Kshessinka Refuses To Go On Stage but Pavlova Dances In Her Place

Photo Credit Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky from the ballet Le Pavillon d' Armide, 1907, Maryinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.

Mikhail Fokine a young new choreographer was conducting rehearsals for his one act- ballet Le Pavillon d'Armide in 1907. The ballet was going to premier for the first time. Both Bronislava Nijinska and her brother Vaslav Nijinsky were part of it but things don't go as planned for the rehearsal. Bronislava Nijinska recounts the stress that happened during their dress rehearsal in her own words.

 "For the Divertissement Kshessinska had asked Kulichevskaya to mount a pas de deux, to music by Chopin, for her and Vaslav. Kshessinska had greatly admired Isadora Duncan since seeing her dance in an all-Chopin concert in Vienna in 1903. The following year Kshessinska had been instrumental in bringing Duncan to Russia for her first visit."

"The pas de deux called "Nocturne" that Kulichevskaya mounted used both a nocturne and a valse by Chopin. Vaslav wore a costume of the Romantic period and Kshessinska danced in a flowing, ankle-length, silk tunic, a la Duncan; both costumes were designed by Bakst."

"Through Vaslav did not care for Kulichevskaya's interpretation and rendition of Chopin's music in "Nocturne", he was nonetheless pleased when Kshessinska invited him to dance another performance of "Nocturne" in Moscow for the Benefit Performances for the Corps de Ballet of the Bolshoi Theatre, in December."

"Before that, however, both Kshessinska and Vaslav would be dancing in November at the Maryinsky when the whole of Le Pavillon of Armide was to be presented as a one-act ballet. I was able to watch the ballet during the rehearsals, since I was taking part in the first tableau. This scene had not been included in the performance Fokine had mounted for the Student Performances of 1907, so it was new to us."

"According to the plot of the ballet, at midnight, just before the Gobelin tapestry comes to life, twelve of us students, representing the twelve hours, were to come out of the face of the monumental clock standing beneath the tapestry. We each carried a monumental clock standing beneath the tapestry."

"We each carried a lantern painted with the number of our hour, and we danced in a clockwise circle, then returned back inside the clock."

"It did not seem to me that Fokine had brought any innovations to his new ballet. He still retained the same style as Petipa was mises en scene and pantomime. Through the many dances were all we choreographed, they did not relate to each other, and the ballet looked like a big divertissement."

"The real interest for me was in watching the painter Alexandre Benois, whose work I was observing for the first time. He painted a backcloth to look like Gobelin tapestry and copied a photograph of Kshessinska for the face of Armide and one of Pavel Gerdt for the face of Rene, her lover."

"A light  gauze scrim in front of the painting gave it the effect of tapestry. The dancers were placed behind gauze and were carefully schooled by Benois in the same poses snd groupings as the figures in the tapestry, so that they would really look as though they had come to life. He also directed the lighting of the stage."

"There were several rehearsals onstage with the orchestra and the sets, but the costumes for Le Pavillon d' Armide were not to be worn until the day of the dress rehearsal, Friday, November 16. The costumes were kept locked up in the Theatre wardrobe, and Krupensky, the manager of the Imperial Ballet Company, would not allow any artist or student to try them on much less to dance in them. He was afraid that the hand-painted costumes might be ruined before the public saw them at the premiere, on Sunday, November 18."

"On the evening of the dress rehearsal there was great confusion. Benois gave everyone detailed instructions for all the makeup and indicated how the Louis XIV costumes and headgear were to be worn, but the artists did not have time actually to learn how to put on their complicated costumes or how to wear their headdresses properly."

"At the back of the stage was the platform where the artists were placed in their groupings for the tapestry. The large monumental clock was in front of the platform, and we students were placed behind the clock, under the platform. Confined in this small narrow space, in total darkness, we waited our turn to come out onto the stage."

"On the stroke of midnight we were to come out of the clock on by one. I was the first hour and the light inside my lantern was lit by a stagehand so that the numeral "I" became visible the moment I emerged from the clock. The girl student was to follow me missed her entrance because the stagehand had trouble lighting lantern numeral "II."

"Then there were further delays as the students, standing in the dark narrow space, could not be recognize each other, being dressed as pages in identical silver costumes, with their faces darkened and hair hidden under gold lame turbans."

"Fokine was furious and stopped the rehearsal, making us repeat our number, much to the obvious annoyance of Tcherepnine, the conductor of the orchestra and composer with music. After our number, as we were standing in the wings, I saw Alexandre Benois looking very distressed and saying that the performance could not go on without another dress rehearsal the next day, Saturday Krupensky refused, saying it would be impossible to arrange another dress rehearsal on such short notice and that the budget was already stretched and this would mean additional expense."

"The following morning we were all surprised to read in the St. Petersburg Gazette. the newspaper most widely read in theatrical circles, an interview of Alexandre Benois by I.S. Rosenberg, a regular contributor, albeit in a small way, to one of the paper's daily columns. Rosenberg was also the brother of Leon Bakst."

"The interview was written mostly by Benois himself, and in it he accused the Directorate and Administration of the Imperial Theatres of refusing to provide the conditions essential for the success of the new ballet, Le Pavillon d'Armide, declaring that "... in consequence the Directorate alone is responsible for making the complete failure of my  work almost inevitable..."

"Later that Saturday we were informed that the premiere had been postponed for a week and that there would be two more dress rehearsals onstage. Then, on top of everything else, Kshessinska refused to go on with the role of Armide. She had been pleased at first to participate in the premiere of a new ballet choreographed by the promising young choreographer, Mihail Fokine, but after the difficulties of the dress rehearsal and the lack of faith in their own ballet expressed by the authors, Tchrerepnine, Fokine, and Benois, the latter even going so far as "to put it on paper" with his interview, she had become uncertain and had decided to withdraw."

"Anna Pavlova immediately offered to replace her, and by the time of the next dress rehearsal had learned the role of Armide."

"The first performance of Le Pavillon d'Armide took place on Sunday, November 25, 1907, following the performance of Swan Lake with the prima ballerina Vera Trefilova. Although the role of Armide danced by Anna Pavlova, Benois had not repainted the features in the tapestry where the face of Armide still bore the likeness of Kshessinska."

"Vaslav, the student had been the Marquis in L'Animation des Gobelins in the spring of 1907, but now in the fall I saw Nijinsky the Artist, in Le Pavillon d'Armide in the role of Armide's slave, wearing an elaborate costume designed by Benois with a string of pearls encircling his long neck. He danced the same variation in both roles, but as I watched him dance now it seemed to me to be done differently from the Student Performance. At that time, as the Marquis the new sideways changement de pieds had just been a sportive exercise, but now in the role of Armide's slave he brought the whole of his body into play with the new pas. Vaslav was radiant on the stage. The glow did not leave him even when he was simply standing in a pose next to Armide."

"The ballet, Fokine's first choreography to be danced by the Artists of the Imperial Theatres on the stage of the Maryinsky Theatre, was a tremendous success. Usually when a one-act ballet followed a main attraction it was only presented to complete the program. It was not "taken seriously," but served simply to allow the audience to leave the theatre at leisure. But this evening most of the audience chose to see the  whole of Le Pavillon d'Armide, staying to the end, close to one o'clock in the morning."

"A second performance was arranged to be given two weeks later, on Sunday, December 9. For that performance Fokine himself took the dual role of the Vicomte de Beaugency and of Rene, Armide's lover. He did not bother to have the faces on the tapestry repainted, and so in the Maryinsky Theatre the smiling face of Armide that appeared to glow on the tapestry in the first scene continued to bear the resemblance to Mathilda Kshessinska, and Rene, her lover standing behind her, retained the handsome features of Pavel Gerdt."- Quote from Bronislava Nijinska on Mikhail's First One-Act Ballet Le Pavillon d' Armide performance.

When you read Bronislava Nijinska's detailed description on the mayhem and frustration of the dress rehearsal for Fokine's first choreographed ballet  it's clear everyone is stressed and Nijinska notices how things are not going how they should one of the dancer's she recalls messed up on the steps  which then caused mistakes for the other dancers this  makes Fokine so angry he ends the rehearsal. You can imagine he's upset because this is his first ballet he choreographed that is going to premier so his reputation and work is on line and he's worried about failing and humiliation by the critics. 

You can even feel the pressure mounting when Bronislava talks about  Benois wants them to do another rehearsal but it's not possible and to make matters even worse Kshessinska who is playing the role of Armide doesn't want to go on stage. 

Nijinska is very good about describing how the situation was and how everyone was feeling. You just feel the stress, frustration and panic of everyone when you read her description. You also see how Nijinska is taking interest in everyone involved in the ballet even the painter of the tapestry Benois for the ballet fascinates her.

However even though everyone was feeling anxious about the ballet  a miracle happens and Anna Pavlova volunteers to replace Kshessinska. It's not long before Pavlova knows all the choreography for the role before the ballet even premiers. Nijinska you can tell the way she describes how Pavlova took charge of the problem Fokine and the others had filled Nijinska with respect and admiration because Pavlova helped save Fokine's ballet.

Nijinska also sees the evolution of her brother Nijinsky's  dancing that she goes into such detail describing that her brother glowed on stage. She also explained how one- act ballets were not usually taken seriously but Fokine's ballet had changed that mindset and his ballet was a success.

I wonder though this ballet being a success did Kshessinska ever regret her decision of not dancing the role of Armide I guess we might never know but I'm sure it surprised her how it turned out.