the hostess turned to Tamara: “My husband said that a happy fate is written on your face. The day will come when you will have great clothes and you will not buy from us ... But let this young lady be happy. We'll just be happy for her." Subsequently, when Karsavina already had the opportunity to dress in expensive stores, she, remembering their kind attitude towards her, sometimes went into the shop and bought some trinkets, trying to support the owners. Many years later, while on tour in Helsingfors, Minna visited her. After the death of her husband, she lived with her daughter in a small Finnish town and traveled a long way to see Tamara. After graduating from the Theater School in 1902, Karsavina was enrolled in the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theatre. In the corps de ballet, she did not dance for long, very soon she began to entrust solo parts. But success did not come immediately. She did not resemble the ideal ballet premiere, which at that time was personified by Matilda Kshesinskaya. Karsavina did not have such virtuoso brilliance, assertiveness. She had other features - harmony, dreaminess, languid grace. Critics wrote about her little and very reservedly. The biggest praise for her in one of the reviews was: "not without grace." The stalls, largely filled with Kshesinskaya's fans, did not favor her either. But day by day the love for her grew in the gallery, where there were many students.

She worked a lot. It was necessary to improve the technique, and she went to Milan, where she studied with the famous teacher Beretta. N. Legat, who replaced Petipa as choreographer of the troupe, encouraged the young soloist. For the first time she receives the main roles in the ballets Giselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Don Quixote. Gradually, Karsavina becomes the favorite of the troupe, the authorities, and a significant part of the public. She was patronized by Kshesinskaya. “If anyone lays a finger,” she said, “come straight to me. I won't let you get hurt." And the intrigues of the enemy, without naming her by name, Karsavina later described in her memoir book “Theater Street”, where she told how one day a jealous rival screamed at a novice ballerina backstage, accusing her stage costume of “immodesty”. But only cooperation with Fokine brought real success to Karsavina. Being one of the leading dancers of the Mariinsky Theatre, Fokine began to try himself as a choreographer. Using classical dance as a basis, but trying to rid it of bombast and rhetoric, he enriched the dance with new elements and movements that acquired a stylistic coloring depending on the time and place of the action. Fokine's innovation turned a significant part of the troupe against him. But the youth believed in him and supported the young choreographer in every possible way. Karsavina was also his active supporter - one of the few actresses who were able to truly perceive, absorb the ideas of Fokine, and later the ideas of the organizers of the Diaghilev seasons. In the education of Tamara, the formation of her artistic taste, a huge role was played by her older brother, a student at the Faculty of Philosophy of the University.

Philosophical and artistic disputes were often held in their house, exhibitions were discussed, mainly by artists of the association “World of Art” that had then arisen. Fokine's first production was the ballet The Vine to the music of Rubinstein. Anna Pavlova was the leading lady in this and other early productions. He occupied Karsavina only in solo parts. When the idea of ​​creating Diaghilev's seasons arose, the community of Diaghilev, Fokine, Benois, Bakst seemed to Karsavina a "mysterious forge" where new art was forged. Benois wrote about her: “Tatochka really became one of us. She was the most reliable of our leading artists, and her whole being was in keeping with our work." She was never capricious, did not make demands, knew how to subordinate her own interests to the interests of the common cause. Having joined the Diaghilev troupe as the first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater, having several leading roles in the repertoire, she agreed to the position of the second ballerina. But already in the next Parisian season, when A. Pavlova left the troupe, Karsavina began to play all the main roles. She knew how to get along with Fokine, who had a stormy temperament, and with Nijinsky, a very complex and unpredictable person. Diaghilev loved her very much, and therefore, no matter how the circumstances developed, and no matter what reforms he introduced, it did not affect her. For 10 years, Diaghilev's entreprise had to leave almost everyone who created it with him: Fokine, Benoit, Bakst and many others left. But he was faithful to Karsavina to the end. For her, Diaghilev always remained an indisputable authority. On the day when she finished work on the book "Theater Street", she learned about the death of Diaghilev. Then Karsavina decided to write the third part of the book, prefixing it with the following epigraph: “I finished this book on August 29, 1929, and on the same day I learned the sad news about the death of Diaghilev. I dedicate this last part of his unforgettable memory, as a tribute to my endless admiration and love for him.

As already mentioned, the real glory of Karsavina is associated with the seasons of Russian ballet in Paris. The success of these seasons has exceeded all expectations. The largest cultural figures of France called him "the discovery of a new world." On this occasion, Karsavina wrote: “I often asked myself whether our history is studied abroad in the same way as the history of all peoples is studied here. With regard to China, we were rather ignorant, but, perhaps, no more than Europe in relation to Russia. Russia is a wild country of great culture and amazing ignorance... No wonder Europe didn't even try to understand you, who was a mystery even to your own children. It is quite possible that Europe hardly suspected about Russian art - this most striking manifestation of our complex and ardent soul. In Karsavina, Fokin found the ideal performer. Their amazingly organic duet with Vaslav Nijinsky has become an adornment of all the programs of the Russian Seasons. The heroines of Karsavina in Fokine's ballets were different. This is Armida, a seductress who descended from the tapestries of the 18th century, from the “Pavilion of Armida”. Playful, charming Columbine from Carnival. A romantic dreamer who fell asleep after the ball and in her dreams waltzed with her gentleman in the production of The Phantom of the Rose. The ancient nymph Echo, deprived of her own face in the production of Narcissus. Doll-ballerina from a Russian booth in the production of "Petrushka". The bird-maiden from the ballet "Firebird". But all these, such dissimilar images, were connected by one theme - the theme of beauty, beauty fatal, destructive. A stunning success in Paris had ballets on a Russian theme: "The Firebird" and "Petrushka". Both of them were created specifically for Karsavina and Nijinsky. Karsavina wrote: “I am in love with Igor Stravinsky's Petrushka and Firebird. This is really a new word in ballet. Here, music and ballet are not fitted to each other, but form one ... "The next day after the premiere of The Firebird, enthusiastic reviews appeared in French newspapers, in which the names of the main performers were written with the article:" La Karsavina "," La Nijinsky ”, which meant special admiration and respect. Fokine used Karsavina's high jump - the Firebird cut the stage like lightning, and, according to Benois, looked like a "fiery phoenix". And when the bird turned into a miraculous maiden, an oriental languor appeared in its plasticity, its impulse seemed to melt in the curves of the body, in the twists of the arms. Like Anna Pavlova's The Dying Swan, Tamara Karsavina's The Firebird has become one of the symbols of the time. Karsavina was also magnificent in Petrushka. Fokin considered her the best, unsurpassed performer of the ballerina doll. Many French composers and artists collaborated with the Russian ballet troupe. C. Debussy and M. Ravel, J.L. Vaudoyer and J. Cocteau, P. Picasso and M. Chagall. Almost all of them treated Karsavina with great tenderness and respect. After the phenomenal success in Paris, Karsavina was literally bombarded with offers, they wanted to see her in England, Italy, America, Australia. The ballerina signed a contract with London. At first, she felt very uncomfortable there - not a single acquaintance, a complete lack of language. But the charm of this woman conquered and attracted, friends and admirers soon appeared. England fell in love with Karsavina. She wrote: “The nation that adopted me, you are generous and infinitely indulgent towards foreigners, but deep down you are always somewhat surprised when you find that foreigners use knives and forks just like you.” During the tour in London, the Russian ballet was greatly assisted by the influential Lady Ripon. Thanks to her efforts, the premiere took place in Covent Garden. She converted the ballroom in her house into a small theater, which Bakst beautifully designed. There she staged performances, concerts, carnivals. She not only contributed to the success of the Russian ballet, but also took care of the participants in the tour. She adored Karsavina and called her "my dear little friend." Lady Ripon introduced her to the artist John Sargent. The first portrait in the role of Queen Tamara from the ballet of the same name was commissioned by Lady Ripon herself.

D.S. Sargent. Tamara Karsavina as Queen Tamara.

Subsequently, the artist made many of her paintings and pencil portraits and generously gave them to the ballerina. He also introduced her to the artist De Glen, who also painted a portrait of the artist. Perhaps no ballerina was so loved by artists and poets. It was written by Serov, Bakst, Dobuzhinsky, Sudeikin, Serebryakova and many others.

V.A. Serov Portrait of a ballerina T.P. Karsavina. 1909

In St. Petersburg, Karsavina was adored by all the creative intelligentsia. Actors, poets, musicians gathered in the artistic club "Stray Dog". The artist Sudeikin painted the walls of the basement where the club was located. Laughing and grimacing heroes of Gozzi's fairy tales - Tartaglia and Pantalone, Smeraldina and Brighella greeted the incoming, as if inviting them to take part in the general fun. The programs were improvised. Poets read their new poems, actors sang and danced. There was a special procedure for admission to membership in the club. On Karsavina's birthday in 1914, she was invited to the Stray Dog and asked to perform an impromptu dance. After that, her friends presented her with the collection “A Bouquet for Karsavina”, which had just been published, and included works by famous poets and artists created in her honor.

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet Sylphide. Hood. S.A. Sorin. 1910

Karsavina was courted by the famous St. Petersburg Don Juan Karl Mannerheim (a Finnish statesman who built the Mannerheim line, who at the beginning of the century served as an officer in the tsarist army). The life physician of the court, Sergei Botkin, was madly carried away by her, forgetting for the sake of Tamara his wife, the daughter of the founder of the gallery, Pavel Mikhailovich Tretyakov. Choreographer Fokin made her an offer three times, receiving a refusal.

K.A. Somov Costume design for Marquise for T.P. Karsavina

(for dancing to the music of Mozart). 1924

On the other hand, there is evidence that Tamara's intelligence and erudition, unprecedented for a ballerina and a woman of those years, periodically scared away potential admirers. As a result, Karsavina married a poor nobleman Vasily Mukhin, who captivated her with kindness, knowledge of music and a passion for ballet. The marriage lasted until the ballerina came to the reception at the British Embassy in 1913. There she met Henry Bruce, head of the embassy office in St. Petersburg. Bruce fell desperately in love, took Tamara out of the family, she bore him a son, Nikita, and in 1915 became the wife of a British diplomat. They lived together for over thirty years. Subsequently, Bruce, as he wrote at the end of his life in his memoir "Thirty Dozen Moons", prematurely interrupted his diplomatic career for the sake of the triumphs of his beloved wife: "Despite the selfishness inherent in men in general, I had no ambitions, except for the desire to be in the shadow of Tamara" .

Henry Bruce. Portrait of T.P. Karsavina. Paper, pencil. 1918

Karsavina's tour in Italy was a great success. This trip was also useful because Karsavina was able to work out in Rome with a wonderful teacher E. Chechetti, who once taught at the Theater School in St. Petersburg. Cecchetti was called a magician who created dancers. Karsavina was in Italy for the first time. She enthusiastically got acquainted with the sights of the eternal city. She was very lucky that Alexandre Benois, an extremely educated person, became her guide. At that time, Karsavina's brother was in Rome, who studied the history of religion there. In their free time, they wandered around the city together. Karsavina continued to work at the Diaghilev Enterprise. But the changes that took place in her, the departure of Fokine and many other artists, the productions of new choreographers disappointed her. The ballerina was increasingly drawn to the classics, and she decided to return to the Mariinsky Theater.

L. Bakst. Costume design for Tamara Karsavina.

We met Karsavina very warmly. She was given all the main roles in the ballets of the classical repertoire - Giselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and others. Karsavina was a great actress. She knew how to make any dance expressive, organically and naturally moving from dance to pantomime. Critics vied with each other lavished rave reviews in her address. The last time she performed at the Mariinsky Theater was the role of Nikiya in the ballet La Bayadère. Many considered this role to be the best in her classical repertoire. Shortly thereafter, she left her homeland forever. She was 33 years old. In France, Diaghilev persuaded her to return to his troupe, but this did not bring her joy. The new productions of the choreographer Myasin, with his modernist quest, as she believed, "did not correspond to the spirit of ballet art." She longed for the classics, for real art.

I missed my homeland very much. In one of her letters she wrote: “For three years now, I have firmly settled in France, and about five years since I lost contact with St. Petersburg. Such homesickness… Send me rowan leaves from the Islands in a letter… I want to breathe in my native, distant, gloomy Petersburg.” In 1929, Karsavina moved to London with her husband. For two years she danced on the stage of the Balle Rambert theater, and then decided to leave the stage. She began working on the revival of Fokine's ballets The Phantom of the Rose, Carnival, prepared the part of the Firebird with the wonderful English ballerina Margot Fonteyn. Karsavina was trouble-free, she always came to the aid of everyone who needed her.

Many choreographers used her advice and advice when resuming classical ballets. In addition, the ballerina appeared in episodic roles in several silent films produced in Germany and the UK - including the film "The Path to Strength and Beauty" with Leni Riefenstahl. In the book "Three Graces of the 20th Century", dedicated to the remarkable Russian ballerinas - Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina and Olga Spesivtseva, its author, Sergei Lifar, made an interesting confession. When in 1954 he invited Karsavina to the premiere of The Firebird with a modernized choreography, she categorically refused to come, saying: “Forgive me, but I am faithful to Fokine and I don’t want to see your choreography.” Karsavina was elected vice-president of the British Royal Academy of Dance and held this honorary position for 15 years. Peru Karsavina owns several books on ballet, including a textbook on classical dance. She developed a new method of recording dances. She translated into English the book by J. Noverre "Letters on Dance". "Teatralnaya Street" was published in London in 1930, a year later it was published in Paris, and only in 1971 the ballerina's memoirs were translated into Russian and published in Russia. In 1965, the 80th anniversary of the remarkable actress was widely celebrated in London. All those present at this celebration spoke about the amazing charm and fortitude of this woman. Tamara Platonovna Karsavina lived a long, very worthy life. She died in London on May 25, 1978 at the age of 93.

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina is another ballerina of the Russian ballet, whose name stands next to the names of such great ballerinas as Matilda Kshesinskaya and Anna Pavlova. You can call Karsavina their student, although this is somewhat different. Kshesinskaya patronized young Tamara, Pavlova did not love her, but nevertheless, Karsavina danced many of the ballet parts of Pavlova and Kshesinskaya one way or another. She was very hardworking, plastic and beautiful. Yes, she did not have high patrons, but among her admirers were the magnificent Carl Gustav Mannerheim himself and the life physician of Tsar Nicholas II, Dr. Botkin. What was she, the ballerina Tamara Karsavina? A small article "Tamara Karsavina - Dancing Flame" from the ladies' magazine Desnitsa and photographs, drawings and portraits of the now great ballerina will tell us about this ...

Ballerina Tamara Platonovna Karsavina (1885 - 1978)

Nature, like a kind fairy, generously rewarded her with virtues and talents, Talent, intelligence, intelligence, beauty, special feminine charm. And at the same time - a soft character, modesty and simplicity. She was loved, respected, admired. She was always aloof from any kind of intrigue - because even in her youth she decided to devote herself to His Majesty Art. And she turned this dream into reality, remaining faithful to her for her entire long life. And in the memory of lovers and connoisseurs of art, she will forever remain the "Firebird of Russian ballet" ...

Ballerina Tamara Karsavina in the ballet The Firebird to music by Igor Stravinsky in a costume designed by Leon Bakst 1910

Tamara Karsavina was born in the spring, March 9, 1885, in an intelligent family. Tatochka, as everyone affectionately called her, learned to read early, and books became her passion. And the second, even greater passion, was ballet. Tamara's father Platon Karsavin was a dancer at the Mariinsky Theater and then taught at the Theater School. In 1891, the father's benefit performance, arranged in connection with the end of his theatrical career, made a huge impression on the six-year-old Tamara. It was then that she realized how much she loves the theater. Supported in her passion by her mother, Tamara began to prepare for admission to the Theater School. And her father became her first mentor - strict and demanding, and Karsavina kept her demands on herself for life.

Young Tamara Karsavina

Classmates at the Imperial Theater School - Lydia Kyaksht, Tamara Karsavinya and Elena Polyakova

The competition for admission to the school was very large, and there were few vacancies: only 10 girls were admitted. Among them was Tamara. The very next day after the graduation performance, they started talking about the young ballerina. Her grace, ease of movement, artistry, magnificent facial expressions were noted. However, no one saw in her then a virtuoso dancer. I must say that her successes in those years testified not only to the unconditional presence of talent, but also to great diligence and diligence: it was not easy for the girl, because she suffered from anemia, and the disease from time to time took an acute form.

Tamara Karsavina

Ballets by Tamara Karsavina

After graduating from college in 1902, Tamara was enrolled in the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater. But very soon she began to entrust solo parts. Just as soon, she acquired for herself a powerful patron - Matilda Kshesinskaya, and a long-term rival - Anna Pavlova, who for some reason immediately disliked the young rising star. She worked very hard, improved her technique (she took lessons from famous teachers on trips to Italy). Gradually, Karsavina begins to entrust the main parts - she dances in the ballets Giselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda, Don Quixote, and becomes the favorite of a significant part of the public.

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet The Pavilion of Armida to music by N. Tcherepnin 1909

The first serious success brought Karsavina cooperation with Mikhail Fokin. Being one of the leading dancers of the Mariinsky Theatre, Fokine began to try himself as a choreographer, trying to enrich the dance with new elements and movements. Karsavina became his active supporter - one of the few actresses who were able to truly perceive and absorb Fokine's ideas.

Tamara Karsavina and Vaslav Nijinsky in the ballet "Giselle" 1910

Tamara Karsavina in costume for the ballet "Phantom of the Rose"

Tamara Karsavina and Vaslav Nijinsky in the ballet La Sylphide

But the real glory of Karsavina is associated with the seasons of Russian ballet in Paris, which began in 1909. The success of these seasons has exceeded all expectations. And the amazingly organic duet of Karsavina with Vaslav Nijinsky has become an adornment of all the programs of these seasons. The heroines of Karsavina were different: the seductress Armida and the playful, charming Colombina, a romantic dreamer who fell asleep after the ball and waltzed with a gentleman in her dreams (“Phantom of the Rose”), the ancient nymph Echo, devoid of her own face (“Narcissus”), a ballerina doll from Russian booth ("Petrushka") and the maiden-bird ("Firebird").

Tamara Karsavina 1910-1914

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet "The Firebird"

In the descriptions of Karsavin's performances, her mimic talent, elusive grace, a naturally high jump, which Fokin deliberately used, were emphasized - the Firebird cut the stage like lightning and looked, according to Alexander Benois, like a "fiery phoenix". And when the bird turned into a miraculous maiden, a sweet languor appeared in its movements, its impulse seemed to melt in the curves of the body, in the twists of the arms. The day after the premiere of The Firebird, enthusiastic reviews appeared in French newspapers, in which the names of the main performers were written with the article: “LA KARSAVINA”, “La Nijinsky”, which meant special admiration and respect. A Parisian reviewer wrote that on stage " Karsavina is like a dancing flame, in the light and shadows of which languid bliss lives ... her dances are the most delicate tones and an airy pastel pattern».

Tamara Karsavina 1910

Tamara Karsavina and Adolf Bolm in the ballet "Tamar" 1910

Tamara Karsavina was a devoted associate of the founder of the "Russian Seasons" Diaghilev. While Kshesinskaya, disliking Diaghilev, put spokes in his wheels, using her connections at court, and Pavlova, having danced with the same Diaghilev at first, later resolutely refused to share success with other stars, Karsavina was never capricious, did not show requirements, was able to subordinate its own interests to the interests of the common cause. Having joined the troupe as the first soloist of the Mariinsky Theater and having several leading roles in the repertoire, she, nevertheless, agreed to the position of the second ballerina. Only when Pavlova left the troupe, Karsavina began to play all the main roles.

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet Phoebus and Pan

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet "The Blue God" 1912

France adored her, and after Paris fell in love with all of Europe. After the phenomenal success in Paris, Karsavina was literally bombarded with offers, they wanted to see her in England, Italy, America, Australia. The ballerina chose London - as if anticipating that most of her life will be connected with this city. England immediately fell in love with Karsavina. According to the memoirs of the ballerina, her fan at the performance in London did not have time to shout “Karsavina!” there was a roar from the gallery, like the rumble of a distant cannon, and the theater applauded for twenty minutes».

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet "Scheherazade" 1912

In 1913 Karsavina returned to Russia, to the Mariinsky. They met her very warmly and gave all the main roles in the ballets of the classical repertoire - Giselle, Swan Lake, Raymonda, The Nutcracker, Sleeping Beauty, Don Quixote and others. At this time, Karsavina is already quite a mature actress. She perfectly knew how to make any dance expressive, organically and naturally moving from dance to pantomime. Critics vied with each other lavished rave reviews in her address.

Tamara Karsavina 1911

Ballerina Tamara Karsavina "Pulcinella" 1912

Vaslav Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina and Lyudmila Shollar in "Games" 1913

In one of the books dedicated to Russian dancers, there are such lines about Karsavina: “ She, along with Ida Rubinstein, claims first place in the list of the most beautiful Russian dancers. Contemporaries vying with each other extolled female magnetism and commemorated the hearts broken by both enchantresses. But if the infernal Ida sometimes resembled a “wounded lioness” or a sharply sharpened razor, Tamara Karsavina took it to others: she was enveloped in lyric-poetic erotica. The charm of Karsavina was all the stronger because she was known as an impregnable person, not inclined to the usual vulgar cupids of dancers.". There is a lot of evidence for the latter.

Tamara Karsavina (autographed photo)

Karsavina was courted by the famous St. Petersburg Don Juan Karl Mannerheim, the future major statesman of Finland, and at that time an officer in the tsarist army. The life physician of the court, Sergei Botkin, was madly carried away by her, forgetting for the sake of Tamara his wife, the daughter of P.M. Tretyakov, founder of the famous gallery. Choreographer Fokin made her an offer three times, and each time he was refused. Karsavina married a poor nobleman Vasily Mukhin, who captivated her with kindness, knowledge of music and a passion for ballet. But ahead of her was waiting for Big Love ...

Tamara Karsavina in the ballet "Butterflies" 1914

Once, at a reception at the British Embassy, ​​she met Henry Bruce, the head of the embassy's office. Bruce fell desperately in love, took Tamara away from the family, she gave birth to a British diplomat's son Nikita, and in 1915 she became his wife. They lived together for over thirty years.

In 1918, Karsavina left her homeland. She was 33 years old. With her husband and son, she made her way to the north, to Murmansk, to the English ships, with bated breath entering the villages that came across on the way: who will meet - white or red? For the former, the diplomatic passport of Henry Bruce was at the ready, for the latter, a travel passport in the name of Karsavina, signed by the "red" People's Commissar for Foreign Affairs Chicherin. They made it to the pier a few minutes before the last British cruiser left. Karsavina and her family first came to France, and in 1929 moved to London. For two years she danced at the Balle Rambert Theater, and then decided to leave the stage. But Karsavina could not imagine life without ballet.

Tamara Karsavina in costumes with kokoshniks (Photo with autographs) 1920-1924

She began to work on the renewal of Fokine's ballets, prepared the part of the Firebird with the wonderful English ballerina Margot Fontaine. Karsavina was trouble-free, she always came to the aid of everyone who needed her. Many choreographers used her advice and advice when resuming classical ballets. The ballerina even appeared in episodic roles in several silent films produced in Germany and the UK - including in the film "The Path to Strength and Beauty" with Leni Riefenstahl.

Tamara Karsavina 1922

Peru Karsavina owns a book of memoirs "Teatralnaya Street", several books on ballet, including a manual on classical dance. She developed a new method of recording dances. Karsavina was elected vice-president of the British Royal Academy of Dance and held this honorary position for a quarter of a century. Being a pupil of the Russian school, she was actually a full-fledged representative of it abroad, continuing her own "Russian seasons".

E.M. Zablotsky about the Karsavins

Evgeny Mikhailovich Zablotsky is a relative of Tamara Karsavina, one of the most famous ballerinas of the 20th century. He helped me in my work on the Anosov-Puzanov family tree. In gratitude, I publish an article by Evgeny Mikhailovich.

I.M. Yakovleva

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina (1885–1978)
(Photo from TsGAKFFD)

The biography of the outstanding ballerina Tamara Platonovna Karsavina was told by herself in her famous memoirs "Theatre Street". London, 1930; in Russian - "Teatralnaya street". L., 1971], published many times and in many languages.
Naturally, the main theme of the memories is the ballet theater, the artistic world, the path in art. Of great interest is the description of childhood, family environment. The ballerina's father, ballet dancer Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin, and her mother, Anna Iosifovna, nee Khomyakova, as well as her brother, the future famous philosopher Lev Platonovich Karsavin, vividly appear before the reader. It is written in detail about the grandmother, Maria Semyonovna Khomyakova, nee Paleolog, the widow of the brother of the famous Slavophil A.S. Khomyakov.

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina on stage
Colombina in "Carnival" 1910
Postcard, Berlin, 1910.
The postcard is one of a whole series,
specially published in Germany.

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Information contained in the archival files of the funds of the Ministry of the Imperial Court [Russian State Historical Archive (RGIA), fund 497 (Directorate of the Imperial Theatres), inventory 5, files 195, 1371, 1372, 1373, 2753 and fund 498 (Petersburg Theater School), inventory 1, cases 2383, 2597, 3268, 4561, 6190. ], can serve as a commentary on the few references contained in Tamara Karsavina's book about family characters and the environment of her childhood years. So, memories of the place of residence, relating to 1890, can be supplemented by indicating the exact address of the rented apartment, - the embankment of the Catherine Canal (now the Griboedov Canal), house 170, apt. 9. The Karsavin family lived at this address until 1896, when, due to the worsening financial situation (according to the testimony of the author of Teatralnaya Street), they moved to another apartment in the same house - apt. 15. House 170 is located very close to the junction of the Griboyedov Canal with the Fontanka. Until that time, the family often changed address. So, in 1888-1889, Anna Iosifovna lived at four successively changing addresses on Malaya Morskaya, Torgovaya, Officerskaya and Mogilevskaya streets. After the house on the Catherine Canal, since 1901, shortly before Tamara graduated from the ballet school, the family lived on Sadovaya street, house 93, apt. 13 [According to T. Karsavina (“Teatralnaya Street”), the house was opposite the Church of the Intercession in Kolomna (now Turgenev Square, the church was demolished in 1934)].

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina at home.
Photo from TsGAKFFD

As follows from archival materials, in the summer of 1882, when T. Karsavina's parents got married, her father lived with his sister, in the house of "Aunt Katya", which T. Karsavina mentions in his book. Indeed, this house was located “beyond the Narva Gates”, in the then Tentelevo village, Right Street, house 6.
Ekaterina Konstantinovna Balasheva was photographed against the background of this house. The house was two-story. One floor was rented out to tenants, and the Balashev family lived on these funds.

"Ekaterina Konstantinovna Karsavina ("Aunt Katya"),
after 1908. - Author's archive.

* * *

* * *

Tamara Platonovna Karsavina
in the ballet La Bayadère.
Photo from TsGAKFFD 1917.

* * *

Godson and goddaughters of T. Karsavina
- Lev, Nina and Lyuba Balashev.
Around 1910. - Archive T.M.Dyachenko.

* * *

I got acquainted with the next article by Evgeny Mikhailovich Zablotsky ");
I found it all interesting.

A scan of the famous work by A.A. Vaneev "Two Years in Abezi" (next to the photograph of the grave cross) was sent by Evgeny Mikhailovich Zablotsky. “This text by Vaneev (a kind of monument to Lev Platonovich Karsavin) was published in Brussels in 1990,” writes Evgeny Mikhailovich. “There is a photograph of the grave and an excerpt from an article by V. Sharonov about the circumstances of the discovery of the grave.”

Probably, these are the same details that I have already written about. (?)

General view of the Gulag churchyard in Abezi

The works and life of L.P. Karsavin in our time have become the object of close attention, both in Russia and in Lithuania, where he is called the “Lithuanian Plato”.
The artistic fate and biography of Tamara Karsavina, who was born in 1885 and lived to be 93 years old (she died in 1978), are widely known. Tatyana Kuznetsova, who had been a friend of Karsavina's London house since the mid-1950s, rightly remarked that "there is hardly a dancer in the history of Russian ballet who spoke in such detail about herself." We are talking, of course, about the famous "Teatralnaya Street", translated into many languages ​​and withstood dozens of reprints. Information about her family, which cannot but be of interest to historians and biographers, also goes back to this text by Karsavina. True, the "family element" of Karsavina's memoirs is limited to the time of her departure from the country and is relatively detailed only for childhood, which essentially ended in 1894 with admission to the Theater School. The years spent in a closed educational institution, the early start of an artistic career - Tamara Karsavina graduated from college and began serving in the theater in 1902, 17 years old, an intense creative life, naturally, pushed aside childhood memories and a family theme. From the pages of the book, the reader is confronted by the ballerina's father - Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin, a ballet dancer, a gentle and kind person, and her mother - Anna Iosifovna, nee Khomyakova, who was left without a father early and was brought up in the Smolny ("orphan") Institute. The episodic characters, participants in purely everyday situations, are the father's sister and brother - "Aunt Katya", who helps her mother with sewing, and "Uncle Volodya", who takes winter clothes to the pawnshop. Much more space is given to my grandmother, Maria Semenovna Khomyakova, about whom Karsavina says: “Grandma remained in my memory as an unusually bright and whole person; an interesting book could be written about the events of her life. The mention of the second grandmother, without specifying her name, can be found in the last chapter of the book, in the description of pre-departure preparations, in connection with the "portrait of a lady in a green silk dress and a rose in her hand." Perhaps Tamara Platonovna did not set herself the task of a biographer or genealogist. These are memories. Hence the fragmentation, the charm of impressionistic intonations and, in general, a small number of facts relating to the biography of the family. Work on the memoirs began in 1928, when his parents were no longer alive, and ties with Russia were becoming more and more dangerous. The ex-husband of Tamara Platonovna, Vasily Vasilyevich Mukhin, and the brother of the wife of Lev Platonovich, Vsevolod Nikolaevich Kuznetsov, remained in Russia. In the early 1930s, they were “spotted” by the OGPU. Correspondence with Karsavina and receipt of food parcels from abroad ended for V. V. Mukhin camp.
Other relatives of the Karsavins also lived in the USSR, including the family of their cousin, Nikolai Nikolaevich Balashev, the son of Ekaterina Konstantinovna Karsavina, in the marriage of Balasheva (1849-1920) - "Aunt Katya" of Karsavin's memoirs. It was in this family that the memory of the Karsavins, especially Tamara Platonovna, continued to be preserved. Moreover, the memory is not associated with her stage fame. There was, therefore, another plot, unknown to Karsavin scholars. The plot is purely family, which did not receive any coverage in Karsavina's memoirs. We are talking about the relationship of two families, the Karsavins and the Balashevs, which continued until the death of Platon Konstantinovich Karsavin in 1922. The information contained in the stories of my mother, Nina Nikolaevna Zablotskaya (nee Balasheva), and Susanna Lvovna Karsavina (the youngest daughter of the philosopher), with whom our family established family relations in 1989, I supplemented with data extracted from the archives of the Ministry of the Imperial Court, - Funds 497 and 498 of the Directorate of the Imperial Theaters and the State Theater School. At the same time, it was possible to establish a number of facts relating to the genealogy of the Karsavins and supplementing the memoirs of the ballerina.

Refined genealogy of the Karsavins.

II generation:

1. Konstantin Mikhailovich Karsavin? -1861.
Wife - Pelageya Pavlovna c.1820-1890.

III generation:

2/1. Catherine 1849-1920.
Husband - Nikolai Alekseevich Balashev? - ok.1883.
Children - Lyudmila (married. Knyazeva), Rimma, Olga, Nikolai 1872-1941.
Grandchildren - Valentina, Evgenia, Valerian, George, Boris and Lyudmila Knyazev;
Iraida (1892-1941), Evgenia (1896-1905), Leo (1904-1960), Nina (1905-1994, married Zablotskaya) and Lyubov (1908-1977, husband Vladimir Safronov) Balashevs.
Great-grandchildren - Nikolai Balashev (b.1944); Tatyana (b. 1936, married Dyachenko) and Evgeny (b. 1938) Zablotsky; Lyudmila Safronova (b.1937).

3/1. Vladimir 1851-1908.

4/1. Plato 1854-1922.
Wife - Anna Iosifovna (nee Khomyakova) 1860-1918.

IV generation:

5/4. Leo 1882-1952.
Wife - Lidia Nikolaevna (nee Kuznetsova) 1881-1961.

6/4. Tamara 1885-1978.
I husband - Vasily Vasilyevich Mukhin.
II husband - Henry Bruce 1880-1951.
Son - Nikita Bruce 1916-2002.
Grandchildren - Caroline Bruce (married Crampton) b.1958, Nicholas Bruce b. 1960.
Great-grandson - James Crampton b.1992.

5th generation:

7/5. Irina 1906-1987.

8/5. Marianne 1911-1994.
Husband - Pyotr Petrovich Suvchinsky 1892-1985.

9/5. Susanna 1921-2003.

Note: The latest information about the son, grandchildren and great-grandson of Tamara Platonovna Karsavina was kindly reported by A. Foster (Andrew Foster, London), for which the author is sincerely grateful.

Literature:

1. Klementiev A., Klementieva S. Chronologie. - In the book: Klementiev A.K. Lev Platonovich Karsavin. Bibliography. Paris, 1994.
2. Zablotsky E.M. Karsavin and Balashev. – Perm Yearbook-95. Choreography. Perm: "Arabesque", 1995, p. 180-186.
3. Stupnikov I.V. Henry James Bruce. - Bulletin of the Academy of Russian Ballet, 2002, No. 11, pp. 133-146.

Pedigree of the Balashevs.

1. Nikolai Alekseevich Balashev? - beg. 80s. Retired theater decorator.
Wife - Ekaterina Konstantinovna (nee Karsavina) 1849-1920.