When it was discovered that she was blessed with a fine voice, Praskovia, like other serfs who became artists, was trained to be a singer in the opera company then being put together by Count Pyotr and his son, Nikolai Sheremetev. She debuted in 1779 on the stage of the serf theatre at Kuskovo in the role of the servant Gubert in the comic opera "L'Amitié à l'épreuve" by André Grétry. Following her success, Praskovia was given the leading role of Belinda in Antonio Sacchini's opera "La colonie". In this 1780 performance the actress for the first time appeared under the stage name Zhemchugova, "The Pearl", ("zhemchug" means "pearl" in Russian). The other stars of the company were also given new names: Arina "The Sapphire", Fekla "The Turquoise", Tatyana "The Garnet", Nikolai "The Marble", Andrei "The Flint", etc.