Biography of Sergei Diaghilev briefly. Biography

I talked endlessly with them about the staging, and now I am writing to you, with their consent and their approval, my thoughts on your idea of ​​staging. Most importantly, I absolutely cannot come to Switzerland for the same reasons as you, and, by the way, I would be glad to see my sister and her family, whom I have not seen for more than three years. It is physically impossible for us to see each other in order to talk over and agree on the production, and the only way out is to establish a mutual agreement by correspondence: there is no other way out, and you must either agree with it or refuse. It’s a pity that you didn’t come to an agreement with Gide, but he is a very lively person, and with authority. But there is nothing to do.

Your idea - a modernistic interpretation of the production of "Antony and Cleopatra" - was unanimously rejected by us, and for such maturely considered reasons.

Most importantly, this is a "correlation" - an impression on the audience, on the hall of the "modern" scenery, modern costumes with the text and characters of Roman and Egyptian history. The result is the continuous Homeric laughter of the audience. If I personally believed that this is a good interpretation of the opportunity to present Shakespeare's tragedy, I would not defend it - your point of view - because I am morally responsible for the performance to take place. The following is also important in it: the opportunity to hear Rubinstein's rare dramatic talent - but in this production I will definitely interfere with her with my scenery and costumes - she, Gide, Shakespeare. Nous beneficierons seulement tous les deux - toi et moi Fr. - "We will benefit only the two of us - you and I."- but I can't agree to that.

Think well. If there are two brightly contrasted worlds - Egyptian and Roman in this brilliant tragedy (maybe this is for you, like me - the starting point for work?), then imagine Mark in the form of a modern Italian general - the most picturesque costume (with orders?) ; in contrast to him, Cleopatra - how is she dressed? To be a modernist, hold on (which is necessary) couleur locale Fr. - "local color"., then she must be dressed as the wife of an Egyptian soldier, and her court is half English, half Turkish. What is her palace? Modern Egyptian, you say. So it's a mixture faux mauresque Fr. - "pseudo-Mauritanian". and furniture from Marle et C°; this is the modern decoration of the palace? Will Cleopatra's retinue resemble the dancers from Cairo? Think about it? And rightly Gide noted that the entire text of Shakespeare in the mouths of Italian soldiers and modern Egyptian "virgins" would sound terribly theatrical, rhetoric. At best, it will resemble a running rehearsal of a play, when the actors were unable to stock up on costumes.

But the most important thing, the most terrible thing for me, is that I will work contre cour Fr. - "against the will.", without any insinuation and enthusiasm, because I do not believe and will not believe in the production, and the result will be a cold and tedious execution of the order!

You are in the best position, because it is easy for you to write modernist music, and since you decided and made it a condition that you are not obligated to come to rehearsals or performances, - tu auras le plus beau Fr. "You will get the very best.", because your music (and, I am convinced, excellent) will remain even after the performance, it will be gutted for a century. And that the performance will fail after a noisy scandal? Well, to hell with him? I cannot take it upon myself, because first and foremost I am madly in love with this tragedy and will do everything to make it a huge success, and I also think that the tragedy must show the exceptional dramatic talent of Rubinstein, so new and fresh, delighting all progressive writers, artists - up to and including the Cubists - must find a wonderful frame, that's why I myself insisted and insist on your precious cooperation.

So, I’ll tell you from the bottom of my heart: if you are only selfish about the performance, then it’s probably better for us to disperse than to accept a production that is beneficial to only one or two of us all. After all, the public of Paris is not the public of Shakespeare's time, when it was enough to put a "forest" on a chair for the audience to imagine - a forest. After all, all this public of Paris and Moscow - rotten aesthetes and your idea will be accepted not as a simple production, but an extremely spicy dish, not without a Roquefort and other stench; three-quarters of the public will laugh, quarrel and demand: "Money back." I won't ruin the show [!] No way [!]

But if you accept my point of view, which is not a historical, poetic and instrumental whim, but an expression of your understanding of this tragedy of Shakespeare, then the issue will be resolved very simply, because each of us will have to reveal ourselves about this thing. It will always be, first of all, alive (the greatest ideal for me), both authentic and individual.

My point of view is this: two worlds - Egyptian and Roman. One is cunning and voluptuous, spicy and arrogant; the other - soldier, first of all Rome - uber alles German - "above all"., and the rise and fall of Antony is the rise and fall of the Roman. For him, Egypt is everything, this is his love, and he says, leaving: “Farewell, Egypt!” - In this sense! But at the moment of death of both, Love turned out to be human, stronger than Rome and Egypt, and only mystical lovers remained. Here is my canvas. That I use historical material critically is known to anyone who does not look short-sightedly at my interpretations. Archeology is the least important to me, and I play with it, often mixing all styles on purpose, but for the main thing, for a genuine impression, a sincere embodiment, I would not have thought of a scene of a modern poisoning, so that the relatives of a dying person would stand with a gastric lavage apparatus or an enema; that would be both scary and creepy. But I now felt what crazy laughter would be if something like this appeared in the scene of Cleopatra's death.

Remember when I, foaming at the mouth, asked and demanded from Seryozha Entrepreneur, organizer of the "Russian Seasons", editor of the magazine "World of Art" so that both in music and on stage in the "Games" an aero flies! Seryozha and Debussy The composer snorted and was indignant, and Cocteau stole this idea Writer, poet, playwright for "Parade". But the Games were modernist.

I could write for hours on this subject, proving, scene by scene, act by act, how one can destroy this wonderful thing by interpreting it modernistically, and I simply ask you to take this, my point of view, and imagine vividly that the modernist thing is happening on scene - read scene by scene! Of course, you will come to my conclusion, because you simply did not imagine this reincarnation of tragedy in a sculptural way!

But if you refuse this point of view, then the question can be easily resolved in three or four letters. Madame Rubinstein reserves to you the right to the entire plan of composition and distribution. She (and I) think it would be nice to have an overture to each act, then music celebrating the appearance of Roman camps under the walls and in tents, then "the death of Cleopatra." All this in the orchestra, not on the stage - I already wrote to you, because of what considerations the muffling of sonorities and so on. You decide how much music you are thinking of writing, what, how many minutes (this is important for me) and approximately what you are thinking in terms of an orchestra, the number of instruments. Then, when you decide all this, answer me right now and tell me your fee urgently needed and in the most detailed way, the way you own music, for how long, etc. It would be better if you sent the draft contract itself, and Madame Rubinstein would sign it, with or without changes, through her representative. But this, if you take it ardently, everything can be prepared in three or four weeks, that is, you can sign a contract and, thus, you will have the opportunity to get to work now. During it, you can communicate your thoughts to me, since they must come into contact with my production, and I will note everything for myself. There is a lot of time. Gide's translation will be ready only not earlier than in five or six months. That's all I can tell you now, sincerely and ardently wishing that our cooperation will take place!

Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev(March 31, Selishchi, Novgorod province - August 19, Venice) - Russian theatrical and artistic figure, one of the founders of the World of Art group, organizer of the Russian Seasons in Paris and the Diaghilev Russian Ballet troupe, entrepreneur.

Biography

For three decades, the house belonged to a large and friendly Diaghilev family. In the house, called by contemporaries "Perm Athens", the city intelligentsia gathered on Thursdays. Here they played music, sang, played home performances.

After graduating from the Perm gymnasium in 1890, he returned to St. Petersburg and entered the law faculty of the university, while studying music with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov at the St. Petersburg Conservatory. In his youth, Diaghilev tried in vain to find his field. An important moment in his life was a meeting with the writer Leo Tolstoy, after which he decided to devote himself to collecting autographs of famous contemporaries. In 1896 he graduated from the university, but instead of taking up law, he began to work in the field of fine arts.

Conventionally, the activities of S. P. Diaghilev can be divided into two periods:

• 1898-1906 - Diaghilev's life in Russia, when his interests were concentrated mainly in the field of fine arts;
• 1906-1929 - Diaghilev's activities as an impresario abroad. Starting with organizing an exhibition in 1906, he soon focused on the field of musical theatre, primarily ballet.

Activities in St. Petersburg

In 1898, together with the artist A. N. Benois, he initiated the creation of the journal The World of Art, published by S. I. Mamontov and Princess M. K. Tenisheva; was its editor (since 1903 - together with Benois), since 1902 he supervised the publication. In 1898-1904 he also wrote art history articles; is the author of a monograph about the artist D. G. Levitsky (1902).

During this period, he organized exhibitions that caused a wide resonance in St. Petersburg:

• 1897 - an exhibition of British and German watercolors, introducing the Russian public to a number of major masters of these countries and modern trends in fine arts;
• Exhibition of Scandinavian artists in the halls of the Society for the Encouragement of the Arts;
• 1898 - an exhibition of Russian and Finnish artists in the Stieglitz Museum, which the World of Arts themselves considered their first performance (in addition to the main group of the original friendly circle from which the World of Art association arose, Diaghilev managed to attract other major representatives of young art - Vrubel to participate in the exhibition , Serov, Levitan);
• 1905 - historical and art exhibition of Russian portraits of the 17th-18th centuries in the Tauride Palace;
• 1906 - Exhibition of Russian art at the Salon d'Automne in Paris featuring works by Benois, Grabar, Kuznetsov, Malyavin, Repin, Serov, Yavlensky, Roerich and others.

Together with Diaghilev, many contemporary artists came to the Imperial Theaters (Ap. M. Vasnetsov, A. N. Benois, L. S. Bakst, V. A. Serov, K. A. Korovin, E. E. Lansere).

In the 1900-1901 season, Volkonsky entrusted Diaghilev with the production of Delibes' ballet Sylvia. Diaghilev attracted the artists of the World of Art group to the production, but the case fell through due to the protest of the directorate officials. Diaghilev disobeyed director Volkonsky's order, defiantly refused to edit the Yearbook, and the matter ended with his dismissal.

Historical Russian concerts. Russian seasons. Russian Ballet Diaghilev

Sergei Diaghilev, 1910

Diaghilev constantly collaborated with the composer I. F. Stravinsky, "discovered" by him. Stephen Walsh noted that "Diaghilev and Stravinsky are like Russian caricature characters: they hugged and drank together in the evening, and during the day they fought desperately over money and contracts."

Outstanding artists who were members of the World of Art participated in the design of the ballets, in particular A. N. Benois, L. S. Bakst, A. Ya. Golovin, N. K. Roerich, B. I. Anisfeld. "Seasons" was a means of promoting Russian ballet and fine arts. Over the twenty years of their existence, they completely changed the traditional ideas about theater and dance, and also contributed to the flourishing of ballet in countries where this genre was not developed.

During the war, starting in the mid-1910s, he radically changed the style of performances, leaving the exotic, courtly pomp and orientalism and turning to the avant-garde. The first performance of the new musical form and choreography was the ballet La Parade by Eric Satie, which had its scandalous premiere in Paris in 1997. Moving away from the style of the World of Art, Diaghilev began to collaborate mainly with European artists; the spouses N. S. Goncharova and M. F. Larionov were also his permanent employees.

The Diaghilev Troupe gave seasons in Paris and London, and also toured in Italy, Germany, and the USA. Beginning in the winter of 1923, she rehearsed in Monte Carlo, where the first performances of many premieres took place. Before the First World War, Diaghilev was obsessed with the idea of ​​presenting his productions in Russia, it was his dream to perform in St. Petersburg - however, despite his efforts and numerous attempts, for various reasons he did not succeed. In the early 1920s, with the help of Mayakovsky, whom he welcomed in Berlin and Paris in every possible way, Diaghilev again tried to organize a tour of the troupe, or at least his trip to the USSR, but then he abandoned this idea.

Many contemporaries, artists and poets, used vivid symbols, metaphors to convey the perception of the personality of S. P. Diaghilev: “the radiant sun” (V. A. Serov), “Hercules”, “Peter the Great” (A. N. Benois), “an eagle strangling little birds” (V. F. Nizhinsky), “The Yellow Devil in the arenas of European countries” (A. L. Volynsky), “Nero in a black tuxedo over flaming Rome” (A. Bely), “Monster” ( S. Yu. Sudeikin did not call him otherwise).

Personal life

Relations with Myasin

In 1916, during an American tour, Diaghilev announced to the troupe that under no circumstances would he tolerate Massine's intrigues with actresses. However, in 1920, while preparing a new version of The Rite of Spring, Myasin began a relationship with the English ballerina Vera Savina, who had recently appeared in the troupe. In Rome, Diaghilev hired private detectives to follow the couple and report to him about their meetings in hotels. In the end, Diaghilev got Savina drunk in his room and then dragged her undressed into the next room to the sleeping Myasin. Throwing it on his bed, he exclaimed: "Look, here is your ideal." After that, Myasin immediately left the hotel and ended all relations with Diaghilev. He was fired from the troupe, while Savina was transferred from a promising soloist to the corps de ballet. Diaghilev was very upset by the break with his favorite and did not let anyone near him for several days, except for Nouvel and his servants Beppo and Vasily. According to the artist Mikhail Semyonov, "Diaghilev seemed to be crazy"; “his friends, fearing for his health and even his mind, day and night did not let him out of sight,” wrote Arnold Haskell.

Beginning in 1924, Myasin, who by that time had married Savina, again collaborated with Diaghilev, who, apparently, completely lost interest in him. According to the testimony of the composer Dukelsky, while working on the ballet Zephyr and Flora, he told him that "Leonid has no soul, no heart, no taste, and the only thing that interests him is money."

Illness and death

In 1921, Diaghilev was diagnosed with diabetes, but he hardly followed the prescribed diet:520. The development of the disease was facilitated by lifestyle, as well as constant sudden changes in body weight. Beginning in 1927, he developed furunculosis, which could lead to the development of sepsis, which was deadly in the days when antibiotics were not yet known. In the summer of 1929 in Paris, a doctor ordered Diaghilev to follow a diet and rest a lot, warning that failure to comply with the recommendations would entail dangerous consequences for his health:534.

Diaghilev ignored the order, going with the troupe to Berlin, then to Cologne and through Paris to London, where he again visited a doctor who advised him to hire a nurse, which was also not done: Kokhno looked after him daily, doing the necessary procedures and dressings. After sending the troupe on leave and returning to Paris, he again visited his attending physician, who insisted on a course of treatment with thermal waters in Vichy. Instead, Diaghilev, along with his protégé Igor Markevitch, undertook a "musical" journey along the Rhine, visiting Baden-Baden (where he discussed the new ballet with Hindemith and saw Nabokov, who later wrote: “Despite his appearance, he seemed to be in a good mood. He cheerfully talked about his plans for the rest of the summer and for the new fall season.), Munich (for the operas of Mozart and Wagner) and Salzburg. From there, Diaghilev sent a letter to Koribut-Kubitovich with an insistent request to come to him in Venice. After parting with Markevitch at Vevey, on 7 August Diaghilev set off for Venice. The next day he drove into Grand Hotel de Ban de Mer where Lifar arrived in the evening.

By that time, he had already begun to become infected with blood due to abscesses:538. Since August 12, he no longer got out of bed, Lifar looked after him. Even while ill, Diaghilev continued to make plans and hum from Wagner and Tchaikovsky. On August 16, Kokhno came to him, on the 18th - Misia Sert and Chanel visited him. Having received a telegram from Koribut-Kubitovich, who was in no hurry to arrive at his call, Diaghilev remarked: “Well, of course, Pavka will be late and will come after my death”. In the evening the priest came to him. During the night, Diaghilev's temperature rose to 41°C, he no longer regained consciousness and died at dawn on August 19, 1929.

Since Diaghilev had no funds with him, M. Sert and G. Chanel paid for the funeral. After a short memorial service in accordance with the rite of the Orthodox Church, the body was transferred to the island of San Michele and buried in the Orthodox part of the cemetery.

The name of Diaghilev is engraved on the marble tombstone in Russian and French ( Serge de Diaghilew) and an epitaph: "Venice is the constant inspirer of our reassurance" - a phrase written by him shortly before his death in a dedicatory inscription to Serge Lifar. On the pedestal next to the photograph of the impresario, there are almost always ballet shoes (so that they are not blown away by the wind, they are stuffed with sand) and other theatrical paraphernalia. In the same cemetery next to Diaghilev's grave is the grave of the composer Igor Stravinsky, as well as the poet Joseph Brodsky, who called Diaghilev "Citizen of Perm".

Diaghilev's official heir was his father's sister, Yulia Parensova-Dyagileva, who lived in Sofia (she renounced the inheritance in favor of Nouvel and Lifar). On August 27, Nouvel organized a memorial service for the deceased in Paris, at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.

Related videos

Compositions

• Difficult questions, "The World of Art", 1899, No 1-2, No 3-4 (co-authored with D. V. Filosofov);
• Russian painting in the 18th century, vol. 1 - D. G. Levitsky, St. Petersburg, 1902.

Addresses

• 1899 - autumn 1900 - tenement house at 45 Liteiny Prospekt;
• autumn 1900-1913 - profitable house of N. I. Khmelnitsky, Fontanka river embankment, 11.

• Lido, Grand Hotel des Bains

The fate of the Diaghilevs in the USSR

• The fates of the two brothers of Sergei Diaghilev - Yuri and Valentin - are tragic. Valentin was shot on Solovki in 1929 on a fabricated criminal case; Yuri was sent into exile (according to other sources, he was subjected to administrative expulsion), died in Tashkent (according to other sources, in the city of Chirchik, Tashkent region) in 1957.
• The elder nephew Sergei Valentinovich Diaghilev was a symphony conductor. Like his father, Valentin Pavlovich, was repressed in 1937 on a fabricated political article. Spent 10 years in camps and 5 years in exile. After rehabilitation, he returned to Leningrad, where he continued his creative activity. Died August 13, 1967.
• The younger nephew Vasily Valentinovich Diaghilev, a neurologist, was forced to hide his relationship with the famous uncle.
• Great-grand-nephew Sergei Alexandrovich Diaghilev - composer and conductor. Lives in St. Petersburg.

Memory

In Paris

In Russia

In Perm

In other cities

• The lyceum of arts in Yekaterinburg and the school of arts in Zelenograd, as well as the ship "Sergey Diaghilev" are named after Diaghilev.
• In the spring of 2006, the Dyagilev nightclub (also known as Dyagilev project) was opened in the building of the Shchukin Stage on the territory of the Moscow Hermitage Garden. Its logo was a black and white drawing depicting a mustachioed man in a tailcoat, top hat and bow tie with a clear allusion to the image of S. P. Diaghilev.

Image in art

art

• Portrait by Valentin Serov (1904).
• Portrait of Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev with his nanny by Lev Bakst (1905).
• In bonistics: Diaghilev is depicted on the front side of the banknote of 500 Ural francs issued in 1991.
• In philately:

In cinema

• S. P. Diaghilev became the prototype of the impresario Lermontov in the film The Red Shoes (1948, played by Austrian actor Anton Walbrook).
• In film " Nijinsky"(1980, USA) the role of Diaghilev was played by Alan Bates.
• In the film Anna Pavlova (Mosfilm, 1983, director Emil Lotyanu), the role of Diaghilev was played by Vsevolod Larionov.
• "Coco Chanel and Igor Stravinsky" (2009) - the film, in particular, shows Diaghilev's relationship with the composer Stravinsky.
• "Paris of Sergei Diaghilev" - a documentary directed by Nikita Tikhonov, written by Violetta Mainiece and Yulia Tikhonova (39 min.; 2010, Russia).
• "Merchant for all time. Virtual Museum of Sergei Diaghilev" - a documentary film-interview with Edward Radzinsky, Nikolai Tsiskaridze, Alexander Vasiliev directed by Svetlana Astresova (2017, Russia).
• In the television series Mata Hari (2017), the role of Diaghilev was played by Andrey Tartakov.

In the theatre

• The image of Diaghilev is shown in Maurice Bejart's ballet "Nijinsky - God's Clown" (1972, theater "La Monnet") and in several performances by John Neumeierdedicated to the fate of the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky.

In the drama theater the roles of Diaghilev were performed by:

Documentaries

• 2001 - Chosen Ones. Russia, XX Century, Issue 28: Sergei Diaghilev (dir. Stanislav Razdorsky, Nikita Voronov, Anatoly Vasiliev)
• 2002 - The fate of the ascetic. Sergei Diaghilev (dir. Victor Spiridonov, Alexander Vasiliev)
• 2010 - "The Paris of Sergei Diaghilev" - a documentary film directed by

DIAGILEV SERGEY PAVLOVICH

Diaghilev, Sergei Pavlovich - writer and public figure. Born in 1872. He graduated from the course at the Faculty of Law of St. Petersburg University, as well as the St. Petersburg Conservatory in the singing class. He was an official for special assignments under the director of the Imperial Theaters and in 1899 - 1900 - the editor of the Yearbook of the Imperial Theaters. Traveling in Western Europe, Diaghilev became interested in new trends in art and decided to create a magazine dedicated to them in his homeland. In the autumn of 1898, he began publishing the magazine "World of Art", and in January 1899 he organized the first international exhibition of paintings of the new direction in St. Petersburg. Editing the magazine "World of Art" for six years, Diaghilev united in it all the most significant writers and artists of the new direction: on the one hand, his collaborators were D. Merezhkovsky, K. Balmont, V. Bryusov, N. Minsky, V. Solovyov, O. Sologub, Z. Gippius, Prince A. Urusov; on the other - I. Levitan, V. Serov, M. Vrubel, A. Benois, L. Bakst, K. Somov, M. Nesterov, K. Korovin, Prince P. Trubetskoy. The magazine introduced the Russian public to the latest foreign writers and artists, published articles by Ruskin, Muther, Furtwängler, Maeterlinck, Huysmans, Grieg, partly written especially for the World of Art; gave reports on new exhibitions, on new trends in theater and music. Entire departments were dedicated to the artists of Western Europe; the magazine introduced the works of A. Becklin, G. Thomas, Puvis de Chavannes, E. Manet, Degas, C. Monet, J. Segantini, F. Goya, A. Beardsley, Whistler, J. Millet, Corot and others; a lot of space was given to Finnish and Polish artists. The magazine systematically introduced its readers to the great, but thoroughly forgotten Russian artists, to the monuments of antiquity in Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities; separate issues were dedicated to famous artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries: D. Levitsky, V. Borovikovsky, A. Ivanov, A. Venetsianov, K. Bryullov, O. Kiprensky, V. Tropinin; photographs from ancient stone and wooden architecture were placed; a large place was given to galleries, public and private: for the first time many paintings and art objects from the collections of Prince Yusupov were published, Prince. Tenisheva; in recent years, more space has been given to old St. Petersburg, the study of its architecture, its monuments (many photographs from the Engineers' Castle, the Admiralty, etc. ). In parallel with the journal, Diaghilev published separate books on the history of Russian art: "Album of lithographs of Russian artists" (1900), "I. Levitan" (1901), the first volume of "Russian Painting in the 18th Century", dedicated to the works of D. Levitsky (1903) , was awarded the Uvarov Prize by the Academy of Sciences. Beginning in 1899, Diaghilev arranged a number of exhibitions of paintings by artists adjoining his journal (exhibition "World of Art"). Interested in the old Russian masters and planning to publish a number of volumes of "Russian Painting of the 18th Century", Diaghilev undertook the organization of a huge exhibition of Russian historical portraits, carried out in 1905 in the halls of the Tauride Palace. For this exhibition, Diaghilev collected several thousand portraits of Russian painters depicting various historical figures, from the era of Peter the Great to recent years. With particular completeness it was possible to get acquainted with the great masters of the Catherine's era, entire halls were devoted to Borovikovsky, Levitsky and Rokotov; there were also departments dedicated to foreign artists who worked in Russia in that era: Roslin, Lampi, A. Kaufman, Vigée Lebrun and others. artists; starting with the famous contemporaries of Peter the Great, Nikitin and Matveev, he showed the Parisian public Levitsky, Borovikovsky, Rokotov, Alekseev, Vorobyov, Shchedrins, Shubin, Kiprensky, Tropinin, Bryullov, Ge, Repin and many of the best participants in the World of Art exhibitions. The best connoisseurs of art in Paris wrote a lot about the exhibition, it introduced the foreign public to hitherto unknown masters, both old and modern.In the spring of 1907, Diaghilev arranged a series of concerts in Paris dedicated to Russian music, from Glinka to Scriabin In the following years, Diaghilev staged at the Grand Opera, and then at the Chatelet Theater, a number of Russian operas: Boris Godunov and Khovanshchina by Mussorgsky, The Maid of Pskov, etc., and a number of ballets : Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade, Arensky's Cleopatra, Stravinsky's Petrushka, Cherepkin's Pavilion of Armida and others. Being the editor of the World of Art, Diaghilev wrote a lot in the magazine of articles and reviews about the theater, art, exhibitions, books. In addition to a separate monograph on D. Levitsky, we will mention his articles: "Difficult Questions", "On the Staging of Tristan and Isolde", "Illustration for Pushkin", "Art Critics", "On Russian Museums", "Exhibitions in Germany", "Exhibitions historical portraits", "Portrait Shibanov". S. R-va.

Brief biographical encyclopedia. 2012

See also interpretations, synonyms, word meanings and what is SERGEY PAVLOVICH DIAGILEV in Russian in dictionaries, encyclopedias and reference books:

• DIAGILEV SERGEY PAVLOVICH in the Big Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  (1872-1929) Russian theatrical and artistic figure. Together with A. N. Benois, he created the artistic association "World of Art", co-editor of the magazine of the same name. Organizer…
• DIAGILEV SERGEY PAVLOVICH
  Sergei Pavlovich, Russian theatrical figure. In 1896 he graduated from the law faculty of St. Petersburg University (at the same time he studied ...
• DIAGILEV, SERGEY PAVLOVICH in Collier's Dictionary:
  (1872-1929), Russian theater figure, ballet impresario, head of the famous Russian Ballet. Born in the Novgorod province on March 19, 1872, in a noble family. …
• DIAGHILEV in the Dictionary of Russian Surnames:
  The surname is Russian, it is based on the name of the plant angelica or the dialectal (Pskov and northern) adjective smoky - “strong, healthy, strong”, ...
• DIAGHILEV in the Lexicon of Sex:
  Serg. Pavl. (1872-1929), Russian. theatrical and artistic figure, organizer of exhibitions and the famous "Russian Seasons" in Paris. A bright representative of artistic bohemia; was different...
• PAVLOVICH in the Literary Encyclopedia:
  Nadezhda Aleksandrovna, contemporary poet. R. in the former Livonia in a petty-bourgeois family. Published since 1911 (verse "Swan" in the newspaper "Pskovskaya ...
• PAVLOVICH in the Pedagogical Encyclopedic Dictionary:
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• PAVLOVICH in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  PAVLOVICH Nick. (1835-94), Bulgarian. painter and graphic artist of the nat. revival. One of the founders of secular Bolg. lawsuit. Paintings on the themes of nat. …
• PAVLOVICH in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  PAVLOVICH Mikh. Pav. (real name and surname Mikh. Laz. Veltman) (1871-1927), orientalist. In 1921-23 member. College of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. Since 1921 the rector ...
• DIAGHILEV in the Big Russian Encyclopedic Dictionary:
  DIAGILEV Ser. Pav. (1872-1929), theater. and thin. figure. Together with A.N. Benoit created thin. association "World of Art", co-editor of the same name. …
• SERGEI in the Dictionary for solving and compiling scanwords:
  Male…
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• PAVLOVICH
  Mikhail Pavlovich (real name and surname Mikhail Lazarevich Veltman) (1871-1927), Russian orientalist. In 1921-23 he was a member of the Collegium of the People's Commissariat of Nationalities. Since 1921 the rector ...
• DIAGHILEV in the Modern Explanatory Dictionary, TSB:
  Sergei Pavlovich (1872-1929), Russian theatrical and artistic figure. Together with A. N. Benois, he created the artistic association "World of Art", co-editor ...
• KEDROV SERGEY PAVLOVICH
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Sergei Diaghilev is a man who managed to go beyond the academic conservatism of the performing arts by writing the history of dance from scratch. Thanks to the innovations of the talented impresario, people to this day can not only see, but also feel the ballet.

The future innovator of the art world was born in the Novgorod province on March 19, 1872, according to the old style. Later, he moved with his family to St. Petersburg, and then to Perm, where his father served.

The head of the family, Pavel Pavlovich Diaghilev, was an officer in the cavalry guard regiment. Sergei did not know his own mother, since she died a few months after giving birth. The new wife of his father, Elena, was engaged in raising the boy. The stepmother doted on her stepson and gave him all of herself.

After graduating from the Perm gymnasium in 1890, Diaghilev entered the law faculty of St. Petersburg University. In parallel, the young man studied music at the conservatory at. After graduating from the University of Law in 1896, the future eminent choreographer preferred the field of fine arts.

Ballet and patronage

In the late 1890s, Diaghilev, together with friends, created the World of Art art association, which rejected academicism in all its manifestations. The guys persuaded well-known patrons S.I. Mamontov and Princess M.K. Tenishev to finance their magazine.

Thanks to his rare organizational talent and ability to penetrate into the essence of the creative process, Sergei organized "World of Art" exhibitions. In 1905, in the Tauride Palace in St. Petersburg, he arranged a presentation of a Russian portrait, where he collected paintings from the capital and provinces.

Ballet performances were strongly influenced by the work of modernist artists. The scenery and costumes were worked on by the figures of the World of Art association gravitating towards symbolism: avant-garde artist N. A Goncharov, Spanish muralist H. Sert, Italian futurist D. Balla, cubist, French impressionist A. Matisse, neoclassicist L. Survage and many others.

Such personalities as A. Laurent were involved as decorators and costume designers in Diaghilev's productions. As you know, the form always affects the content, which was observed by the public in the Russian Seasons.

The scenery, costumes and the curtain struck with artistic expressiveness: the storey play of lines delighted the audience of the performance. The music used in the productions was diverse: from world classics and R. Strauss to Russian composers N.A. Rimsky-Korsakov and A.K. Glazunov.

European stage art, which was in crisis at the beginning of the 19th century, was refreshed by an unsurpassed synthesis of various art forms, from which modern ballet was subsequently born.

"Russian Seasons"

The history of the "Russian Seasons" began after the exhibition held in 1906 in the "Autumn Salon". The event, which was a resounding success, inspired Diaghilev. The man did not want to stop and continued to acquaint the Parisian public with Russian art.

In 1907, Sergei Pavlovich organized "Historical Russian Concerts", the program of which includes 5 symphonic performances. The inimitable bass, the choir of the Bolshoi Theatre, the conducting skills of Arthur Nikisch and the delightful piano playing of Hoffmann captivated the talent-starved audience in the blink of an eye.

In the spring of 1908, Diaghilev introduced Paris to opera. However, "" gathered an incomplete hall, and the money raised barely covered the costs of organizing the event.

In 1909, the entrepreneur, sensitive to the mood of the public, brought 5 ballets to the future capital of fashion: Armida's Pavilion, Cleopatra, Polovtsian Dances, Sylphide and Feast. The core of the ballet troupe was made up of dancers from Moscow and St. Petersburg - V.F. Nijinsky, A.P. Pavlova, I.L. Rubinstein, .

Over the 20 years of the work of the Russian Seasons, the traditional attitude of society towards dance has changed radically, and Russian art has become extremely popular in Europe.

Personal life

People rightly noticed Diaghilev's falling out of the "general style". A different blood, different from many, seethed in him. Even during his lifetime, there were legends about the love affairs of the philanthropist.

It is authentically known that Sergei Diaghilev had an unconventional sexual orientation, and since the personal life of such a prominent person cannot remain in the shadows, everyone knew his lovers “by sight”.

Sergei Diaghilev's first amorous relationship was with his cousin Dmitry Filosofov. A versatile educated young man was always in sight in the circle of students of St. Petersburg University. Passionate about art, the 18-year-old brothers became close during a joint trip to Italy, where they went in 1890.

The romance of Diaghilev and Filosofov lasted 10 years, until the “white devil” stood in their way -. The woman was not afraid of the condemnation of society and boldly went against the established norms of morality - she wore men's clothes, preached free love (despite her marriage, she had a couple of affairs with men and women). Dmitry Filosofov also became a victim of the witching spells of the Russian poetess.

The "struggle" between Gippius and Diaghilev continued for a couple of years. The final break between the brothers-lovers came after a scandal in a fashionable St. Petersburg restaurant: Diaghilev found a friend in the company of Zinaida Gippius and attacked him with his fists.

After this incident, Philosophers finally broke with Diaghilev and moved in with Gippius and her husband. The strange tripartite alliance lasted 15 years.

In 1908, Sergei met a man who not only became the greatest love of a cultural figure, but also forever connected Diaghilev with the world of ballet.

A promising Russian dancer of Finnish origin, Vaslav Nijinsky, was at that time in the care of Prince Pavel Lvov. For an aristocrat, a charming young man was a toy: he paid his bills, updated his wardrobe and "borrowed" the guy to friends.

And if Nijinsky loved the high-ranking "tormentor", then Lvov was openly burdened by the feelings of the annoying "puppet". It is not known how long the prose writer would have been looking for a reason to get rid of a bored lover if Diaghilev had not “turned up”.

Vatslav and Sergey were together for 5 years. During this time, Diaghilev gained fame as a world-famous entrepreneur, and Nijinsky became the "face" of the Russian Ballet Seasons.

In 1913, the dancer unexpectedly proposed to the Hungarian ballerina Romola Pulski, who had long been in love with him and joined the troupe solely to be closer to the object of adoration. Having learned about the wedding of his beloved, the offended artist immediately fired Nijinsky.

The meeting with the 17-year-old student of the ballet school Leonid Myasin helped the choreographer forget the unfortunate cavalier. The prudent young man put up with the status of a "comfort boy" exactly until he became famous.

After seven years of close friendship in 1920, Myasin, like Vaclav, connected his life with a woman. The dancer's wife was the ballerina Vera Clark (pseudonym - Savina). Having learned about the decision of the protégé, Diaghilev cuts off all ties with him.

The creative cooperation of former lovers resumed three years before the death of Sergei, in 1925. After the death of the eminent choreographer, his student headed the Russian Ballet of Monte Carlo.

Death

In the last stages of his life, the impresario of the 19th century "found himself" in collecting.

For a long time, Sergei Pavlovich, without a permanent home, wandered around the cities and countries of Europe. The obstinate spirit of the famous master of culture found peace in Monaco. Here Sergey began to collect the most valuable works of art at home: paintings, rare autographs, books and manuscripts.

In 1921, Sergei learned that he had diabetes. However, the elderly man did not follow the strict prescriptions of the doctor and the diet. This provoked the development of furunculosis. The result was an infection and a sharp rise in temperature. Antibiotics had not yet been invented at that time, so the disease was extremely dangerous.

On August 7, 1929, a blood poisoning occurred in a favorite of the male audience. For the next few days he did not get out of bed.

Sergei Diaghilev, whose biography is inextricably linked with the history of Russian ballet, died on August 19. At night, his temperature rose to forty-one degrees, he lost consciousness and, without regaining consciousness, died at dawn.

The island-cemetery of San Michele became the last refuge of the eminent choreographer. Many great figures of art, science and sports are buried there: poet and Nobel laureate, composer, psychiatrist Franco Basaglia, football player Helenio Herrera, writer and journalist Peter Vail. The cemetery is still open to the public today.

The life of Sergei Diaghilev, like many prominent figures, is filled with interesting facts:

• Diaghilev had a nose for talent, was a brilliant leader and a wonderful organizer, but he did not perform on stage himself.
• Olga Khokhlova, wife of Pablo Picasso, was a dancer in Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes.

• In 1897, Diaghilev took the painter Alexandre Benois and his wife to the Grand Opera. There, a friend of Sergei burst tailcoat pants. The man sat motionless all evening and covered the hole that had formed in the most reprehensible place with a folding cylinder, and Diaghilev, as soon as he turned his eyes from the stage to Alexander, began to laugh at the top of his voice. Then his loud resounding laughter nearly disrupted the concert.
• Sergei Pavlovich said more than once jokingly that he was a distant descendant (through the Rumyantsevs), and if there was no confirmation of this information, then family ties with were not questioned. The great Russian composer was the patron's uncle.

• The exhibition of Russian-Finnish artists, organized by Diaghilev, was held in an atmosphere of scandalous misunderstanding. Then the public was presented for the first time the works of Mikhail Nesterov and Philip Malyavin. In the eyes of sophisticated aesthetes, the conceptually new painting looked extremely unattractive, and therefore, the visitors demanded that the cashier return the money paid for the entrance to them.
• In the spring of 2011, the ship called "Novikov-Priboy" was renamed "Sergei Diaghilev".

• If we compare the girl depicted on the poster of the Russian Seasons in 1909 with the photograph of Anna Pavlova, it becomes clear that she was the prototype from which the ballerina was drawn.
• Diaghilev did not hide his homosexual preferences. However, it is reliably known that in his life there was sexual contact with a woman. The choreographer's 18-year-old cousin gave the man a venereal disease as a memento of their relationship.

He led a luxurious life, knowing that he was the object of observation for many people. But after his death he did not leave a penny. The funeral of the legendary entrepreneur was paid for by his longtime patrons Mission Cert and Coco Chanel. They were far from the last people in the long list of those who for a long time helped him to realize the most daring projects and conquer impregnable Paris. France fell at the feet of a provincial boy thanks to his organizational skills and the money of generous sponsors.

Sergei Diaghilev in his gymnasium years. Photo: RIA Novosti

Failed Lawyer

When an 18 year old Sergei Diaghilev came from Perm to St. Petersburg, it was hard to imagine that this young provincial could break into people and become a real legend of his time. At the insistence of his father, the young man was going to study law, but the northern capital with its incredible opportunities changed his plans. Sergey was in a hurry to get enlightened: he visited theaters and exhibitions, studied vocals. It was in the city on the Neva that he decided to fulfill his childhood dream of becoming a composer. One day, Diaghilev invited a select audience to listen to excerpts from the opera Boris Godunov, which he composed, in which he himself played the role of an impostor. Alas, the audience did not appreciate the efforts of the future entrepreneur. Later, Sergei himself admits that this failure came in handy, since his voice was "very strong and very nasty."

The next stage in the life of a young man was the passion for fine arts. In search of knowledge and masterpieces, he traveled to various European cities, visited art galleries and artists' workshops. In 1897, Diaghilev successfully held his first exhibition of German and English watercolors. Then along with Alexandre Benois created a creative community of artists "World of Art" and a magazine of the same name.

At the age of 28, Sergei received the position of an official for special assignments under the director of the Imperial Theaters. However, a few years later he left the post due to a conflict with his superiors. And yet it was this place that helped the young man to make new useful acquaintances. One of which was a close friendship with favorite Tsarevich Nicholas Matilda Kshesinskaya. Diaghilev often accompanied the famous ballerina home after the performance. It was Kshesinskaya who brought him to her patron Prince Vladimir and Grand Duke Andrew(cousin of Nicholas). Even then, the novice entrepreneur understood that money and talent work much more efficiently than just talent.

"Taking" Paris

In 1906, thanks to the efforts of Diaghilev, Paris saw the exhibition "Two Centuries of Russian Painting and Sculpture". A year later, the sophisticated French were conquered by the "Historical Russian Concerts", in which they took part Rimsky-Korsakov, Rachmaninoff, Glazunov, Chaliapin. The latter was particularly successful with Europeans. In 1908, he shone on the stage of the Paris Grand Opera in the production of Boris Godunov. The time of the "Russian Seasons" came only in 1909.

By the way, Diaghilev did not immediately become a fan of choreography: they say that he discovered his love for this art form after watching The Sleeping Beauty. Petipa in 1893. This incredible production then literally shocked the whole of St. Petersburg. For some time, instead of the usual greeting at a meeting, local residents asked one single question: “Have you already seen Sleeping Beauty?”

Preparing for the "seasons" was not easy. A small quarrel between the entrepreneur and Kshesinskaya, who was outraged that she had received one role in such a large-scale project, and the sudden death of a friend, Grand Duke Vladimir, left him without the once promised support of the royal court. I had to urgently go to Paris to look for new sponsors. Fortunately, the funding issue was resolved. One of those who invested their money in this, in fact, risky event was the owner of a music salon and a very wealthy lady Mission Sert. Subsequently, Sert and Diaghilev will become not only partners for each other, but also true friends.

“Russian Seasons” was supposed to go on the Chatelet stage, but when Sergey saw the theater hall, he instantly understood that this dilapidated building needed immediate renovation. In a few weeks, it was completely transformed, adding more luxury to the interior. On the day of the premiere, the audience sat on luxurious seats upholstered in dark red velvet, everything around seemed to tell them that they were the chosen ones.

That evening, the unsurpassed Anna Pavlova and a number of other strong ballerinas. But all the audience's love went to Vaslav Nijinsky. It is worth noting that before that, the male dancer was always in the shadow of his partner. Nijinsky managed to overshadow the female part of the troupe. The audience dubbed the young man "the god of dance." Of course, not all of the artist's colleagues liked such a triumph, and Pavlova was the first to leave the race due to professional jealousy. Although she herself claimed that she broke off relations with Diaghilev, because she wanted to create her own troupe.

Despite the success, the entrepreneur's investments were incomparable with income. However, it seemed that the huge debts did not bother Diaghilev in the least. With his characteristic enthusiasm, he again began to look for patrons and plan the second visit of the Russian Seasons.

Colleague, lover, traitor

The performances of the Russian Seasons, one after another, aroused the approval of the public: The Firebird, Scheherazade, Petrushka. But Diaghilev wanted even more experiments and recognition, fortunately, Sert supplied him not only with money, but also with useful contacts. One of them was a meeting with Claude Debussy. The tandem of the composer and the entrepreneur gave the audience a real sensation - the erotic male dance "Afternoon of a Faun", which was created and performed by Nijinsky. It was the first scandal in the seasons, which in some way cheered up the audience and turned out to be much better than the usual success.

The ideas of Diaghilev and his team were often ahead of their time, and therefore it sometimes took the public months and even years to understand and appreciate what the artists of the “seasons” showed on stage. So it was with the "Rite of Spring" Stravinsky, which premiered on May 29, 1913. The choreography was again handled by Nijinsky. The production was given to him with difficulty, but the audience did not appreciate the effort spent. Already five minutes after the start of the performance, the audience began to resent, whistle and even stomp their feet. The performance had to be stopped and restarted. This failure hurt the already fragile psyche of Nijinsky, who later ended his days in a mental hospital.

From the very appearance of Vaclav in the troupe, he became not only a colleague and lover of Diaghilev, but also his personal discovery. The entrepreneur believed, and not without reason, that it was thanks to him that the star of the “God of Dance” rose. Sergey kept his favorite, gave him expensive gifts, which is only worth a sapphire ring from Cartier, with which the "engagement" of lovers was sealed, tried in every possible way to educate his protégé and instill in him a sense of beauty. However, along with the “carrot”, Vaclav knew perfectly well what a “stick” was. Sergey did not let him forget for a second that the dancer owes his success to his money and connections. Alas, instead of gratitude, Nijinsky repaid Sergei with betrayal. During a tour of South America, which Diaghilev missed due to superstition (a fortuneteller predicted his death on the water), Vaclav unexpectedly married a dancer Romola Pulski. Upon learning of this, the abandoned lover began to smash everything, and having calmed down, he found a reason to dismiss the traitor from the troupe.

New love

Left without a choreographer and lead soloist, Diaghilev set out to look for a replacement for Nijinsky. He found a suitable option at the Bolshoi Ballet School. Handsome Leonid Myasin He was the best suited for the role of the new prime minister and ... lover. Sergey acted according to an already well-established scheme of seduction: expensive gifts, trips abroad, solving all the material problems of the protégé, and most importantly, the promise of an incredible career take-off. 18-year-old Leonid, although he thought about the proposal of a well-known entrepreneur and even wanted to refuse, but could not. Subsequently, the dancer, like his predecessor, became the choreographer of the Russian Seasons. And then, as if repeating the fate of Vaclav, he married an American ballerina Vere Clark, breaking the heart of his "creator".

However, the talented Myasin also found a replacement in the face Serge Lifar. With the filing of Diaghilev and with his full financial support, the young man lived for some time in Italy, where he took lessons from the teacher Nijinsky and Pavlova - the legendary Checketi. At the very beginning of their meeting, Sergei promised to make a second Nijinsky out of his favorite, and he succeeded. But he did not enjoy the success of his brilliant lover for long. Back in 1921, the 57-year-old Diaghilev was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, which progressed as he flatly refused to follow the diet and regimen prescribed by the doctor. In 1929, it became clear that the end was near, although Sergei himself tried not to become depressed and continued to make plans for the future. His condition deteriorated sharply when he was in Venice. The fortuneteller turned out to be right, the legendary entrepreneur died "on the water." On August 19, Diaghilev's friends saw him off on his last journey. All expenses related to the funeral, as before, were taken over by long-time patrons - Mission Sert and Coco Chanel. Even during the life of the entrepreneur, these two women competed with each other for Sergey's attention, while remaining friends. But this time they had nothing else to share. Beloved Serge left them both.