Siergiej Muchanow

Almost from the very beginning of his stay in Warsaw Muchanow had belonged to the aristocratic artistic salons, particularly that of the pianist Maria Kalergis (née Nesselrode).

Maria's estranged first husband died in 1863–10 years younger than her, and hoping to raise his social position by marrying her, Muchanow proposed and was accepted.

Muchanow's resignation of his career to marry her and the resulting financial strains, however, caused Maria to have a nervous breakdown and it was only some time later that she was able to go to Saint Petersburg to obtain his appointment as administrator of imperial palaces in the Kingdom of Poland and President of the Warsaw Theatre Directorate.

He invited Helena Modrzejewska to Warsaw, granting her various privileges, such as selection of the repertoire – and she appeared onstage there in plays of Shakespeare, Słowacki, Schiller and Fredro.

(Pignan had made her debut in September 1869 as a student of the Warsaw ballet school, had performed in several well-known productions of the 1870s, and had become known as one of the Directorate's most talented dancers before leaving the stage to marry Muchanow.)