The most unusual imperial balls in St. Petersburg

Balls were an important part of social life: people made acquaintances, concluded deals, sought patrons, and learned the latest news at them. Besides the main dance program, a ball included dinner, games, and sometimes a concert or theatrical performance.

 

People came to balls dressed formally, with the cut of ball attires depending on fashion trends. Gloves were mandatory for both ladies and gentlemen—their absence was a legitimate reason to refuse a dance.

An important component of a lady's ball costume was the fan. There even existed a language of fans, allowing communication without words while observing strict rules of propriety. Thanks to a specific system of signals that a lady could give with her fan, it was possible to arrange a meeting, ask for forgiveness, declare love, express gratitude, or show displeasure. Both gentlemen and ladies had to know this system of signs perfectly. Everything had meaning: how a lady held her fan, when and how many leaves she opened it to...

The ball season in St. Petersburg began in late autumn and reached its peak during the period between New Year and the beginning of Great Lent. Balls were given for various occasions and had different status: balls of the Noble Assembly, balls at the Academy of Arts, balls organized by foreign embassies, merchant balls, children's balls... The level of a ball largely depended on the social position of its host. The most prestigious were, of course, balls in imperial residences and those attended by crowned individuals.

Traditional imperial balls, one of which was the grand ball in the Nikolaevsky Hall of the Winter Palace, were equivalent to official events, where even political matters were resolved.

Although such events were notable in themselves, some of them impressed contemporaries so much that they deserve special mention.

Empress Elizabeth Petrovna adored masquerade balls. In autumn and winter, they were sometimes arranged twice a week. Often the empress personally wrote out invitations, so it was impossible to decline participation—this would have been considered an insult. The invitation to a masquerade ball specified which costumes guests should wear. However, the conditions devised by the sovereign did not always please the guests. Starting from 1744, "metamorphosis balls" were frequently organized: men were required to appear in women's clothing, and ladies in men's attire. These costume changes, which delighted Elizabeth (who looked very good in the uniform of the Preobrazhensky Guards Regiment), often turned into real torture for the guests (one need only imagine elderly dignitaries in the elaborate women's outfits of the 18th century).

Elizabeth Petrovna also initiated another tradition that existed until 1848: on New Year's Eve, anyone who wished could come to the imperial palace for a ball. The only requirement was that clothing should be clean. The police recorded the names of the first and last guests, and then simply kept count of those who came. Guests maintained order and there was no crowding. Sometimes the number of attendees reached 40,000! Not everyone knew how to dance, of course, but refreshments were provided at the balls. Foreign guests were surprised by such celebrations: common people could easily come to the palace and celebrate the New Year with the emperor!

Such balls were arranged not only for New Year's Eve but also for significant events for the imperial family—for example, on the occasion of the wedding of Nicholas I's daughter Maria.RetryClaude can make mistakes. Please double-check responses.

Emperor Alexander III's wife, Maria Feodorovna, was a passionate lover of balls. Besides official celebrations in the Winter Palace, the empress organized original colored balls in the Anichkov Palace. These balls were more intimate but very prestigious—only the closest circle of the imperial family was invited. A colored ball was always announced in advance, and the invitation specified the color of the outfit that ladies were required to wear. Many memories of the empress's luxurious colored balls have been preserved. However, one of them deserves special attention.

In January 1889, a traditional Christmas ball was supposed to take place, but a tragedy occurred in Austria—Archduke Rudolf, the son of Emperor Franz Joseph, died. The royal houses of Europe were expected to express condolences and cancel entertainment events. Empress Maria Feodorovna did not cancel the ball. After all, almost 20 years earlier, the Austrian court had also not observed mourning when Alexander II's eldest son Nicholas, the fiancé of the future empress, died.

However, due to the mourning, all guests were instructed to come to the ball in black attire. Ladies were recommended to wear diamond jewelry. As a sign of condolence, works by Austrian composers were played at the ball. Not all invitees considered it acceptable to attend such an event and declined to participate. This unusual ball exacerbated the already complex relations between the Russian and Austro-Hungarian Empires.

During the reign of Alexander III, amidst a fascination with Russian culture, a tradition emerged of organizing historical balls à la russe. However, the most spectacular ball took place during the reign of the last Russian emperor, Nicholas II.

In 1903, the Romanov dynasty celebrated its 290th anniversary of rule, for which a grand ball was given in the spirit of the times of Alexei Mikhailovich (the Most Quiet). The luxurious 17th-century costumes, which cost a fortune, were created based on sketches by illustrator S.S. Solomko. Some invitees (almost 100 people) refused to participate, citing financial difficulties, but the empress ordered costumes to be sewn for them at the expense of the treasury. Nicholas II appeared in the ceremonial attire of Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, while Alexandra Feodorovna dressed as Tsarina Maria Miloslavskaya. The costumes were embroidered with pearls and precious stones, and individual items were selected from the Armory Chamber.

Many of the outfits and ornaments are now displayed in the Hermitage and the Diamond Fund. Photographs of the ball guests were included in the "Album of the Costume Ball at the Winter Palace." For the celebration of the 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty, playing cards called "Russian Style" were created, with figures that replicated the ball participants.

A headline event of the 1914 ball season was the "Pink Ball" of Countess E.V. Shuvalova, a well-known organizer of luxurious balls. All guests were required to wear colorful wigs or oriental turbans. Guests were given numerous flowers—roses, carnations, orchids. The idea for this design concept belonged to L. Bakst, who was invited to decorate the ball. The colorful wigs appeared thanks to costumes for the ballet "Cleopatra" and the tragedy "Pizanella," which had recently been presented to Parisian audiences during S. Diaghilev's "Russian Seasons." The ball guests, among whom were many members of the imperial family, were captured in photographs by K. Bulla.

The 1914 season became the last ball season—World War I began. But that is a completely different story.