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ROLE AND SIGNIFICANCE OF “RUSSIAN SEASONS” IN THE HISTORY OF
RUSSIAN ART
Kariyeva Bernara Rakhimovna
Professor of the Department of Choreography of
the State Academy of Arts,
People's Artist of Uzbekistan
https://doi.org/0.5281/zenodo.11500423
Abstract:
This article describes the role and significance of the “Russian
Seasons” on the development of world art, in particular, the formation of the
school of Russian ballet, understanding of historical experience and creative
searches in the field of choreographic art.
Keywords:
ballet, composition, pointe shoes, creative travels, pose,
movement, dance, art
In the spring of 1910, Paris again saw Diaghilev's opera and ballet. He
brought five new releases: Scheherazade, Firebird, Carnival, Orientals and
Giselle. The success was even greater than in 1909. “Scheherizade” was a huge
success, but it is true that there were disagreements about the use and
distortion of Rimsky-Korsakov’s symphonic poem among French critics.
"Scheherazade" shared success with "Firebird", critics saw a rejection of
tradition for new forms of plastic and a new conquest of the Russian Ballet -
musical, which, in their opinion, was still lacking.
Critics are finally turning their “face” to the art of dance itself, and French ballet
criticism is beginning to revive. The triumph of 1910 had the same
consequences as the triumph of 1909. Gradually, a permanent troupe of Russian
ballet abroad was formed, which presented Russian music, ballet and painting to
the whole world. The success of the previous two seasons dealt some blow to
Diaghilev’s troupe; many artists, having concluded lucrative contracts, dispersed
all over the world. It was necessary to replenish the troupe. From the six-week
seasons in Paris, which did not make it difficult for the artists of the Imperial
Theaters to spend their holidays in Diaghilev's troupe, it was necessary to
organize a permanent troupe. Sergei Pavlovich managed to put together a
brilliant troupe, persuading many artists of the Imperial Theaters to leave their
service in Russia (such as Bolm or Fedorova) - such stars of the Mariinsky
Theater as Kseshinskaya and Karsavina, without leaving the Mariinsky Theater,
agreed to take part in the Russian Ballet. Both the professor of the theater school
and the choreographer of the Mariinsky Theater, Maestro Cecchetti, went to
Diaghilev.
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In 1911, an international exhibition was held in Rome, coronation
celebrations took place in London - and Sergei Pavlovich decided to organize a
big tour: Rome - Paris - London. The residence of the Russian Ballet became the
city of Monte Carlo. Many new products were prepared: “Petrushka” by Benois -
Stravinsky - Fokine, “The Ghost of the Rose” by Vaudoyeu - Weber - Fokine -
Bakst, the new ballet by Tcherepnin - Bakst - Fokine “Narcissus”, a scene of the
underwater kingdom from “Sadko”. In addition, Diaghilev prepared “Swan Lake”
and an excerpt from “The Sleeping Beauty” - “Aurora and the Prince” only for
London.
Of course, at the center of the new season was the new dramatic ballet
“Petrushka” by Stravinsky - Benois - Fokine. “The success of the ballet in the
1911 production is explained, first of all, by the extremely happy balance of the
music, the libretto developed jointly by Stravinsky and Benois, the pictorial and
choreographic embodiment, which were noted by all participants in the
production. Sketches and costumes for “Petrushka” belong to the peaks of
Benois’s creativity. The dance side in “The Specter of the Rose” choreographed
by Fokine, and the brilliant performance of Nijinsky were also appreciated.
Levinson formulates the path of the Fokine reform as follows: “A gradual
movement from the duality of the old ballet to the unification of action, from
choreography to pantomime, the subordination of dramatic movement to the
static principle of pure picturesqueness; complication of the musical rhythm and
replacement of the musical accompaniment of the dance with the self-sufficient
form of the symphonic suite.”
The Russian ballet was a resounding success in London. After which Monte
Carlo, Paris and London became the centers of the Russian Ballet.
The main difference between 1912 and the previous ones was that Diaghilev
began to look for new forms in art. This includes “The Afternoon of a Faun,”
staged by Nijinsky to the impressionistic music of Debussy with the colors of
Bakst. I would like to note that Diaghilev and Bakst occupied not the least place
in the creation of this work, precisely as choreographers. One of the most
important features of this period is the emergence from Russian isolation. Until
1912, ballet was only Russian, and in many ways ready-made Russian. The only
exception was the libretto of “The Phantom of the Rose”, compiled by J.-L.
Vaudoyeux. And such works as “Giselle”, “La Sylphide”, “Carnival”, one might say,
have long become Russian heritage, entered Russian traditions and continuously
merged with Russian art. Since 1912, without breaking with his old
collaborators, Diaghilev turned to foreigners; for Fokine's ballet "The Blue God"
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the libretto is written by J. Cocteau, and the music is written by R. Hahn,
"Daphnis and Chloe" is staged to music by Ravel, choreographer Fokine. The
ballet begins touring around the world. In 1913, the ballet “The Rite of Spring”
was created; Roerich and Stravinsky created the libretto, choreography by
Nijinsky, music by Stravinsky, and scenery by Roerich. "Games" by Debussy -
Bakst, Choreographer Romanov staged "The Tragedy of Salome" by Schmitt -
Sudeikin. In addition to ballet novelties, three operas were shown: “Boris
Godunov”, “Khovanshchina” by Mussorsky and “May Night” by Rimsky-Korsakov.
The ballet company, founded in 1911 by the Russian theater figure and art
critic Sergei Diaghilev, operated for 20 seasons until Diaghilev's death in 1929,
and enjoyed great success abroad, especially in France and Great Britain. Being a
talented organizer, Diaghilev had a flair for talent. Having invited a whole galaxy
of gifted dancers and choreographers to the company - Vaslav Nijinsky, Leonid
Massine, Mikhail Fokin, Serge Lifar, George Balanchine, he provided already
recognized artists with an opportunity to improve.
His colleagues in the World of Art, Leon Bakst and Alexandre Benois,
worked on the sets and costumes for Diaghilev’s productions. Later, Diaghilev,
with his passion for innovation, attracted leading European artists as decorators
- Pablo Picasso, Andre Derain, Coco Chanel, Henri Matisse and many others - and
Russian avant-garde artists - Natalia Goncharova, Mikhail Larionov, Naum Gabo,
Antoine Pevzner. No less fruitful was Diaghilev’s collaboration with famous
composers of those years - Richard Strauss, Erik Satie, Maurice Ravel, Sergei
Prokofiev, Claude Debussy - and especially with Igor Stravinsky, who was
discovered by him.
From the very beginning, the main direction of the choreography of his
seasons was the desire to push the boundaries of classical ballet. Nijinsky's
experiments with dance forms were ahead of their time and therefore were not
immediately accepted by the audience. Fokine added “rich plasticity” to the
movements, and Massine, who continued the principles he laid down, enriched
the choreography with “broken and pretentious forms.” Balanchine finally
departed from the rules of academic dance, giving his ballets a more stylized and
expressionistic sound.
Diaghilev's seasons, especially the first ones, the program of which
included Russian ballets, played a significant role in the popularization of
Russian culture in Europe and contributed to the establishment of a fashion for
everything Russian. For example, English dancers Patrick Healy-Kay, Alice
Marks and Hilda Munnings took Russian pseudonyms (Anton Dolin, Alicia
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Markova and Lydia Sokolova, respectively), under which they performed in
Diaghilev’s troupe. The popularity of his seasons led to a fascination among
Europeans with traditional Russian costume and gave rise to a new fashion -
even the wife of King George VI of Great Britain got married in “a dress
paraphrasing Russian folklore traditions.”
Diaghilev was a brilliant entrepreneur, and he relied on artistic genius.
Creating his own troupe of extraordinary personalities, unprecedented artists,
geniuses became the reason for such a long success. There is a tradition among
choreographers and dancers - when visiting the grave of Sergei Diaghilev in
Venice, they place their shoes on a marble pedestal. Almost always, someone left
pointe shoes and various theatrical paraphernalia on his grave. In the same
Greek cemetery of the island of San Michele, next to Diaghilev’s grave, there is
the grave of another great figure of the Russian stage - Igor Stravinsky, as well as
the poet Joseph Brodsky, who called Diaghilev “Citizen of Perm”. For “theatrical”
visitors, a special sign “Diaghilew Strawinski” has been installed at the cemetery.
The epitaph is engraved on the grave itself: “Venice is the constant inspirer of
our peace.” This phrase, written by Diaghilev shortly before his death in a
dedicatory inscription to Serge Lifar, became popular among cultural figures.
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