{"product_id":"15397-nijinsky-waslaw-ballets-russes-solid-14k-gold-vessel-presented-to-nijinsky-after-the-premiere-of-debussy-s-jeux","title":"[Nijinsky, Waslaw. (1889-1950)] [Ballets Russes] Solid 14k Gold Vessel, Presented to Nijinsky after the Premiere of Debussy's \"Jeux\"","description":"\u003cp\u003eAn antique gold vessel and cover presented to the great dancer and choreographer after the premiere of Debussy's \u003ci\u003eJeux \u003c\/i\u003ein 1913. Designed as a stylized urn, the vessel bears the presentation engraving: \u003cspan\u003e\"Vaslav Nijinsky\/Jeux\/Theatre des Champs-Elysees\/le 15 mai, 1913\" above a pair of crossed tennis rackets and a tennis ball. Solid 14K gold with maker's mark. 9 inches (23 cm) high, 10.25 oz weight. \u003c\/span\u003eDeaccessioned from the collection of the Metropolitan Opera Guild, for whom it was purchased by Mrs. John E. Long, in memory of Lily O. Pforzheimer.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003eThe last work for orchestra written by Claude Debussy, \u003ci\u003eJeux\u003c\/i\u003e (\"Games\") was comped for the Ballets Russes of Sergei Diaghilev to choreography by Vaslav Nijinsky. Conducted by Pierre Monteux, \u003ci\u003eJeux\u003c\/i\u003e was first performed on 15 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris and was not well received (and was soon eclipsed by Stravinsky's \u003ci\u003eThe Rite of Spring\u003c\/i\u003e, which was premiered two weeks later by Diaghilev's company). Danced by Nijinsky, Tamara Karsavina, and Ludmilla Schollar, the scenario of the ballet involves two girls and a boy who play, chase each other and embrace in the fantastical setting of a garden tennis court.\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eJeux\u003c\/i\u003e premiered in Paris in May at the grand opening of Gabriel Astruc's modern new theatre, the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées. The set was a large grey-green garden, an open space—not intimate enough, Bronia [Nijinska] thought, for Nijinsky's subtle \u003ci\u003epas de trois \u003c\/i\u003ein which so much is implied or implicit. Bakst's costume designs were rejected at the last minute—for some reason he had planned to have Vaslav in a red wig and unflattering long shorts—so instead he wore a white version of his practice clothes while Jeanne Paquin designed the girls' white tennis dresses. Again, the dancers barely touched; again the theme of male innocence and female knowledge was repeated. This 'second instalment of Nijinsky's erotic autobiography [revealed] no less urgently than \u003ci\u003eFaune\u003c\/i\u003e, the power of desire, the ambiguity of sexual identity, and his aversion to intercourse itself.' \" (Lucy Moore: \u003ci\u003eNijinsky: A Life.\u003c\/i\u003e)\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv\u003e\u003cspan\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46093583450271,"sku":"15397","price":45000.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0512\/4826\/7423\/files\/Nijinsky_Jeux_Gold_Urn_15397_1.png?v=1722188988","url":"https:\/\/www.schubertiademusic.com\/products\/15397-nijinsky-waslaw-ballets-russes-solid-14k-gold-vessel-presented-to-nijinsky-after-the-premiere-of-debussy-s-jeux","provider":"Schubertiade Music and Arts","version":"1.0","type":"link"}