Esther M. Zimmer Lederberg
Ostankino

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XXX
Nikolay Sheremetev
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  1. Ostankino Palace Theatre, stage #1
  2. Ostankino Palace Theatre, stage #2 (with auditorium)
  3. Ostankino Palace Theatre, stage #3
  4. Ostankino Palace Theatre, stage #4
  5. Ostankino Palace Entrance to the Theatre
  6. Ostankino Palace Theatre: Organization
  7. Ostankino Palace Theatre Roof Belvedere
  8. Ostankino Palace Chandelier Machine
  9. Ostankino Palace Thunder Machine
  10. Ostankino Palace Theatre Rain Machine
  11. Ostankino Palace Cloud Machine and Flats Machine
  12. Ostankino Palace Theatre: Movable Theatre Parterre
Ostankino palace click to see was the winter estate of over 10,000 serfs. Ostankino had beautiful palace gardens click to see. The Nikolai Sheremetev family also had a summer estate named Kuskovo click to see. The Kuskovo estate had an orangerie click to see with lemon trees, olive trees, pomegranates, and pineapples. There also existed a Sheremetev palace called the "Fountain House" in St. Petersburg click to see, and another estate at Kolomna. The Nikolai Sheremetev family owned in total, more than 200,000 serfs. The Kuskovo, Ostankino, and Kolomna estates had serf theatres. Indeed, there were fifty three serf theatres in Russia by 1800. 1 Sheremetev found serfs of special merit and "raised them up": educating them so that they could serve as chefs, tailors, grooms, carpenters, stage hands, set builders, seamstresses, hairdressers, gilders (gold or silver smiths), parquet-makers, sculptors, engravers, tile stove makers, upholsterers, window makers, artisans to make musical instruments, cosmeticians, hair stylists, etc. (over 1,000 serfs to support his serf theatres), including over two hundred musicians, dancers, singers, actors, costumiers, and architects for his serf theatre! Aristocrats often had two orchestras or even three: a choir, a horn orchestra and a symphony orchestra.

Peasant children ages 7 to 16 were selected due to their promising voices. Boys need not be handsome, but the girls had to be attractive, as they might serve as actresses, if not as singers. Sheremetev engaged teachers from France, Germany, and Italy: French choreographers, Italians to teach singing, Germans to teach the playing of musical instruments. The children were taught proper "decorum", but if the children needed to be punished, they would be fed only bread and water, coerced into kneeling, flogged, or sent out to tend cows, sent to work in the kitchen, etc. 2 The children lived in unheated dormatories and were required to dress in the European style. Singing required the ability to sing in different languages, thus the Italian teachers also taught languages. Acting (Ballet d'Action for example) required that the serfs be taught proper hand gesticulations. 3

If Nikolai Sheremetev was attracted to one of the females (older, no longer children), and if he left his gloves in their room, it was understood that he would be spending the night there.

Talented peasant children were then provided with honorable names (their peasant names might be unbecoming). 4 Honorable names were of precious stones (for women), minerals (for men), though there were exceptions. Thus Praskovja Kovalyova (originally named "parasha" or "chamber pot" and Kovalyova is derived from "blacksmith": her father was a blacksmith, had a hunched back, and was a drunkard) was renamed Praskovja Zhemchugova, "Zhemchugova" means "pearl". 5 Thus some of these exceptionally talented serfs:
  1. Anna Buyanova-Izumrudova: Izumrudova means "emerald".
  2. Tatiana Shlykova Granatova: Granatova means "garnet", click to see.
  3. Fyokla Biryuzova: Biryuzova means "turquoise".
  4. Praskovja Zhemchugova: Zhemchugova means "pearl". 6
  5. Arina Hrustaleva: Hrustaleva means "crystal".
  6. Avdotya Ametistova: Ametistova means "amethyst".
  7. Arina Sapfirova: Sapfirova means "sapphire".
  8. I. Jakhontova: Jakhontova means "ruby".
  9. Kuz'ma Serdolikov: Serdolikov means "carnelian".
  10. Nicolae Mramorov: Mramorov means "marble".
  11. Andrei Kremenev: Kremenev means "flint".
  12. Roman Korallov: Korallov means "coral".
  13. Vasily Vorobyov: Vorobyov means "sparrow".
  14. Ivan Perspectivny: Perspectivny means "hopeful".
  15. Almazov: Almazov means "diamond".
Pavel Ivanovich Argunov (c. 1768-1806) became an architect. Serf writer Vasily Grigorievich Voroblevsky translated plays by Corneille, Racine, Voltaire, Molière, and others. Serf artisan Ivan Andreevich Batov made string instruments including cellos and guitars, and repaired cembalos and clavichords. 7 Stepan Anikeevich Degtyarev was recruited into Sheremetev's troup of talented children at age seven as an opera singer. Degtyarev soon became a conductor, studying composition under Bortniansky, Giuseppe Sarti, and others. Appointed kapellmeister. 8 Praskovya Kovalyova, at an early age, was fluent in French and Italian, and as a musician played the harp, harpsichord, guitar, and was known as an accomplished singer, actress and dancer. Nikolai Sheremetev had a secret marriage with serf Praskovya Kovalyova, which was viewed as scandalous (similar to Thomas Jefferson living with mulatto Sally Hemings, in the United States). The Sheremetev theatre at Ostankino had one of the finest theatres with one of the finest orchestras in Russia: the Tsar often attended aesthetic events including comic operas, tragedies, and ballet d'Action. Operas about peasant life performed at Ostankino included <<Аннет и Любен>> ("Annetta and Luben") and <<Нинетта при дворе>> ("Ninette at the Court") at the Ostankino theatre, as well as Gretry's "Talking Painting". The premier opening of Ostankino theatre was commemorated by Nikolay Sheremetev by the opera "Zelmira and Smelon, or the Capture of Ismail": a propaganda piece by Osip Kozalevsky celebrating the Russian victory over the Ottoman Black Sea empire. Other works were done by Christoph Willibald Gluck 9 and Fritz Hilferding. 10 To get an idea of what the costumes looked like, Marianne Kirtsinger (1730 - 1809) created art work of the costumes used in the Sheremetev serf theatre, click here. 11

The Ostankino theatre had theatre machinery, and in some cases, this machinery was unique. Machinery included flying machines, wind machines, rain machines, thunder machines, a machine to lift or lower the main chandelier, counter-weighted scenery backdrops, machinery to simultaneously open or shut wings, three large wooden drums below stage to make the sound of a large army marching, etc. Stage activities were controlled by serfs on catwalks or "bridges" above the stage. The "captain's bridge" was twenty-two feet above the stage. A machinist, using a whistle, signaled twenty-six stagehands. Most of the machinery was located in a dome above the stage, but some machinery was below the stage.

Ostankino theatre was a private palace theatre, thus explaining the limited influence of Humanistic philosophy, and Renaissance and Baroque aesthetics upon Russian society. Alas! Even current discussions about Ostankino in Russia hardly mention the linear perspective paintings used in the theatre by Pietro Gonzaga in St. Petersburg. Gonzaga claimed that optical illusions are not abstract theories but correspond to "things that are easily perceived when one looks with a certain degree of attention", thus the stage set should be designed as a "perceived reality to be grasped with attention in all changing aspects." Click here to see.

After the death of N. Sheremetev, the Ostankino theatre ended, the troup was disbanded. The women had no place in society: too educated and used to the wealth of a society they could not belong to, viewed as prostitutes, where could they go? Marry a peasant that was illiterate, not able to appreciate the finery and educations they had received, their ability in art? Several committed suicide by drowning in Ostankino ponds - several ponds bear their names. 12

Conclusion

N. Miliutin wrote a memorial to the Tsar explaining why Russia lost the Crimean War. The memorial pointed out that an industrial society could never be compatible with serfdom. Under serfdom, production and consumption are focused upon a small class of privileged with their estates. Production and consumption limited to such estates could never create major roads, railroads, banking systems, etc: these are not needed on estates. Similarly, even with enlightened aristocrats, the support of the arts are haphazard, serfs still subject to the whims of aristocrats, their whippings, etc. Even with a few great serf theatres, cultural advance was also not possible under a system of serfdom. Could a national theatre be possible under such a social structure? Miliutin's memorial: Either reform or revolution applied even to the arts. See:
Further information may be found in the off page link (in red, returning by red link): click here.

1 Moscow had its public Petrovsky serf theatre. In 1797, the Moscow police listed fifteen serf theatres. At this time in St. Petersburg, more than twenty-five serf theatres existed, including:
  • Kniaz (prince) Yusupov at the Moika Palace theatre.
  • Ivan Shuvalov's serf theatre on the Fontanka River.
  • Kniaz Grigory Potemkin's Palladian Tauride palace
  • Naryshkin family palace on the Fontanka River
  • Kniaz Paul Petrovich palace at Pavlovsk
  • Graf A. K. Razumovsky
  • Kniaz Troubetzkoy
  • General S. S. Apraksina, at Olgovo
  • General Alexander Suvorov's serf theatre. General Alexander Suvorov (Ritzarev, Marina; "Eighteenth-Century Russian Music", Ashgate, 2006, p. 265)
  • Graf A. R. Vorontsov, at this theatre, works of D. I. Fonzin were performed, and others.
  • Graf Nikolay Kamensky's serf theatre.
  • Kniaz N. G. Shkhovskoy's serf theatre, at Nizhny Novgorod, more than 100 serfs in the troupe. The theatre had 27 boxes, 50 chairs, stalls for 100 people, and an upper gallery for 200 people. Oil lamps were used for lighting.
  • A. F. Zakrevskaya estate Ivanov serf theatre.
  • Alexander Stolypin (seventy-four member serf theatre).
  • P. A. Poznyakova estate, at Nikita
  • Graf Nicholas Demidoff's Almazoro estate serf theatre.
  • N. A. Durasova, estate at Ljublino (near Moscow), a second serf theatre (more than 100 actors and musicians) at Cheremshan, beyond the Volga.
  • Radziwill Nyasvizh had a serf theatre (1740-1791) called the "kamedihauze", and there other theatres in other towns. click to see the Radziwill Nyasvizh serf theatre.
The Kolomna estate serf theatre was 100 kilometers from Moscow. The Sheremetev's liked to hunt there. Cherviakov, Aleksandr; "The Ostankino Palace-Museum: A guide (Guidebook)", Raduga, Winnipeg Manitoba, 1985, p. 97.
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2 Graf Nikolay Kamensky owned 7,000 serfs, with a serf theatre of 250 people. This count sat in his own box office, selling tickets to those wishing to experience his theatre troup. Whips were displayed on the stage. If any of the serf singers, actors or dancers made a mistake, then at the end of an act, Graf Kamensky went backstage and those in the audience were treated to hearing screams from the theatre troup. The view of the Russian aristocrats was that it could be worse: the count might spend his time dissolutely at hunting with hounds, gambling with cards, and drunkeness. Descriptions of how serf actors, singers, and musicians were treated, reminiscent of Alexander Nikolayevich Radishchev's "Journey from St. Petersburg to Moscow", may be found in Smith, Douglas; "The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great's Russia", Yale Univ. Press, 2008, pp. 102-108. We might doubt that Catherine the Great cared, however, as she was quite familiar with Nikolai Karamzin's "Poor Liza".
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3 Ritzarev, Marina; "Eighteenth-Century Russian Music", Ashgate, 2006, p. 259
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4 The French Revolution abolished (on paper) the different treatment of people according to religion or origin that existed under the monarchy; the 1789 Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen guaranteed freedom of religion and free exercise of worship, provided that it did not contradict public order. Jews were no longer required to live in ghettos, or limited to the work they did (peddler, old-clothes peddlers, money-lenders, etc.) Jews had to be registered legally, and were assigned or bought surnames. Names bought (everything has its price, even under revolution) included Pearlman, or Goldman, or Silverman, Mannheim or Berlin (city names), etc. Thus, with freedoms, people treated as second-class are renamed, much as Praskovja Zhemtchugova (the "pearl") was renamed. Actually, names constitute a part of sociolinguistics. A ruling class (aristocracy) assigns names to the ruled that will destroy the psychological independence of the ruled. Ultimately, destroying the self image of the ruled fails as it succeeds. Success results in the ruled having little ability to think for itself, yet produces slaves that are incapable. A class of incompetents isn't all that useful, while it will be instable. Other names whose meanings may have been lost (German to English):
  • Bernstein : Amber
  • Händler : Trader
  • Fuhrmann : Wagoner
  • Koch : Cook
  • Müller : Miller
  • Rubin : Ruby
  • Schneider : Tailor
  • Weber : Weaver : Portnoy (Russian)
  • Zucker : Sugar
It is even possible that names could identify work in another way. For example, Zigonov (Russian, meaning Gypsy) might have been shortened to "gonov", and "gonov" is an "English" word (used by Henry Mayhew) that signifies the "racial" attitude that "Gypsies" are "thieves".
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5 An archivist of the Sheremetev court forged Praskovya Kovalyova's name to make her appear to be a member of the Polish szlachta as a boyarina (боярина) so that the marriage between graf Sheremetev and Praskovya Kovalyova would be socially acceptable in Russian aristocratic society. Ritzarev, Marina; "Eighteenth-Century Russian Music", Ashgate, 2006, p. 261
To get an idea of what this meant, the Polish film about the szlachta, will help appreciate these social views: "Leper" (Trędowata), 2003, directed by Jerzy Hoffman
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6 "Pearl" was a common French erotic argot metaphor for a woman's clitoris during this time period. Rosslyn, Wendy; Tosi, Alessandra; (Eds.), "Women in Nineteenth-Century Russia: Lives and Culture"
Guiraud, Pierre; "Dictionnaire historique, stylistique, rhétorique, étymologique, de la littérature érotique", Paris: Éditions Payot et Rivages, 1993, pp. 42, 490
Richard, Jean-Marc; "Dictionnaire des expressions paillardes et libertines de la littérature française", Paris: Filipachhi, 1993, p. 188
Le Pennec, Marie-Françoise; "Petit glossaire du langage érotique aux XVIIe et XVIIIe siècle", Paris: Éditions Borderie, 1979, p. 50.
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There is a great danger in claiming that the relationship between Nicholas Sheremetev and Praskovia was based upon love, love being the kind of relationships we find in pulp literature. To be blunt, what evidence exists of the relationship between Nicholas Sheremetev and Praskovia? Is there reason to doubt that this was a love relationship, even if we place little significance in Nicholas Sheremetev having venereal disease? [Smith, Douglas; "The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great's Russia", Yale Univ. Press, 2008, p.35] We know that Nicholas Sheremetev was anxious about his position in Catherine the Great's court. [Smith, Douglas; "The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great's Russia", Yale Univ. Press, 2008, p. 122] We further know that Catherine the Great had planned to marry her granddaughter Alexandra to Graf N. Sheremetev and that if such a marriage took place, Graf Sheremetev would most likely have to take up permanent residence in St. Petersburg. [Smith, Douglas; "The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great's Russia", Yale Univ. Press, 2008, pp. 156, 157] Thus the question arises that perhaps Sheremetev was anxious that if such an alliance took place between himself and Catherine the Great, he might become a target of court jealousy. Perhaps it was far safer to marry Praskovia, and not get emmeshed in court intrigues? Such an outcome might be more likely than the wild imaginings of twentieth-century pulp fictions?
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7 Ritzarev, Marina; "Eighteenth-Century Russian Music", Ashgate, 2006, p. 262
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8 Degtyarev was paid a very low salary. Attempts to sell his compositions to earn more to live on were deducted from his annual salary (Sheremetev had a network of informers watching all his talented serfs). Sheremetev refused to free Degtyarev, and Degtyarev was ordered to marry serf Agrefena Kokhanovsky. Upon the death of Degtyarev, he was finally posthumously emancipated, thereby his widow, Agrefena Kokhanovsky would lose her serf pension. She had to petition not to be manumitted else she would have been impoverished. Ritzarev, Marina; "Eighteenth-Century Russian Music", Ashgate, 2006, pp. 264, 269, 271
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9 Cherviakov, Aleksandr; "The Ostankino Palace-Museum: A guide (Guidebook)", Raduga, Winnipeg Manitoba, 1985, p. 97. Note, both Christoph Willibald Gluck and Fritz Hilverding were involved in the development of Ballet d'Action.
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10 Ibid., p. 104. Note, both Christoph Willibald Gluck and Fritz Hilverding were involved in the development of Ballet d'Action.
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11 Ibid., p. 104. Jewels were typically used by actors on stage as a form of "illumination". The jewels reflected the candle light.
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12 "The position of household serfs was ambiguous. Since they did not farm or engage in trade, they relied entirely on their masters to pay them a salary and provide food and shelter. They lived cut off from the mass of serfs and were resented by them since the household serfs were seen as living off their labor just like the master. More domestics meant fewer serfs sharing the obligations to the lord. Within the ranks of the household serfs there developed a group that became known as the serf intelligentsia, to which Praskovia belonged. This included the musicians, composers, artists, dancers, actors, and architects trained by their masters to give them aesthetic pleasure." Smith, Douglas; "The Pearl: A True Tale of Forbidden Love in Catherine the Great's Russia", Yale Univ. Press, 2008, p. 90

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