Opera's Greatest Beauty

Praised as 'the most beautiful woman in the world', Lina Cavalieri was a legendary opera singer and the most photographed star of her time.

Born as Natalina Cavalieri on Christmas Day 1874 in Italy, Lina lost her parents at a very young age. She grew up in great poverty, selling flowers and newspapers in Rome. She was then taken to a Catholic orphanage, but the strictness of the nuns prompted her to run away with a touring theatrical group. Eventually, she made her way to Paris, where her beautiful singing voice obtained her work as a singer in cafe-concerts. She then performed at a variety of music halls and other venues in Europe. Once she was able to save enough money, she begin her voice and singing lessons under a certain Mme. Marchesi, with whom she worked diligently for two years.

Gradually, Lina's talent, and her extraordinary beauty, made her the talk of Europe. She then made her way to Russia, performing Neapolitan songs in different theaters in St. Petersburg. It was here that she met and fell in love with Prince Alexander Bariatinsky. It was said that he persuaded Lina to be an opera singer and paid for her voice lessons at Mariani Masi in Milan. In 1900, she married Prince Bariatinsky, and at the same year, made her opera debut in Lisbon.

Her debut in Lisbon was not successful. But this did not undermine her to continue her career as a singer. Fortunately for her, her next singing ventures were more successful. In 1904, she sang at the Opera de Monte-Carlo, and then in Paris. Her singing in New York Metropolitan Opera earned her success when she co-star with the tenor Enrico Caruso.

Lina became a famous beauty of the Belle Epoque. Audiences flocked to see her rather than hear her, although one critic wrote that she ‘has a sincere aptitude for the stage’ and her voice ‘has a certain prettiness’. She had amassed a fortune in just a few short years since her debut. She was considered to have a classical beauty, an hour-glass figure, with charm and personality free from affectation and her taste in dress was exquisite.

Her marriage with Prince Alexander Bariatinsky was not successful. They separated, and Lina had a whirlwind romance and marriage with an American, Robert Chandler. However, the marriage lasted for only two weeks, and with her marriage over, decided to go back to Europe. Her third husband was the French tenor Lucien Muratore, whom she married in 1913. They sang together on stage and starred in silent films.

Lina's fourth marriage was with Paolo d'Arvanni. She returned with him in Italy and retired there, setting up a beauty salon. During World War II, she became a volunteer nurse. But she was killed on 7 February 1944 during an Allied bombing raid that destroyed her home in the countryside of Fiesole, a small town near Florence, where she was placed under police surveillance because of her foreign husband. Hearing an American bomber nearby, Lina, her husband and servants ran to the air-raid shelter in the grounds, but she and her husband were delayed because they were collecting her valuable jewellery from the house. Both Lina and her husband were killed running to the air-raid shelter, while the servants inside the shelter all survived.

Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia

Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna,
born Princess Cecilie of Baden

Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna of Russia was born as Princess Cecilie Auguste of Baden on September 20, 1839 in Karlsruhe, Baden. She was the youngest daughter of Leopold, Grand Duke of Baden, and Sophie Wilhelmine of Sweden.

Leopold was a strict father, and so Cecilie and her siblings were brought up in almost spartan conditions. Nevertheless, the girl received a good education. She developed a strong temperamental character, and a sharp tongue which later caused tensions between her and her husband's family. Although she rarely showed her emotions, Cecilie was a sympathetic person and always ready to help those who suffer.

When she was 18 years old, Cecilie married Grand Duke Mikhail Nikolaievich of Russia, the youngest son of Tsar Nicholas I, and following her conversion to Orthodoxy, she was henceforth known as Olga Feodorovna, a name chosen by her husband, because he did not like the name 'Cecilie'. Johann Strauss composed the Olga-Polka on the occasion of her wedding (I had written an article about the composition).

Soon after their wedding, Mikhail and Olga settled at the Novo-Mikhailovsky Palace in St. Petersburg. Their first child, a son, the future historian Grand Duke Nicholas Mikhailovich, was born two years later.

Family life for Mikhail and Olga was a happy one. Mikhail was a devoted husband and loved his wife deeply. Olga was also a devoted wife, but she was rather cold with her children. She was the leader in their marriage, the iron will of the family, and was a stern disciplinarian. But she was said to be witty, good-humored, clever, and lively. The imperial family had a very good opinion of Mikhail; they admired his charm and gentleness. However, Olga did not have a good relationship with his husband's family. They thought her sharp-tongued, tactless, and a gossip-monger.

Palace of the Viceroy of Caucasus in Golovin Street. This
is where Mikhail and Olga lived for almost 20 years.

In 1862, Mikhail was appointed as Viceroy of Caucasus by his brother Tsar Alexander II. He, Olga and their three children left St. Petersburg for Tblisi, Georgia, and settled at Golovin Street. As the Grand Dame of Caucasus, Olga devoted her time and money doing charity works, while at the same, caring for her family and raising children. Under Olga's auspices, a school of girls was formed, which was named in her honor - the Olginsky. For the next few years the number of students in this school has grown to thousands. Olga used the bulk of her money in the operation of the school. In the early 70s, an institution to train midwives was also formed, under Olga's patronage. Dozens of other schools as well as orphanages were opened through her effort.

In 1877, at the start of the Russo-Turkish War, Grand Duke Mikhail was appointed overall Commander of the Russian Caucasus Corps, and the Grand Duchess Olga became actively involved in war efforts by setting up hospitals and caring for the wounded soldiers. She became the patroness of the Red Cross Society in Caucasus.

Grand Duchess Olga 
by Winterhalter.

Olga lived in the Caucasus for almost 20 years; four of her seven children were born and raised in Tbilisi.

In 1881, the family returned to St. Petersburg. Olga left with a warm recollections of Caucasus and the years she spent in Tbilisi. She continued to do charity work, without ignoring any petition which were addressed to her.

In 1891, at the age of 51, Grand Duchess Olga Feodorovna died of a heart attack. She was buried at Peter Paul Fortress. She was survived by her husband for another 8 years.

The village of Olginskoe and the street of Olginskaya in Tbilisi were named in her honor.

A Shy and Sensitive Soul

Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaievna of Russia, the future Queen of  Württemberg, wrote her memoirs about her childhood and her relationship with her family. In the following excerpt, she reminisce about her sisters Maria and Alexandra ("Adina" or "Adini"), and her struggle to overcome her childhood shyness. 

"By age I was between the two: three years younger than Mary, three years older than Adina - and often felt a little lonely. I have already started moving away from the little world of games played by Adina, while she could not even go to the adult world, in which Mary now belongs because of her being fourteen. My sisters were cheerful and high-spirited, while I'm serious and reserved. Compliant by nature, I try to please everybody, and this often subjected me to Mary's ridicule and reproach. I was unable to defend myself. I felt foolish and rustic, crying on my pillow at night, and began thinking that I'm not my parents' real daughter, replaced by a nurse. General Merder was able to encourage me and inspire me, saying that with my mind and my shyness does not mean that I'm incapable, but point to the quality of a deep nature, which needs time to develop. Sasha [her brother Alexander II) and I have the same nature; he was extremely sensitive, that is why we were very close to each other."

Further Reading:
Königin Olga von Württemberg - Traum der Jugend goldener Stern (translated as "The Golden Dream of My Youth")

The Winter Princesses

Daughters of Princess Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

The Mother:

Elizabeth Stuart, Queen of Bohemia

Elizabeth was the daughter of King James I and Anne of Denmark. She was thus a granddaughter of Mary, Queen of Scots. This beautiful and accomplished princess became known in history as the "Winter Queen" because of her short tenure as Queen of Bohemia. She was a rather fascinating character based from what I had gathered about her so far. Her four daughters are also quite interesting characters.

The Daughters:

Elizabeth

Elizabeth was the eldest daughter of the Winter Queen, and reputedly one of  Europe's greatest beauties. Serious-minded and with profound intellectual attainments, she was one of the most learned women of her day. She was fluent in six languages, and was called "the Greek" because of her knowledge in classical languages. She developed a close friendship with writer and philosopher Rene Descartes, to whom she established and maintained a philosophical correspondence. Elisabeth never married despite plans to marry her off to a Polish king. A committed Protestant, she became the abbess of Herford Abbey in Germany.

Louise Hollandine
Louise, the second daughter, was born shortly after her parents' escape to Holland.  She was a very talented artist and painter. She painted many portraits of her and her family, all of them could be mistaken for the work of a professional artist. She studied under the tutelage of Gerard van Honthorst, but she can be considered an "amateur". Like her sister Elisabeth, she was inclined towards intellectual pursuits, but in contrast to her sister, Louise possessed a passionate nature. She converted to Catholicism, much to the dismay of her devoutly Protestant family, and fled to France.

Henrietta Maria
Henrietta Maria was described as gentle and sweet-tempered. She was a "homemaker" sort of princess. She had a great talent in embroidery, preserve-making, and confectionery, and was at her happiest when she was at the kitchen. She was the only blonde daughter in the family, and her sister Sophia considered her the beauty of the family. She married Prince Sigmund of Siebenbergen in Transylvania when she was 24. She had an extremely happy married life, but unfortunately, she died five months after the wedding. She was buried in her wedding gown and pearls.

Sophia, Electress of Hanover

Sophia, the best known of the Elizabeth's daughters, was the youngest daughter of the family. She was a well-educated woman, very accomplished, strong-willed, and possessed a sharp tongue. When she was 28, she married Ernest Augustus, Elector of Brunswick-Luneberg, and had several children. One of them was the future King George I of Britain.

Amalia of Oldenburg, Queen of Greece

Image courtesy of
https://www.pinterest.de/cesarii/sangue-blu/

Queen Amalia was the first queen of Greece. She was born a Princess of Oldenburg on December 21, 1818, the eldest daughter of Augustus, Grand Duke of Oldenburg and Princess Adelheid of Anhalt. Princess Adelheid died when Amalia was only two years old. Her father remarried, this time to Amalia's maternal aunt. She was a loving stepmother to her niece/stepdaughter, but unfortunately she also died after only three years of marriage. Augustus' third wife was a Swedish princess, Cecilia. She did not get along well with her stepchildren, and so Amalia was raised by her governess. From an early age, Amalia exhibited a keen intellect. She was taught in foreign languages, painting, music, and dancing, but she showed more interest in theater, dancing, horseback riding and hunting.

Amalia was 17 years-old when King Otto of Greece made a trip to Germany. Born a Prince of Bavaria, he was chosen to become the first King of Greece when he was only 18 years old. He had been king for three years when he decided to visit his homeland. He made a trip to Oldenburg, where he met the beautiful and talented Amalia. It was a love-match. The marriage of the Catholic Otto and the Protestant Amalia took place in Munich in 1836.

Amalia's arrival in Greece caused so much sensation, as well as curiosity among the people. Her fair hair and complexion were a novelty in Greece. The Greek people were fascinated of her. With her beauty, charm and robust, well-made figure, she brought a spirit of smart fashion and progress to the impoverished country. She created the Amalia dress, a sort of romantic-folksy dress that became the Greek national costume. She actively labored towards social improvement and the beautification of Athens. A keen horticulturist, she was determined to create gardens in Athens despite its novel concept, and the scarcity of water and adverse climate conditions. The gardens were commissioned in 1836 and developed in the next 25 years. The gardens (now the National Garden of Athens) with its shady green spaces and alleys and its romantic hideaways has been an attraction ever since the 19th century. Amalia's efforts were greatly appreciated  in Greece, and the town of Amalias and the village of Amaliapolis were named after her.

As for her personality and physical appearance, Amalia was generally described as beautiful, but she became plump as she got older. Bremer described her manners as "lively and extremely agreeable", and she was charmed by the Queen's friendliness and her lively conversation. As she is agreeable in private, Amalia is equally pleasant in public. Tastefully dressed in expensive Parisian crinolines, an able dancer excelling especially in waltzes, fluent in French and Greek, she was a delightful conversationalist who neglected no one at the ball  - "her eyes, full of the joy of life, emulated in brightness the diamonds around her head and neck". She was, as Bremer exclaims, after Queen Caroline Amalie of Denmark, "the handsomest queen I have seen...a real Semiramis, a queenly figure captivating all eyes". She was also extremely vivacious and a daring horsewoman. She liked to ride wearing the Amalia dress, and visited the whole of Greece in horseback, down to the very last village.

When she became more politically involved, she became the target of harsh attacks and criticism. Her image suffered further when she became unable to provide an heir, and chose to remain a Protestant in an almost universally Orthodox country. She also became a target of an assassination attempt. The would-be assassin was a student. He was sentenced to death but he was pardoned due to Amalia's intervention.

While to royal couple were on a visit to the Pelopennese, an uprising took place in Athens. King Otto was urged not to resist the uprising and his reign came to an end. He and Amalia left Greece aboard a British flagship. They arrived in Bavaria where they settle down and spent their remaining years as exiles.