rg Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 this scan of two carte de visite photos of Emperor Aleksandr II and his Empress Maria shows the man who had the now-legendary Maryinsky Theater erected and named for his wife. Link to comment
vrsfanatic Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Thank you rg for the photos. She looks as lovely as my memory of the Theatre. Link to comment
bart Posted June 21, 2008 Share Posted June 21, 2008 Thanks, rg. It's always nice to get a chance to see some of the historical context behind the ballets and the dancers. The Empress's portrait is charming and more flattering than some. Unfortunately, Alexander II -- rather liberal as Tsars go and the man who liberated the serfs -- was assassinated. NOT by a balletomane, I bellieve. Link to comment
rg Posted June 21, 2008 Author Share Posted June 21, 2008 indeed there are other portraits of this tsaritsa, Maria Fyedorovna, which show the empress in a less flattering light. also, the francophilic russian court used the name THEATRE MARIE on posters for the theater's offerings, as often as not, rather than Maryinsky. the attached scan, prob. from around 1905 shows a postcard of the theater at the turn of the 20th c. Link to comment
Mel Johnson Posted June 22, 2008 Share Posted June 22, 2008 Bart is correct. Alexander II was assassinated by not one, but TWO bombs thrown by two separate anarchists. They had a third relief pitcher in case they missed, leaving us to wonder at the state of their anarchism. Nicholas II, then 13, was at his grandfather's deathbed, and the experience shook him severely. Link to comment
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