Sergei Diaghilev: great impresario. Russian seasons Who organized Russian seasons in Paris

The Russian seasons of Sergei Diaghilev and especially his ballet enterprise not only glorified Russian art abroad, but also had a great influence on world culture. “Kultura.RF” recalls the life and creative path of an outstanding entrepreneur.

The cult of pure art

Valentin Serov. Portrait of Sergei Diaghilev (fragment). 1904. State Russian Museum

Reviews from art criticism turned out to be more than favorable, and for most Parisians, Russian painting became a real discovery. The author of the biography of the impresario, writer Natalia Chernyshova-Melnik, in the book “Diaghilev” quotes reviews from the Parisian press: “But could we suspect the existence of a great poet - the unfortunate Vrubel?.. Here are Korovin, Petrovichev, Roerich, Yuon - landscape painters seeking thrills and expressing them with rare harmony Serov and Kustodiev - deep and significant portrait painters; Anisfeld and Rylov are very valuable landscape painters..."

Igor Stravinsky, Sergei Diaghilev, Leon Bakst and Coco Chanel. Switzerland. 1915. Photo: persons-info.com

"Russian Seasons" in Seville. 1916. Photo: diletant.media

Behind the scenes of the Russian Ballets. 1916. Photo: diletant.media

Diaghilev's first European success only stimulated him, and he took up music. In 1907, he organized a series of five “Historical Russian Concerts”, which took place on the stage of the Paris Grand Opera. Diaghilev carefully approached the selection of the repertoire: works by Mikhail Glinka, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussorgsky, Alexander Borodin, Alexander Scriabin were heard from the stage. As in the case of the 1906 exhibition, Diaghilev took a responsible approach to the accompanying materials: printed concert programs told short biographies of Russian composers. The concerts were as successful as the first Russian exhibition, and it was his performance as Prince Igor in the Historical Russian Concerts that made Fyodor Chaliapin famous. Of the composers, the Parisian public especially warmly received Mussorgsky, for whom from that time on there was great fashion in France.

Convinced that Russian music arouses keen interest among Europeans, Diaghilev chose the opera Boris Godunov by Mussorgsky for the third Russian season in 1908. In preparation for the production, the impresario personally studied the author's score, noting that in the production of the opera edited by Rimsky-Korsakov, two scenes were removed that he considered important for the overall dramaturgy. In Paris, Diaghilev presented the opera in a new version, which has since been used by many modern directors. Diaghilev did not hesitate at all to adapt the source material, adapting to the audience, whose viewing habits he knew very well. Therefore, for example, in his “Godunov” the final scene was the death of Boris - to enhance the dramatic effect. The same applied to the timing of performances: Diaghilev believed that they should not last longer than three and a half hours, and he calculated the change of scenery and the order of mise-en-scenes down to the seconds. The success of the Paris version of “Boris Godunov” only confirmed Diaghilev’s authority as a director.

Diaghilev's Russian Ballet

Pablo Picasso is working on the design of Sergei Diaghilev's ballet “Parade”. 1917. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

Covent Garden workshop. Sergei Diaghilev, Vladimir Polunin and Pablo Picasso, author of sketches for the ballet “Cocked Hat”. London. 1919. Photo: stil-gizni.com

At the plane are Lyudmila Shollar, Alicia Nikitina, Serge Lifar, Walter Nouvel, Sergei Grigoriev, Lyubov Chernysheva, Olga Khokhlova, Alexandrina Trusevich, Paulo and Pablo Picasso. 1920s. Photo: commons.wikimedia.org

The idea of ​​bringing ballet abroad came to the impresario in 1907. Then at the Mariinsky Theater he saw Mikhail Fokine's production of Armida's Pavilion, a ballet to the music of Nikolai Tcherepnin with scenery by Alexandre Benois. At that time, among young dancers and choreographers there was a certain opposition to the classical traditions, which, as Diaghilev said, “jealously guarded” Marius Petipa. “Then I thought about new short ballets, - Diaghilev later wrote in his memoirs, - Which would be self-sufficient phenomena of art and in which the three factors of ballet - music, drawing and choreography - would be merged much more closely than has been observed so far". With these thoughts, he began preparing the fourth Russian season, the tour of which was planned for 1909.

At the end of 1908, the impresario signed contracts with leading ballet dancers from St. Petersburg and Moscow: Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Mikhail Fokin, Vaslav Nijinsky, Ida Rubinstein, Vera Caralli and others. In addition to ballet, opera performances appeared in the program of the fourth Russian season: Diaghilev invited Fyodor Chaliapin, Lydia Lipkovskaya, Elizaveta Petrenko and Dmitry Smirnov to perform. With the financial support of his friend, the famous socialite Misy Sert, Diaghilev rented the old Parisian theater Chatelet. The interior of the theater was remodeled especially for the premiere of Russian plays to increase the area of ​​the stage.

Diaghilev's troupe arrived in Paris at the end of April 1909. The repertoire of the new Season included the ballets “Pavilion of Armida”, “Cleopatra” and “La Sylphides”, as well as “Polovtsian Dances” from the opera “Prince Igor” by Alexander Borodin. Rehearsals took place in a tense atmosphere: amid the clatter of hammers and the screeching of saws during the reconstruction of the Chatelet. Mikhail Fokin, the main choreographer of the productions, has repeatedly created scandals about this. The premiere of the fourth Russian season took place on May 19, 1909. Most spectators and critics did not appreciate the innovative choreography of the ballets, but everyone was delighted with the sets and costumes of Lev Bakst, Alexander Benois and Nicholas Roerich, as well as the dancers, especially Anna Pavlova and Tamara Karsavina.

After this, Diaghilev focused entirely on the ballet enterprise and significantly updated the repertoire, including “Scheherazade” to the music of Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov and a ballet based on Russian folk tales “The Firebird” in the Seasons program. The entrepreneur asked Anatoly Lyadov to write the music for the latter, but he could not cope - and the order went to the young composer Igor Stravinsky. From that moment his many years of fruitful collaboration with Diaghilev began.

Russian ballet in Cologne during Sergei Diaghilev's European tour. 1924. Photo: diletant.media

Jean Cocteau and Sergei Diaghilev in Paris at the premiere of "The Blue Express". 1924. Photo: diletant.media

The past success of the ballets allowed the impresario to present the new season's performances at the Grand Opera; The premiere of the fifth Russian seasons took place in May 1910. Lev Bakst, who traditionally participated in the creation of costumes and scenery, recalled: “The crazy success of “Scheherazade” (all of Paris dressed up in oriental clothes!)”.

The Firebird premiered on June 25. The artistic elite of Paris gathered in the crowded hall of the Grand Opera, including Marcel Proust (The Russian Seasons are mentioned more than once on the pages of his seven-volume epic In Search of Lost Time). The originality of Diaghilev's vision was manifested in the famous episode with live horses that were supposed to appear on stage during the performance. Igor Stravinsky recalled this incident: “...The poor animals came out, as expected, in turn, but began to neigh and dance, and one of them showed herself to be more of a critic than an actor, leaving a foul-smelling calling card... But this episode was later forgotten in the heat of general applause for the new ballet ». Mikhail Fokin combined pantomime, grotesque and classical dance in the production. All this was harmoniously combined with the scenery by Alexander Golovin and the music of Stravinsky. "The Firebird", as the Parisian critic Henri Geon noted, was “a miracle of the most delightful balance between movements, sounds and forms...”

In 1911, Sergei Diaghilev secured the permanent location of his Ballets Russes (“Russian Ballet”) in Monte Carlo. In April of that year, at the Teatro Monte Carlo, the new Russian seasons opened with the premiere of the ballet “The Phantom of the Rose” staged by Mikhail Fokin. In it, the audience was amazed by the jumps of Vaslav Nijinsky. Later in Paris, Diaghilev presented Petrushka to the music of Stravinsky, which became the main hit of that season.

The following Russian seasons, in 1912–1917, also due to the war in Europe, were not very successful for Diaghilev. Among the most offensive failures was the premiere of the innovative ballet “The Rite of Spring” to the music of Igor Stravinsky, which the public did not accept. The audience did not appreciate the “barbaric dances” accompanied by unusual pagan stormy music. At the same time, Diaghilev parted ways with Nijinsky and Fokine and invited the young dancer and choreographer Leonid Massine to the troupe.

Pablo Picasso. Later, artists Joan Miro and Max Ernst created the scenery for the ballet Romeo and Juliet.

The years 1918–1919 were marked by successful tours in London - the troupe spent a whole year there. In the early 1920s, Diaghilev acquired new dancers, invited by Bronislava Nijinska, Serge Lifar and George Balanchine. Subsequently, after the death of Diaghilev, they both became the founders of national ballet schools: Balanchine - American, and Lifar - French.

Beginning in 1927, Diaghilev was less and less satisfied with his work in ballet; moreover, he became interested in books and became an avid collector. The last great success of the Diaghilev troupe was Leonide Massine's 1928 production of Apollo Musagete, with music by Igor Stravinsky and costumes by Coco Chanel.

The Russian Ballet operated successfully until Diaghilev's death in 1929. In his memoirs, Igor Stravinsky, speaking about new trends in ballet of the twentieth century, noted: “...would these trends have arisen without Diaghilev? Don't think".

“Russian Seasons” is the name given to the annual foreign (in Paris, London, Berlin, Rome, Monte Carlo, USA and South America) tours of Russian artists, organized by the talented entrepreneur Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev, from 1907 to 1929. year.

in the photo: Leon Bakst's sketch for Ida Rubinstein's costume in the ballet "Cleopatra". 1909

“Russian Seasons” by Sergei Diaghilev. fine arts

Forerunner "Russian Seasons" was an exhibition of Russian artists at the Paris Autumn Salon, brought by Diaghilev in 1906. This was the first step of a 20-year journey of powerful and elegant propaganda of Russian art in Europe. In a few years, famous European ballerinas will take Russian pseudonyms just to dance in "Russian seasons" Sergei Dyagiev.

“Russian Seasons” by Sergei Diaghilev. Music

Further, in 1907, with the support of the Russian imperial court and influential persons of France, Sergei Diaghilev organized five symphony concerts of Russian music at the Paris Grand Opera - the so-called "Historical Russian Concerts", where N.A. played his works. Rimsky-Korsakov, S.V. Rachmaninov, A.K. Glazunov and others, and Fyodor Chaliapin also sang.

Participants in the “Russian Historical Concerts”, Paris, 1907

“Russian Seasons” by Sergei Diaghilev. Opera

In 1908, as part of "Russian Seasons" The Russian opera Boris Godunov was presented to the Parisian public for the first time. But, despite its success, this genre of art is "Russian seasons" was present only until 1914. Having assessed the preferences of the public, the sensitive entrepreneur Sergei Diaghilev came to the conclusion that it was more profitable to stage a ballet, although he personally was dismissive of ballet due to the lack of an intellectual component in it.

“Russian Seasons” by Sergei Diaghilev. Ballet

In 1909, Sergei Diaghilev begins preparations for the next "Russian season", planning to focus on the performance of Russian ballet. He was helped in this by artists A. Benois and L. Bakst, composer N. Cherepnin and others. Diaghilev and his team strove to achieve harmony of artistic concept and execution. By the way, the ballet troupe was made up of leading dancers of the Bolshoi (Moscow) and Mariinsky (St. Petersburg) theaters: Mikhail Fokin, Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina, Ida Rubinstein, Matilda Kshesinskaya, Vaslav Nijinsky and others. But preparations for the first ballet seasons were almost disrupted due to the spontaneous refusal of the Russian government to support "Russian Seasons" financially. The situation was saved by Diaghilev’s influential friends, who collected the required amount. Subsequently "Russian Seasons" will exist precisely thanks to the support of patrons whom Sergei Diaghilev found.

Debut "Russian Seasons" in 1909 it consisted of five ballets: “Pavilion of Artemis”, “Polovtsian Dances”, “Feast”, “La Sylphide” and “Cleopatra”. And it was pure triumph! They were successful with the public as dancers - Nijinsky. Karsavin and Pavlov, as well as exquisite costumes by Bakst, Benois and Roerich, and music by Mussorgsky, Glinka, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov and other composers.

Poster "Russian Seasons" in 1909. Depicted ballerina Anna Pavlova

"Russian Seasons" 1910 takes place at the Grand Opera House in Paris. The ballets “Orientalia”, “Carnival”, “Giselle”, “Scheherazade” and “Firebird” were added to the repertoire.

L. Bakst. Scenery for the ballet "Scheherazade"

Preparing for "Russian seasons" 1911 takes place in Monte Carlo, where performances will take place, including 5 new ballets by Fokine (“The Underwater Kingdom”), “Narcissus”, “The Phantom of the Rose”, “Petrushka” (to the music of Igor Stravinsky, who also became Diaghilev's discovery). Also in this "Season" Diaghilev staged Swan Lake in London. All ballets were a success .

Vaslav Nijinsky in the ballet "Scheherazade", 1910

Due to Diaghilev's innovative experiments "Russian Seasons" 1912 were received negatively by the Parisian public. The ballet “The Afternoon of a Faun” staged by V. Nijinsky became especially resonant; the audience booed it for “disgusting movements of erotic animality and gestures of grave shamelessness.” Diaghilev's ballets were received more favorably in London, Vienna, Budapest and Berlin.

The year 1913 was marked for "Russian Seasons" the formation of a permanent ballet troupe called "Russian Ballet", which, however, was abandoned by M. Fokin, and later by V. Nijinsky .

Vaslav Nijinsky in the ballet "The Blue God", 1912

In 1914, the young dancer Leonide Massine became Diaghilev's new favorite. To work in "Russian seasons" Fokin returns. A Russian avant-garde artist takes part in preparing the scenery for the ballet “The Golden Cockerel”, and “The Golden Cockerel” becomes the most successful ballet of the season, as a result of which Goncharova was involved in the creation of new ballets more than once .

Anna Pavlova in the ballet "Pavilion of Artemis", 1909

During the First World War "Russian Seasons" Diaghilev perform with varying degrees of success, touring Europe, the USA and even South America. Many of the choreographic and musical innovations of its choreographers and composers frighten the public, but it happens that the same performance is perceived much better by the audience several years after the premiere.

Thus "Russian Seasons" exist until 1929. At different times, artists such as Andre Derain, Picasso, Henri Matisse, Joan Miro, Max Ernst and other artists, composers Jean Cocteau, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and Igor Stravinsky, dancers Serge Lifar, Anton Dolin and Olga Spesivtseva have been working on their implementation. . And even Coco Chanel created costumes for the ballet Apollo Musagete, where Serge Lifar was the soloist.

Serge Lifar and Alicia Nikitina at a rehearsal of the ballet "Romeo and Juliet", 1926

Since it was Sergei Diaghilev who was the driving force "Russian Seasons", then after his death in August 1929 the troupe "Russian Ballet" disintegrates. True, Leonid Massine creates the Russian Ballet in Monte Carlo - a troupe that continues the traditions of Diaghilev. And Serge Lifar remains in France, performing as a soloist at the Grand Opera, making an extraordinary contribution to the development of French ballet .

Olga Spesivtseva in the ballet "Kitty", 1927

Over the 20 years of hard work of the “Russian Seasons” and Diaghilev personally, the traditional attitude of society towards the art of theater and dance has changed dramatically, and Russian art has become extremely popular in Europe and throughout the Western world, generally influencing the artistic process of the twentieth century.

“Russian Seasons” - tour performances of Russian ballet and opera artists (1908-29), organized by a famous cultural figure and entrepreneur abroad (since 1908 in Paris, since 1912 in London, since 1915 in other countries). The main activity of the enterprise was ballet. Operas were staged rarely and mostly before 1914.

The “Russian Seasons” began in 1906, when Diaghilev brought an exhibition of Russian artists to Paris. In 1907, a series of concerts of Russian music (“Historical Russian Concerts”) took place at the Grand Opera. Actually, the “Russian Seasons” began in 1908 in Paris, when the opera “Boris Godunov” was performed here (director Sanin, conductor Blumenfeld; set design by A. Golovin, A. Benois, K. Yuon, E. Lanceray; costumes by I. Bilibin; soloists Chaliapin, Kastorsky, Smirnov, Ermolenko-Yuzhina, etc.).

In 1909, the Parisians were presented with Rimsky-Korsakov’s “Woman of Pskov,” which was performed under the title “Ivan the Terrible” (among the soloists were Chaliapin, Lipkovskaya, and Kastorsky). In 1913, Khovanshchina was staged (directed by Sanin, conducted by Cooper, Chaliapin performed the role of Dosifei). In 1914, the world premiere of Stravinsky's opera The Nightingale (director Sanin, conductor Monteux) took place at the Grand Opera. In 1922, Stravinsky’s “The Mavra” was staged there.

In 1924, three operas by Gounod (The Dove, The Reluctant Doctor, Philemon and Baucis) were staged at the theater in Monte Carlo. Let us also note the world premiere (concert performance) of Stravinsky’s opera-oratorio “Oedipus Rex” (1927, Paris).

“Russian Seasons” played a huge role in the promotion of Russian art abroad and in the development of the world artistic process in the 20th century.

E. Tsodokov

“Russian Seasons” abroad, opera and ballet performances organized by S. P. Diaghilev. They were supported by circles of the Russian artistic intelligentsia (“World of Art”, Belyaevsky musical circle, etc.). The “Russian Seasons” began in Paris in 1907 with historical concerts with the participation of N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov, S. V. Rachmaninov, A. K. Glazunov, F. I. Chaliapin. In 1908-09 the operas “Boris Godunov” by Mussorgsky, “The Woman of Pskov” by Rimsky-Korsakov, “Prince Igor” by Borodin and others were performed.

In 1909, for the first time, along with opera performances, ballets by M. M. Fokin (previously staged by him in St. Petersburg) were shown: “Pavilion of Armida” (art. A. N. Benois), “Polovtsian Dances” (art. N. K. Roerich ); “La Sylphides” (“Chopiniana”) to the music of Chopin, “Cleopatra” (“Egyptian Nights”) by Arensky (artist L. S. Bakst) and the divertimento “Feast” to the music of Glinka, Tchaikovsky, Glazunov, Mussorgsky.

The ballet troupe consisted of artists from the St. Petersburg Mariinsky and Moscow Bolshoi theaters. Soloists - A. P. Pavlova, V. F. Nijinsky, T. P. Karsavina, E. V. Geltser, S. F. Fedorova, M. M. Mordkin, V. A. Karalli, M. P. Froman and etc. Choreographer - Fokine.

Since 1910, “Russian Seasons” took place without the participation of opera. In the 2nd season (Paris, Berlin, Brussels) new productions by Fokine were shown - “Carnival” (artist Bakst), “Scheherazade” to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov (same artist, curtain based on sketches by V. A. Serov), “ The Firebird" (artists A. Ya. Golovin and Bakst), as well as "Giselle" (edited by M. I. Petipa, artist Benois) and "Orientalia" (choreographic miniatures, including fragments from "Cleopatra", "Polovtsian Dances" ", numbers to the music of Arensky, Glazunov and others, "Siamese Dance" to the music of Sinding and "Kobold" to the music of Grieg, staged by Fokin for Nijinsky).

In 1911, Diaghilev decided to create a permanent troupe, which was finally formed by 1913 and received the name "".

Completed:

Student of group No. 342-e

Dyakov Yaroslav

Plan.

Introduction.

Music of the “Russian seasons”

Choreographic performances of “Russian seasons”.

Conclusion. Diaghilev's organizational talent.

1. Introduction.

An outstanding figure in Russian culture, a brilliant organizer, a man of rare taste and great artistic culture, Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev was born on March 31, 1872 in the Novgorod province into a military family who knew how to appreciate Russian art. The Diaghilevs' house was filled with music and singing, as almost everyone sang and played the piano and other instruments. Adults and teenagers enjoyed organizing musical performances, which were a great success among their friends. Diaghilev's childhood and adolescence were spent in St. Petersburg, where his father served at one time, and in Perm, where after the resignation of P.P. Diaghilev the whole family moved. After graduating from the Perm gymnasium, Diaghilev came to St. Petersburg in 1890 and entered the law faculty of the university, while simultaneously studying at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In 1896, after graduating from university, he became interested in painting, theater, and the history of artistic styles. In 1898, Diaghilev founded and for more than five years headed the periodical "World of Art" - one of the first art magazines in Russia. Unlike previous publications, which reported on artistic life, the magazine began to systematically publish monographic articles about Russian and European masters. Diaghilev the editor attracted talented young artists and critics of his time to work in the magazine. He discovered the art criticism talent of A. N. Benois for a wide readership and in the spring of 1899 invited I. E. Grabar, then still a novice critic, to collaborate. Diaghilev appeared in the magazine and as one of the authors. Diaghilev the critic paid most attention not to the past, but to contemporary art. He said: “I am more interested in what my granddaughter will tell me than what my grandfather will say, although he is immeasurably wiser.” Focus on the future is very characteristic of Diaghilev; it permeates his essays and articles about contemporary masters and events in artistic life. Diaghilev was the first critic to pay attention to book illustrations. In 1899, in the article “Illustrations for Pushkin,” he expressed a number of opinions about the nature and characteristics of this difficult art, which retain their significance to this day. At the beginning of the 20th century, Diaghilev was interested in almost all directions. He writes a monograph about the 18th-century Russian artist Dmitry Levitsky, organizes an exhibition of Russian artists in Paris, five Parisian concerts of Russian music and a grandiose production on the stage of the Opera de Paris of Boris Godunov with Fyodor Chaliapin in the title role.

The first quarter of the twentieth century was a time of innovation. At the same time, they were held in Europe with an unprecedented full house. "Russian Seasons", arranged Sergei Diaghilev. The impresario was passionate about expanding the boundaries of traditional ballet, so he gathered around him talented dancers, composers and artists, who together created a ballet that was ahead of its time. Europe has applauded “Russian Seasons” for 20 years.

Sergei Diaghilev spent his childhood and youth in Perm (Northern Urals). After the future impresario graduated from law school, he realized that he wanted to devote himself to culture.

The turning point in Sergei Diaghilev's life came when he moved from Russia to Paris in 1906. He organized an exhibition of paintings by Russian artists there and a number of concerts dedicated to the work of Russian composers. But most of all, he was remembered by posterity as the organizer of the “Russian Seasons” - innovative ballet productions.

Back in 1899, as an official on special assignments under the director of the Imperial Theaters, Diaghilev saw the performance of Isadora Duncan and Mikhail Fokin. Dance innovations delighted Diaghilev. He decided that it was no longer possible to surprise the public with traditional choreography, so in 1909 he opened the Season of Russian Ballets in Paris.

Anna Pavlova, Mikhail Fokin, Vaslav Nijinsky created something unique. New choreography, music by Stravinsky, Debussy, Prokofiev, Strauss merged together. Alexandre Benois, Pablo Picasso, Coco Chanel, and Henri Matisse realized their fantasies in the design of costumes and scenery.

The three earliest ballets: The Firebird (1910), Petrushka (1911), and The Rite of Spring (1913) created a sensation. Although it is worth noting that the public did not immediately accept the innovation of Diaghilev and his team. At the premiere of the ballet “The Rite of Spring,” the audience did not understand what was happening on stage: they screamed so much that they drowned out the orchestra. Choreographer Nijinsky had to tap a beat so that the artists could continue dancing. However, after the “Russian Seasons”, a fashion for everything Russian appeared in Europe: foreign dancers changed their names in the Russian manner, and the wife of King George VI walked down the aisle in a dress decorated with elements from Russian folklore.

For 20 years, Europe applauded the Russian Seasons. Despite the fact that Sergei Diaghilev was a welcome guest in the most famous aristocratic houses of Europe, this man spent his entire life teetering on the brink of ruin. Diaghilev suffered from diabetes for a long time, but did not follow the diet prescribed to him. In 1929, his health deteriorated sharply; while in Venice, he fell into a coma from which he never recovered.
After the collapse of Russian Seasons, she continued to excite the public for more than a decade.