Bluebird pas de deux
Theatre Costume
ca.1922 (made)
ca.1922 (made)
| Place of origin |
Costume worn by Stanislas Idzikowski as 'the bluebird' in Aurora's Wedding as performed by Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1922. After the closure of The Sleeping Princess (1921-22) In London many of the costumes were impounded. To mount a ‘divertissement’ from the ballet (Aurora’s Wedding included the fairy variations from the prologue, the fairy-tale characters from the final act and some of the social dances) new costumes had to be found, designed and made.
The costume is an interpretation of that designed by Léon Bakst for the performance of the pas de deux as L'oiseau de feu in Le Festin in 1909 which was danced by Vaslav Nijinsky. At that point the status of the two dancers had been changed from Marius Petipa's original so that the male dancer was no longer the bird (as in the fairytale of Princess Florine and the Bluebird) but a prince, leaving Nijinsky's partner to be the firebird.
It had long believed that this costume was a second version made for Nijinsky (possibly for his independent season in 1914 at the Palace Theatre London) but the only evidence of any dancer wearing the costume was an image of Stanislas Idzikowski. This created further challenges as, by the time Idzikowski danced the ballet with the Ballets Russes, the pas de deux had been redesigned as The Enchanted Princess and a different costume worn (see S.965-1982). Research in 2023 suggests that a new version of the Festin costume was made for Idzikowski to wear for Aurora's Wedding at the Paris Opera in 1922 although dancers in the role soon returned to a blue version of Bakst's 1916 costume.
The costume is an interpretation of that designed by Léon Bakst for the performance of the pas de deux as L'oiseau de feu in Le Festin in 1909 which was danced by Vaslav Nijinsky. At that point the status of the two dancers had been changed from Marius Petipa's original so that the male dancer was no longer the bird (as in the fairytale of Princess Florine and the Bluebird) but a prince, leaving Nijinsky's partner to be the firebird.
It had long believed that this costume was a second version made for Nijinsky (possibly for his independent season in 1914 at the Palace Theatre London) but the only evidence of any dancer wearing the costume was an image of Stanislas Idzikowski. This created further challenges as, by the time Idzikowski danced the ballet with the Ballets Russes, the pas de deux had been redesigned as The Enchanted Princess and a different costume worn (see S.965-1982). Research in 2023 suggests that a new version of the Festin costume was made for Idzikowski to wear for Aurora's Wedding at the Paris Opera in 1922 although dancers in the role soon returned to a blue version of Bakst's 1916 costume.
Object details
| Categories | |
| Object type | |
| Parts | This object consists of 2 parts. (Some alternative part names are also shown below)
|
| Title | Bluebird pas de deux (generic title) |
| Materials and techniques | |
| Brief description | Costume after a design by Leon Bakst for the Prince in the Blue Bird pas de deux in Aurora's Wedding, ca.1922 |
| Physical description | Gold hip-length tunic covered in gold stitched circles and dark blue circles each centred with a pearl. The undersleeves and tights are brown-gold jersey with narrow horizontal bands of beads. The tunic has an extended white collar front panel edged with gold circles with amber beads in the centres, a band of pearls with three bands at the neck. In the centre of the panel which has been shortened is an embroidered pale pink rose with drop pearl attached and below four blue flowers are embroidered. At the bottom of the panel are a dozen hanging strands of pearls. The costume is an interpretation of the costume Leon Bakst designed for Nijinsky in L'oiseu de feu/L'oiseau d'or in 1909 |
| Credit line | Given by the Friends of the Museum of the Performing Arts |
| Object history | Given by Nadia Nerina to Richard Buckle for his organisation, the Friends of the Museum of the Performing Arts. It came to the museum with their collection. |
| Summary | Costume worn by Stanislas Idzikowski as 'the bluebird' in Aurora's Wedding as performed by Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes in 1922. After the closure of The Sleeping Princess (1921-22) In London many of the costumes were impounded. To mount a ‘divertissement’ from the ballet (Aurora’s Wedding included the fairy variations from the prologue, the fairy-tale characters from the final act and some of the social dances) new costumes had to be found, designed and made. The costume is an interpretation of that designed by Léon Bakst for the performance of the pas de deux as L'oiseau de feu in Le Festin in 1909 which was danced by Vaslav Nijinsky. At that point the status of the two dancers had been changed from Marius Petipa's original so that the male dancer was no longer the bird (as in the fairytale of Princess Florine and the Bluebird) but a prince, leaving Nijinsky's partner to be the firebird. It had long believed that this costume was a second version made for Nijinsky (possibly for his independent season in 1914 at the Palace Theatre London) but the only evidence of any dancer wearing the costume was an image of Stanislas Idzikowski. This created further challenges as, by the time Idzikowski danced the ballet with the Ballets Russes, the pas de deux had been redesigned as The Enchanted Princess and a different costume worn (see S.965-1982). Research in 2023 suggests that a new version of the Festin costume was made for Idzikowski to wear for Aurora's Wedding at the Paris Opera in 1922 although dancers in the role soon returned to a blue version of Bakst's 1916 costume. |
| Collection | |
| Accession number | S.548&A-1978 |
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| Record created | July 1, 2009 |
| Record URL |
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