Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, 1909 – 1929

DIAGHILEV AND THE BALLETS RUSSES, 1909 – 1929 When Art Danced with Music Natalia Goncharova, Back cloth for the final Coronation scene from The Firebird, 1926, painted canvas, V&A, London. © 2013 Artists Rights Society (ARS) New York/ADAGP, Paris. Photo © Victoria and Albert Museum, London National Gallery of Art May 12 – September 2, 2013 3 Introduction 6 Serge Diaghilev 10 Transformation of Ballet 15 Revolution in Music 19 When Art Danced with Music 24 Legacy Introduction “There is no interest in achieving the had seemed a logical place for a young possible,” Serge Diaghilev (1872 – 1929) aesthete to go. He convinced some of asserted, “but it is exceedingly interest- Russia’s greatest talents to join him and ing to perform the impossible.” The sheer they would provide much of the compa- force of his personality — intelligent, dis- ny’s artistry in its groundbreaking initial cerning, tenacious, charming, capricious, seasons: choreographers Michel Fokine and energetic — led Diaghilev to create and Vaslav Nijinsky; artists Léon Bakst one of the most spectacular cultural enter- and Alexandre Benois; and composer Igor prises of the twentieth century. The Ballets Stravinsky. The Ballets Russes quickly Russes, which thrived under his direc- established itself as a cultural force, rein- tion from 1909 to 1929, revolutionized the vigorating ballet with thrilling perfor- art of ballet and brought together some mances inspired by modern developments of the period’s most progressive dance, in music, dance, and the visual arts. music, and art. On a single stage, choreographers, dancers, composers, and visual The Ballets Russes quickly acquired a rep- artists joined together, drawing upon one utation for experimentation. Recognizing another’s disciplines and pushing into new the vitality of contemporary art, Diaghilev creative territory. called upon the most innovative artists of the era to join his company and cause. Diaghilev came to Paris, home of the Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, Giorgio Ballets Russes, from St. Petersburg, where de Chirico, Sonia Delaunay, and Natalia Serge Diaghilev, New York City, 1916 he had founded an art journal and curated Goncharova were among those who exhibitions. But revolution was brewing in brought the latest developments in mod- Russia, making life uncertain, and Paris ern art to the world of dance. Designing sets and costumes, these artists translated In 1929 Diaghilev died unexpectedly at the visual languages of cubism, futurism, age fifty-seven. The spirit of innovation surrealism, and other vanguard move- and artistic collaboration that he had ments from the solitary studio to a mul- nurtured and his mandate “Astound me!” tisensory collaborative stage. At the same have since guided a century of artistic risk- time, the mythological and exotic subjects taking on the stage and in the studio. that had dominated the Ballets Russes’ repertoire gave way to modern themes, such as beach culture, films, and sport, enraging some and enthralling others as ballet edged closer to popular culture. Léon Bakst, Costume design for Vaslav Nijinsky as the Faun from The Afternoon of a Faun, 1912 Léon Bakst, Variation of the original set design from Scheherazade, after 1910, watercolor, metallic paint, and graphite, Collection of the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Gift of Robert L.B. Tobin Serge Diaghilev Serge Diaghilev was born in 1872 in the Tolstoy, whom he revered. Diaghilev province of Novgorod, Russia, and spent forged his way into Russia’s cultural elite, much of his childhood in Perm, a small using his personal charm, intelligence, and city near the northern Ural Mountains. aesthetic sensibility. He briefly held a gov- His family prospered from a vodka ernment position in the Imperial Theater, monopoly and their home, notwithstand- co-founded Russia’s first fine arts maga- ing its remote location, became a salon zine World of Art (Mir iskusstva), and in where operas, concerts, and plays were 1905 curated the mammoth Exhibition of staged. But in 1890 the family’s fortunes Russian Historical Portraits. turned when their business, feeling the effects of Russia’s economic reforms and Just as Diaghilev’s career was taking off in increased competition, went bankrupt. St. Petersburg in 1905, Russia was rocked by political unrest, which ultimately led to That same year, Diaghilev arrived in the demise of the tsarist regime. Military St. Petersburg to study law and find the defeat by Japan and rapid industrialization means to support his family, but he soon left Russia in turmoil with a population fell under the spell of the capital city’s rebelling against its autocratic traditions. cultural activities. He counted Pyotr The strife nearly depleted the imperial Tchaikovsky an old family friend (“Uncle treasury, and Tsar Nicholas II became Petya”) and became part of the circle of dependent on financial loans from France. artists that included Alexandre Benois and To improve relations with the French, he Léon Bakst. Though young, Diaghilev provided government support for Russian Serge Diaghilev, c. 1924 exuded confidence, even devising a suc- cultural initiatives in Paris. cessful plan to travel to Moscow to meet It is within this context that Diaghilev Distanced from both home and coun- organized an exhibition of two centu- try, Diaghilev made the Ballets Russes ries of Russian paintings at the Salon his new family. His lover Nijinsky was a d’Automne in Paris in 1906. It was soon principal dancer there who, before long, followed by a series of Russian musical replaced Fokine as the lead choreographer. concerts and operas staged at the Paris Diaghilev’s reputation steadily grew as a Opera. When the tsar withdrew support man equally difficult and charming in in 1909, Diaghilev lost government financ- turn, possessed of a keen eye and a pen- ing and could no longer present himself chant for aesthetic risk-taking. Although as an official representative of Russia. often just a step ahead of financial ruin, Remarking “From opera to ballet is but a he presented himself as a well-to-do step,” he turned to ballet, in part because impresario. Earlier, he had tried his hand the productions were less costly. He at musical composition but had shrewdly enticed dancers from the Imperial Theater recognized that his real talent was as to spend their summer holiday perform- a visionary director, bringing together ing in his productions, which French diverse artists for a single creative pur- audiences, intrigued by Russian culture, pose. “His passionate devotion to the enthusiastically welcomed. Before long, cause he served . won the hearts of his Diaghilev had formally established a new co-workers,” Stravinsky noted. “Working ballet company and its dancers left Russia with him, they realized, meant working to perform with him full time: the Ballets solely for the great cause of art.” Russes was born. Over the years, Diaghilev grew his com- After World War I, Diaghilev regrouped pany into a leading cultural innovator. the Ballets Russes. The company had lost To his core of Russian talent he added Nijinsky, its leading star, when his abrupt many of Europe’s most progressive artists marriage to an aspiring dancer prompted and composers. The company expanded Diaghilev to dismiss him. Léonide its tour schedule, frequently appearing Massine replaced Nijinsky as both the in London and Monte Carlo, but also company’s choreographer and Diaghilev’s traveling through much of Europe and companion. In the years that followed, as far as Argentina and Uruguay. When Diaghilev engaged a wider circle of art- World War I made performing in Europe ists — including such well-known cultural difficult, Diaghilev organized tours of figures as Picasso, Matisse, Jean Cocteau, America. His fear of travel by sea, how- Erik Satie, and Coco Chanel. Diaghilev’s ever, kept him on the Continent and life was consumed by commissioning tal- left the company on its own. Working ent, securing venues and financial backing, without his daily direction nearly led it providing artistic direction, and — not to to financial disaster. be minimized — negotiating aesthetic dis- putes among his collaborators. Fyodor Chaliapin in title role from Boris Godunov, October 1910 Natalia Goncharova, Curtain design (Act III, scene 3) for The Golden Cockerel, c. 1914, watercolor, gouache, and graphite, Collection of the McNay Art Museum, San Antonio, Gift of Robert L.B. Tobin Transformation of Ballet Two trends dominated nineteenth-century dancers such as Loïe Fuller and Isadora ballet: between 1830 and 1850 romantic Duncan, with their free-flowing move- ballet flourished in France. It presented ments and highly expressive style, had arcadian worlds far removed from the already turned away from balletic con- bourgeois urban culture of its audiences. ventions and paved the way for modern Later in the century, Italian ballets, with dance. The Ballets Russes’ choreographers their focus on athletics and spectacle, extended those innovations and brought gained popularity. Both of these traditions their modern spirit to large ensemble pro- were absorbed into the teachings of the ductions. As Diaghilev noted, “Duncan is Imperial Ballet School in Russia, where a kindred spirit. Indeed we carry the torch French-born choreographer Marius Petipa that she lit.” presided. He elevated the reputation of Russian ballet, training its dancers to prize During its twenty years the Ballets Russes courtly and athletic traditions, grace and was led by five important choreographers: technical prowess, aristocratic

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