Assoluta_Test_1

Assoluta
9
i.
While Kschessinska could be charming
and kind to colleagues, such
as the young Tamara Karsavina, she was
not afraid to use her connections with
the Tsar to strengthen her position in the
Imperial Theatres.
She was known to sew valuable jewels
into her costumes and came on stage
as the Princess Aspicia in The Pharaoh’s
Daughter wearing her diamond encrusted
tiaras and chokers.
She could also be ruthless with rivals.
One of her most famous miscalculations
occurred when, while pregnant in 1902,
she coached Anna Pavlova in the role
of Nikya in La Bayadère. She considered
Pavlova to be technically weak and
believed that the young ballerina could
not upstage her. Instead, audiences
became enthralled with the frail, longlimbed,
ethereal-looking Pavlova, and a
star was born.
ii.
i.
Mathilde Kschessinskaya
costumed for the title role
in Petipa , s La Camargo. St.
Petersburg, c. 1902
ii.
Matilda Kschessinskaya
as Princess Aspicia
1898