In December 1899 Mr Rickards brings to Australia Newsky Family.
These great artists are acknowledged throughout Europe as the greatest family of Russian vocalists and dancers known, and the European decision was heartily endorsed by the gigantic audiences that witnessed their performance [in Sydney].
....the Palace theatre was crowded to the doors. The special feature in a very attractive programme as the performance of the Newsky Family, consisting of three male and five female players, who sang in Russian and danced the national dances of their country. One of them, a boy, has a most remarkable capacity for pirouetting, being able to swing his body around on one leg five or six times, like a teetotum, without getting a fresh impetus. The Newskys finished up their afternoon performance by singing " Soldiers of the Queen" in English, for which they were enthusiastically applauded.
....This is a family which has gained fame throughout Europe for the interpretation of Russian national songs and dances in national costume— five handsome ladies, two men, and a boy, all most richly dressed in the most gorgeous of the national costumes. They sing quaint Russian folksongs with much action, sometimes accompanied, sometimes not. These are punctuated by expressive little shrugs of the shoulders and gestures which supply something of meaning. They dance measures which in the case of the ladies are as graceful and as pretty as the minuet, and in the case of the men are full of acrobatism, and something of contortion. These men dancers jump surprising heights, and are able to turn round two or three times in the air before alighting. Altogether it is something which we have never seen before in these colonies and which is well worth seeing. It is like an excerpt from Tolstoy.
The leader of the troupe is M. Alexander( Alexis) Newsky but this is only a stage name. If we belief in his story he was Count Lucas de Lineffsky - Russian aristocrat, the son of a large landed proprietor in the province of Kiev. His mother was the late Baroness Marie de Wrangel, daughter of General Wrangel, a favorite aide-decamp of Emperor Nicholas (there is no evidence of daughter Maria in a family tree), and niece of Prince Paul Gagarin, Imperial Chancellor.
"Young de Linesffsky received his education at the Lyceum, in St. Petersburg, and was studying for the law, but a love for the stage having overtaken him, he gave up his studies and took to ' the profession,' against the wishes of his family, thereby renouncing fortune and a possible high diplomatic career, but he has prospered in his profession, and does not regret the loss of bis family position. He says he is fur happier in travelling, for he loves to see the world."
Other members of the troupe were
- Zinaida Londowitsch (Зинаида Лондович), first solo dancer and alto ;
- Mania Kirpitschnikowa (Маня Кирпичникова), second solo dancer and alto;
- Vera Filipoff (Вера Филипова), second solo dancer and soprano ;
- Alexander Krassilnikowa (Александра Крассильникова), first soprano ;
- Bertha Schonowa (Берта Шонова), wire rope dancer and soprano ;
- Alexis Newsky, chief of the troupe, basso;
- Zaretzki (Зарецкий), first tenor and character dancer ; and
- Sergey Wassilieff (Сергей Васильев), pirouette dancer (said to be the best existing).
-----------------------------
https://ru.rodovid.org/wk/%D0%97%D0%B0%D0%BF%D0%B8%D1%81%D1%8C:329931
SHIPPING. (1899, December 23). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 11. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article237200546
Advertising (1899, December 29). The Daily Telegraph (Sydney, NSW : 1883 - 1930), p. 2. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article237201600
"Advertising" The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912) 30 December 1899: 1610. Web. 20 May 2024 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163703074>.
PALACE THEATRE. (1899, December 27). The Sydney Morning Herald (NSW : 1842 - 1954), p. 8. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article14261971
"Dramatic." The Sydney Mail and New South Wales Advertiser (NSW : 1871 - 1912) 30 December 1899: 1610. Web. 20 May 2024 <http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article163703091>.
THE NEWSKY TROUPE. (1900, January 11). Table Talk (Melbourne, Vic. : 1885 - 1939), p. 15. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article145934333
THE NEWSKY FAMILY (1900, February 1). Melbourne Punch (Vic. : 1855 - 1900), p. 21. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article180535946
BIJOU THEATRE. (1900, February 5). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 - 1957), p. 3. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article9047714
THE NEWSKYS. (1900, February 10). The Herald (Melbourne, Vic. : 1861 - 1954), p. 3. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article241255594
THE NEWSKY FAMILY. (1900, May 23). Evening News (Sydney, NSW : 1869 - 1931), p. 5. Retrieved May 20, 2024, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article113712923