Schubertiade :: [Ballets Russes] Nijinska, Bronislava. (ca. 1891–1972) & De Basil, Wassily. (1888–1951) & Beaton, Cecil. (1904–1980) & Tchernicheva, Lubov. (1890–1976) & Dorati, Antal. (1906–1988) & Baronova, Irina. (1919–2008) & Hugo, Jean. (1894–1984) & Karinska, Barbara. (1886–1983) & Grigoriev, Serge. (1883–1986) & Osato, Sono. (1919–2018) & Kochno, Boris. (1904

[Ballets Russes] Nijinska, Bronislava. (ca. 1891–1972) & De Basil, Wassily. (1888–1951) & Beaton, Cecil. (1904–1980) & Tchernicheva, Lubov. (1890–1976) & Dorati, Antal. (1906–1988) & Baronova, Irina. (1919–2008) & Hugo, Jean. (1894–1984) & Karinska, Barbara. (1886–1983) & Grigoriev, Serge. (1883–1986) & Osato, Sono. (1919–2018) & Kochno, Boris. (1904–1990)

1935 Menu Signed by More than 30 Members and Associates of the Ballets Russes

Menu from a dinner given in honor of the opening of the ballet Les Cent Baisers on July 23, 1935, signed by over 30 members of the ensemble. Signatures include dancer and choreographer Bronislava Nijinska; regisseur Serge Grigoriev, ballerinas Lubov Tchernicheva, Tatiana Riabouchinska, Irina Baronova, Sono Osato, and others; impresario W. de Basil, designers Cecil Beaton and Jean Hugo, costumer Barbara Karinska, conductor Antal Dorati, Russian poet, dancer and librettist Boris Kochno who from 1920 was Diaghilev's secretary, sometimes lover, and eventually main collaborator; and many others. Signed on the second and third pages, mostly in pencil. 4to; faint scattered staining, owner's inscription at upper right of cover. Overall very good. 15 x 9.25 inches (38 x 23.5 cm) when opened.

Les Cent Baisers, a one-act ballet with choreography by Nijinska, libretto by Kochno, and music by Frederic d'Erlanger, premiered at Covent Garden with Col. de Basil's Ballets Russes in July 1935. It is based on the Hans Christian Andersen fairy-tale about a swineherd, a princess, and a magic bowl. The production involved a plethora of talented performers and creators, including artist and writer Jean Hugo, primarily known for his small-format sketches and paintings, who also designed the sets and costumes for the 1928 film The Passion of Joan of Arc; costume designer Barbara Karinska (Varvara Jmoudsky), who began her career with the Ballets Russes and went on to become the award-winning designer for the New York City Ballet; dancer and regisseur Serge Grigoriev, who served as régisseur for the Ballets Russes for more than twenty years and also authored a book on the company; and the talented Japanese-American ballerina and actress Sono Osato, who later danced with the American Ballet Theatre. (16981)

Signed Document/Item Dance