Signs from Empresses and Actresses: Women and Theatre in the Eighteenth Century

Abstract

This chapter treats women in Russian theatre during the eighteenth century, until the death of Catherine II in 1796, in three categories: as patrons, performers, and playwrights. Several of the significant theatre patrons in the eighteenth century were empresses, who dominated Russian politics; these women were key players in the development of public theatre in Russia. Anna, Elizaveta Petrovna, and Catherine II all recognised the important role of theatre both as a hallmark of European courtly sophistication and as a fertile ground for the growth of Russian culture. They actively supported women’s involvement as performers on stage, in ballet, and in opera; their patronage modelled a role for women as audience members. For the most part, this courtly approval gave many actresses a respected status as artists, with the notable exception of serf actresses, who embodied the dual nature of adoration and enslavement so often associated with women on stage. The century also saw a small number of women playwrights, including Catherine herself. Through participation and patronage, women played an active part in the rapid growth of Russia’s nascent theatrical art.

If the empress [Elizabeth] was present, of course, the audience had no right to express approval before a sign from the imperial box, and contemporary writers mention several occasions when the sovereign rising from her seat ‘deigned to applaud’ or ‘shed a tear’.¹