Sergey Diaghilev: biography, personal life, photo

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

As you know, the beginning of the 20th century was the time of the triumph of Russian ballet all over the world, and in this the merit of Sergei Diaghilev is invaluable. His personal life has repeatedly become the subject of heated discussions in society. However, this man, who elevated the profession of an entrepreneur to the rank of art, was forgiven for what would have made many others outcasts.

Short 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, into a noble family. The boy did not remember his mother, as she died shortly after his birth. Little Sergei was raised by his 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 the gymnasium in Perm in 1890, Sergei Diaghilev went to St. Petersburg and entered the Faculty of Law. In parallel, he studied music with N. A. Rimsky-Korsakov.

From 1896 to 1899

In 1896, Sergei Diaghilev graduated from the university, but he failed to become a lawyer. Nevertheless, he soon became known in St. Petersburg as one of the creators of the first in Russia art magazine "World of Art", which united Vrubel, Serov, Levitan and others around him. Over time, Sergei Diaghilev and his closest like-minded friends D. Filosofov and A. N. Benois organizes several exhibitions. In particular, showings of works by German watercolorists (in 1897), canvases by Scandinavian artists, paintings by Russian and Finnish painters at the Stieglitz Museum (in 1898) and others are held with great success.

In public service

In 1899, the director of the Imperial Theaters, S. Volkonsky, appointed Sergei Diaghilev to the position of an official for special assignments. In addition, he was entrusted with editing the annual publication covering the activities of this department. Diaghilev turns the magazine into a high-quality art publication, and attracts A. Vasnetsov, A. Benois, L. Bakst, A. Serov, K. Korovin and others to work in the Imperial Theaters. However, cooperation with Volkonsky ends rather quickly, as Sergei Diaghilev has disagreements with his superiors in the process of preparing the ballet Sylvia. In addition, he has a painful break with Dmitry Filosofov, the cause of which is Zinaida Gippius. As a result, Diaghilev decides to end the existence of the "World of Art" and in 1904 leaves St. Petersburg.

Russian Seasons

The active character of Sergei Diaghilev and 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 start of the First World War, after which the great entrepreneur decided to leave his homeland forever.

Russian Ballet

Having settled in New York, where the memories of the performances with the participation of Anna Pavlova, Vaclav Nijinsky and other famous dancers and ballerinas were still fresh, Sergei Diaghilev organized a permanent troupe. It became known as the "Russian Ballet" and existed until 1929. During this period, Diaghilev is having a hard time breaking up with Vaslav Nijinsky, who has 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 his best ballets for him, which became classics of dance art.

Last years of life

Sergei Diaghilev (see photo above) has always taken his he alth extremely lightly. Back in 1921, he was diagnosed with diabetes. At the same time, Diaghilev practically did not comply with the instructionsdoctors and did not spare himself, going on exhausting trips. Since 1927, he developed a severe furunculosis. Some researchers believe that this was one of the manifestations of AIDS, which Diaghilev may have suffered from. In those years, antibiotics did not yet exist, so the presence of numerous foci of purulent infection meant a direct threat to life. Later, Diaghilev ignored the doctors' orders and went on a tour with his troupe, including visits to Berlin, Cologne, Paris and London. In the British capital, doctors advised him to undergo a course of treatment with thermal waters, but instead, the great entrepreneur visited Baden-Baden to discuss a new ballet with Hindemith, and from there went to Munich and Salzburg to listen to operas by Mozart and Wagner. Feeling worse, he decided to spend some time in Venice.

Death

Sergey 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 had blood poisoning. 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 memorial service, his body was transferred to the island of San Michele, and he was buried in the Orthodox part of the cemetery.

Personal life of Sergei Diaghilev

As already mentioned, the famous entrepreneur showed homosexual inclinations from an early age. His first love wascousin Dmitry Filosofov, with whom he founded the "World of Art" and, as they would say today, took up the promotion of Russian art. Later there were rumors that the reason for his dismissal from the Imperial Theaters was his connection with Vaslav Nijinsky, which he did not even think to hide. The next to win Diaghilev's heart was the young dancer Leonid Myasin, who allowed himself to be loved in the name of his career, and succeeded in doing so. However, his marriage to Vera Savina put an end to the relationship between the ballet star and his patron. After Diaghilev repeatedly brought young people closer to him, whom he helped with all his might to make a successful career. In particular, Sergei Lifar and Anton Dolin achieved fame in this way, while it was said about the first of them that he was devoid of homosexual inclinations, and the master's love remained platonic. Be that as it may, as a result of these hobbies, several famous ballets were born to the music of Stravinsky, Balanchine and Rouault.

Now you know who Sergei 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 his huge role in the development of domestic and world ballet art.