“Diaghilev invented Russia for foreigners”, said Coco Chanel. 

Not long ago, we went to one of our favorite theaters – Classic Stage Company in Manhattan. Fire and Air by Terrence McNally was the show of the night.

Diaghilev with his Nanny by Leon Bakst. (In Fire and Air – Marsha Mason as Nanny Dunya)

The play is set around one of the critical periods in the life of Sergei Diaghilev, the founder and director of the legendary Ballet Russes, when his dramatic relationship with Vaslav Nijinsky – the genius dancer and revolutionary choreographer of the Ballet Russes – came to an end. (Douglas Hodge as Diaghilev and James Cusati-Moyer as Nijinsky)

The name of Serge Diaghilev is and forever will be among the most famous impresarios and art visionaries of the world. Associated first and foremost with Ballet Russes, Diaghilev’s influence went far beyond the ballet itself.

Diaghilev by Natalia Goncharova. She worked for Ballet Russes too.

The list of the iconic modern composers, dancers, and artists, whose works were directly commissioned by Diaghilev for Ballet Russes, is very long – Prokofiev, Strauss, Ravel, Debussy, Kandinsky, Benois, Chanel, Picasso, Matisse are just a few. Young George Balanchine, a co-founder of the New York City Ballet, worked there as choreographer and, later, as a ballet master.

There is no doubt that if it had not been for Diaghilev, the world would have never enjoyed some of the works of these giants of art, such as The Firebird by Igor Stravinsky, with costumes by Leon Bakst, scenery by Alexander Golovine, and choreography by Michel Fokine (who also danced a Prince party), or The Rite of Spring by the same Stravinsky with stage design and costumes by Nicholas Roerich and choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky!

It is not a coincidence that the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th century is associated with the bloom of modern arts in various forms all over Europe and Russia. First of all, it was mostly peaceful and prosperous time and Art was in high demand. Another reason was that the Industrial revolution brought a significant number of qualified, educated people, other than the traditional elite, to higher levels of society. Those people became the new consumers of art.

New time and new people – a social and cultural shift – demanded new arts of every form. In Russia, in addition to developing a new type of literature and poetry, those shifts caused an unprecedented explosion of visual and performing arts. One of the best books about Russian arts in the first two decades of the 20th century is Moscow and St. Petersburg by John E. Bowlt. The significant part of this book pays tribute to Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes.

As a proud child of the Russian Silver age, Ballet Russes united Avant-Garde music, costumes, themes and new styles of choreography, and often burst fire into the conflicts of tastes and preferences of the audience. Not once Ballet Russes performances ended with fights and riots, like those at the premieres of The Rite of Spring or The Afternoon of a Faun (music by Claude Debussy).

In Fire and Air, these volcanic times are reflected in the desire and relationship between Diaghilev and Nijinsky – conflicts that were rooted in their perfectionism, narcissism, domination and rebellion; and in passionate love, of course, but above all – in their dedication to the new Arts.

Ascetic scenery together with directing style of John Doyle cumulate the audience’s attention to the unmasked dialog and the characters’ emotions.

For us – a very good night at the Theater.