Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky (; 1835–1909) was the Director of the Imperial Theatres in

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

from 1881 to 1898 and director of the Hermitage from 1899 to his death in 1909. Vsevolozhsky ran the Imperial Theatres with a determination for excellence. In 1886, Vsevolozhsky initiated two major reforms for the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, namely the relocation of the Imperial Ballet and

Opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

from the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (deemed unsafe by 1886) to the

Mariinsky Theatre The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...

, and the abolition of the post of ''First Imperial Ballet Composer'', a post previously held by such composers as Léon Minkus and

Cesare Pugni Cesare Pugni (; ; 31 May 1802, in Genoa – ) was an Italian composer of ballet music, a pianist and a violinist. He studied composition with Bonifazio Asioli and violin with Alessandro Rolla. In his early career he composed operas, symph ...

. Alexandre Benois and Roland John Wiley credit him with the revival of ballet as a serious art form in Russia.Wiley, p. 94.

Early life

The Vsevolozhsky family was descended from the Rostislavichi of Smolensk. He graduated from the University of St Petersburg before working in the Asian section of the Department of International Affairs, the Russian consulate in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

, and as an official in St Petersburg. Despite having no background in management, or indeed theatre, Vsevolozhsky developed a love for theatre and French culture in general during his assignment to the Russian consulate in Paris from 1876. After the ascension of Alexander III, he was appointed as Director of Imperial Theatres from 3 September 1881.Wiley.

Role as Director of Imperial Theatres

Though a relative unknown, Vsevolozhsky was a vigorous and 'enchantingly kind' figure with 'astonishing insight'.Tumanina Vsevolovsky brought about the very existence of such world-famous ballets as '' The Sleeping Beauty'' (Tchaikovsky/Petipa) and ''

The Nutcracker ''The Nutcracker'' (, ), Opus number, Op. 71, is an 1892 two-act classical ballet (conceived as a '; ) by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, set on Christmas Eve at the foot of a Christmas tree in a child's imagination featuring a Nutcracker doll. Th ...

'' (Tchaikovsky/Ivanov). In 1888, he duly instructed the Imperial Balletmaster

Marius Petipa Marius Ivanovich Petipa (; born Victor Marius Alphonse Petipa; 11 March 1818) was a French and Russian ballet dancer, pedagogue and choreographer. He is considered one of the most influential ballet masters and choreographers in ballet history ...

to choreograph a full-length

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

to the story " The Sleeping Beauty" for a premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre. He successfully obtained the most famous Russian

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

to write the score for it, one

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky ( ; 7 May 1840 – 6 November 1893) was a Russian composer during the Romantic period. He was the first Russian composer whose music made a lasting impression internationally. Tchaikovsky wrote some of the most popula ...

. Vsevolojskoy wrote the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

himself; in his career, he had been both a

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and an

essayist An essay ( ) is, generally, a piece of writing that gives the author's own argument, but the definition is vague, overlapping with those of a Letter (message), letter, a term paper, paper, an article (publishing), article, a pamphlet, and a s ...

and was also a talented

artist An artist is a person engaged in an activity related to creating art, practicing the arts, or demonstrating the work of art. The most common usage (in both everyday speech and academic discourse) refers to a practitioner in the visual arts o ...

capable of designing

costumes Costume is the distinctive style of clothing, dress and/or cosmetics, makeup of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, occupation, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch—in short, culture. The term also was traditionally used ...

for the theater. Because of his vision, '' The Sleeping Beauty'' ballet (1890) is said to have had the most expensive and elaborate scenery and costumes ever seen. He was an industrious costume-sketcher, preparing at least 1,087 drawings for 25 or more productions including those for the original productions of ''The Sleeping Beauty'' (1890) and

(1892). As a great admirer of Tchaikovsky's music, Vsevolozhsky was instrumental in bringing to the stage three of that composer's later operas, namely '' The Enchantress'' (1886), '' The Queen of Spades'' (1889 – with libretto after Pushkin by the composer's brother, Modeste Tchaikovsky), and '' Iolanta'' (1892 – also with libretto by Modeste Tchaikovsky). ''Iolanta'' (sometimes written as ''Iolanthe'') was commissioned expressly by Vsevolozhsky as the first part of a two-act gala evening which would conclude with a ballet called ''

''. This two-act ballet was intended to showcase the choreography of Imperial

Ballet Master A ballet master (also balletmaster, ballet mistress, ''premier maître de ballet'' or ''premier maître de ballet en chef'') is an employee of a ballet company who is responsible for the level of competence of the dancers in their company. In mo ...

but eventually was created by assistant balletmaster

Lev Ivanov Lev Ivanovich Ivanov (; 2 March 1834, Moscow – 24 December 1901, Saint Petersburg) was a Russian ballet dancer and choreographer and later, Second Balletmaster of the Mariinsky Ballet, Imperial Ballet. As a performer with the Mariinsky Ballet, ...

, due to Petipa's failing health. The premiere of ''Iolanta'' and ''The Nutcracker'' on 6 December 1892 was a mild success and prompted the famous composer to believe that it would enjoy some popularity for 'at least a couple of years.' Among his sweeping administrative changes as Director was the formation of a committee to determine repertory, salary raises for artists and workers (some of which were increased as much as sevenfold) and a rise in authors' fees to 10% (from 2%). However some measures were unsuccessful, such as his prohibition of free ticket distribution, increase in orchestra size, and expansion on rights of production of theatre posters. Most widely contested was their cost; the reforms increased spending by 10 times that of his predecessor, Baron Kister, and attempts to raise ticket prices was 'universally condemned'. 1903 ball - Iv

Artistic relationships

Vsevolozhsky's artistic preferences were French, though it was his refined yet unpretentious personal manner that attracted Tchaikovsky to working with him. He was one of Tchaikovsky's most vehement supporters. This relationship, however, worked both ways; the demand for new music well overshadowed supply and it was this permanent pressure that drove Tchaikovsky back to ballet after the lukewarm reception of

Swan Lake ''Swan Lake'' ( rus, Лебеди́ное о́зеро, r=Lebedínoje ózero, p=lʲɪbʲɪˈdʲinəjə ˈozʲɪrə, links=no ), Op. 20, is a ballet composed by Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in 1875–76. Despite its initial failu ...

, as well as Vsevolozhsky's generous facilitation of his resumed efforts. The composer's diary suggests a close relationship between himself and the Director; he recounts rushing to the former's house for urgent creative meeting that included

and Alexandre Petrovich Frolov. Vsevolozhsky similarly championed

, with whom he had a fruitful relationship culminating in productions of 'L'Ordre du roi', 'Les Ruses d'amour' and 'Sleeping Beauty' that echoed the French golden age of ballet. However, his main allegiance remained to the cause for which he had been appointed, namely championing Russian ballet. His critics, such as Skalkovsky, lamented the lack of foreign dancers, and only in exceptional cases did he waver in his commitment to Russian art, as Wiley attests. This also reflected the wishes of the Russian royal family; the Tsar had abolished the Italian imperial opera in favour of the Russian before his appointment. Vsevolozhsky was also expected to positively influence Russian literatures, social mores and the national consciousness. His views on the state monopoly on theatrical productions are unknown, though contemporary critics appreciated its role in maintaining highbrow, high quality performances (for example, as opposed to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

).Wiley, pp. 94-100.

Later years

In 1899 Vsevolozhsky become director of the Hermitage Museum until his death in 1909. He married Ekaterina Dmitrievna Volkonsky, grand daughter of Field Marshall Prince P.M. Volkonsky (1776–1852) who, under Tsar Alexander I, had participated in the

battle of Austerlitz The Battle of Austerlitz (2 December 1805/11 Frimaire An XIV French Republican calendar, FRC), also known as the Battle of the Three Emperors, was one of the most important military engagements of the Napoleonic Wars. The battle occurred near t ...

against Napoleon.

Gallery

Marie Petipa as orig Lilac Fairy.jpg, Sleeping_Beautydancers.jpg, sleeping_beauty_cast.jpg, Nutcracker -Stanislava Belinskaya as Clara, Lydia Rubtsova as Marianna, & Vasily Stukolkin as Fritz -1892.JPG, Vzevolozhsky's costume sketch for Nutcracker.jpg, Vsevolozhskys design for Nutcracker.jpg, Sleeping Beauty -Marie Petipa as the Lilac Fairy & Lyubov Vishnevskaya as an Attendant -1890.JPG,

References

Sources

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