I've read a number of books on that era. I read Tamara Karsavina's Theatre Street, where she has some very kind things to say about Mathilde K., and also a lot of fond memories of socializing with Mathilde. Also have read Margot Fonteyn's memoirs which again contain some fond memories of Mathilde. I've read Ballet's Magic Kingdom, a collection of reviews by Akim Volynsky which describes Mathilde's dancing in very awed terms -- while acknowledging that she had an imperfect looking body and "flat feet" he described her par terre technique as the best there was.
I've also read biographies about Mathilde and her own memoirs. Mathilde K. was pregnant when Anna Pavlova was picked for La Bayadere. This delicate condition is the reason her memoirs gloss over the incident. And I don't see anything in her memoirs to warrant such a harsh and subjective opinion of her. She seems like a woman who was justifiably proud of her career and like most superstars has a healthy ego. She was also a survivor. During the Russian Revolution she packed her bags and left Russia with her son and husband Andre forever. She went from living in a mansion set up by the czar to a much reduced lifestyle in Paris. But people like Margot Fonteyn admired her courage, her strong will, and the fact that she never complained about her poverty. She obviously was of a very strong constitution and lived till she was 99, and whenever asked said "My life was beautiful." IDK, she sounds like the type of person I would have admired.
Have you read Petipa's diaries? He didn't liker her very much. That pig Kschessinska was one of his terms, as I recall.
THE MARIUS PETIPA SOCIETY
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Have you read Petipa's diaries? He didn't liker her very much. That pig Kschessinska was one of his terms, as I recall.