These are unique spectacles, created before more than 100 years. It’s amazing that even to this day they continue to be topical. With the same costumes, sets and choreography, created for their original premieres in Paris in 1910-1912. A long time they were not shown in Russia, because Fokine and Diaghilev and all the participants in the Russian seasons stayed living abroad. This is why they were not included in the repertoire of the Mariinsky Theatre up to 1993.
These spectacles belong to Russia by rights, because they were created by Russian artists, designers and choreographers, but were made for Frenchmen, with the result that they take them for their own. Their premiere was in Paris and when I go there, they tell me that these are their spectacles. And because they have seen the light of day first in the West, many people consider them for Western productions. After the Revolution, when Diaghilev and all Russian artists – Pavlova, and Karsavina, and Stravinsky, Benois and Bakst stayed abroad, it was politically incorrect to advertise them in Russia. Fokine died in New York in 1942, Nijinsky died in France, Stravinsky – in the USA and was buried in Italy, Karsavina and Pavlova were buried in London. At the Soviet time, the attitude towards the ones who lived abroad wasn’t so good. They invited Stravinsky, but this was an extraordinary event, his music was not so popular in the USSR of that time. It was not the case that it lacked totally or it was inaccessible, but it was put in the column “second hand works” and accordingly it wasn’t popularized like the other ones.
In 1992, I decided to revive these spectacles. With the intention to look for prime sources, I visited the Lunacharsky Library. It turned out that in 1957 Vitaly, Mikhail Fokine’s son, had sent to Russia two huge boxes with his father’s notes, which entered in this library. Among them there are print outs and drawings of the postures from “The Firebird”, as well as of the separate connection in the staging. I was the first one who saw these things since the year of their arrival in Moscow. No one up to this moment did even suspect the existence of this huge archive. For the revival of both spectacles helped me a lot also Isabelle, Mikhail Fokine’s granddaughter, to whom I was introduced in New York. Before that, my father, Maris, had met Vitaly Fokine. He transferred in New York “The Spirit of the Rose”, and the son, a ballet artist himself, dealt with transfer of his father’s heritage till the end of his life.
The spectacles “Petrushka”, “The Firebird” and “Scheherazade” we revived at the Diaghilev Centre in Moscow, and the premiere was in St. Petersburg, in January 1993. After that, we showed them also at the Moscow Bolshoi Theatre. Their first presentation we made at the Mariinsky Theatre, adored by Fokine, favourite also to Diaghilev. The entire artistic intelligence was at that time in St. Petersburg. We didn’t just revive the three ballets, but we also shot a movie at the Mosfilm studio, in which the music was performed by the Bolshoi Theatre Orchestra. The sets and the costumes were made at the same theatre. In 2003, the company Universal released this recording on DVD. It unites the labels Decca, Deutsche Grammophon and Philips. Decca included this release among its priority products and we were advertised at the same time with the newest video recordings of Pavarotti and Bocelli. This project I entitled “Return of Firebird”, having in mind that during ca. 80 years it was flying all over the world, before appearing on the stage of the Mariinsky Theatre. Namely the bows from this premiere can be seen at the background of the final titles of the released recording. When I sent a DVD with the recordings at Universal, I received a short e-mail from the Director of the company, who was responsible for these issues: “Thank you very much! This is an eternal product!” That means, this is a product of the history of art of the ХХ century, which can be watched today, tomorrow, after 20 or after 100 years. For me personally this is the greatest compliment, which I have ever received.
These spectacles were staged in Dresden, Rome, Marseille, Minsk, Riga, Tbilisi, Florence. At first, we produced together “Scheherazade” and “The Firebird”, later we combined them with “Petrushka”. Sofa is the ninth city outside of Russia, in which we stage Stravinsky’s both masterpieces. The sets and the costumes in this production are exceptional. Your ateliers made literally the impossible in order to achieve that. With Nezhny we work together since 1992, he is an exceptional artist. We have an excellent team experience and many productions after our backs. He made an excellent recreation after the sketches – sizes, material, colour. All people working with the sketches think that such quality of working out of the materials they have never seen before. I am very happy that your ballet company is working with such enthusiasm, regardless of the ancient choreography. It is more than 100 years old, but the amazing is that after Nijinsky and Karsavina in these spectacles Petrushka was performed by Nureev, Barishnikov, Vasiliev – these are top artists, who wanted to get in touch with something, made once upon a time by Fokine and Diaghilev to Stravinsky’s music also after Nijinsky. Each one of these artists thought it was a happiness to take part in these spectacles.
As a whole, I revived 12 ballets from Diaghilev’s repertoire. Besides the three ones mentioned, among them are “Polovtsian Dances ”, “Chopiniana”, “The Spirit of the Rose”, “ Armide’s Pavilion ”, “The Blue God”, “The Afternoon of a Faun”. This is the heritage of Diaghilev, Fokine, Bakst’s staggering sets for “The Blue God”, “Tamara” – ballet to Balakirev’s music, created by Fokine for Tamara Karsavina.
The spectators, who come to see the premiere of “Petrushka” and “The Firebird”, will be at once immersed in the atmosphere of the Russian seasons in Paris. Quite a lot was said about them, but it is difficult to understand them as a phenomenon. They took place in Paris from 1909 to 1929, until the death of Diaghilev, with a break in 1914-1916 because of World War I. The people, who will visit the spectacles, will understand that they were created more than 100 years ago. And now they are being watched with interest. They must have been quite ahead of their time, in order to be topical after so many years! With small exceptions the productions hardly stand the test of time. They are performed 5-10 years, very rarely for a longer period. While Diaghilev’s spectacles have been performed during the whole time from their creation until today. He went against the current, he fought with the trends, dominating in art at that time. He created something new. What I am doing is to give back to Russia what belongs to it by rights. We are travelling a lot and we are showing these spectacles all over the country. I found “Scheherazade” in Boston, “The Firebird” – in Paris and in New York. In all these spectacles, the Russian colour is always lacking for me. The foreigners perform them in an American or in a French manner. I have always felt offended that the Russians don’t dance them.
“Petrushka” and “The Firebird” are very suitable for the youngest audience. Adults watch them like something, which belongs to the Russian seasons in Paris, and children accept them like fairy-tales. That is why I would like very much the audience to come with their children in the hall. I gave these spectacles at the Natalya Sats Children’s Music Theatre, which has its own ballet and opera company and orchestra and a hall with 1700 seats. Every month they present “The Firebird”, “Petrushka”, “Scheherazade” or “Polovtsian Dances”. I revived also the opera-ballet “The Golden Cockerel”, also Fokine’s staging. In 1914, it was shown at the Paris Grand Opéra with sets and costumes by Natalya Goncharova. You can’t imagine with what interest the children watch this work! They are not bored, because they are listening an opera and watching a ballet, but the whole is a fairy-tale. They are watching Benois, Golovin, Bakst’s costumes, Fokine’s choreography, Stravinsky’s music. To listen to it in a concert hall isn’t easy, but in these spectacles the children accept it like a cinema fairy-tale. It seems a fairy to me what will happen on the stage of the Sofia Opera with both titles!
From a personal experience, I can say that at the Mariinsky Theatre these spectacles were presented already 23 seasons. Forthcoming are guest-performances in Baden Baden, where they have already been performed, but the audience wants them again and again. In these spectacles the dancers turn into real artists. Sometimes it’s easier to dance “Swan Lake”, than “The Firebird”.
For the first time I came at the Sofia Opera in 1987 to dance at the premiere of “The Nutcracker” with producer Yuri Grigorovich. I love Sofia and Bulgaria a lot. Like Orthodox Christian, I have toured many monasteries in Greece and in Bulgaria. We have shown “Petrushka” at the Russian Cultural Centre. The first thing, which I made after my arrival this time, was to visit the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral and the temples around. Every time I come here with great pleasure and I am happy. Sofia reminds me partially of the ancient Riga, partially of Vienna, Paris. An amazing city, which has preserved many things, connected with history. I like to visit it very much.
