April 22: Birthday of Varvara Asenkova, the "Queen of Vaudeville" of the Alexandrinsky Theatre
Varvara Asenkova was born on April 22, 1817, in St. Petersburg. She became the leading star of Russian vaudeville, captivated audiences, and refused the emperor's offer—and died at the age of 24.
The actress's illegitimate daughter
Varvara's birth certificate listed her as an "illegitimate infant." Her mother, the renowned actress Alexandra Asenkova, could not have been legally married, otherwise she would have been forced to leave the stage. Varvara's father later married another woman, and Varvara was raised by her stepfather, a retired military man who maintained the green carriages used to transport students from the imperial theaters.
"Expelled for incompetence"
At age 11, Varvara entered the St. Petersburg Theatre School, but was expelled a year later for "incompetence." Her mother enrolled her in one of St. Petersburg's best boarding schools. Varvara left at 15 to support herself and her family by acting. She took lessons from the renowned Alexandrinsky Theatre actor Ivan Sosnitsky. She remained indifferent to the stage until one day, when she performed so brilliantly at a rehearsal that the teacher offered her a role in his benefit concert.
Triumph and “inimitable” game
At 17, Asenkova made her stage debut as Roxelana in the vaudeville "Three Sultanas" and Mina in "Lornet." The press called her performance "inimitable." She was soon accepted into the Alexandrinsky Theatre troupe and became its leading vaudeville actress. Contemporaries said that during those five years, Russian vaudeville could easily compete with French vaudeville.
Asenkova easily changed roles—playing young ladies, society coquettes, naive heroines, and even appearing on stage in men's clothing. She also excelled in "high comedies": the mayor's daughter in "The Government Inspector" and Sophia in "Woe from Wit." She played Cordelia in "King Lear" and Ophelia in "Hamlet." She was the first to perform Ophelia's madness scene in complete silence, without an orchestra.
Nicholas I and the retribution for refusal
Tsar Nicholas I, a great lover of the theater and ladies, was immediately informed of the young Asenkova's triumph. He came to meet her backstage and "most graciously bestowed" diamond earrings on her. But an actress at the Alexandrinsky Theater dared to resist the Tsar's desires. The vengeful Tsar never forgave her for the insult.
A year after her first triumph, when Asenkova was asked for a salary increase, the response was: "No increase can be made, for, according to the Emperor's own assessment, she has not achieved any success." Planted spectators began disrupting her performances, and lit firecrackers were thrown through her carriage window.
A humble life and death at 24
At the same time, Asenkova continued to handle almost the entire vaudeville repertoire of the theater, learning two or three new roles weekly. She was the family's primary breadwinner, lived modestly, and had no carriage of her own—she returned late at night after performances in a government-issued green carriage.
In the spring of 1838, she fell ill with consumption. She performed on stage for the last time at the end of February 1841. She died on May 1, 1841, at the age of 24. The poet Nikolai Nekrasov, who knew Asenkova personally, dedicated a poem to her and wrote: "Her funeral was like Pushkin's; such funerals no longer happen."
In 1967, director Jan Frid made a film about the actress's life, "The Green Carriage." Natalya Tenyakova played Asenkova.
