Praskovya Ivanovna Zhemchugova
Praskovya Ivanovna Zhemchugova (Прасковья Ивановна Жемчугова) (July 20 1768 – February 23 1803) was a Russian serf actress. She was born into the family of the serf smith Gorbunov who received in due course the surname Kovalev. Thus she is also known as Praskovya Ivanovna Kovaleva (Ковалева).
Before she was 8 years old she was taken to the court of Count N. P. Sheremetev’s father.
In 1779 on the stage of the serf theatre in Kuskovo she debuted in the role of the servant Gubert in the comic opera L'Amitié à l'épreuve by André Ernest Modeste Grétry. In 1780 after her successful debut, Sheremetev gave Kovaleva the leading role of Belinda in Sacchini's opera La colonie. In this performance the actress for the first time appeared under the last name Zhemchugova, as Sheremetev decided to replace the "male" surnames of his actresses with new names of gemstones (zhemchug means "pearl" in Russian).
After the role of Belinda, Kovaleva-Zhemchugova was promoted to the position of the first actress of the theatre. By the age of 17 Kovaleva-Zhemchugova freely read and wrote French and Italian, played the harp and harpsichord, and was acknowledged by her contemporaries for her operatic and drama abilities.
Her top role became Eliana in Grétry's opera Les Mariages samnites. Having acted in this role for the first time in 1785, Zhemchugova played her for 12 years — a first in the history of serf theatre. Also considered significant was the role of Alina in Alina regina di Golconda in 1786: the empress Catherine was present in Kuskovo at the performance and gave Zhemchugova a diamond ring. At the end of the 1780s the actors of troupe Medox (M.S. Sinyavskaya supervised a female part of Sheremetev's troupe) began to teach the serf actors. During the same time Zhemchugova became Sheremetev’s wife.
In 1795 the theatre was transferred from Kuskovo to Ostankino where the theatrical premises were constructed by modern techniques and fashion. The year 1795 was marked by the premiere of the opera “The Capture of Izmail” (P. Potemkin – I. Kozlovsky; Zhemchugova acted in the role of the captive Turkish woman Zelmira). After that Ostankino became one of the centers of art life in Moscow, the theatre’s repertoire was replenished with Russian comic operas. At the height of the theatre's flowering Zhemchugova became ill with consumption (tuberculosis). Performances temporarily were stopped, but in 1797, on the occasion of Paul I becoming tsar, Les Mariages samnites was presented. In 1798 Sheremetev emancipated Zhemchugova and the entire Kovalev family from serfdom. Understanding that her health would not allow Zhemchugova to return to the stage, he closed the theatre. In 1801 Sheremetev in the strictest secrecy married Zhemchugova. On February 3 1803 Praskovya Ivanovna gave birth to a son, and died on the night of February 23. She was buried in the family crypt of Sheremetev.
In memory of the deceased in Moscow on Sukharevskaya square there was built the building "strannopriimni home" which should "give the homeless a lodging for the night, and give the hungry a dinner" (nowadays here there is a scientific research institute of first aid by N. Sklifosovsky).
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Categories: 1768 births | 1803 deaths | Russian culture