Diaghilev: Creator of the Ballets Russes

Features

• Cover Type: Paperback with 175 pages
• Published by: Lund Humphries Publishers April 1996
• Written in: English
• ISBN 10 Number: 0853316880
• ISBN 13 Number: 978-0853316886
• Book Dimensions: 9.8 x 9.5 x 0.5 inches
• Weighs: 1.8 pounds

From Library Journal
In his own words, Serge Diaghilev was "a great charlatan," "a great charmer," "a human being with a lot of logic and few principles," and "someone afflictedwith a complete absence of talent." Regardless, he was destined for greatness. An unparalleled impresario with an uncanny eye for talent and innovation, Diaghilev introduced the West to any number of Russian artists?among them Fyodor Chaliapin, Michel Fokine, Tamara Karsavina, Vaslav Nijinsky, Leon Bakst, and Alexandre Benois?and was the singular force behind the Ballets Russes, a cultural benchmark for the 20th century. This catalog to a British exhibition curated after the demise of communism includes previously inaccessible art and artifacts on loan from a variety of Russian sources. Written by dance and theater historians and critics, the essays emphasize the origins and the development of Diaghilev's highly successful career. Reproductions of Bakst's ornately gorgeous costumes, photographs of ballet legends in character and in informal poses, and paintings by Russian artists rarely seen in the West provide the reader with a glimpse of the visual splendor and richness that greeted those fortunate to see the exhibition. For the rest of us, this catalog complements, but does not replace, other books on Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, such as Lynn Garafola's Art and Enterprise in Diaghilev's Ballet Russes (LJ 7/89) and Richard Buckle's Diaghilev (LJ 10/1/79). Highly recommended for large public and academic libraries as well as for specialized dance, music, and theater collections.?Joan Stahl, National Museum of American Art, Washington, D.C.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
What better way to capture the creative energy of the life, times, and accomplishments of Sergei Diaghilev (1872^-1929) than in a volume filled with photographs, paintings, and prints of the art he championed both in his native Russia and in Paris? Diaghilev was an instigator, facilitator, curator, publisher, and all-around impresario promoting the best and brightest of modern art, music, and dance. This colorful catalog, based on a recent exhibit at the Barbican Art Gallery, London, documents his founding of the magazine The World of Art and the revolutionary Ballets Russes. Here are costume and set designs by Alexandre Golovine, Leon Bakst, and Alexandre Benois; photographs of the unforgettable dancers Nijinksy, Tamara Karsavina, and Anna Pavlova; and accounts of Diaghilev's involvement with the great composers of his time, from Debussy to Ravel, Stravinsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Kodicek and her contributors examine every aspect of Diaghilev's spectacular achievements in essays as fluent in biography as in art history, followed by a detailed chronicle of every exhibit and production Diaghilev directed. Donna Seaman

Reader Reviews
During the first few months of 1996 I was traveling to London regularly on business and was able to visit this wonderful exhibition twice. It was much richer in exhibits that even this fine book shows. The actual surviving costumes and even a HUGE set from the big ballets were all there as well as the preparatory paintings and drawings for the various ballet costumes and sets. It was a multimedia event as well, because there was a place to sit and watch a couple of videos on Stravinsky and the work he did with his first three ballets. There dancing from Petrushka stays in my memory. Of course, Diaghilev was critical to the success of all the works produced by the Ballets Russe during his tenure. He raised the money, obtained the resources including rich materials for the productions, as well as the artists. His personal willfulness also caused some of its problems as well. However, like all successes, the Ballets Russes has many who claim fatherhood for it as well. And it cannot be said that things would have been the same without Benois or Bakst or any of the wonderful artists whose work made up those fabulous productions in those unique years. Stravinsky transcended the Ballets Russe where for others it was the culmination of their careers, so it is a bit different for him. This book is full of wonderful pictures, reproductions of paintings, and great stories about how the whole thing came about. It is a pretty fun story. There is more to it than can be gotten to in a catalogue of this type, but it is a fine place to start.