Kadmina, Eulalia Pavlovna

Eulalia Kadmina in 1870

Eulalia Kadmina was born in Kaluga in the family of the Kaluga merchant Pavel Maksimovich Kadmin and the gypsy Anna Nikolaevna. In the 19th century, such unions were considered extremely unusual. Eulalia was the youngest of three sisters. From early childhood, she began to manifest a violent, very proud and independent character.

Eulalia grew up in a closed, lonely child who did not completely agree with anyone, even with her sisters. She learned to read early and spent all her free time reading books. Her father distinguished her from other children, and at the age of 12 he arranged Eulalia in a prestigious educational institution - the Moscow Elizabethan Institute .

The institute was famous for its strict discipline and high level of education. In order not to distract the young pupils from learning, all the windows of the institution were densely covered with chalk, so there was no way to look out at the street. Leaving the walls of the Elizabethan Institute, girls, as a rule, became governesses. Everyone noted that these were “the wildest governesses,” since the presence of a man at the table led the girls into terrible embarrassment. Girls were not fit for life. A graduate of Kadmina was already looking for a job, as there was one meeting that dramatically changed everything.

Young pupils often gave concerts for guests. With a wonderful voice, Eulalia often took part in them. In 1870, such an amateur matinee was visited by Nikolai Grigorievich Rubinstein . Struck by the singing of Eulalia, he convinced her to devote herself to music and become a singer.

First Successes

Nikolai Rubinstein took an active part in the fate of the aspiring singer. Despite the fact that after the death of her father in the same 1870, the Kadmina family was left without funds, he helped the girl not only become a student in the Moscow Conservatory in the singing class, but also receive a scholarship.

Among the teachers Kadmina were such distinguished artists as Alexandra Alexandrova-Kochetova , Ivan Samarin and Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky . Subsequently, fascinated by the “velvet rich mezzo-soprano” by Kadmina, Tchaikovsky wrote specially for her music for A.N. Ostrovsky ’s spring tale “The Snow Maiden ”.

At eighteen, she made her stage debut. Nikolai Rubinstein invited the novice Kadmina to the role of Orpheus in Gluck 's opera Orpheus and Eurydice. Present in the auditorium, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and Nikolai Kashkin unanimously noted:

“The stage play and singing by Kadmina give her a fully-fledged actress. She has an extraordinary, outstanding talent for a dramatic actress and an inner sense of beauty on stage. And in addition to everything, she is extremely attractive. ”

Opera career

Moscow

After graduating from the conservatory with a silver medal in 1873, Kadmina receives an invitation to try herself on the stage of the Bolshoi Theater . Her first professional performance took place on April 30 (May 12), 1873 in M. Glinka 's opera Life for the Tsar . The performance of the role of Vanya was appreciated. “Velvet rich mezzo-soprano” - these were the reviews of picky critics.

And then there were the noblewoman Morozova in the “ Oprichnik ” by Tchaikovsky, the princess in the “ Mermaid ” by A. Dargomyzhsky , Rogned in the opera of the same name by A. Serov, and many other roles. But for some reason there was no satisfaction, Yevlaliya Pavlovna wanted something more, she felt that the stage of the Bolshoi Theater did not give her the opportunity to show her talent in its entirety.

Crazy Eulalia

Even then, in these young years, all the bad features of prima that could be imagined appeared in her: she scandalized, fell into hysterics, very carefully watched what was written about her in the press and was indignant, in the case of the slightest criticism, she could fool the journalist with an umbrella , or scream during rehearsals on extras. She herself understood the incongruity of her character, and in one of the official papers she even signed "crazy Eulalia." Wherever she worked, Kadmina could not get along with anyone.

St. Petersburg

In 1875, Kadmina decided not to renew the contract with the Bolshoi Theater and accepted the invitation to work at the Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg . Her performance as the noblewoman Morozova in The Oprichinik and Ratmir in the opera Ruslan and Lyudmila was initially admired. However, criticism about her singing soon began to sound, more and more often she was accused that her voice was not strong enough for the stage of the Mariinsky Theater.

Italy

In February 1876, Kadmina unexpectedly left the Imperial Theater for everyone and returned to Moscow , where he appeared in several productions of the Bolshoi Theater, and then incognito left for Italy .

She spends two years in Italy (from spring 1876 to autumn 1878), perfecting the technique of singing. It is there that she tries to sing the roles of soprano . Initially, this naturally flatter her pride, but in the future it will have the most serious consequences.

Cadmina sings in Naples , Turin , Florence and even in Milan , and everywhere she is always accompanied by a resounding success. The bright magical appearance of the actress from Russia attracts attention. One of the compatriots who saw Cadmina in Italy wrote:

"For the Russian beauty, which is blacker and more fiery than Italians, admiring gaze run."

However, after Kadmin’s performances, he increasingly feels lonely. Being in Milan, she gets very sick. The young doctor Ernesto Falconi, invited to her, passionately falls in love with Cadmina. She reciprocates with him, and soon the young people get married.

Kiev

In 1878, Kadmina accepts an invitation to work in Kiev . She moves there with her husband, and soon with great success sings on the stage of the Kiev Theater. At the premiere of the opera Aida , the curtain was raised fifteen (!) Times. Then there was Margarita’s successful party in Faust by S. Gounod , then there were the Huguenots by Meyerbeer and The Mermaid. She also tries herself in the drama theater, having successfully played A. N. Ostrovsky in The Storm .

However, Kadmina had a rival - the owner of a beautiful voice Emilia Pavlovskaya . Her fans did not accept Kadmina, defiantly booed her, bribed the press. In such a tense environment, Eulalia had a hard time working. In family life, discord also began. Ernesto Falcone was very jealous of his wife, more and more scandals arose. In the end, the couple broke up with the scandal. Falcone went to Italy, and Kadmina decides to go to Kharkov .

Kharkov

In 1880, she left for the Kharkov Opera House , where she remained to work, but she would sing for a short time, only one season. Due to the enthusiasm for soprano parties, the singer begins to rapidly lose her voice. The opera had to be left and go to the drama theater.

Her debut role as a dramatic actress was the role of Ophelia in the production of Hamlet in December 1880. The game by Kadmina was very favorably received by critics. The following 1881, she played more than twenty roles, including plays by A. Ostrovsky and I. Shpazhinsky . Success everywhere accompanies her, the audience loves her, is on duty at the door of the theater, however, more and more often, anguish and loneliness begin to roll on the actress. In personal life, everything is far from so smooth.

Death

In 1881, Kadmina passionately falls in love with an officer . The novel breaks out. Her chosen one, who came from an impoverished noble family, soon decided to marry and was looking for a profitable party. Trying to escape from mental anguish, Kadmina plunges headlong into work.

However, on November 4 (16), 1881, an officer comes with his fiancee to the play where Kadmina played. On that day, she played the main role in the play by A. Ostrovsky, " Vasilisa Melentievna ." Suddenly in the auditorium, she saw in the bed of her beloved with the bride. In the interval Kadmina found matches in the restroom, broke off phosphor heads, poured them with tea and drank this mixture.

The bell rang, the actress went on stage and even began to play, but to the horror of the front rows, she suddenly turned pale white and fell unconscious. The curtain was closed, the performance, of course, was stopped. The doctors could not do anything. The actress died six days later in terrible agony. She was only 28 years old.

(From a letter by Tchaikovsky in November 1881):

“I learned about the death of Kadmina in Kiev from the newspapers. I will tell you that this news terribly upset me, for it was a pity for a talented, beautiful, young woman, but I was not surprised. I knew this strange, restless, painfully selfish nature well, and it always seemed to me that she would not end in goodness. ”

At present, Eulalia Kadmina is buried at the 13th city cemetery in Kharkov . The initial resting place is at the Ivano-Useknovno cemetery , on the site of which the Youth Park is laid out. The grave was moved to its current location at the end of the street. Pushkinskaya in the mid -1970s .

Acting

Opera

• "Mermaid" by A. Dargomyzhsky ,
• " Life for the Tsar " M. Glinka ,
• "Ruslan and Lyudmila" M. Glinka,
• The Oprichnik by P. Tchaikovsky
• “Rogneda” by A. Serov , and others.

Dramas:

• Ophelia in Shakespeare's Hamlet ,
• Larisa in the “Dowry” by A. Ostrovsky ,
• Katerina in Ostrovsky ’s Storm ,
• Margarita Gauthier in “Dame with Camellias” by A. Dumas the Son ,
• Adrienne Lecouvrer in the play of the same name by E. Scribe and E. Leguve.

• "Comet of wondrous beauty." Anatoly Lunacharsky .

• "The Woeful Legend of the Kharkov Scene." Alexander Leibfreyd .

• The story "Diana Embriaco."

• The great composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky dedicated the actress to his actress “The Terrible Minute”.

The suicide of the actress on stage caused a wave of responses in Russian literature, in prosaic and dramatic form:

• the novel by Ivan Turgenev “After death” (“ Klara Milich ”) 1882 ,
• the first printed story of the junker Alexander Kuprin, “The Last Debut” ( 1889 ) in the journal Russian Satirical Leaflet . For the publication of the story, Kuprin was sent to a guardhouse - the cadets did not have the right to print their works without the permission of their superiors.
• the story of Nikolai Leskov “Theatrical character” 1884 ,
• play by A. S. Suvorin "Tatyana Repina", staged on January 16, 1889 at the Maly Theater , in the title role of M. N. Ermolov ;

A continuation of this play under the same name was written by A.P. Chekhov in 1889 (under censorship, it was not published during his lifetime).

• the play by N. N. Solovtsov-Fedorov “Eulalia Radmin”, staged on February 10, 1884 in Moscow on the stage of the “New Theater” by M. Lentovsky , starring M. G. Savin .
• A.I. Chepalov. Holy sinner Eulalia . Play. 2005 .
• Documentary film “Eulalia Kadmina” ( 2005 , Russia):

From the series “Captives of Fate”. Vol. 35. Russia, the end of the XIX century. Actress Eulalia Kadmina kills herself because of unhappy love and a legend is born, picked up by Russian classical literature.

- Site of the TV channel Culture.

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In honor of Eulalia Kadmina, the name was given to actress Eulalia Olgina (Uspenskaya) , the daughter of professional revolutionaries.

• Innocent Annensky . " The Dying Turgenev (Klara Milich) ."
• Yu. Gorbunov. "Eulalia Kadmina." Magazine " Ural Pathfinder ".
• L. Tretyakova. "The eternal idol." 2003 .
• Jagolim B. S. Comet of marvelous beauty: Life and work of E. Kadmina. - M .: Art, 1970 . - 168 p. - ( Luminaries of the Russian and foreign scenes ).