Misplaced Pages

#110889

57-530: Commissioned by impresario Gabriel Astruc , the theatre was built from 1911 to 1913 upon the designs of brothers Auguste Perret and Gustave Perret following a scheme by Henry van de Velde , and became the first example of Art Deco architecture in the city. Less than two months after its inauguration, the Théâtre hosted the world premiere of the Ballets Russes ' Rite of Spring , which provoked one of

114-736: A composer was dashed in 1894 when Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov told him he had no talent. In 1898, several members of The Pickwickians founded the journal Mir iskusstva ( World of Art ) under the editorship of Diaghilev. As early as 1902, Mir iskusstva included reviews of concerts, operas, and ballets in Russia. The latter were chiefly written by Benois, who exerted considerable influence on Diaghilev's thinking. Mir iskusstva also sponsored exhibitions of Russian art in St. Petersburg, culminating in Diaghilev's important 1905 show of Russian portraiture at

171-418: A huge sensation, completely reinvigorating the art of performing dance, bringing many visual artists to public attention, and significantly affecting the course of musical composition. It also introduced European and American audiences to tales, music, and design motifs drawn from Russian folklore . The company's employment of European avant-garde art went on to influence broader artistic and popular culture of

228-611: A stage curtain by Ker-Xavier Roussel . The building houses two smaller stages, the Comédie des Champs-Élysées theatre on the 3rd floor, and the Studio des Champs-Élysées on the 5th floor. The building is considered a landmark of modern architecture , and has been a monument historique of France since 1957. Gabriel Astruc was the first director of the theatre, and programmed contemporary music, dance and opera, including works by Claude Debussy and Igor Stravinsky . Although Astruc

285-809: A year, mostly baroque or chamber works, suited to the modest size of its stage and orchestra pit . In addition, it houses an important concert season. It is home to two orchestras: the Orchestre National de France and Orchestre Lamoureux , as well as the French base of the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra . The Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France , the Orchestre des Champs-Élysées and Ensemble orchestral de Paris play most of their concerts here too, along with other dance , chamber music , recital and pop events. Although

342-544: A young Erik Satie and wrote articles and theater pieces under the pen name Surtac . In 1897 he founded a music publishing company with his father-in-law Wilhelm Enoch, by 1900 he had introduced the luxury magazine Musica , and by 1904 had become a concert promoter. In this period he was the booking agent for Mata Hari . Astruc booked Hari into the Paris Olympia in August 1905, and would manage her appearances for

399-551: Is built of reinforced concrete and features rectangular forms, straight lines, and decoration attached to the outside on plaques of marble and stucco, which was a radical departure from the Art Nouveau style, and, at the time, shockingly plain in appearance. The building's concrete construction was not merely a stylistic choice. Subsoil conditions and the site's proximity to the Seine made concrete necessary. Henry van de Velde

456-947: The Polovtsian Dances (from Prince Igor ), Les Sylphides , and Cléopâtre . The season also included Le Festin , a pastiche set by several choreographers (including Fokine) to music by several Russian composers. The principal productions are shown in the table below. Léon Bakst (costumes) Alexandre Benois (costumes) Ivan Bilibin (costumes) Edvard Grieg ( Småtroll, op.71/3, from Lyric Pieces , Book X ) (orch. Igor Stravinsky for "Variation") Michel Fokine Léon Bakst (costumes) Léon Bakst (costumes) Alexander Golovin (sets and costumes) Natalia Goncharova (costumes) Gabrielle Chanel (costumes) Pablo Picasso (sets) Joan Miró (sets and costumes) Coco Chanel (costumes) Juan Gris (costumes) When Sergei Diaghilev died of diabetes in Venice on 19 August 1929,

513-610: The corps de ballet . Bronislava Nijinska was the younger sister of Vaslav Nijinsky . She trained at the Imperial Ballet School in St. Petersburg, joining the Imperial Ballet company in 1908. From 1909, she (like her brother) was a member of Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. In 1915, Nijinska and her husband fled to Kiev to escape World War I. There, she founded the École de movement, where she trained Ukrainian artists in modern dance. Her most prominent pupil

570-556: The Boston Opera Company . During most of World War I , the theatre was closed, but the Congress of Allied Women on War Service was held there in August 1918. Pavlova 's ballet company presented a short season of dance performances in 1919. The theatre was purchased by Madame Ganna Walska (Mrs. Harold Fowler McCormick ) in 1922, although not with the intention of being its manager. She stated that she had purchased

627-700: The Petrograd Conservatory , graduating in 1923. During this time, he worked with the corps de ballet of the Mariinsky Theater . In 1924, Balanchine (and his first wife, ballerina Tamara Geva ) fled to Paris while on tour of Germany with the Soviet State Dancers. He was invited by Sergei Diaghilev to join the Ballets Russes as a choreographer. Diaghilev invited the collaboration of contemporary fine artists in

SECTION 10

#1732787273111

684-754: The School of American Ballet , and later the New York City Ballet , many outstanding former Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo dancers went to New York to teach in his school. When they toured the United States, Cyd Charisse , the film actress and dancer, was taken into the cast. The Original Ballet Russe toured mostly in Europe. Its alumni were influential in teaching classical Russian ballet technique in European schools. The successor companies were

741-768: The Tauride Palace . Frustrated by the extreme conservatism of the Russian art world, Diaghilev organized the groundbreaking Exhibition of Russian Art at the Petit Palais in Paris in 1906, the first major showing of Russian art in the West. Its enormous success created a Parisian fascination with all things Russian. Diaghilev organized a 1907 season of Russian music at the Paris Opéra . In 1908, Diaghilev returned to

798-412: The "Rite of Spring" and the audience reaction. The theater was the main venue for the 2006 romantic comedy Fauteuils d'orchestre (Orchestra Seats), starring Cécile de France and directed by Danièle Thompson. Gabriel Astruc Gabriel Astruc (14 March 1864 – 7 July 1938) was a French journalist, agent, promoter, theatre manager, theatrical impresario, and playwright whose career connects many of

855-523: The 20th century, in part because it promoted ground-breaking artistic collaborations among young choreographers, composers, designers, and dancers, all at the forefront of their several fields. Diaghilev commissioned works from composers such as Igor Stravinsky , Claude Debussy , Sergei Prokofiev , Erik Satie , and Maurice Ravel , artists such as Vasily Kandinsky , Alexandre Benois , Pablo Picasso , and Henri Matisse , and costume designers Léon Bakst and Coco Chanel . The company's productions created

912-653: The African (1926), Jean Sarment's Leopold the Well-Beloved (1927), and Marcel Achard's Jean of the Moon (1929). He is perhaps best known for directing the premier of three of Jean Giraudoux 's plays: Siegfried in 1928, Amphitryon 38 in 1929, and Intermezzo in 1933. On 4 December 1924 the Ballets Suédois production of Francis Picabia 's Relâche , described by him as a ballet instantanéist

969-598: The Avenue Montaige. This building is an architectural landmark of early reinforced concrete . After a brilliant and scandalous first season, climaxed by the famous riot at the May 29 premiere of The Rite of Spring , Astruc found himself financially ruined within six months. He was also the target of anti-Semitic attacks from Léon Daudet and others of the Action Française . After World War I, he worked in

1026-619: The Ballets Russes was left with substantial debts. As the Great Depression began, its property was claimed by its creditors and the company of dancers dispersed. In 1931, Colonel Wassily de Basil (a Russian émigré entrepreneur from Paris) and René Blum (ballet director at the Monte Carlo Opera ) founded the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo , giving its first performances there in 1932. Diaghilev alumni Léonide Massine and George Balanchine worked as choreographers with

1083-565: The Ballets Russes were Parade , El sombrero de tres picos , and Pulcinella . In all three of these works, he collaborated with Pablo Picasso , who designed the sets and costumes. Massine extended Fokine's choreographic innovations, especially those relating to narrative and character. His ballets incorporated both folk dance and demi-charactère dance, a style using classical technique to perform character dance . Massine created contrasts in his choreography, such as synchronized yet individual movement, or small-group dance patterns within

1140-495: The Ballets Russes. These included the Polovtsian Dances (from Prince Igor ), Le Pavillon d'Armide (a revival of his 1907 production for the Imperial Russian Ballet), Les Sylphides (a reworking of his earlier Chopiniana ), The Firebird , Le Spectre de la Rose , Petrushka , and Daphnis and Chloé . After a longstanding tumultuous relationship with Diaghilev, Fokine left the Ballets Russes at

1197-497: The Faun, the ballet's frankly erotic nature caused a sensation. The following year, Nijinsky choreographed a new work by Debussy composed expressly for the Ballets Russes, Jeux . Indifferently received by the public, Jeux was eclipsed two weeks later by the premiere of Igor Stravinsky 's The Rite of Spring ( Le Sacre du printemps ), also choreographed by Nijinsky. Nijinsky eventually retired from dance and choreography, after he

SECTION 20

#1732787273111

1254-484: The Paris Opéra with six performances of Modest Mussorgsky 's opera Boris Godunov , starring basso Fyodor Chaliapin . This was Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov 's 1908 version (with additional cuts and re-arrangement of the scenes). The performances were a sensation, though the costs of producing grand opera were crippling. In 1909, Diaghilev presented his first Paris "Saison Russe" devoted exclusively to ballet (although

1311-439: The Paris premiere of Fauré's opera Pénélope (10 May). Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes presented the company's fifth season, although their first in the new theatre, opening on 15 May with Igor Stravinsky's The Firebird , Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade (as choreographed by Michel Fokine ), and the world premiere of Debussy's Jeux (with choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky and designs by Léon Bakst ). Some in

1368-522: The audiences had been offended by the depiction on stage of a tennis game in Jeux , but this was nothing compared to the reaction to the ritual sacrifice in Stravinsky's Rite of Spring on 29 May. Carl Van Vechten described the scene: A certain part of the audience was thrilled by what it considered to be a blasphemous attempt to destroy music as an art, and, swept away with wrath, began very soon after

1425-461: The best seats (April 2022). The theater, both outside and inside, was featured in the 1973 French espionage movie Le Silencieux  [ fr ] . It appeared in Jan Kounen's 2009 film Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky , starring Mads Mikkelsen and Anna Mougalis in the title roles. The film begins with a brief exterior shot followed by an extensive recreation of the original staging of

1482-631: The best-known incidents and personalities of Belle Epoque Paris. He was the uncle of sculptor, Louise Ochsé (Mayer). Born in Bordeaux, to the Astruc family , he was the son of Élie Aristide Astruc (1831–1905), the Grand Rabbi of Belgium from 1866 to 1879, and began his career working for publisher Paul Ollendorff, and as a columnist from 1885 through 1895. As a regular at Montmartre 's prototypically bohemian Le Chat Noir cabaret, he befriended

1539-453: The company and Tamara Toumanova was a principal dancer. Artistic differences led to a split between Blum and de Basil, after which de Basil renamed his company initially "Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil". Blum retained the name "Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo", while de Basil created a new company. In 1938, he called it "The Covent Garden Russian Ballet" and then renamed it the " Original Ballet Russe " in 1939. Col de Basil's company

1596-463: The company did not use the name "Ballets Russes" until the following year). Most of this original company were resident performers at the Imperial Ballet of Saint Petersburg , hired by Diaghilev to perform in Paris during the Imperial Ballet's summer holidays. The first season's repertory featured a variety of works chiefly choreographed by Michel Fokine , including Le Pavillon d'Armide ,

1653-399: The company, including Ekaterina Galanta and Valentina Kachouba . Prima ballerina Xenia Makletzova was dismissed from the company in 1916 and sued by Diaghilev; she countersued for breach of contract, and won $ 4500 in a Massachusetts court. The Ballets Russes was even more remarkable for raising the status of the male dancer, largely ignored by choreographers and ballet audiences since

1710-601: The company: Les biches , Les Fâcheux , and Le train bleu . Born Giorgi Melitonovitch Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, George Balanchine was trained at the Imperial School of Ballet. His education there was interrupted by the Russian Revolution of 1917 . Balanchine graduated in 1921, after the school reopened. He subsequently studied music theory, composition, and advanced piano at

1767-472: The creation of Salome under the baton of Richard Strauss in 1907, the Ballets Russes of Diaghilev in 1909, the Metropolitan Opera conducted by Arturo Toscanini in 1910, and Debussy's Le martyre de Saint Sébastien (text by Gabriele D'Annunzio ) in 1911. In 1913 Astruc tried to parlay his success by commissioning Auguste Perret to build the innovative Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées - Misplaced Pages Continue

1824-511: The early 19th century. Among the male dancers were Michel Fokine , Serge Lifar , Léonide Massine , Anton Dolin , George Balanchine , Valentin Zeglovsky , Theodore Kosloff , Adolph Bolm , and the legendary Vaslav Nijinsky , considered the most popular and talented dancer in the company's history. After the Russian Revolution of 1917 , in later years, younger dancers were taken from those trained in Paris by former Imperial dancers, within

1881-529: The early part of the 20th century, it was sometimes referred to as "The Russian Ballet" or "Diaghilev's Russian Ballet." To add to the confusion, some publicity material spelled the name in the singular. The names Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo and the Original Ballet Russe (using the singular) refer to companies that formed after Diaghilev's death in 1929. Sergei Diaghilev , the company's impresario (or " artistic director " in modern terms),

1938-403: The early twentieth century, not least the development of Art Deco . The French plural form of the name, Ballets Russes , specifically refers to the company founded by Sergei Diaghilev and active during his lifetime. (In some publicity the company was advertised as Les Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghileff. ) In English, the company is now commonly referred to as "the Ballets Russes", although in

1995-619: The end of the 1912 season. Vaslav Nijinsky had attended the Imperial Ballet School , St. Petersburg since the age of eight. He graduated in 1907 and joined the Imperial Ballet where he immediately began to take starring roles. Diaghilev invited him to join the Ballets Russes for its first Paris season. In 1912, Diaghilev gave Nijinsky his first opportunity as a choreographer, for his production of L'Après-midi d'un faune to Claude Debussy 's symphonic poem Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune . Featuring Nijinsky himself as

2052-747: The field of radio and advertising, and in 1929 served as the manager of the Théâtre Pigalle for Philippe de Rothschild . Astruc and Marcel Proust were friends, having helped proofread the first edition of Swann's Way , and Proust returned the favor by helping Astruc prepare his memoirs, Le pavillon des fantômes , appearing in 1929. His papers reside at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts Dance Collection. Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes ( French: [balɛ ʁys] )

2109-461: The large community of Russian exiles. Recruits were even accepted from America and included a young Ruth Page who joined the troupe in Monte Carlo during 1925. The company featured and premiered now-famous (and sometimes notorious) works by the great choreographers Marius Petipa and Michel Fokine , as well as new works by Vaslav Nijinsky , Bronislava Nijinska , Léonide Massine , and

2166-511: The most famous classical music riots . At present, the theatre shows about three staged opera productions a year, mostly baroque or chamber works more suited to the modest size of its stage and orchestra pit . It also houses an important concert season. It is the home venue of the Orchestre National de France and the Orchestre Lamoureux , and serves as a French base for the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra as well. The theatre

2223-470: The next ten years, through the height of her considerable fame. He also served as booking agent for Feodor Chaliapin , Arthur Rubinstein , and Wanda Landowska , but not Isadora Duncan , whom he considered too subtle to attract a sizable audience. From 1905 through 1912 Astruc brought a long list of musical giants to Paris under the banner "Great Season of Paris", including an Italian season with Enrico Caruso and Australian soprano Nellie Melba in 1905,

2280-446: The nine-year lease from Jacques Hébertot , who would remain the manager. In 1923 Louis Jouvet was named director of the smaller Comédie des Champs-Élysées (located upstairs, over the foyer of the main theatre). The Comédie stage was the home of Jules Romains' long-running medical satire, Dr. Knock (1923), in which Jouvet played the title role . Jouvet also staged Charles Vildrac's Madame Béliard (1925), Bernard Zimmer's Bava

2337-476: The rise of the curtain, to make cat-calls and to offer audible suggestions as to how the performance should proceed. The orchestra played unheard, except occasionally when a slight lull occurred. The young man seated behind me in the box stood up during the course of the ballet to enable himself to see more clearly. The intense excitement under which he was labouring betrayed itself presently when he began to beat rhythmically on top of my head with his fists. My emotion

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées - Misplaced Pages Continue

2394-509: The same work. On 9 October d'Indy conducted Carl Maria von Weber's opera Der Freischütz . On 15 October Debussy conducted the Ibéria section from his orchestral triptych Images pour orchestre , and a week later he conducted his cantata La Damoiselle élue . By 20 November Astruc was out of money and was ejected from the theatre, and the sets and costumes were impounded. The following season consisted of operas presented by Covent Garden and

2451-431: The same year, he created Chopiniana to piano music by the composer Frédéric Chopin as orchestrated by Alexander Glazunov . This was an early example of creating choreography to an existing score rather than to music specifically written for the ballet, a departure from the normal practice at the time. Fokine established an international reputation with his works choreographed during the first four seasons (1909–1912) of

2508-705: The subject of the 2005 documentary film Ballets Russes . The Ballets Russes was noted for the high standard of its dancers, most of whom had been classically trained at the great Imperial schools in Moscow and St. Petersburg. Their high technical standards contributed a great deal to the company's success in Paris, where dance technique had declined markedly since the 1830s. Principal female dancers included: Anna Pavlova , Tamara Karsavina , Olga Spessivtseva , Mathilde Kschessinska , Ida Rubinstein , Bronislava Nijinska , Lydia Lopokova , Sophie Pflanz , and Alicia Markova , among others; many earned international renown with

2565-768: The success of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in Europe. In 1890, he enrolled at the Faculty of Law, St. Petersburg, to prepare for a career in the civil service like many Russian young men of his class. There he was introduced (through his cousin Dmitry Filosofov ) to a student clique of artists and intellectuals calling themselves The Nevsky Pickwickians whose most influential member was Alexandre Benois ; others included Léon Bakst , Walter Nouvel , and Konstantin Somov . From childhood, Diaghilev had been passionately interested in music. However, his ambition to become

2622-488: The theatre is privately owned, it is supported by the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations , which has owned the building since 1970. The theater houses a restaurant on its roof, called Maison Blanche. Yasmina Reza 's 'Art' premiered on the Comédie stage in 1994, winning two Molière awards . Prices can be expensive for the main stage, and vary widely even for a particular event, from €15 for restricted visibility to €180 for

2679-500: The young George Balanchine at the start of his career. The choreography of Michel Fokine was of paramount importance in the initial success of the Ballets Russes. Fokine had graduated from the Imperial Ballet School in Saint Petersburg in 1898, and eventually become First Soloist at the Mariinsky Theater . In 1907, Fokine choreographed his first work for the Imperial Russian Ballet, Le Pavillon d'Armide . In

2736-556: Was Serge Lifar (who later joined the Ballets Russes in 1923). Following the Russian Revolution, Nijinska fled again to Poland, and then, in 1921, re-joined the Ballets Russes in Paris. In 1923, Diaghilev assigned her the choreography of Stravinsky's Les Noces . The result combines elements of her brother's choreography for The Rite of Spring with more traditional aspects of ballet, such as dancing en pointe . The following year, she choreographed three new works for

2793-493: Was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. After its initial Paris season, the company had no formal ties there. Originally conceived by impresario Sergei Diaghilev , the Ballets Russes is widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of

2850-402: Was chiefly responsible for its success. He was uniquely prepared for the role; born into a wealthy Russian family of vodka distillers (though they went bankrupt when he was 18), he was accustomed to moving in the upper-class circles that provided the company's patrons and benefactors. It's indispensable to mention the name of the sponsor Winnaretta Singer which generous financial subsides ensured

2907-419: Was diagnosed with schizophrenia in 1919. Léonide Massine was born in Moscow, where he studied both acting and dancing at the Imperial School. On the verge of becoming an actor, Massine was invited by Sergei Diaghilev to join the Ballets Russes, as he was seeking a replacement for Vaslav Nijinsky. Diaghilev encouraged Massine's creativity and his entry into choreography. Massine's most famous creations for

SECTION 50

#1732787273111

2964-496: Was followed the next day with a performance of Hector Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini conducted by Felix Weingartner which included a "dance spectacular" by Anna Pavlova . Later there was a series of concerts devoted to Beethoven conducted by Weingartner and featuring the pianists Alfred Cortot and Louis Diémer , and the soprano Lilli Lehmann . The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam conducted by Willem Mengelberg gave two concerts: Beethoven's Ninth Symphony and

3021-605: Was premiered in the main theatre. The music by Erik Satie was conducted by Roger Désormière . The ballet included an interlude with a film by René Clair (shot on the roof of the theatre), which was accompanied by Saties's "new and astonishing film score Cinéma ." At the conclusion of the ballet, Satie took his curtain call in Désormière's car . Duran Duran filmed the video for New Moon On Monday here in January 1984. The theatre shows about three staged opera productions

3078-475: Was run by famed promoter Fortune Gallo for a year after losing their manager. After World War II began, the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo left Europe and toured extensively in the United States and South America. As dancers retired and left the company, they often founded dance studios in the United States or South America or taught at other former company dancers' studios. With Balanchine's founding of

3135-409: Was so great that I did not feel the blows for some time. Marie Rambert heard someone in the gallery call out: "Un docteur … un dentiste … deux docteurs…." The second performance (4 June) was less eventful, and, according to Maurice Ravel , the entire musical work could actually be heard. The first season ended on 26 June 1913 with a performance of Pénélope , and the new one opened on 2 October with

3192-503: Was soon financially overextended, the first season was "nothing short of dazzling." The theatre opened on 2 April 1913 with a gala concert featuring five of France's most renowned composers conducting their own works: Claude Debussy ( Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune ), Paul Dukas ( L'apprenti sorcier ), Gabriel Fauré ( La naissance de Vénus ), Vincent d'Indy ( Le camp from Wallenstein ), and Camille Saint-Saëns ( Phaeton and excerpts from his choral work La lyre et la harpe ). This

3249-556: Was the initial architect, resigning when it was clear that the contractors, the Perret brothers, had a far deeper understanding of reinforced concrete construction than he did, although the Perrets, were not licensed architects and had another designer, Roger Bouvard, sign their plans. The building includes an exterior bas relief by Antoine Bourdelle , a dome by Maurice Denis , paintings by Édouard Vuillard and Jacqueline Marval , and

#110889