Theatre Costume
1937 (made)
| Artist/Maker |
This costume was designed by Natalia Goncharova for General Polkan in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Le Coq d'or (The Golden Cockerel), which was produced by the De Basil Ballets Russes in 1937. The ballet was based on the opera of the same name by the great Russian composer, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The treatment was a very Russian mix of earthy humour and the supernatural, pointing the moral that dishonesty and ingratitude will receive just punishment and satirising military incompetence.
General Polkan is Commander-in-Chief of King Dodon's army, forced to lead his ruler's futile military enterprises. In keeping with the ballet's subject and its satirical treatment, his armour is exaggerated and slightly caricatured, as can be seen in the over-large shoulder guards in the form of masks. Clearly, given the character and the style of his costume, the role did not call for flashy virtuoso steps, but was more a mime or character part, with a burlesqued or humorous slant.
General Polkan is Commander-in-Chief of King Dodon's army, forced to lead his ruler's futile military enterprises. In keeping with the ballet's subject and its satirical treatment, his armour is exaggerated and slightly caricatured, as can be seen in the over-large shoulder guards in the form of masks. Clearly, given the character and the style of his costume, the role did not call for flashy virtuoso steps, but was more a mime or character part, with a burlesqued or humorous slant.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 4 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
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| Brief description | Costume for Polkan, Commander-in-Chief, in Fokine's ballet Le Coq d'or, de Basil Ballets Russes, 1937 |
| Dimensions |
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| Credit line | Purchased with the assistance of the London Archives of the Dance |
| Summary | This costume was designed by Natalia Goncharova for General Polkan in Mikhail Fokine's ballet Le Coq d'or (The Golden Cockerel), which was produced by the De Basil Ballets Russes in 1937. The ballet was based on the opera of the same name by the great Russian composer, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. The treatment was a very Russian mix of earthy humour and the supernatural, pointing the moral that dishonesty and ingratitude will receive just punishment and satirising military incompetence. General Polkan is Commander-in-Chief of King Dodon's army, forced to lead his ruler's futile military enterprises. In keeping with the ballet's subject and its satirical treatment, his armour is exaggerated and slightly caricatured, as can be seen in the over-large shoulder guards in the form of masks. Clearly, given the character and the style of his costume, the role did not call for flashy virtuoso steps, but was more a mime or character part, with a burlesqued or humorous slant. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.5-2004 |
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| Record created | March 3, 2005 |
| Record URL |
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