Treasures of Ballets Russes

Portrait of Serge Diaghilev, by Léon Bakst

Unique treasures of Diaghilev’s Ballet Russes are now held in the All-Russian Museum of Decorative, Applied and Folk Art. The wider public is introduced for the first time the costumes to the ballets Le Sacre du Printemps (music by Igor Stravinsky), L’Oiseau de Feu (music by Igor Stravinsky), Le Dieu Bleu (music by Reynaldo Hahn), Le Chat du Rossingnol (music by Igor Stravinsky), Scheherezade (music by N. Rimsky-Korsakov) and Carnaval (music by Robert Schumann orchestrated by N. Rimsky-Korsakov, A. Glazunov, A. Liadov, N. Tcherepnin) made under the sketches by Leon Bakst, Nikolai Roerich, Henri Matisse. An extremely rich collection of the Museum creates an organic connection between the design heritage of the Diagilev’s Ballets Russes and the period they were originated in, helps to acquire the feeling for the unique aura of the epoch.

A hundred years ago, on May 19 1909, the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris premiered a phenomenon of the Russian ballet. It was Russia’s first opportunity for a triumphant show of its cultural attainments. For this day the novelty of the Ballets Russes remains a benchmark for world ballet from London to Sydney and New York.

“The genius from Russia had taken the world itself, and its very capital”, wrote the soloist the Ballets Russes, the soloist and later choreographer of the Grand Opera de Paris Serge Lifar, “The miracle of Diaghilev’s creative achievement is that he opened to the world new areas of Beauty. His work is immortal because it has a permeated the flesh and the blood of all modern art and will, through it. Be handed on the art of the future, and to Eternity”.

Vatslav Nizhinskiy

In 1909 Russian Seasons became the first combined season of Russian opera and ballets staged by Michael Fokine, a ballet reformer. Later Diaghilev invited Leonid Massin, Vaslav Nijinsky, George Balanchine. For 20 year of the Ballets Russes its soloists were Tamara Karsavina, Anna Pavlova, Vaslav Nijinsky, Serge Lifar, Lubov Tchernysheva, Ida Rubinshtein and others. Splendid costumes and sets were inspired by Bakst and Korovin, Roerich and Bilibin, Dobuzhinsky, Larionov and Gontcharova... World art of ballet became really international with the participation of Pablo Picasso, Henry Matisse, Coco Chanel, George Braque...

Sergei Diaghilev’s yearning to include modern Russian art into the world artistic process was fully realized. Russian Seasons are the brilliant proof of the fact that while relying on Russian art, he had a surprisingly accurate feel for new almost unnoticed trends, and often had a hand on creating them. He also had a rare gift for detecting talent and make good use of it.

The stage costumes of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes for the private collection of Olga and Ivor Mazure are genuine pearls. Carefully preserved by their English owners they offer Russian visitors a first opportunity to get acquainted to the achievements of the brilliant era in Russian and European art of the beginning of the XX century.

The exhibition is being held till July 20 2009.

* Based on press-release and photos presented by the Museum.