Ivan Vsevolozhsky

Ivan Alexandrovich Vsevolozhsky (Russian: Иван Александрович Всеволожской; 1835–1909) was the Director of the Imperial Theatres in Russia from 1881-98 and director of the Hermitage from 1899 to his death in 1909.

Vsevolozhsky ran the Imperial Theatres with a determination for excellence. In 1886, Vsevolozhsky initiated two major reforms for the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, namely the relocation of the Imperial Ballet and Opera from the Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre (deemed unsafe by 1886) to the Mariinsky Theatre, and the abolition of the post of First Imperial Ballet Composer, a post previously held by such composers as Léon Minkus and Cesare Pugni. Alexandre Benois and Roland John Wiley credit him with the revival of ballet as a serious art form in Russia.

Vsevolozhsky's family was from Ryurik, with the Smolensk princes included among his illustrious ancestors. He graduated from the University of St Petersburg before working in the Asian section of the Department of International Affairs, the Russian consulate in The Hague, and as an official in St Petersburg. Despite having no background in management, or indeed theatre, Vsevolozhsky developed a love for theatre and French culture in general during his assignment to the Russian consulate in Paris from 1876. After the ascension of Alexander III, he was appointed as Director of Imperial Theatres from 3 September 1881.

Though a relative unknown, Vsevolozhsky was a vigorous and ‘enchantingly kind’ figure with ‘astonishing insight’. Vsevolovsky was responsible for who brought about the very existence of such world-famous ballets as The Sleeping Beauty (Tchaikovsky/Petipa) and The Nutcracker (Tchaikovsky/Ivanov).

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