Elizabeth Semyonovna Sandunova, also known as Uranova (Russian: Елизавета Семёновна Сандунова; 1772/76 – 3 December 1826), was a

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the List of Russian monarchs, Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended th ...

stage actress and operatic mezzo-soprano and the wife of Sila Sandunov.

Life

She was born Elizaveta Semyonovna Fyodorova. She was an opera student of

Giovanni Paisiello Giovanni Paisiello (or Paesiello; 9 May 1740 – 5 June 1816) was an Italian composer of the Classical era, and was the most popular opera composer of the late 1700s. His operatic style influenced Mozart and Rossini. Life Paisiello was born in ...

and Vicente Martín-i-Soler, and an actor student of Ivan Dmitrevsky at the theatre school of

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

. She debuted in 1790. She was considered not only to have a wonderful operatic voice, but also to be a talented dramatic actress. She was ordered to take the stage name "Uranova" by Catherine, in honor of the newly discovered planet

Uranus Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun. Its name is a reference to the Greek god of the sky, Uranus (Caelus), who, according to Greek mythology, was the great-grandfather of Ares (Mars), grandfather of Zeus (Jupiter) and father of Cronu ...

. In 1791, she was married at the royal chapel in the presence of the empress Catherine the Great. In 1794–1812, she was active in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, where she made a huge success in a patriotic opera during the war of 1812. She returned to Saint Petersburg in 1813.

References

* А. Шадрин. Шутка, или Наказанное вельможество/ Судьба таланта. Театр в дореволюционной России. Сост., вступ. ст. и коммент. Л. В. Маньковой.— М.: Правда, 1990, с.с. 19–64.

Notes

1770s births 1826 deaths Women singers from the Russian Empire 18th-century actresses from the Russian Empire 19th-century actresses from the Russian Empire Russian stage actresses 18th-century women opera singers from the Russian Empire 19th-century women opera singers from the Russian Empire {{Russia-actor-stub