As you know, the beginning of the 20th century was the time of the triumph of Russian ballet around the world, and the merit of Sergey Diaghilev is invaluable in this. His personal life has repeatedly become the subject of heated debate in society. However, this person, who elevated the profession of entrepreneur to the rank of art, was forgiven for what many others would be made outcasts.
Brief biography of Sergei Diaghilev: childhood and youth
The future organizer of the "Russian Seasons" was born on March 19, 1872 in the village of Selishchi, Novgorod Province, in a noble family. The boy did not remember his mother, since she died shortly after his birth. The upbringing of little Sergey was taken by her stepmother, who was an educated and intelligent woman.
The boy's father was a military man, and for his service, the Diaghilev family was often forced to move from place to place. After graduating from high school in Perm in 1890, Sergei Diaghilev went to Petersburg and entered the law faculty. In parallel, he studied music with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.
From 1896 to 1899
In 1896, Sergei Diaghilev graduated from university, but the lawyer did not work out of him. Nevertheless, he soon became known in St. Petersburg as one of the creators of the first in Russia art magazine, World of Art, uniting Vrubel, Serov, Levitan and others around him. Over time, Sergey Diaghilev and his closest like-minded friends D. Filosofov and A.N. Benoit organize several exhibitions. In particular, the displays of works by German watercolorists (in 1897), paintings by Scandinavian artists, paintings by Russian and Finnish painters at the Stieglitz Museum (in 1898) and others are very successful.
In public service
In 1899, the director of the Imperial Theaters, S. Volkonsky, appointed Sergey Diaghilev to the post of official on special assignments. In addition, he was entrusted with editing the annual publication, dedicated to the activities of this department. Diaghilev turns the magazine into a high-class art publication, and engages A. Vasnetsov, A. Benois, L. Bakst, A. Serov, K. Korovin and others in the Imperial Theaters. However, cooperation with Volkonsky ends pretty quickly, as Sergei Diaghilev disagrees with his superiors in the process of preparing the ballet Sylvia. In addition, he has a painful break with Dmitry Philosopher, caused by Zinaida Gippius. As a result, Diaghilev makes the decision to cease the existence of the "World of Art" and in 1904 leaves St. Petersburg.
"Russian seasons"
Sergey Diaghilev’s active nature and his connections in the world of art allow him to organize in 1908 in Paris a screening of Russian operas Boris Godunov by M. Mussorgsky, Ruslan and Lyudmila by M. Glinka and others, which were a huge success.
A year later, 1909, the first “Russian Seasons” took place in Paris, which became a bright event in the cultural life of all of Europe. Sergei Diaghilev’s ballets were also seen in London, Rome and even in the United States. The ballet "Seasons" ended shortly before the outbreak of the First World War, after which the great entrepreneur decided to leave his homeland forever.
"Russian ballet"
Having settled in New York, where memories of performances with the participation of Anna Pavlova, Vaclav Nizhinsky and other famous dancers and ballerinas were still fresh, Sergey Diaghilev organized a permanent troupe. She became known as the "Russian Ballet" and lasted until 1929. During this period, Diaghilev was seriously experiencing a break with Vaclav Nizhinsky, who had been the subject of his homosexual passion for many years. Unable to forgive his beloved for a secret wedding with the Romanian ballerina Romola Pulskaya, he again became close to Mikhail Fokin. The latter created for him his best ballets, which became classics of dance art.
last years of life
Sergei Diaghilev (photo above) has always been extremely frivolous about his health. Back in 1921, he was diagnosed with diabetes. At the same time, Diaghilev practically did not comply with the instructions of the doctors and did not spare himself, going on a grueling trip. Since 1927, he developed severe furunculosis. Some researchers believe that this was one of the manifestations of AIDS that Diaghilev may have suffered. In those years, antibiotics did not yet exist, therefore, the presence of numerous foci of purulent infection meant a direct threat to life. Diaghilev later ignored the doctors' orders and went on a tour with his troupe, which included visits to Berlin, Cologne, Paris and London. In the British capital, doctors advised him to undergo a course of thermal water treatment, but instead the great entrepreneur visited Baden-Baden to discuss a new ballet with Hindemith, and from there went to Munich and to Salzburg to listen to the operas of Mozart and Wagner. Feeling worse, he decided to spend some time in Venice.
Death
Sergei Diaghilev, whose biography is inextricably linked with the history of Russian ballet during the first quarter of the 20th century, arrived in Venice on August 8, 1929. Doctors stated that due to abscesses, he began to become infected with blood. After 4 days he fell ill, but continued to make plans for the future. On August 18, Diaghilev took communion and died the next morning, without regaining consciousness.
After the requiem, his body was transferred to the island of San Michele, and he was buried in the Orthodox part of the cemetery.
Personal life of Sergey Diaghilev
As already mentioned, a well-known entrepreneur from early youth showed homosexual tendencies. His first love was cousin Dmitry Filosofov, with whom he founded the “World of Art” and, as they would say today, began to promote Russian art. Later, there were rumors that the reason for the dismissal from the Imperial theaters was his connection with Vaclav Nizhinsky, which he did not think to hide. The next person to win Diaghilev’s heart was the young dancer Leonid Myasin, who allowed himself to be loved in the name of a career, which he succeeded in. However, his marriage with Vera Savina put an end to the relationship of the ballet star and his patron. After Diaghilev, he repeatedly approached young people whom he helped with all his might to make a successful career. In particular, in this way Sergey Lifar and Anton Dolin achieved fame , while the first of them was rumored that he was devoid of homosexual inclinations, and the master's love remained platonic. Anyway, as a result of these hobbies, several famous ballets were born to the music of Stravinsky, Balanchine and Rouault.
Now you know who Sergey Diaghilev was. The biography, personal life and novels of this famous Russian entrepreneur often became the subject of discussion and condemnation. However, no one can deny its huge role in the development of domestic and world ballet art.