”trust in yourself and your unconquerable spirit”

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Born of noble birth in 1832, Fyodor left behind the prospect of a lucrative career in law to follow his dreams and became a principal tenor in the Italian and Russian opera. To him “The voice is the language of the heart, singing its most eloquent expression.”  He became a mentor to Stanislavsky and a close friend of such luminaries as Tchaikovsky and Dostoevsky.  His daughter, Vera, and his son, Theodore, were both trained by him for a life on the stage. He is buried in his beloved Italy, alongside John Keats and other revered artists. 

“If we are to speak of Komissarzhevsky’s nature, of his very essence… It is the rare gift of a man’s faith in fate, in his place on earth.”

- Victor Borovsky

Daughter of Fyodor and Mariya Nikolaevna Shulgina, Vera was one of the most celebrated actresses and theater managers of the late Russian Empire.  Her fame was such that, when she died of smallpox in 1910, her funeral was attended by vast crowds and, it is said, mourners gathered at stations to cast flowers as the train passed by carrying Vera to her final resting place. One of the major theatres of St. Petersburg, founded by Vera and her brother, Theodore, still bears her name. 

 "... she always seemed by some inexplicable magic to be much more than merely the person she was representing." 

- Theodore Komisarjevsky

Son of Fyodor and Princess Marie Kourtsevich, Theodore Komisarjevsky  escaped from Russia during the revolution. Undeterred by obstacles or opinions, he had his greatest success in London after having been displaced from his homeland. A preeminent theatre director in Imperial Russia and an unconventional artist, he brought his vision to British audiences and beyond. His contributions, sometimes controversial, were transformative to the stage. He was prolific in his creative works, which included authoring many books, producing films, staging plays, operas and operettas, composing music for those productions, drawing and painting sketches of the set, décor and costumes for the stage and even designing theatre houses themselves. 

He "showed us previously unknown possibilities of the theatre."

- Dame Peggy Ashcroft

Ernestine was a liberated woman before there were liberated women. She met Theodore Komisarjevsky in New York while she was performing in a dance and they were later married. While he was an acclaimed creator himself, Ernestine was a true artist in her own right. Graceful in every move, she was a pioneering modern dancer, poet, published author and teacher, who performed with Doris Humphrey and was often paired with José Limón. In 1929, as a young woman, she joined the dance company started by Ms. Humphrey and Charles Weidman and never looked back.  In addition to her success as a dancer, she went on to author literature, including books about her mentor Ms. Humphrey and the legendary Martha Graham.  She taught classes in the History of Dance and Aesthetics as an adjunct professor at NYU. She opened a dance studio as a teenager and continued to teach dance in Connecticut well into her 80’s. While her accomplishments in the art of dance fill those who love her with pride, it was the way she lived that was the greatest lesson for her family, friends and students. She was full of life and joy and dreams – dreams in her heart she was determined to follow, taking chances and testing her limits with a great poise that only comes from trusting your instincts. 

"It is a life worth living."

- Ernestine Stodelle Komisarjevsky Chamberlain