In 1909, the Russian impresario came to Paris and created a sensation with a company he called the Ballets Russes. A new 22-disc set revisits the music of Diaghilev’s legendary ballets.
TERRY GROSS, HOST:
This is FRESH AIR. In 1909, the Russian impresario Serge Diaghilev came to Paris with a company he called the Ballet Russe and created a sensation that lasted until Diaghilev’s death 20 years later. Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz says these extraordinary collaborations of dancers, singers, choreographers, composers and designers transformed and revolutionized ballet. Here’s Lloyd’s review of a 22-disc set of almost all the music the Ballet Russe ever danced to.
(SOUNDBITE OF ZEN NADIR’S “CELLO”)
LLOYD SCHWARTZ, BYLINE: Astonish me, the legendary impresario Serge Diaghilev famously challenged the multifaceted writer-director Jean Cocteau, who was part of Diaghilev’s astonishing…