Boris KOCHNO (1904-1990) Typescript « Les ballets 1933»
Lot 546
2 5003 000
With multiple handwritten notes by B.Kochno, strikethrough, rewritten paragraphs. 10p. We enclose one version with marks of the corrector (pagination B. Kochno) and one fair version. Manuscript, 7 pages (sometimes on two sides). Lists of performances and participants by year related to the work in Monte Carlo. The manuscript of the 1972 Opera program. (names of actors, etc.) 2 p. We attach a draft letter to the management of the Monte-Carlo Opera Theater, 07/10/74 with thanks for organizing his arrival. 4p. In French.
Boris Kochno (1904-1990) is one of the legends of the European ballet of the 20th century. Writer and librettist of Russian origin. Shortly after emigrating to Paris in 1920, presented to Sergey Dyagilev. Young Boris Kochno became the secretary of the famous impresario and for some time his lover. Boris Kokchno and Serge Lifar were under Dyagilev in the last hours of his life. They inherited part of his archives and collections. For the « Russian Seasons» of Dyagilev, Kochno wrote the libretto opera « Mavra» (1922), ballet « Dokuchnye» (1922), « Zephyr and Flora» (1925) « Cat» (1927), « Prodigal Son» (1929) and others. In 1931, he began to actively cooperate with the new troupe of Russian ballet in Monte Carlo, under the leadership of Colonel de Basil and Rene Blum, for whom he created many librettos for ballet. In 1933, together with the legendary Georges Balanchin, he headed the season « Les Ballets 1933». Boris Kochno plays one of the most important roles in the existence of Russian ballet in Monte Carlo until 1939. Immediately after the end of the Second World War, together with Roland Petit, he created « Les Ballet des Champs - Elyséesé». In 1975, Kochno sells part of the Dyagilev collection, the remains of which are sold after his death and a degree of which are in the archives of the Paris Grand Opera. The archival material comes from the personal documents of Boris Kochno and his lover Christian Bérard and has unconditional historical value.
Georges Balanchine (1904-1983) - choreographer of Georgian origin, was one of the pioneers of American and modern neoclassical ballet. Provenance: Boris Kochno and Christian Bérard archive.
The unique material of B.Kochno’s memoirs about teamwork with Georges Balanchine over the 1933 season of Russian ballets in Paris and Monte Carlo. He talks about his acquaintance and teamwork with Dyagilev from a young age, touches on the details of Balanchine’s escape from the USSR and the beginning of his joint work in Monte Carlo with Colonel de Basil and Rene Blum. He writes about the termination of the contract with the company and the desire to « fight for his name.» Kochno reveals in detail the new concepts of ballet, the difficulties of organizing and finding sponsors. The text ends with an analysis of the year when it all began and the avant-garde theater.