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Issues of 2008

Seductive characters of the silver age

Nowadays we are again feeling sorrow for Silver Age, the brilliant era of Sergei Diaghilev and Alexander Benois, when beauty was the main criterion for creators in the art of the end of the XIX ≈ the beginning of the XX century. ╚First of all I am desperately in love with beauty and want to be its servant╩, the painter Konstantin Somov wrote to his friend Alexander Benois.

Our outstanding contemporaries ≈ the star of the world ballet Andris Liepa and the President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli ≈ decided to revive spirituality and beauty of the Silver Age. Addressing the far past they got close to members of the union ╚Mir iskusstva╩: L.S. Bakst, A.N. Benois, A.Y. Golovin, V.A. Serov, N.K. Roerich, M.V. Dobuzhinsky and each interpreted the splendor of past times in their own way.

Ceiling piece of the new stage of the Bolshoi Theater [zoom (69k)]

Andris Liepa made a play with original scenery and costumes by the remarkable artists Alexander Golovin, Alexander Benois and Lev Bakst and called it ╚Return of the Firebird╩. Archives of his father Maris Liepa, the legendary ballet dancer of the Bolshoy Theatre, and his materials on the Russian Seasons helped him a lot. The play included three ballets in choreography by Mikhail Fokin ≈ ╚Petrushka╩, ╚Scheherazade╩ and ╚Firebird╩. The first night took place these days in Mariinsky Theatre and then in the Bolshoy Theatre. The revival of the Russian ballets had such a great success in Paris theatre du Chatelet that it brought down the house and they drew the curtain fifteen times.

After the plays that went off in both Russian capitals Andris Liepa started filming cinema versions of the ballets at Mosfilm. The director-producer of the movie ╚Return of the Firebird╩ was A. Liepa himself. ╚The idea of my project was to revive three masterpieces,╩ Andris Liepa said. After the filming, scenery and costumes were passed to Mariinsky Theatre.

Anything but simple question came up with the extension of the State Bolshoy Theatre and the construction of its new hall (the second stage). The question is how the hall that is to realize the idea of synthesis as the uppermost purpose of the art will be decorated. The Bolshoy Theatre ranks especially in the history of art culture being in the centre of art search of masters of all the kinds of art since it was founded in March 8, 1776. The first to think about synthesis of musical and decorative forms was P. Gonzaga. The painter was interested in the correlation of music as temporary art and decorative painting as extensional art. Gonzaga resulted in creation of musical scenery at that he used spatial and colour rhythms to make the scenery ╚musical╩. Gonzaga▓s ideas were realized at the turn of the XIX ≈ the beginning of the XX centuries in theories of Vagner and Skryabin and scenery of members of ╚Mir iskusstva╩.

The President of the Russian Academy of Arts Zurab Tsereteli proposed to address images of the Silver Age. The painting of the theatre plafond was realized by students of Moscow State Academy Art Institute named after V.I. Surikov (monumental workshop of the academician E.N. Maksimov); the architectural part was made under auspices of the academician M.M. Posokhin.

The colour decision of the space for the new hall was determined by the modern reference to the Silver Age. A light green-silver colour was chosen for colour spectrum.

Both curtains are extraordinarily beautiful. The gala one is more solemn and has the Russian State Emblem auriphrygiated against a dark-green background. The second curtain reflects the theme of the ballet ╚The Firebird╩ as Zurab Tsereteli proposed.

The ballet ╚Firebird╩ centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. Ivan enters the magical realm of Kashchei the Immortal. While wandering in the garden, he sees, chases and catches the Firebird. The Firebird begs for its life and ultimately agrees to assist Ivan in exchange for eventual freedom.

Next, Prince Ivan sees thirteen princesses, with one of whom he falls in love. The next day, Ivan chooses to confront Kashchei to ask to marry one of the princesses; the two talk and eventually begin quarreling. When Kashchei sends his magical creatures after Ivan, the Firebird, true to its pledge, intervenes, bewitching the creatures and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance. The creatures and Kashchei then fall asleep; however, Kashchei awakens and is killed by the Firebird. With Kashchei gone and his magic broken, the magical creatures and the palace all disappear, and all of the ⌠real■ beings (including the princesses) awaken and, with one final fleeting appearance from the Firebird, celebrate their victory.

Leon Bakst. Sketch of the costume of the Firebird. 1910. Gouache and pencil on paper. Private collection [zoom (56k)]

The first night of ╚Firebird╩ took place on June 25, 1910 in Grand Opera Theatre in Paris. The ballet was tremendously successful. That was the second year of the ╚The Russian Seasons╩ that had obtained recognition of the European audience by that time: in 1910 a big exhibition of the Russian scenography took place in Paris; Paul Valery, Paul Claudel, Andre Gide, Auguste Rodin created under the influence of the esthetics of ╚The Russian Seasons╩. The ╚seasons╩ influenced a lot the composers ≈ Erik Satie, Francis Poulenc, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel and also painters of Paris avant-garde ≈ Pablo Picasso, Georges Braques, Andre Derain, Giorgio de Chirico and others.

The ballet ╚Firebird╩ like other Diagilev▓s ballets became property of the world ballet art. ╚Firebird╩ succeeded in London (1926), Buenos Aires (1931), New York (1935), Edinburgh (1954) and Cape Town (1957). On October 2, 1921 the ballet was first put on the stage at The Opera and Ballet Theatre in Petrograd (choreographer F. Lopukhov, painter A. Golovin, conductor E. Kuper).

After the triumph of ╚The Russian Seasons╩ theatre sketches became collectibles for the first time. Museums and private collectors in Paris and in the course of time in Europe longed for them.

Sergei Diaghilev coped with his grandiose task to present Russian art to Europe excellently. In operas and symphonies he addressed to works of Mussorgsky, Borodin, Rimsky-Korsakov, in ballets he tried to reflect Russian people themes. It▓s worth mentioning that there was only one play on the Russian theme in the repertoire of the Imperial ballet ≈ ╚The Humpbacked Horse (Konyok-gorbunok)╩ put on by the French ballet-master Saint-Leon in 1864. In the beginning of the ХХ century the decision of the ballet turned naпve and outdated. And Diaghilev▓s intention is clear ≈ he wanted to show national colour and distinctive character of Russian original culture.

╚The Firebird╩ presented splendid scenery and costumes, high choreography and new unusual music. The French critic A. Geon wrote, ╚The Firebird╩, a fruit of intimate cooperation of a choreographer, composer and painter (Stravinsky, Fokine and Golovin), is a wonder of delightful balance between movements, sounds and forms. The background scenery that shimmers dark gold seems to be done the same way as the cloth of the orchestra that is full of shades. One could hear voices of a magician and raging witches and dwarfs. When storm passes by, it seems to be carried by music. Stravinsky, Fokine and Golovin are one author for me╩.

Mikhail Fokine addressed to that very fairy-tale and to other Russian fairy-tales from Afanasiev▓s collection while composing libretto. The choreographer explained his passion for the subject ≈ he said that the Firebird was the most fantastic creature of folktales and at once the most suitable to be embodied in dance. As the Firebird is a minor character in the majority of Russian folktales, Fokine wrote his libretto on the base of several folktales. A. Benois, composer I. Stravinsky, painters Golovin and Stelletskii, literary man Remizov took part in remaking and discussing of the libretto.

Diaghilev did not choose the painter at once. At first he wanted to call Konstantin Somov that in 1907 made the book cover for Konstantin Balmont▓s book of poems ╚Firebird. Slav▓s pipe╩ where a woman-bird was presented as a tender vision. But Somov declined Diaghilev▓s offer to take part in the non-repertory theatre because of his dislike of Diaghilev himself. Diaghilev decided against I.Y. Bilibin and D.S. Stelletskii as the painters held for styled but really existing forms in the Old Russian art and the Firebird▓s fabuluosness expected more light and free form. Finally the artistic design of the ballet was commissioned to Alexander Golovin.

So the painter began cooperating with Diaghilev. He had already had a big experience of working in Savva Mamontov▓s Private Opera and later in imperial theatres where he drew not only sketches but hundreds of meters of scenery, painted cloths for costumes and sometimes modeled properties. It was Golovin who designed the first Diaghilev▓s staging in Paris in 1908 ≈ Mussorgsky opera ╚Boris Godunov╩; it was the very play where Fyodor Shalyapin starred and Europeans heard his voice for the first time. However the painter only created sketches and declined to make them himself that time as he was busy in imperial theatres. His artistic ideas in Paris were realized by the young painter K. Yuon.

Golovin designed the scenery for the ballet ╚Firebird╩ as a single whole that should have pursuit the only purpose ≈ the scenery should have helped to express the content of the play. Golovin gave East fairy colouring to enchanted garden, Koschei the Deathless and his entire retinue. Captive princesses came to the stage like white swans by contrast with it. They said and wrote that Golovin▓s ╚elusive vision of flowers, trees and palaces╩ of Koshei▓s mysterious garden was one of the best scenery for a Russian play. Alexander Benois wrote about his friend, ╚Golovin is one of ╚the richest╩ colorists of the modern Russian art. His favourite colour spectrum is light, silver with fresh spring green, smoked sky-blue and king purple enchants as tender music.╩.

Alexander Golovin dealt successfully with the complex task to create a curtain for the leading Russian theatre. In 1914 the unique curtain that later became an emblem of Mariinsky theatre was made according to Golovin▓s sketches.

A. Golovin. Sketch of costume of vityaz. 1910. Gouache and watercolour on paper [zoom (55k)]

This remarkable painter drew excellent landscapes, portraits, created refined theatre decorations. He was acknowledged one of the most outstanding painters-reformers, earned fame as a colorist, embodied discoveries of impressionism on the stage. Brilliance, picturesque and refined scenery and costumes were perfectly embodied in choreography. Later ╚The Firebird╩ was designed by such outstanding artists as N. Goncharova and I. Bilibin but nobody made anything equal to Golovin▓s decorations.

The music was composed by Igor Stravinsky whose talent was revealed by Sergei Diaghilev. Diaghilev could evolve new talents and make them sparkle like stars. Diaghilev himself told about it in his article ╚How I Put on Russian Ballets╩: ╚One evening I heard scherzo of an unknown composer that was played so perfectly that I decided that I found a colleague for my ballet. The unknown composer was Igor Stravinsky. The next day I commissioned him to write music for ╚The Firebird╩╩.

Tamara Krasavina wrote in her memoirs, ╚Mark him well╩, he (Diaghilev ≈ Е.R.) told me once, pointing at Stravinsky, ╚He is a man on the eve of celebrity.╩. The remark was made on the stage of Paris Opera Theatre during the rehearsal of ╚The Firebird╩. The French critics R. Brussel and A. Brunou wrote that the ballet won a new summit ≈ the musical one that Diaghilev▓s ballet had lacked before. Later Diaghilev▓s ballets had to adapt themselves to the music that had already existed. They wrote, ╚Finally we▓ve seen a play with independent music created by free and strong inspiration. The music is not borrowed or did anew that time. During twenty years of the existing of Russian Ballet Diaghilev put on the stage eight Stravinsky▓s ballets: ╚Firebird╩, ╚Petrushka╩, ╚The Rite of Spring╩, ╚Song of the Nightingale╩, ╚Pulcinella╩ by Pegroleze-Stravinsky, ╚Fox╩, ╚The Wedding╩, ╚Apollon Musagete╩, operas ╚Mavra╩ and ╚Nightingale╩, oratorio ╚Oedipus rex╩ and ╚Firework╩. Since 1913 Stravinsky was one of the main art directors of the Russian ballet.

The first dancer that played the first part of Mikhail Fokine▓s staging was Tamara Karsavina. ╚Where could one find the dance like that in ╚The Firebird╩ where Karsavina leaves the law of man▓s gravity aside and turns into a fairy╩, the French critic K. Mocler wrote in his article ╚What does Russian Season Teach?╩ (╚La Revue╩).

If one tries to follow the succession of the choreographic tradition he (or she) could see a sort of connection. Nina Ananiashvili played the part of the Firebird in the modern staging of Andris Liepa. The ballet dancer learnt her part in London under the direction of the famous Margo Fontein, a student of Tamara Karsavina.

Lev Bakst is the next bright character of Diaghilev▓s seasons. He made two costumes for ╚The Firebird╩ ≈ of the Firebird and Tsarevna in Eastern style. The Firebird▓s costume was made of white, gold and some bright green and red feathers that looked extremely beautiful. High head╛dress, golden wig with long plaits turned the ballerina into a fairy creature, a woman-bird in rainbow plumage. Karsavina seemed to fly while wearing such an extraordinary costume. As Afanasiev wrote in his fairytale, ╚A fast, clean and flame-coloured Firebird with golden wings came to the garden in the dead of night and enlightened it as thousands of lights╩. Snow white costume of Tsarevna contrasted with the one of the Firebird. Tsarevna▓s costume was distinguished by severity of the silhouette and complex ornament of roses and geometric figures. ╚The Firebird╩ united talents of two outstanding theatre artists ≈ Alexander Golovin and Lev Bakst.

Their creative work was often compared by their contemporaries, masters of the Silver Age. Alexander Benois wrote that the contrast between Bakst▓s and Golovin▓s staging was dramatic as Golovin did an improvisation and Bakst at the contrary thought over every detail.

Both painters found reverberating fame while alive. Golovin was recognized as the greatest stage designer and Bakst was an incomparable costume designer. He worked with enthusiasm at seventeen productions of the non-repertory company. Diaghilevs▓ ╚Seasons╩ made him famous in Europe. Bakst was called ╚the king of the Russian Seasons╩. He wrote scripts, created wonderful settings and costumes▓ sketches, worked as an art director of the theatre. In 1910s ≈ the beginning of 1920ies a fashion trend haute couture ╚a la Bakst╩ appeared.

Both Bakst and Golovin loved antiquity. Konstantin Korovin recalled, ╚A.Y. Golovin told me many times that he adored Apollo and the beauty of the ancient world.╩. Bakst was also interested in the art of the ancient Greece. Being interested in antiquity an enthusiastic traveler Leon Bakst did not copy the historical costumes but made styled costume fantasies that were subject to dance▓s requirements. He addressed not only to antiquity but also to the Eastern art, to the Russian Empire style and German romanticism and used the motifs of the above╛mentioned times in his settings and costumes. He used wavy lines, plane pictures, bright colours, flaunting drapery.

Bakst cooperated with Diaghilev more that the other members of ╚Mir iskusstva╩. Diaghilev, a great organizer and judge of art, was enchanted by Bakst▓s works: their spicy luxury, picturesque, colour and graphical expressiveness. Besides, Bakst felt the plastique of dance movement. Painting the characters of a play he showed their most characteristic movements ≈ he drew his characters dancing, running, furtive, playing the musical instruments etc. Thinking over the art of ballet Bakst said, ╚I will tell you the secret of the Russian ballet and its success. (┘) The secret of our ballet is the rhythm. We made it possible to express not feelings and passion as drama does and not only forms as painting does but the very rhythm of emotions and forms. Our dances, settings and costumes ≈ they all takes one▓s breath away because they express the most elusive and inmost ≈ the rhythm of life. (┘) Our ballet is the perfect synthesis of all the existing arts╩.

Bakst imagined the faces of the characters. Sometimes he drew them from a certain ballet dancer (Ida Rubinshtein, Vaslav Nijinsky). Nowadays the painter▓s sharp picture and ideal proportions became monumental and can be compared to frescos. We can enjoy Bakst▓s fairy characters on the plafond of a new stage of the Bolshoy Theatre like Parisians enjoy Marc Chagall▓s characters on the plafond of the Grand Opera.

Alexander Block▓s words ╚When the native meets the native through centuries the mystic is born╩ became prophetic at the turn of the XX and XXI centuries. According to Tsereteli▓s idea Lev Bakst▓s opera and ballet characters decorated the plafond of a new hall ≈ the second stage of the State Bolshoy Theatre.

Tsereteli said, ╚When I started working at the design of a new hall of the second stage of the State Bolshoy Theatre, I had to refer to images and symbols that come to a painter at the memory of the era of the Russian Renaissance, a time of cultural and spiritual revival, known as the Silver Age. This mighty, integral and bright йpoque seems to shine like the sun. It has crossed the borders of Russia. I would like to fill the new hall of the Bolshoy Theatre with the spirit of triumph and renaissance of the Russian culture. I have never liked copying. That▓s why while addressing to renowned images of the Silver Age I first of all tried to create a monument to the historical period itself and to creative people who gave the birth to it. I purposely addressed images of the great theatre painter Lev Bakst and scenery of Alexander Golovin. We could be proud that celebrated plays of the Silver Age that were admirations in the beginning of the XX century in Russia, Europe and America were designed by the Russian artists╩.