Saluting the theatrical Diaghilev.

Diaghilev is dead, but he won't lie down. The endlessly fascinating impresario, who introduced the Ballets Russes to the West with such dancers as Nijinsky and Pavlova and drew upon such revolutionary creators as Stravinsky, and Picasso, is still very much among us almost sixty-nine years after his death in Venice. He and his commissions are constantly being recalled in ways theatrical, ranging from the remarkable to the bizarre.

Last summer, for example, Diaghilev was reincarnated by Tony Tanner, an English actor-writer now living and working in the U.S. Tucked away in a storefront theater on New York City's Orchard Street, Tanner, in a short but telling monologue, Charlatan: A Memoir of Serge Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes, was able to conjure up the Russian impresario's complex personality in a spirited, succinct performance. He touched on important moments in Diaghilev's life--from childhood through his boyhood days in Perm and, later, in St. Petersburg, to his celebrated years in Europe, particularly Paris and London. Although Tanner is no Diaghilev look-alike, he uncannily summoned the man's style with a dead-on Russian accent, silver-streaked hair, pencil moustache, and hallmark monocle (he chose not to use padding, however). Occasionally he stepped out of the role for a moment to suggest Nijinsky, Diaghilev's protege and lover, in Petrouchka, Le Spectre de la Rose, and Scheherazade.

A testament to Tanner's skills reportedly came from no less than the late Sir Anton Dolin; Tanner said that when Dolin first saw the piece in an earlier form, he "bowed his head and slowly shook it from side to side, as I described Nijinsky's last meeting with Diaghilev and the company. When Nijinsky, who was, of course, suffering from schizophrenia, was brought onto the stage, he seemed blank and indecisive. Then his former partner, Tamara Karsavina, broke away and ran to greet him. For a moment, Nijinsky's face flickered with recognition. I asked Dolin if I had portrayed the meeting accurately, as I had only books to go on. He said, `You have got it absolutely right.'"

If Tanner's appearance here for a few performances during the New York International Fringe Festival was a valiant endeavor in modest surroundings, the more recent "celebration of Diaghilev's death" was a gala evening at the New York State Theater, presenting Russian ballet's young ballerinas--some barely out of the classroom. The talent on display included the Kirov's newest crop of stars: Svetlana Zakharova, eighteen; Maya Doumchenko and Diana Vishneva, both twenty-one; and Uliana Lopatkina, twenty-four, the latter partnered on this occasion by the ex-Kirov, ex-New York City Ballet, and now Royal Ballet star Igor Zelensky, in the Act II pas de deux from Swan Lake. Most of the program had only a tenuous connection to Diaghilev, but Le Spectre de la Rose, choreographed by Fokine for Nijinsky and Karsavina, was the one genuine article. It was beautifully danced in true romantic spirit by Vladimir Malakhov (Kirov-trained, now with American Ballet Theatre) and Vishneva. Surrounding this one-time-only performance were various receptions and award presentations orchestrated by SoyuzKontrakt & Ardani Artists.

Around the same time, Diaghilev was also being commemorated in "Design, Dance and Music of the Ballets Russes 1909-1929," an exhibition selected from the Serge Lifar Collection, at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford, Connecticut [see Dance Magazine, October 1997, page 74]. Lifar was the last of Diaghilev's discoveries. On display from his collection of memorabilia from his years with the Ballets Russes were paintings, drawings, and costumes, along with other costumes bought at auction. (Memorable Sotheby's auctions in the 1970s and early 1980s had featured Ballets Russes designs by Bakst, Benois, and Picasso, as well as posters by Cocteau.) Alexander Schouvaloff, former curator of the London Theatre Museum, was quoted: "There has been an interest in the Ballets Russes for every successive generation." This is indeed true. In 1955 the exhibition curated by the historian and dance critic Richard Buckle gave a broad view of Diaghilev's life and accomplishments (dramatic touches included suffusing the galleries with Diaghilev's favorite perfume, Mitsouko). A more recent exhibit, "Diaghilev: Creator of the Ballets Russes," at the Barbican in London [see Letter from London, September 1996, page 391, displayed items unseen outside Russia while highlighting Diaghilev's early involvement in theater, art publishing, and opera, and his skills as an exhibitor of contemporary Russian painting and sculpture. Particularly interesting in the Barbican show was the inclusion of Tony Palmer's hour-long video, Once at a Border: Stravinsky, a series of reminiscences by the composer.

Diaghilev's endlessly facinating relationship with Nijinsky has inspired everything from monologues, such as Nicholas Johnson's Nijinsky--Death of a Faun [see Dancetheater, April 1997, page 92], to movies like Herbert Ross's Nijinsky (1980), with Alan Bates as Diaghilev and George de la Pefia as Nijinsky. Leslie Browne, formerly of American Ballet Theatre, and Carla Fracci, a beloved guest with that company, had featured roles in this film; but it was most memorable for having been Jeremy Irons's movie debut.

So the Diaghilev saga continues with, assuredly, more theatricality to come. Though the lode has been pretty well mined by now, who knows what may be found to add to the legend? As Diaghilev said to Cocteau, "Astonish me."