Eric Chaim Kline, Bookseller - Old and Rare Books

Ballet Russe De Monte Carlo. Season 1945-46 [WITH GALA FALL SEASON PROGRAM & EPHEMERA LAID IN]

Denham, Sergei J. (Director)

New York: General Program Corporation, 1945. First printing. Softcover. Large Quarto. Unpaginated. Original wraps with color motif by Dorothea Tanning, white stylized title at top.; protected by modern mylar. Contains list of Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo supporters. Intriguing b/q photographs of ballet scenes and close-ups of stars. With article by Edward Alden Jewell: Ballet and the Arts, and three full page color reproductions of stage sets. Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo "Repertoire (Partial list) at centerfold. Bryan advertisement with Dali painting in color. Stylish full page advertisements in color throughout. Laid in a photo-illustrated printed double-page of the Gala Fall Season Program at the Philharmonic Auditorium, West 5th Street, LA. Two additional flyers for Ballet Russe (several fold) and Trudi Schoop and her Comic Ballet. Very light wear along edges of wraps. Very good+ condition. Item #55295

Serge Diaghilev (1872-1929) was the founder of the Ballets Russes, a troupe that revolutionized modern design, fashion and theater and is widely regarded as the most influential ballet company of the 20th Century. It performed first in Paris in 1909 at the Palls Garnier with overwhelming success. Diaghilev himself was skeptical about ballet, at times referring to the dancers as "a herd of cattle." Diaghilev's success, however, was based on his idea to combine dance, music and visual arts, including set design and costumes, with Leon Bakst as the artistic director of the Ballet Russes. Key to the tremendous success of the Ballets Russes was the mix of traditional ballet with show elements, that way making it more appealing to the general public, and influential in contemporary art at the same time.

After Diaghilev's death in 1929 his property was claimed by his creditors and in 1931, Wassily de Basil (a Russian émigré) and René Blum, ballet director at the Monte Carlo Opera, founded the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo. Its first performance was given in 1932 at the Monte Carlo Opera.

Price: $175.00