Musicology Annotation << Back Failed Arrival in Novocherkassk Prima Ballerinas of the Imperial Theaters in the Mirror of the Newspaper «Donskoy Vestnik» Selitsky Alexander Y. Polemics on theatrical topics are a rare occurrence in the local periodicals of that time. The intrigue is presented by the newspaper so ornately and indistinctly that the subject of the dispute and the hidden motives of the parties do not immediately become clear. A seemingly minor incident: the leading soloist of the St. Petersburg Ballet, Maria Petipa, who has completed her stage career, performed in Rostov-on-Don, but refused to dance in an amateur performance in neighboring Novocherkassk, a city with a longer theatrical tradition. However, behind this episode stand the theatrical and newspaper mores of the mid-XIX century, the pages of the past of the Don Theater, the cultural rivalry of the two cities, the fate of people, the then ideas of honor and dignity. Among the participants of the story-editor-publisher of one of the first private newspapers in the Don region A. Karasev and Rostov entrepreneur, «pioneer of operetta» G. Valliano. All this determines the interest in the event, gives grounds for cultural and historical commentary. Keywords: Don seal of the XIX century, theater, Novocherkassk, Rostov, Alexey Karasev, Maria Surovshchikova-Petipa, Grigory Valiano. DOI: 10.25791/musicology.2.2021.1177 Pp. 26-33.