A PRINCESS ON THE STAGE.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1031, 21 January 1911, Page 5

A PRINCESS ON THE STAGE.

A Princess, on. the stage. .Why not, if she acts? And the Princess with whom we nro concerned can act. .She is "Lydnia lavorskaja"—Princess llariatinsky—and has been hailed on the Continent as the Sarah Bernhardt of Russia, and by others as the Russian--Dusp.' Lydia do Jluhbenet, tho future Princess Bariatiii'sky.' was 'born "in KiclT, from an ancient and noble, . family of French origin, her ancestors, staunch Ilugcnots of Normandy, . having . emigrated . to the land of the Tsar at the time of the Revocation of tho Edict of' Nantes. Lydia's father was Governor of Kic'iT, and her ■nnclc was one of the Ministers of Alexander nr..... "Yes, 1 have.always.loved to act,"said the 'Princess during a conversation carried on in English, French, and Russian at Random, "and even as a little girl -I had quite made up my mind to lie ah actress "lnt6r on.' ; "When, I thought I ir.as old enough to carry out .niy heart's greatest desire 'I '.told my parents- so. They were shacked, but they loved me, and I had my'own way. Wo wero in St. Petersburg at the time. . I realised, that some natural gifts and no. end of ambition did'not suppress the importance of a serious training, and ' so I followed the 'Imperaorski Dramatisscheski'Kursi'—lmperial Dramatic Couf.se —for four years, and received the tuition of tho leading actors at the Imperial theatres. Then I'obtained an engagement at the Korsh Theatre, tho most famous . ill Moscow. - "3ly greatest success was in Sadden': 'Madame Sans-Gene.' Two years later I returned to St. Petersburg, and became tho wife of Prince Uariatinsky, who had -just then resigned his commission in the navy to devote himself to literature. As yon , probably - know,. the Prince's father is a general-aide do catup to the Tsar and marshal to the Court of the Dowager' Empress of Russia. His brother has married a daughter of Alexander 11. - - "-In St. Petersburg I performed for fiyo years at the 'Literary Theatre,' tho director of which was tho famous Souvorine, proprietor of tho leading Russian newspaper; the 'Novoe Vreniya.' "When,l left.the. 'Literary -Theatre'.l. Opened one "of my own,, after having or- . gnnised, and trained a company. The theatre had my nom do guerre: 'New-. Thcatro Lavorskaja.' There- I appeared in my repertory, which now included plays by d'Anmmzio, Pineo. .Bernard Shaw, Hauptmann, and others. I also produced my husband's plays. ■ "One day I grew tired of St. Peters-' burg. Costumes and scenery-were packed, my company entrained,.and we started on a long tour.. A.fter having oerformed in every, city of European. Russia we tra- ' .veiled, to,- the . Caucasus, and afterwards •--invaded,..,Turke;itan.',_ .... lt "We played Shakcspearo.and Ibsen 4n , Samarkand and Bokhara tn lmje and enthusiastic audiences. . But the journey ;vas tedious: The railway east of the "' Caspian Sea is very leisurely. . . . Trains hro invariably from ten .. "to ■ twenty-six hours late. I.onco asked a stationmaster tho reason wliv, and lie seriously replied. • 'Because thoso who made the time-tables did not tako tho speed of- our trains into consideration.'"—-"Daily Mail."