Q: First off I wanna say thank you for accepting to
take this interview. Also I wanted you to know you are exceptional and very
talented!
A: Aw thank you! I’m truly touched! And trust me the
pleasure is mine!
Q: You’re welcome! Well let’s get this interview
started. So Praskovia what inspired you as a child that made you interested in
the arts?
A: Well as many as you guys know I was born into a
serf family so my family was sent to other families to I guess help them out. I
was owned by the Shermetevs. Then I remember joining the Count’s private
theater at the age of 8 years old. We were one of the best acting companies
around and when we were also trained by professionals. When I was younger we
were schooled in foreign language, music class, dance, manners, and acting!
Acting was my all time favorite! I’ve been told that I had the perfect voice
and I was a quick learner!
My first
show was when I…um I think I was 12 and of course I was the main character.
That’s when I decided to change my name…it was too normal and common for me. I
changed it to Praskovia Zhemchugova. I thought it was an exceptional name I
loved it and I still do! It just has this special ring to it. I mean who can’t
turn heads with a name like that! I’ve been told that I was born an actress and
I lived up to it and still am.
Q: That’s great! When you first started the acting,
how was the world around you?
A: Great Question! When I first started acting was
when I was about 12 years old so the world around me was young just as I was! During
this time the Enlightment era just started! It was a wonderful experience! Just
to let you know the Enlightment era is like a beginning of thought and belief
development of god and reason. It was also a very great time for artist
especially for Russian actors!
During this
time art in Russia was so new! Everyone wanted to be part of this thing called
art! I mean if you wanted to do art, poetry, theater, singing, and playwriting,
then you do it! There was no holding back on how much passion people put into
their art! I loved it, everything about it! Everyone seemed to have a better
understanding of life than before! *chuckles* Yes, it was a very interesting
time.
Q: I bet it was! So how did the major economic,
political, and cultural circumstances impact your work?
A: During this time economics and politics were
pretty much the same thing! Since I was born into a serf family, we were bound
to many disadvantageous contracts, and the class my family was in declared our
occupations. As I said before the time
was all about finding the truth and the creation of Russian art. So this
affected my work just by simply giving me work.
There were more acting and singing
opportunities so that meant I needed to act more and sing more or my life would
be wasting away! So I needed to be on stage doing what I loved. Isn’t that a
big part of life…doing things you love?
Economics helped out a lot too, by allowing people to spend more money on leisure
instead of just work and the more extra money people had the fuller the house
was.
Q: Fascinating! So, what were some of your
accomplishments you made during your acting and singing career?
A: One of my
many accomplishments was when I stared in “The Pearl” which was about a
noblemen and a young serf girl that had a very operatic voice fall in love.
That’s pretty much what it was about. It is a very moving and beautiful play!
You should defiantly see it soon. You would be moved.
Another major
accomplishment I had made has to be me being in over a dozen operas, which included
“Monsignisle le desert and Aline”. I have to say my most important role was
when I played Eliane in Gretry’s opera “Les Marigiages Samnites”. I sang for
Eliane for 12 whole years! Now doesn’t that impress you? I even got to sing for
Empress Catherine II and she was so impressed that she gave me a diamond ring.
Q: That’s amazing! Now tell me, what are some major
opportunities you had that helped change your acting career and your life?
A: Some opportunities that changed my acting career
and life was how I was and still am considered one of the best opera singers of
my time! Also how I was cast as Belinda in Antonio Sacchini’s opera La Colonie.
After that role I was promoted to the position of the first actress of the
theatre.
Just to let
you know my career lasted about two decades long so I had many opportunities!
But one very important part of my life was when I met my love Nikolai! He was
the impresario of the theater. He helped me out so much and I love him! But our
“unorthodox” relationship was seen as wrong and it was the gossip of the town,
and trust me that was stressful!
Q: Trust me I understand!
*both laugh*
Q: So what choices did you make to become
successful?
A: Some choices I made that gave me this success was
how I always did things with a smile! Smiles and laughter is food for the soul.
So I try to smile and be positive as much as I can. I was a natural born
actress so I was very passionate and serious about the art. I think that’s most
important when acting! You got to love it!
Another important choice I made was to always put my
best foot forward. I needed to have great and noble manners or nobody would
really like me. I also think me changing my name was a great career move. I
just thought Praskovia Kovalyova was so plain and old I needed a name that was
extravagant and modern like Praskovia Zhemchugova! My new name really did its job;
my new name had a great ring to it.
Q: What were some hardships you faced in pursuit of
your work?
A: Oh I know a hardship I faced was the gossip! Gossip
could eat someone whole and it hurts. But I’m going to talk about that later.
Right now I’m going to tell you about how I was scared to death because all my
happiness could leave me in an intense the very moment the young /court lost
interest in me.
Ok now about
that gossip! People around town talked about how the Court’s son Nikolia and I
were together, which caused big problems because of his class compared to mine.
I heard plenty of people saying that he was too noble to be with a serf girl.
Well just to let those people know, we were in love and it was our business.
Q: True that! Ok, what kind of limitations did you
come across?
A: Well of coarse being a women created limitations.
We were expected to be doing housework. I think women are full of way more than
cooking and cleaning. I mean, just look at how successful I turn out to be.
Women are capable to do most things men could do.
I was also limited to acting and singing
opportunities. Just like every other actor and actress out there. Being cast in
a play was always hard because we are limited from the roles we could obtain.
You have to be a certain type of person to get certain roles, which always
cause some limitations. But like any strong person I overcame my limitations.
Q: What kind of mentors did you have during your
development as an artist?
A: One of my many mentors has to be Court Pyotr
Shermetevs. He was like the leader of the family and I was the family’s serf.
But Court saw so much potential in me when he heard me sing for the first time.
He gave me singing and acting lessons. Even thought he didn’t mentor me, he was
like the drive for me. He gave me the drive for wanting to do more acting and
singing.
Q: Well would you like to share any stories?
A: No…not really.
Q: That’s the end of the interview. Thank you so
much for your time Praskovia.
A: Any time.
Bibliography
"From Russia with Love." N.p., n. d. Web. 2 Mar. 2012.
<http://lastochka-fromrussiawithlove.blogspot.com/2009/10/praskovia-zhemchugova.html>.
. "Praskovia Ivanovna Kovalyova-Zhemchugova." . N.p., n.d.
Web. 2 Mar 2012.
<http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=54062798>.
. "Russian Enlightenment." . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Mar 2012.
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Enlightenment
