Ballets Russes

the massine years, 1915 to 1921

grigoriev's diary

As régisseur (rehearsal director) to the Diaghilev Ballet, Sergei Grigoriev was the most loyal of Diaghilev's colleagues, and he was the only one to remain with the company throughout the twenty years of its existence. He is probably the only man who could describe the history of the Diaghilev troupe from its first performance to its last. It is fortunate, therefore, that he recorded his memoires (The Diaghilev Ballet, 1909-1929), reconstructed from some old notebooks in which he had carefully summarized information relating to all the seasons ever given by the Diaghilev ballet. The diary below is a year by year synopsis of the events recorded by Grigoriev in his book.

1915

But for two charity performances in Geneva and Paris in December, 1915 was a barren year in the annals of the Diaghilev ballet. At the beginning of May, Diaghilev invited Grigoriev to meet him in Switzerland, where he announced that he had signed a contract for a tour in North America the following year. Thus much of the year was devoted to recruiting dancers to form effectively a new company. Diaghilev introduced Ernest Ansermet, conductor of the Geneva Symphony Orchestra, who was to join them on the tour. The tour's sponsor, banker Otto Kahn, had made it a condition that Nijinsky danced and so Diaghilev was attempting to obtain his release from wartime internment in Austria.

Karsavina was pregnant and Grigoriev returned to Russia to seek a replacement and found Xenia Makletsova (right, with Adolf Bolm) in Moscow. Diaghilev's reply to Grigoriev's telegram was "Continue looking for someone better, but failing that engage Makletsova". She was duly despatched to Switzerland, as were batches of dancers in groups of six or eight to make up the corps de ballet. Male dancers were, of course, especially difficult to find.

The bid to recruit Fokine failed, as he refused to leave Russia in wartime. Diaghilev was not perturbed as Léonide Massine showed promise as a choreographer. An opportunity to perform his first essay in choreography, The Snowmaiden (Le Soleil de Nuit), came in two charity performances for the Red Cross in Geneva on 2 December and in Paris on 29th. It was considered a remarkable feat that, in wartime, Diaghilev had succeeded in launching a new company without his three "stars", Karsavina, Fokine and Nijinsky, and discovering a new "generation" of dancers. All were highly gifted and showed great promise for the future, whilst Massine's début as a choreographer was extremely encouraging.

1916

The voyage to America was cold, windy and rough. Everyone was seasick except Diaghilev himself. His immediate entourage besides Grigoriev was his secretary Drobetsky, the new administrator, Randolfo Barocchi, and the conductor, Ernest Ansermet. On arrival, Lydia Lopokova joined the company and, although technically weaker than Makletsova, had enormous charm and the public preferred her. It was not long before there was a crisis and Makletsova walked out. Nijinsky was not due to arrive until the spring so his parts were danced by Massine.

The New York programme opened on 17 January with The Firebird, La Princesse Enchantée, Le Soleil de Nuit and Schéhérezade. It provoked great interest as the American public had scarcely seen Russian ballet before. There followed a tour of sixteen towns (dancing in a different place each evening) before opening the second New York season on 3 April at the Metropolitan Opera House. Nijinsky turned up four days later in bad spirits and out of practice. His relations with Diaghilev and the company went from bad to worse.

With the war in full swing and prospects for a season in Europe looking bleak, Diaghilev approached Otto Kahn about another USA tour later in the year, but Kahn again stipulated that Nijinsky should be included in the company. The only solution was for Diaghilev to agree to hand over the administration of the company to Kahn while he and Grigoriev retired for the duration. Just before the end of the season on 29 April, Diaghilev received an invitation for the company to visit Madrid as King Alfonso wished to see the ballet. This provided the company with a welcome summer season. On 6 May the Dante Alighieri sailed for Europe with a cargo of ammunition, horses and the Russian Ballet.

In fine weather, the main threat to their welfare was from German submarines lurking off the Spanish coast. The first performance in Madrid was on 26 May in the presence of King Alfonso. Lopokova enchanted everyone in Le Carnaval and Les Sylphides and Massine's Soleil de Nuit was much applauded. Thereafter the King attended every performance of an extremely successful season. On 8 September the company sailed for the second tour of America, while Diaghilev and Grigoriev remained in Rome. Nicolas Kremnev was appointed as régisseur, under Nijinsky's management.

Soon telegrams seeking advice arrived daily in Rome and it was clear the season was going badly with factions of the company falling out with each other. Nijinsky composed a new ballet to Strauss's Till Eulenspiegel which had its first performance on 23 October, but was a failure. This ballet was unique in that in the history of the company, it was only one not seen by Diaghilev. The season finished with a large financial deficit which compromised the company's reputation so gravely that the Diaghilev Ballet was never able to appear in America again.

While the company was in the USA, Diaghilev and Massine were productive in Rome composing new works, of which Les Femmes de Bonne Humeur to music by Scarlatti was the most notable. It was completed during December and was extremely ingenious and original.

Main picture: Léonide Massine