APOLLON MUSAGETE, 1928

[rg]

scans of 2 photos publicizing the London performances of Balanchine's APOLLON MUSAGETE in 1928. (note the typical lack of the choreographer's, i.e. Balanchine's, name in the captioning)

selections from this series? are published in Propert's THE RUSSIAN BALLET, and probably elsewhere. in both cases Terpsichore is upstage, so it's hard to say if the performance(s) photographed included Nikitina or Danilova as the lead muse. i suspect Danilova.

[DanielBenton]

Fascinating photos; reminds one that what costumes look like can change radically over a few years. We are so used to the clean sleek look of Balanchines' ballets today.

[rg]

it's true that while the changes made to the visual scheme along the way of the history of Balanchine's APOLLON have been noted, at least with regard to the individual names of the various visual collaborators who worked with Balanchine, no careful, specific catalog of these elements, describing the character, detailing and color of costuming and setting, since '28, has been done, to best of my information.

Color, for instance, which is to say hues for the costuming, other than the choice of white and black, came relatively late in the game, probably with Karinska's efforts in 1957.

[DanielBenton]

And having just seen The Four Temperaments at NYCB it brings to mind the colorful and bizarrely cumbersome Kurt Seligmann costumes of the 1946 premiere.