Autograph of Sergei Diaghilev

Certified Authentic autograph on the envelope. (C 88/2)

DYAGILEV AND LIFAR.

The envelope is signed "by hand" by Sergei Diaghilev, addressed to his friend, ballet dancer, and choreographer "Signor Serge Lifar, Hotel Cavour, Milan, Italy." Postmark October 1928.

Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929) - theater and artistic figure. One of the founders of the World of Art group. He played a decisive role in the popularization of ballet in Europe and the world at the turn of the 19th-20th century, and “discovered” many talented ballet dancers, composers, and artists.

Sergei Lifar was born in Kyiv on April 15, 1905 (some sources indicate the year 1904). He studied at the Imperial Gymnasium near Khreshchatyk. Serge loved the shady streets of Kyiv. The sound of horseshoes on the paving stones, the ringing of the bells of St. Sophia Cathedral, and the murmur of the Dnieper created a real symphony of bliss for him. Having emigrated in 1923, he danced in Diaghilev’s Russian Seasons until 1929, and after his death, he became the premier of the Paris Opera; in 1930-1945 and 1947-1958, he directed the theater ballet troupe. A major figure in French choreography, Lifar also lectured on the history and theory of ballet and was the founder of the Paris University of Choreography and the University of Dance.