Chinese Conjuror's Costume for "Parade" by Picasso (1917). Victoria & Albert Museum. London
“Pablo Picasso's first collaboration with the Ballets Russes was Parade. In a letter sent to a friend, Jean Cocteau the librettist said "Picasso amazes me every day, to live near him is a lesson in nobility and hard work". Picasso's studio in Rome had a little crate that held the model of "Parade" with its trees and houses, and on a table were the painted characters: the Chinaman, Managers, American girl, and horse. Cocteau described his friend's unusual artistic process: "A badly drawn figure of Picasso is the result of endless well-drawn figures he erases, corrects, covers over, and which serves him as a foundation. In opposition to all schools he seems to end his work with a sketch." The audiences were amazed by the first ballet to have cubist costumes, sets, and choreography.
“After World War I, Picasso made a number of important relationships with figures associated with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. In the summer of 1918, Picasso married Olga Khokhlova, a ballerina with the troupe, for whom Picasso was designing the ballet, Parade, in Rome; and they spent their honeymoon in the villa near Biarritz of the glamorous Chilean art patron Eugenia Errázuriz. During the same period that Picasso collaborated with Diaghilev’s troup, he and Igor Stravinsky collaborated on Pulcinella in 1920.” [Wikipedia]
The ballet “Parade” was a bit of surrealism written by Jean Cocteau for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. It premiered on May 18, 1917 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, with costumes and sets designed by Pablo Picasso, choreography by Leonide Massine and music by Erik Satie. The ballet was the first collaboration between Picasso and Satie and the first time either of them had worked on a ballet. Many costumes were made of cardboard, limiting the performers’ movements. Jean Cocteau went out of his way to create a scandal comparable to Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” which had shaken the Paris elite a few years earlier. He added foghorns, typewriters and other noisemakers in the score, and he brought common street entertainments to the stage. Audiences hated it while critics loved it.
“The premiere of the ballet resulted in a number of scandals, including a classical music riot. According to the painter Gabriel Fournier, one of the most memorable scandals was an altercation between Cocteau, Satie, and music critic Jean Poueigh, who gave Parade an unfavorable review. Satie had written a postcard to the critic which read, "Monsieur et cher ami - vous êtes un cul, un cul sans musique! Signé Erik Satie" ("Sir and dear friend - you are an arse, an arse without music! Signed, Erik Satie."). The critic sued Satie, and at the trial Cocteau was arrested and beaten by police for repeatedly yelling "arse" in the courtroom. Satie was given a sentence of eight days in jail.” [Music in the 20th Century by William Austin. New York: W.W. Norton, 1966]
If you want a better look at the fantastic costumes and the ballet itself, check out the following:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Chq1Ty0nyE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mpwR8jx3lQ
Chinese Conjuror's Costume for "Parade" by Picasso (1917). Victoria & Albert Museum. London
“Pablo Picasso's first collaboration with the Ballets Russes was Parade. In a letter sent to a friend, Jean Cocteau the librettist said "Picasso amazes me every day, to live near him is a lesson in nobility and hard work". Picasso's studio in Rome had a little crate that held the model of "Parade" with its trees and houses, and on a table were the painted characters: the Chinaman, Managers, American girl, and horse. Cocteau described his friend's unusual artistic process: "A badly drawn figure of Picasso is the result of endless well-drawn figures he erases, corrects, covers over, and which serves him as a foundation. In opposition to all schools he seems to end his work with a sketch." The audiences were amazed by the first ballet to have cubist costumes, sets, and choreography.
“After World War I, Picasso made a number of important relationships with figures associated with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. In the summer of 1918, Picasso married Olga Khokhlova, a ballerina with the troupe, for whom Picasso was designing the ballet, Parade, in Rome; and they spent their honeymoon in the villa near Biarritz of the glamorous Chilean art patron Eugenia Errázuriz. During the same period that Picasso collaborated with Diaghilev’s troup, he and Igor Stravinsky collaborated on Pulcinella in 1920.” [Wikipedia]
The ballet “Parade” was a bit of surrealism written by Jean Cocteau for Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. It premiered on May 18, 1917 at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, with costumes and sets designed by Pablo Picasso, choreography by Leonide Massine and music by Erik Satie. The ballet was the first collaboration between Picasso and Satie and the first time either of them had worked on a ballet. Many costumes were made of cardboard, limiting the performers’ movements. Jean Cocteau went out of his way to create a scandal comparable to Igor Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring” which had shaken the Paris elite a few years earlier. He added foghorns, typewriters and other noisemakers in the score, and he brought common street entertainments to the stage. Audiences hated it while critics loved it.
“The premiere of the ballet resulted in a number of scandals, including a classical music riot. According to the painter Gabriel Fournier, one of the most memorable scandals was an altercation between Cocteau, Satie, and music critic Jean Poueigh, who gave Parade an unfavorable review. Satie had written a postcard to the critic which read, "Monsieur et cher ami - vous êtes un cul, un cul sans musique! Signé Erik Satie" ("Sir and dear friend - you are an arse, an arse without music! Signed, Erik Satie."). The critic sued Satie, and at the trial Cocteau was arrested and beaten by police for repeatedly yelling "arse" in the courtroom. Satie was given a sentence of eight days in jail.” [Music in the 20th Century by William Austin. New York: W.W. Norton, 1966]
If you want a better look at the fantastic costumes and the ballet itself, check out the following:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Chq1Ty0nyE
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_mpwR8jx3lQ