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![]() Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev was born on March 19, 1872, into a wealthy noble family in Novgorod, Russia. His father, Pavel Diaghilev, was a distinguished General to the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. His mother died in childbirth but he grew up in a highly cultured environment. He studied piano and singing from the early age.He also took lessons in painting at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and studied music with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. From 1891-96, Diaghilev studied law and graduated from the Law Department of the St. Petersburg University. There he developed a life-long friendship with his fellow law student Alexandre Benois. They formed a circle of artists and art connoisseurs known as 'Mir Iskusstva' (World of Art). From 1898-1904 he founded and edited the influential art magazine "Mir Iskusstva" (The World of Art). From 1899-1901, Diaghilev was a special artistic adviser to the Imperial Directorship of Theatres and to Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia.Diaghilev's first partners Alexandre Benois and Leon Bakst became his life-long collaborators. They produced the first international art show of contemporary artists from Scandinavian countries and Russia in St. Petersburg in 1900. In 1904, they organized the then-largest ever portrait show in Tavrichesky Palace in St. Petersburg. That show also included a research of over 7 thousand portraits in various traditional and contemporary styles and involved art historians, restorers, and artists from many Russian cities. Alexandre Benois also collaborated with Diaghilev on publication of art catalogs, books and the 'Mir Iskusstva' art magazine, which promoted artistic innovations and challenged the existing order. Their book 'History of Russian Painting' (1904) became the first comprehensive work on the subject. In 1905 Diaghilev and Benois organized an important art exhibition of contemporary Russian artists in St. Petersburg and in 1906 he took a major exhibition of Russian art to the Petit Palais in Paris.In 1906 Diaghilev settled in Paris and began the biggest Russian-European multicultural project in history which became known as the "Russian Seasons" and "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet). In 1907, he produced the first series of concerts of Russian music in Paris. Sergei Rachmaninoff, Aleksandr Glazunov, Aleksandr Skryabin, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov conducted their own works, as well as the works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Aleksandr Borodin and Mikhail Glinka. In 1908, in the Paris Opera, he produced 'Boris Godunov', an opera by Modest Mussorgsky, starring Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. In 1909, he secured support from Grand Prince Vladimir Romanov and took a company of top Russian dancers, including Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky to Paris. After several successful seasons in Paris, Diaghilev staged the "Russian Ballet" shows in Geneva, Madrid, Rome, London and New York. He later staged 'The Sleeping Beauty' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in London.Diaghilev's ability to link talented people with generous patrons was legendary. He made connections for Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, as well, as other artists with important Russian art collectors, such as Shchukin, Morozov, Ryabushinsky and others. Diaghilev managed to organize sponsorship for his large-scale "Russian Seasons" ballet and opera productions. From 1908-12 he produced Russian operas in Paris and, from 1913-14, he produced opera in London. There Diaghilev produced and directed opera 'Boris Godunov' with Feodor Chaliapin Sr. in the title role. In 1914, he transformed the opera 'Golden Cockerel' into an innovative cross-style ballet-opera and brought an updated 'Prince Igor' with Feodor Chaliapin Sr. to London. His "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet in Russian Seasons) was founded with assistance of choreographer Mikhail Fokin and artists L��on Bakst and Alexandre Benois. Diaghilev was associated with the dancers of the first rank, such as Anna Pavlova, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Tamara Karsavina, Vaslav Nijinsky, and George Balanchine. Diaghilev's ballet traditions were later continued by George Balanchine in the United States, Anna Pavlova and her troupe in Europe, and Serge Lifar at the Paris Opera.Diaghilev collaborated with the best talents of his time; composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Richard Strauss, Erik Satie, and Sergei Prokofiev. From the circle of Gertrude Stein, Diaghilev engaged such authors as Jean Cocteau and Andr�� Gide. Distinguished artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Andr�� Derain, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Giorgio De Chirico, Alexandre Benois, Konstantin Korovin, Alexander Golovin and Pavel Tchelitchev worked with him as stage set and costume designers. One of Diaghilev's consultants was Guillaume Apollinaire, who also acted as writer and artistic adviser for "Ballets Russes" (Russian Seasons).During WWI Diaghilev made transformations in his projects by bringing together a larger diversity of talents. He understood the changes of cultural paradigm after WWI and updated the format of his project from 1917-29. His 1917 production of ballet 'Parade' was the first collaboration of Satie and choreographer L��onide Massine with Pablo Picasso, who at that time married the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova. In the 1920s, he produced innovative ballets 'Lani' and 'Le train bleu' (Blue Express) with choreographer Bronislava Njinska and costume designer Coco Chanel with participation of Pablo Picasso. Later he introduced avant-garde ideas from Vsevolod Meyerhold in his production of 'Stalnoi Skok' by Sergei Prokofiev with choreographer L��onide Massine and designer Sergei Jakulov. In 1928 production of 'Apollon musagete', Diaghilev collaborated with Igor Stravinsky, George Balanchine, and Coco Chanel.Diaghilev brought cultures together and challenged the existing cultural order in a highly productive way. By expanding his international activities into art exhibitions and stage shows, Diaghilev connected people and ideas in what became arguably the first continuous large-scale cross-cultural and cross-genre project in the 20th century. From 1905-14 his "Russian Seasons" employed mostly Russian and French performers and artists, whom he already knew. After WWI, from 1918-29, Diaghilev welcomed all talents from all backgrounds; the best Russian and International performers, composers, authors and artists all came to him. His talent and exquisite taste ensured the highest quality of his "Russian Seasons" productions during the 25 years of his leadership and after. His idea of showing the best parts instead of a full-length ballets became a success, and ensured the revival of classic ballet in the 20 century. His partners became leaders of their own projects and carried his innovative style. His apprentices worked in major cultural centers across the world.Sergei Diaghilev died in Venice, Italy on August 19, 1929. His funeral cort��ge proceeded by gondola to the cemetery island of San Michele where he was laid to rest. His tomb is visited by his graceful followers who made a tradition to lay red roses and ballet shoes.
Bio:
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev was born on March 19, 1872, into a wealthy noble family in Novgorod, Russia. His father, Pavel Diaghilev, was a distinguished General to the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. His mother died in childbirth but he grew up in a highly cultured environment. He studied piano and singing from the early age.He also took lessons in painting at the St. Petersburg Academy of Arts, and studied music with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. From 1891-96, Diaghilev studied law and graduated from the Law Department of the St. Petersburg University. There he developed a life-long friendship with his fellow law student Alexandre Benois. They formed a circle of artists and art connoisseurs known as 'Mir Iskusstva' (World of Art). From 1898-1904 he founded and edited the influential art magazine "Mir Iskusstva" (The World of Art). From 1899-1901, Diaghilev was a special artistic adviser to the Imperial Directorship of Theatres and to Mariinsky Theater in St. Petersburg, Russia.Diaghilev's first partners Alexandre Benois and Leon Bakst became his life-long collaborators. They produced the first international art show of contemporary artists from Scandinavian countries and Russia in St. Petersburg in 1900. In 1904, they organized the then-largest ever portrait show in Tavrichesky Palace in St. Petersburg. That show also included a research of over 7 thousand portraits in various traditional and contemporary styles and involved art historians, restorers, and artists from many Russian cities. Alexandre Benois also collaborated with Diaghilev on publication of art catalogs, books and the 'Mir Iskusstva' art magazine, which promoted artistic innovations and challenged the existing order. Their book 'History of Russian Painting' (1904) became the first comprehensive work on the subject. In 1905 Diaghilev and Benois organized an important art exhibition of contemporary Russian artists in St. Petersburg and in 1906 he took a major exhibition of Russian art to the Petit Palais in Paris.In 1906 Diaghilev settled in Paris and began the biggest Russian-European multicultural project in history which became known as the "Russian Seasons" and "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet). In 1907, he produced the first series of concerts of Russian music in Paris. Sergei Rachmaninoff, Aleksandr Glazunov, Aleksandr Skryabin, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov conducted their own works, as well as the works of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Aleksandr Borodin and Mikhail Glinka. In 1908, in the Paris Opera, he produced 'Boris Godunov', an opera by Modest Mussorgsky, starring Feodor Chaliapin Sr.. In 1909, he secured support from Grand Prince Vladimir Romanov and took a company of top Russian dancers, including Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky to Paris. After several successful seasons in Paris, Diaghilev staged the "Russian Ballet" shows in Geneva, Madrid, Rome, London and New York. He later staged 'The Sleeping Beauty' by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky in London.Diaghilev's ability to link talented people with generous patrons was legendary. He made connections for Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, as well, as other artists with important Russian art collectors, such as Shchukin, Morozov, Ryabushinsky and others. Diaghilev managed to organize sponsorship for his large-scale "Russian Seasons" ballet and opera productions. From 1908-12 he produced Russian operas in Paris and, from 1913-14, he produced opera in London. There Diaghilev produced and directed opera 'Boris Godunov' with Feodor Chaliapin Sr. in the title role. In 1914, he transformed the opera 'Golden Cockerel' into an innovative cross-style ballet-opera and brought an updated 'Prince Igor' with Feodor Chaliapin Sr. to London. His "Ballets Russes" (Russian Ballet in Russian Seasons) was founded with assistance of choreographer Mikhail Fokin and artists L��on Bakst and Alexandre Benois. Diaghilev was associated with the dancers of the first rank, such as Anna Pavlova, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Tamara Karsavina, Vaslav Nijinsky, and George Balanchine. Diaghilev's ballet traditions were later continued by George Balanchine in the United States, Anna Pavlova and her troupe in Europe, and Serge Lifar at the Paris Opera.Diaghilev collaborated with the best talents of his time; composers Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Darius Milhaud, Richard Strauss, Erik Satie, and Sergei Prokofiev. From the circle of Gertrude Stein, Diaghilev engaged such authors as Jean Cocteau and Andr�� Gide. Distinguished artists, such as Pablo Picasso, Andr�� Derain, Georges Braque, Henri Matisse, Giorgio De Chirico, Alexandre Benois, Konstantin Korovin, Alexander Golovin and Pavel Tchelitchev worked with him as stage set and costume designers. One of Diaghilev's consultants was Guillaume Apollinaire, who also acted as writer and artistic adviser for "Ballets Russes" (Russian Seasons).During WWI Diaghilev made transformations in his projects by bringing together a larger diversity of talents. He understood the changes of cultural paradigm after WWI and updated the format of his project from 1917-29. His 1917 production of ballet 'Parade' was the first collaboration of Satie and choreographer L��onide Massine with Pablo Picasso, who at that time married the Russian ballerina Olga Khokhlova. In the 1920s, he produced innovative ballets 'Lani' and 'Le train bleu' (Blue Express) with choreographer Bronislava Njinska and costume designer Coco Chanel with participation of Pablo Picasso. Later he introduced avant-garde ideas from Vsevolod Meyerhold in his production of 'Stalnoi Skok' by Sergei Prokofiev with choreographer L��onide Massine and designer Sergei Jakulov. In 1928 production of 'Apollon musagete', Diaghilev collaborated with Igor Stravinsky, George Balanchine, and Coco Chanel.Diaghilev brought cultures together and challenged the existing cultural order in a highly productive way. By expanding his international activities into art exhibitions and stage shows, Diaghilev connected people and ideas in what became arguably the first continuous large-scale cross-cultural and cross-genre project in the 20th century. From 1905-14 his "Russian Seasons" employed mostly Russian and French performers and artists, whom he already knew. After WWI, from 1918-29, Diaghilev welcomed all talents from all backgrounds; the best Russian and International performers, composers, authors and artists all came to him. His talent and exquisite taste ensured the highest quality of his "Russian Seasons" productions during the 25 years of his leadership and after. His idea of showing the best parts instead of a full-length ballets became a success, and ensured the revival of classic ballet in the 20 century. His partners became leaders of their own projects and carried his innovative style. His apprentices worked in major cultural centers across the world.Sergei Diaghilev died in Venice, Italy on August 19, 1929. His funeral cort��ge proceeded by gondola to the cemetery island of San Michele where he was laid to rest. His tomb is visited by his graceful followers who made a tradition to lay red roses and ballet shoes.
Tivia:
The most famous ballet impresario of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His company, the Ballet Russes, premiered the original productions of Stravinsky's "The Firebird", "Petrouchka" and "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring), as well as the ballet versions of Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade".The success of the 1906 exhibition inspired Diaghilev to present Russian music to the world's culture capital. In 1907, he organised 'Concerts historiques russes' with famous composers like Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Glazunov, Feodor Chaliapin, and F��lia Litvinne. The tour was supported and sponsored by Diaghilev's royal patrons Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In the spring of 1908, Diaghilev mounted a production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, starring Feodor Chaliapin, at the Paris Op��ra. Boris Anisfeld created the sets, designed by Bakst and Benois. To maximize authenticity, one of the artists Ivan Bilibin even travelled to Arkhangelsk Oblast to purchase the costumes. The tour became a sensation and the success was overwhelming, however, financially, it was unprofitable and ended with a loss of 85,000 francs.Diaghilev cultivated most of the most respected dancers of the early twentieth century, including Tamara Karsavina, Adolph Bolm, Mikhail Mordkin, Anna Pavlova, Lydia Lopokova, Vera Fokina, Ludmilla Schollar, Lubov Tchernicheva, Lydia Sokolova, Leon Woizikovsky, Anton Dolin, Alexandra Danilova, Tamara Geva, Alicia Markova, and Serge Lifar.The world of ballet changed dramatically when the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev took Paris by storm at the Th��atre du Chatelet in May of 1909. Armed with ground-breaking choreographic originality and an innovative use of collaborating artists, the Ballets Russes produced some of the most significant ballet masterpieces of the twentieth century. The man behind this accomplishment was Russian art critic, impresario, and producer Serge Diaghilev, who served as founder and artistic director of the Ballets Russes until his death in August of 1929 at the age of 57.Perhaps Diaghilev's most notable composer-collaborator, however, was Igor Stravinsky. Diaghilev heard Stravinsky's early orchestral works Fireworks and Scherzo fantastique, and was impressed enough to ask Stravinsky to arrange some pieces by Chopin for the Ballets Russes. In 1910, he commissioned his first score from Stravinsky, The Firebird. Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913) followed shortly afterwards, and the two also worked together on Les noces (1923) and Pulcinella (1920) together with Picasso, who designed the costumes and the set.The House of Diaghilev in Perm was a local cultural centre, and the Diaghilevs housed a musical evening every second Thursday, Modest Mussorgsky being one of the most frequent guests. At that time Sergei Diaghilev composed his first romance( narrative ballad) at the age of 15.He was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.In 1908 Dyagilev brought a production of "Boris Godunov" to Paris with Chaliapin and was then invited to present a Paris season of Russian opera and ballet in 1909. With some of the best dancers from St. Petersburg and Moscow he scored a unique triumph in May and June 1909 in Paris.The Ekstrom Collection of the Diaghilev and Stravinsky Foundation is held by the Department of Theatre and Performance of the Victoria and Albert Museum.In the same year of 1899 in which he co-founded the progressive art magazine "Mir Iskoustva" ("The World of Art"), Dyagilev was appointed artistic advisor of the Maryinsky Theatre, where he was in charge of the publication of the theatre annual and of the highly successful productions of "Sadko" and "Sylvia." He resigned from his post in 1901, and after the magazine stopped appearing in 1904, he concentrated on organizing exhibitions of Russian art in St. Petersburg and Paris.Diaghilev was rather skeptical about ballet; he said that 'anyone with no special wit can enjoy it, there is no sense or subject in ballet'. Nevertheless, in 1909 the very first ballet Saison Russe took place and its success overwhelmed even the artists themselves. The first season included Le Pavillon d'Armide, Polovtsian Dances, Nuit d'Egypte, Les Sylphides, and operas Boris Godunov, The Maid of Pskov and the first part of the Ruslan and Lyudmila. The ballets followed the operas and were performed after the second intermission. Leading dancers Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Ida Rubinstein, Mikhail Mordkin immediately became world-known stars. Diaghilev's innovation was to synthesize dance, music and visual arts with set decorations and costumes into a single performance.Diaghilev was known as a hard, demanding, even frightening taskmaster. Ninette de Valois, no shrinking violet, said she was too afraid to ever look him in the face. George Balanchine said he carried around a cane during rehearsals, and banged it angrily when he was displeased. Other dancers said he would shoot them down with one look, or a cold comment. On the other hand, he was capable of great kindness, and when stranded with his bankrupt company in Spain during the 1914-18 war, gave his last bit of cash to Lydia Sokolova to buy medical care for her daughter.The artist most directly associated with Diaghilev's pioneering vision was L��on Bakst, who created costumes or set designs for fifteen ballets, dating from the establishment of the Ballets Russes in 1909 to 1914.Throughout his life, Diaghilev was severely afraid of dying in water, and avoided traveling by boat.His Ballets Russes became an independent private company when Vaslav Nijinsky resigned from the Maryinsky Theatre. His company, financed solely by the European aristocracy, was often on the verge of bankruptcy and never returned to Russia after the October Revolution (nor did it ever perform there).After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Diaghilev stayed abroad. Once it became obvious that he could not be lured back, the new Soviet regime condemned him in perpetuity as an especially insidious example of "bourgeois decadence". Soviet art historians wrote him out of the picture for more than 60 years.Passionate to promote Russian art abroad, in 1906, Diaghilev organized and opened the 'Two Centuries of the Russian art and Sculpture' exposition at Salon d'Automne. It included 750 works from 103 authors, from modern artists to the ancient icons. The exhibition was designed by L��on Bakst and occupied 12 rooms in the Grand Palais. It, too, enjoyed enormous success and in many ways paved the way for the future success of the Ballet Russe. France was soon immersed in fashion �� la russe. Diaghilev was offered the Legion of Honour award, but refused in honour of Bakst.Diaghilev's interest and expertise in art resulted in set and costume designs from a wide range of visual artists that included Alexandre Benois, Georges Braque, Andr�� Derain, Aleksandr Golovin, Natalia Goncharova, Juan Gris, Marie Laurencin, Mikhail Larinov, Henri Matisse, Joan Mir��, Pablo Picasso, Nikolai Roerich, and Maurice Utrillo.Of critical importance to the success of the Ballets Russes was Diaghilev's nurturing of dancers and choreographers. With the dissolution of the Ballets Russes in 1929, most of these choreographers went on to create works for the various incarnations of new Ballets Russes-inspired dance companies.The film The Red Shoes is a thinly disguised dramatization of the Ballets Russes.The active years of Diaghilev's career can be divided into two periods: the one in St Petersburg (1898-1906) and the other in emigration (1906-1929).The Contemporary Art Museum in Saint Petersburg State University is named after Sergei Diaghilev.Although the era of domination of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes ended in 1929, its dancers and choreographers scattered around the globe, forming other dance companies that helped shape a new era of modern ballet.His mother died from childbed fever soon after his birth. In 1873, his father Pavel met and married Elena Panaeva, who loved Sergei and raised him as her own child.Diaghilev's life and the Ballets Russes were inextricably entwined. His most famous lover was Nijinsky. However, according to Serge Lifar, of all Diaghilev's lovers, only L��onide Massine, who replaced Nijinsky, provided him with "so many moments of happiness or anguish".The exotic appeal of the Ballets Russes had an effect on Fauvist painters and the nascent Art Deco style. Coco Chanel is said to have stated that "Diaghilev invented Russia for foreigners.".Among Diaghilev's revolutionary ideas was the aspiration to make ballet music equal in importance to dance. Consequently, he commissioned scores from composers such as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev, Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric, Darius Milhaud, Constant Lambert, Erik Satie, and Vittorio Rieti.He lived from paycheck to paycheck to finance his company, and though he spent considerable amounts of money on a splendid collection of rare books at the end of his life, many people noticed that his impeccably cut suits had frayed cuffs and trouser-ends.Diaghilev dismissed Nijinsky summarily from the Ballets Russes after the dancer's marriage to Romola de Pulszky in 1913. Nijinsky appeared again with the company, but the old relationship between the men was never re-established; moreover, Nijinsky's magic as a dancer was much diminished by incipient mental illness. Their last meeting was after Nijinsky's mind had given way, and he appeared not to recognise his former lover.When he entered the Saint Petersburg Imperial University, he also had private music lessons with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Instead of the usual four, it took him six years to graduate. |
| Name: |
Sergei Diaghilev |
Type: |
(IMDB) |
| Area: |
All World |
Platform: |
IMDB |
| Last update: |
2024-07-03 05:39:47 |
| Biography: |
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev was born on March 19, 1872, into a wealthy noble family in Novgorod, Russia. His father, Pavel Diaghilev, was a distinguished General to the Russian Tsar Nicholas II. His mother died in childbirth but he grew up in a highly |
| Trivia: |
The most famous ballet impresario of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. His company, the Ballet Russes, premiered the original productions of Stravinsky's "The Firebird", "Petrouchka" and "Le Sacre du Printemps" (The Rite of Spring), as well as the ballet versions of Debussy's "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun" and Rimsky-Korsakov's "Scheherazade".The success of the 1906 exhibition inspired Diaghilev to present Russian music to the world's culture capital. In 1907, he organised 'Concerts historiques russes' with famous composers like Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Sergei Rachmaninoff, Alexander Glazunov, Feodor Chaliapin, and F��lia Litvinne. The tour was supported and sponsored by Diaghilev's royal patrons Grand Duke Andrei Vladimirovich of Russia and Duchess Marie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In the spring of 1908, Diaghilev mounted a production of Mussorgsky's Boris Godunov, starring Feodor Chaliapin, at the Paris Op��ra. Boris Anisfeld created the sets, designed by Bakst and Benois. To maximize authenticity, one of the artists Ivan Bilibin even travelled to Arkhangelsk Oblast to purchase the costumes. The tour became a sensation and the success was overwhelming, however, financially, it was unprofitable and ended with a loss of 85,000 francs.Diaghilev cultivated most of the most respected dancers of the early twentieth century, including Tamara Karsavina, Adolph Bolm, Mikhail Mordkin, Anna Pavlova, Lydia Lopokova, Vera Fokina, Ludmilla Schollar, Lubov Tchernicheva, Lydia Sokolova, Leon Woizikovsky, Anton Dolin, Alexandra Danilova, Tamara Geva, Alicia Markova, and Serge Lifar.The world of ballet changed dramatically when the Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev took Paris by storm at the Th��atre du Chatelet in May of 1909. Armed with ground-breaking choreographic originality and an innovative use of collaborating artists, the Ballets Russes produced some of the most significant ballet masterpieces of the twentieth century. The man behind this accomplishment was Russian art critic, impresario, and producer Serge Diaghilev, who served as founder and artistic director of the Ballets Russes until his death in August of 1929 at the age of 57.Perhaps Diaghilev's most notable composer-collaborator, however, was Igor Stravinsky. Diaghilev heard Stravinsky's early orchestral works Fireworks and Scherzo fantastique, and was impressed enough to ask Stravinsky to arrange some pieces by Chopin for the Ballets Russes. In 1910, he commissioned his first score from Stravinsky, The Firebird. Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913) followed shortly afterwards, and the two also worked together on Les noces (1923) and Pulcinella (1920) together with Picasso, who designed the costumes and the set.The House of Diaghilev in Perm was a local cultural centre, and the Diaghilevs housed a musical evening every second Thursday, Modest Mussorgsky being one of the most frequent guests. At that time Sergei Diaghilev composed his first romance( narrative ballad) at the age of 15.He was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario and founder of the Ballets Russes, from which many famous dancers and choreographers would arise.In 1908 Dyagilev brought a production of "Boris Godunov" to Paris with Chaliapin and was then invited to present a Paris season of Russian opera and ballet in 1909. With some of the best dancers from St. Petersburg and Moscow he scored a unique triumph in May and June 1909 in Paris.The Ekstrom Collection of the Diaghilev and Stravinsky Foundation is held by the Department of Theatre and Performance of the Victoria and Albert Museum.In the same year of 1899 in which he co-founded the progressive art magazine "Mir Iskoustva" ("The World of Art"), Dyagilev was appointed artistic advisor of the Maryinsky Theatre, where he was in charge of the publication of the theatre annual and of the highly successful productions of "Sadko" and "Sylvia." He resigned from his post in 1901, and after the magazine stopped appearing in 1904, he concentrated on organizing exhibitions of Russian art in St. Petersburg and Paris.Diaghilev was rather skeptical about ballet; he said that 'anyone with no special wit can enjoy it, there is no sense or subject in ballet'. Nevertheless, in 1909 the very first ballet Saison Russe took place and its success overwhelmed even the artists themselves. The first season included Le Pavillon d'Armide, Polovtsian Dances, Nuit d'Egypte, Les Sylphides, and operas Boris Godunov, The Maid of Pskov and the first part of the Ruslan and Lyudmila. The ballets followed the operas and were performed after the second intermission. Leading dancers Vaslav Nijinsky, Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Ida Rubinstein, Mikhail Mordkin immediately became world-known stars. Diaghilev's innovation was to synthesize dance, music and visual arts with set decorations and costumes into a single performance.Diaghilev was known as a hard, demanding, even frightening taskmaster. Ninette de Valois, no shrinking violet, said she was too afraid to ever look him in the face. George Balanchine said he carried around a cane during rehearsals, and banged it angrily when he was displeased. Other dancers said he would shoot them down with one look, or a cold comment. On the other hand, he was capable of great kindness, and when stranded with his bankrupt company in Spain during the 1914-18 war, gave his last bit of cash to Lydia Sokolova to buy medical care for her daughter.The artist most directly associated with Diaghilev's pioneering vision was L��on Bakst, who created costumes or set designs for fifteen ballets, dating from the establishment of the Ballets Russes in 1909 to 1914.Throughout his life, Diaghilev was severely afraid of dying in water, and avoided traveling by boat.His Ballets Russes became an independent private company when Vaslav Nijinsky resigned from the Maryinsky Theatre. His company, financed solely by the European aristocracy, was often on the verge of bankruptcy and never returned to Russia after the October Revolution (nor did it ever perform there).After the Russian Revolution of 1917, Diaghilev stayed abroad. Once it became obvious that he could not be lured back, the new Soviet regime condemned him in perpetuity as an especially insidious example of "bourgeois decadence". Soviet art historians wrote him out of the picture for more than 60 years.Passionate to promote Russian art abroad, in 1906, Diaghilev organized and opened the 'Two Centuries of the Russian art and Sculpture' exposition at Salon d'Automne. It included 750 works from 103 authors, from modern artists to the ancient icons. The exhibition was designed by L��on Bakst and occupied 12 rooms in the Grand Palais. It, too, enjoyed enormous success and in many ways paved the way for the future success of the Ballet Russe. France was soon immersed in fashion �� la russe. Diaghilev was offered the Legion of Honour award, but refused in honour of Bakst.Diaghilev's interest and expertise in art resulted in set and costume designs from a wide range of visual artists that included Alexandre Benois, Georges Braque, Andr�� Derain, Aleksandr Golovin, Natalia Goncharova, Juan Gris, Marie Laurencin, Mikhail Larinov, Henri Matisse, Joan Mir��, Pablo Picasso, Nikolai Roerich, and Maurice Utrillo.Of critical importance to the success of the Ballets Russes was Diaghilev's nurturing of dancers and choreographers. With the dissolution of the Ballets Russes in 1929, most of these choreographers went on to create works for the various incarnations of new Ballets Russes-inspired dance companies.The film The Red Shoes is a thinly disguised dramatization of the Ballets Russes.The active years of Diaghilev's career can be divided into two periods: the one in St Petersburg (1898-1906) and the other in emigration (1906-1929).The Contemporary Art Museum in Saint Petersburg State University is named after Sergei Diaghilev.Although the era of domination of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes ended in 1929, its dancers and choreographers scattered around the globe, forming other dance companies that helped shape a new era of modern ballet.His mother died from childbed fever soon after his birth. In 1873, his father Pavel met and married Elena Panaeva, who loved Sergei and raised him as her own child.Diaghilev's life and the Ballets Russes were inextricably entwined. His most famous lover was Nijinsky. However, according to Serge Lifar, of all Diaghilev's lovers, only L��onide Massine, who replaced Nijinsky, provided him with "so many moments of happiness or anguish".The exotic appeal of the Ballets Russes had an effect on Fauvist painters and the nascent Art Deco style. Coco Chanel is said to have stated that "Diaghilev invented Russia for foreigners.".Among Diaghilev's revolutionary ideas was the aspiration to make ballet music equal in importance to dance. Consequently, he commissioned scores from composers such as Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Sergei Prokofiev, Francis Poulenc, Georges Auric, Darius Milhaud, Constant Lambert, Erik Satie, and Vittorio Rieti.He lived from paycheck to paycheck to finance his company, and though he spent considerable amounts of money on a splendid collection of rare books at the end of his life, many people noticed that his impeccably cut suits had frayed cuffs and trouser-ends.Diaghilev dismissed Nijinsky summarily from the Ballets Russes after the dancer's marriage to Romola de Pulszky in 1913. Nijinsky appeared again with the company, but the old relationship between the men was never re-established; moreover, Nijinsky's magic as a dancer was much diminished by incipient mental illness. Their last meeting was after Nijinsky's mind had given way, and he appeared not to recognise his former lover.When he entered the Saint Petersburg Imperial University, he also had private music lessons with Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Instead of the usual four, it took him six years to graduate. |
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I could make a choreographer out of this inkwell if I wanted to. |
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