Sergei Sergeevich Mukhanov (; ; 1833,
Vologda
Vologda (, ) is a types of inhabited localities in Russia, city and the administrative center of Vologda Oblast, Russia, located on the river Vologda (river), Vologda within the watershed of the Northern Dvina. Population:
The city serves as ...
,
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...
– May 29, 1897,
Przemęczany
Przemęczany is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Radziemice, within Proszowice County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It lies approximately north of Radziemice, north-west of Proszowice, and north-east of t ...
,
Vistula Land
Vistula Land, also known as Vistula Country (; ), was the name applied to the lands of Congress Poland from 1867, following the defeats of the November Uprising (1830–1831) and January Uprising (1863–1864) as it was increasingly stripped of ...
, Russian Empire; now
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
) was a
Russian
Russian(s) may refer to:
*Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*A citizen of Russia
*Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages
*''The Russians'', a b ...
official, an officer in the
Special Corps of Gendarmes
The Separate Corps of Gendarmes () was the uniformed security police of the Imperial Russian Army in the Russian Empire during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Its main responsibilities were law enforcement and state security.
The responsi ...
, later also director of the
Warsaw Theatre Directorate and second husband of the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent
* Polish chicken
* Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...
pianist
Maria Kalergis
Maria Kalergis von Nesselrode-Ereshoven (7 August 1822 Warsaw – 22 May 1874, Warsaw) was a Polish-German noblewoman, pianist, Salon (gathering), salon hostess and patron of the arts.
Life
Countess Maria von Nesselrode, Nesselrode-Ehreshove ...
.
Life
Youth and military career

Sergei S. Mukhanov (or Muchanow by
Polish orthography
Polish orthography is the system of writing the Polish language. The language is written using the Polish alphabet, which derives from the Latin alphabet, but includes some additional letters with diacritics. The orthography is mostly phonetic, o ...
) was born in
northern Russia
The Russian North () is an ethnocultural region situated in the Northwest Russia, northwestern part of Russia. It spans the regions of Arkhangelsk Oblast (including Nenets Autonomous Okrug), Murmansk Oblast, the Republic of Karelia, Komi Republi ...
n town Vologda, as a third child to the family of
major general Sergei Nikolaievich Mukhanov, governor of
Kharkov Governorate
Kharkov Governorate was an administrative-territorial unit (''guberniya'') of the Russian Empire founded in 1835. It embraced the historical region of Sloboda Ukraine. From 1765 to 1780 and from 1796 to 1835 the governorate was called Sloboda Uk ...
(now
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...
), and Minadora, Countess
von Sievers Sievers is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Any member of the Sievers family
* Anthony John "Tony" Sievers, Australian politician
* Bryan Sievers (born 1959), American politician
* Christian Sievers (born 1969), German journa ...
.
Serving in the military from his youth, he found himself in
Warsaw
Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...
in 1861, being appointed adjutant general to
Alexander von Lüders
Count Alexander Nikolaevich Liders (; 14 January 1790 – 2 February 1874), better known as Alexander von Lüders, was a Russian general of German descent who served as the ''namestnik'' of Poland.[Russian Imperial Army
The Imperial Russian Army () was the army of the Russian Empire, active from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was organized into a standing army and a state militia. The standing army consisted of Regular army, regular troops and ...]
were carried out. (This measure was intended to prevent the explosion of the rebellion, but it proved unsuccessful and, on the contrary, hastened it.) When the
January Uprising
The January Uprising was an insurrection principally in Russia's Kingdom of Poland that was aimed at putting an end to Russian occupation of part of Poland and regaining independence. It began on 22 January 1863 and continued until the last i ...
began he fought as adjutant alongside the next governor,
Grand Duke Constantine Nikolaevich of Russia. Yet, two months later (March 1863), while the Uprising gradually gained its momentum, he resigned as police chief.
Organizer of Polish cultural life
Almost from the very beginning of his stay in Warsaw Muchanow had belonged to the aristocratic artistic salons, particularly that of the pianist
Maria Kalergis
Maria Kalergis von Nesselrode-Ereshoven (7 August 1822 Warsaw – 22 May 1874, Warsaw) was a Polish-German noblewoman, pianist, Salon (gathering), salon hostess and patron of the arts.
Life
Countess Maria von Nesselrode, Nesselrode-Ehreshove ...
(née Nesselrode). Maria's estranged first husband died in 1863–10 years younger than her, and hoping to raise his social position by marrying her, Muchanow proposed and was accepted. The wedding took place in
Baden-Baden
Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...
on 30 September 1863. Muchanow's resignation of his career to marry her and the resulting financial strains, however, caused Maria to have a nervous breakdown and it was only some time later that she was able to go to
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...
to obtain his appointment as administrator of imperial palaces in the
Kingdom of Poland
The Kingdom of Poland (; Latin: ''Regnum Poloniae'') was a monarchy in Central Europe during the Middle Ages, medieval period from 1025 until 1385.
Background
The West Slavs, West Slavic tribe of Polans (western), Polans who lived in what i ...
and President of the Warsaw Theatre Directorate. Also supported by governor
Fiodor Berg in this request, Muchanow received these posts on 27 April 1868. He and his wife then brought about a rise in theatrical life in Warsaw – with the aid of the Directorate's administrative directors
Mikołaj Bojanowski and
Bogumił Foland, Muchanow was able to give the city's theatres settled financing systems and find an additional income source in the form of tax concessions in the gardens around the theatres. He also managed to overhaul the city's theatre buildings and oversee the opening of the Summer Theatre (''Teatr Letni'').
In these efforts, Muchanow was able to count on the support of governor Berg (convinced to support the theatres by Maria) as well as major Polish cultural figures such as
Stanisław Moniuszko
Stanisław Moniuszko (; May 5 (17), 1819 – June 4, 1872) was a Polish composer, conductor, organist and pedagogue. He wrote many popular art songs and operas, including '' The Haunted Manor'' and '' Halka'', and his music is filled with patr ...
,
Jan Chęciński,
Aleksander Narcyz Przezdziecki
Aleksander Narcyz Karol Przezdziecki (29 July 1814 in Chornyi Ostriv – 26 December 1871 in Kraków
, officially the Royal Capital City of Kraków, is the List of cities and towns in Poland, second-largest and one of the oldest cities in ...
,
Józef Kenig and
Władysław Bogusławski. He invited
Helena Modrzejewska
Helena Modrzejewska (; born Jadwiga Helena Mizel; October 12, 1840 – April 8, 1909), known professionally in the United States as Helena Modjeska, was a Polish-American actress who specialized in William Shakespeare, Shakespearean and tragic ro ...
to Warsaw, granting her various privileges, such as selection of the repertoire – and she appeared onstage there in plays of
Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...
,
Słowacki,
Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright.
He was born i ...
and
Fredro Fredro is a surname or given name. It may refer to:
* Aleksander Fredro
Aleksander Fredro (20 June 1793 – 15 July 1876) was a Polish poet, playwright and Polish authors, author active during Romanticism in Poland, Polish Romanticism in the Par ...
. The operatic repertoire, swelled by songs by Moniuszko, also prospered. Muchanow ensured the creation of a team of actors and Modrzejewska and actors already well known to Warsaw audiences such as
Alojzy Żółkowski Alojzy Żółkowski may refer to:
* Fortunat Alojzy Gonzaga Żółkowski (1777-1822), Polish actor, father of Alojzy Gonzaga Jazon
* Alojzy Gonzaga Jazon Żółkowski (1814-1889), Polish actor, singer, son of Fortunat Alojzy Gonzaga
{{hndis, name=Z ...
,
Jan Królikowski,
Wiktoryna Bakałowiczowa
Wiktoryna Józefa Bakałowiczowa, née Szymanowska (17 October 1835 — 30 October 1874) was a Polish theatre actress.
She was a well established female actress, who was said to earn as much as 10 rubles
The ruble or rouble (; rus, ру ...
,
Salomea Palińska and
Aleksandra Rakiewiczowa were joined by newcomers such as
Romana Popiel,
Wincenty Rapacki,
Bolesław Leszczyński,
Marian Prażmowski and
Edward Wolski. This period became known as "the age of stars" (''epoka gwiazd'').
Muchanow's success declined from 1874 with the death of Maria on 22 June and of Jan Chęciński on 30 December. Modrzejewska thus lost her protectress and, getting entangled in problems with the censors and other company members, she soon left for the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
. Rapacki, Bogusławski and
Emil Deryng could not fill Modrzejewska's role as head of the company, nor could Deryng's daughter
Maria
Maria may refer to:
People
* Mary, mother of Jesus
* Maria (given name), a popular given name in many languages
Place names Extraterrestrial
* 170 Maria, a Main belt S-type asteroid discovered in 1877
* Lunar maria (plural of ''mare''), large, ...
. Muchanow made a last attempt at glory by making
Jan Tatarkiewicz director in 1878 and taking on actors such as Jadwiga Czaki, Adolfina Zimajer, Józef Kotarbiński and Honorata Leszczyńska (daughter of Wincenty Rapacki), but neither measure had success and Muchanow began putting on little theater and opera, focusing instead on the ballet company.
Retirement and death
He retired from his post as head of the directorate on 12 June 1880 and soon moved to countryside; in 1882 marrying Waleria Pignan. (Pignan had made her debut in September 1869 as a student of the Warsaw ballet school, had performed in several well-known productions of the 1870s, and had become known as one of the Directorate's most talented dancers before leaving the stage to marry Muchanow.)
Died on May 29, 1897, in Przemęczany village near town
Miechów
Miechów is a town in Poland, in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, about north of Kraków. It is the capital of Miechów County. Population is 11,852 (2004). Miechów lies on the Miechówka river, along European route E77. The area of the town is , a ...
.
References
*''Słownik biograficzny teatru polskiego 1765-1965'' (Biographical Dictionary of Polish Theater, 1765–1965), edited by
Zbigniew Raszewski
Zbigniew Raszewski (5 April 1925, Poznań – 1992) was a Polish writer and theatre historian.
Life
Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Bydgoszcz, where he spent his childhood and youth. He wrote one of the best books on the town, and m ...
,
Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe
Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN (''Polish Scientific Publishers PWN''; until 1991 ''Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe'' - ''National Scientific Publishers PWN'', PWN) is a Polish book publisher, founded in 1951, when it split from the Wydawnictwa Szkolne i ...
, Warszaw, 1973 (articles on Sergiusz Muchanow and Waleria Pignan).
*
Stefan Kieniewicz
Stefan Kieniewicz (20 September 1907, in Dereszewicze – 2 May 1992, in Konstancin-Jeziorna, Konstancin) was a Polish historian and university professor, notable for his works on the 19th-century history of Poland. During his work at various uni ...
, "Maria Muchanow (1. v. Kalergis)," in ''
Polski Słownik Biograficzny
''Polski Słownik Biograficzny'' (''PSB''; Polish Biographical Dictionary) is a Polish-language biographical dictionary, comprising an alphabetically arranged compilation of authoritative biographies of some 25,000 notable Poles and of foreigner ...
'', vol. XXII, 1977.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Muchanow
1833 births
1897 deaths
Theatre of Poland
Special Corps of Gendarmes personnel
19th-century diplomats of the Russian Empire