"Das Entfesselte Theater" [“Theatre Unbound. Notes Of A Director.”] - from the collection of Serge Lifar

Potsdam: Gustav Kiepenheuer Verlag. [1927]. German translation of the Russian director's work on theater, first published in Russian in 1921, this being the second edition and the first to include the celebrated cover design by El Lissitzky. 8vo. 112 pp. Photo frontispiece and 11 plates (3 color). Original decorative boards with cover design in red and black by El Lissitzky. From the collection of Serge Lifar. Rubbing to spine, light wear to the boards; overall very good. 

In his book Das Entfesselte Theater ("The Unchained Theater"), the leading Russian avant-garde director and founder of the Moscow Kamerny (Chamber) Theater lays out his ideas on the art and craft of acting, directing, and the roles of costume, set design, music and literature in the theater. Tairov developed what he called "Synthetic Theatre," which incorporated ballet, opera, circus, music hall, and dramatic elements. He believed theatre was its own art and was not merely a means for transmitting literature. The acting school Tairov developed was intended to train a company of "master actors" who would excel in all of the elements of Synthetic Theatre and become the primary creators of performances.  Tairov's chamber theater was one of the most influential experimental theaters of the early Soviet Union. The book is appropriately dedicated to Alisa Koonen, Tairov's wife and muse. The cover design is typical of Lissitzky's work during his Bauhaus years in Berlin.

From the collection of the important dancer and choreographer Serge Lifar. Lifar made his debut at the Ballets Russes in 1923, where he became the principal dancer in 1925 and was considered the successor to Nijinsky. He was cast at the age of 21 opposite Tamara Karsavina in Nijinska's Roméo et Juliette (1926); Karsavina was twice his age. He originated leading roles in three Balanchine ballets for the Ballet Russes, including La Chatte (1927). After Diaghilev's death in 1929, he became the director of the Paris Opéra Ballet, a position he held during three decades until he was forced to retire in 1958. Beginning in the 1920's and continuing until his death, Lifar amassed a large collection of props, designs, costumes, art, and other dance and music artifacts, much of which came from Diaghilev either before or after his death, or from other Ballets Russes associates. Sotheby's conducted several sales on his behalf in the 1970's–80's, and the final auction of his collection in 2012 saw record-breaking sales. (16081)

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