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‘Deliciously entertaining.’ Financial Times ‘Scintillating . . . fizzes with balletic energy.’ Daily Mail ‘Gripping . . . bursting with extraordinary characters and anecdotes.’ Sunday Telegraph ‘An extraordinary tale, enthrallingly told.’ Gramophone Such was the credo of the ruthlessly manipulative and resourceful Serge Diaghilev – the Russian impresario who created the modern art form of ballet. Commissioning such legendary names as Nijinsky, Fokine, Stravinsky and Picasso, he produced a series of radically original works that had a revolutionary impact throughout the Western world. Off stage there was scandal and sensation, collaboration and competition, tempestuous affairs and a wild carousel of mayhem. The Ballet Russes left a matchless artistic legacy, ending with the abrupt death of Diaghilev in 1929. But the achievements of its heroic prime would continue to set the standards for the next era.
‘Deliciously entertaining.’ Financial Times
‘Scintillating . . . fizzes with balletic energy.’ Daily Mail
‘Gripping . . . bursting with extraordinary characters and anecdotes.’ Sunday Telegraph
‘An extraordinary tale, enthrallingly told.’ Gramophone
Such was the credo of the ruthlessly manipulative and resourceful Serge Diaghilev – the Russian impresario who created the modern art form of ballet. Commissioning such legendary names as Nijinsky, Fokine, Stravinsky and Picasso, he produced a series of radically original works that had a revolutionary impact throughout the Western world. Off stage there was scandal and sensation, collaboration and competition, tempestuous affairs and a wild carousel of mayhem.
The Ballet Russes left a matchless artistic legacy, ending with the abrupt death of Diaghilev in 1929. But the achievements of its heroic prime would continue to set the standards for the next era.