Mérante-Richard, Zina

DANCER, DANCE TEACHER (RUSSIAN EMPIRE)
BORN 25 Apr 1832, Moscow - DIED 13 Sep 1890, Courbevoie, Hauts-de-Seine
BIRTH NAME Richard, Zinaïda
GRAVE LOCATION Paris: Cimetière de Montmartre, 20 Avenue Rachel (division 23, ligne 03, numéro 17, avenue des Anglais)

Zina Richard was the daughter of the dancer Joseph Richard, who went to Russia in 1823 togheter with Félicité Hullin Sor and her husband Fernando Sor. Her mother was the dancer Daria S. Lopoukhova. She was educated at the Imperial Theatre School in Saint Petersburg. She also studied at the Bolshoi Kamenny Theater in Saint Petersburg from 1850 to 1856.

In 1853 Carlotta Grisi left Saint Petersburg and Zina took over her roles. On 12 January she debuted in Paris at the Théâtre impérial in Paris and further roles followed. She also appeared at Covent Garden in London. In 1861 she married the dancer Louis Mérante and in 1863 she left Saint Petersburg for good.

In 1863 she was a solo dancer at the Opera in Paris and in 1864 she appeared in Marseille and after that in London and Milan. In 1867 she returned to Paris and in 1869 she was contracted by the Khedive Opera House in Cairo. In 1871 she left the stage to teach young dancers in Paris. She died in 1890 in Courbevoie near Paris.

Family
• Husband: Mérante, Louis (1861-1887)

Images

The mausoleum of Louis Mérante and Zina Mérante-Richard at the Cimetière de Montmartre, Paris.
Picture by Androom (31 Oct 2022)

 

Sources
Zina Mérante — Wikipédia


Mercader, María

Published: 11 Dec 2022
Last update: 11 Dec 2022