Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova

Maria Nikolaevna Kuznetsova (1880 – April 25, 1966) (Russian: Мария Николаевна Кузнецова, also spelled Maria Kuznetsova-Benois), was a famous 20th century Russian opera singer and dancer.

Prior to the Revolution, Kuznetsova was one of the most celebrated opera singers in Imperial Russia, having worked with Richard Strauss, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and Jules Massenet. She was frequently paired with Feodor Chaliapin. After leaving Russia in 1917, Kuznetsova continued to perform for another thirty years abroad before retiring.

Kuznetsova was born in 1880, in Odessa, the daughter of portraitist Nikolai Kuznetsov. Kuznetsova's mother was descended from a distinguished family of scientists and intellectuals of Romanian and Russo-Jewish descent.

Her maternal grandmother, Emilia (Nevakhovich) Metchnikoff, was the daughter of Lev Nevakhovich (1776-1831), a Russo-Jewish author, translator, and founder of the Haskalah movement in Russia. Emilia married a Guards officer, Ilya Metchnikoff, and had two sons; the Nobel Prize-winning microbiologist Élie Metchnikoff and the sociologist Lev Metchnikoff.

Kuznetsova's great-uncles Mikhail and Aleksandr Nevakhovich also had successful careers. Mikhail was a cartoonist and founder of Russia's first satirical magazine, Mish-Mash (Eralash). Aleksandr was a playwright and served as repertory director of Imperial Theaters in Saint Petersburg during the reign of Nicholas I.

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