Vassily Grigorievich Voskresensky (16 September 1888 – 27 July 1951), usually referred to as Colonel Wassily de Basil, was a Russian
ballet
Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...
impresario
An impresario (from the Italian ''impresa'', "an enterprise or undertaking") is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays, or operas, performing a role in stage arts that is similar to that of a film or television producer.
Hist ...
.
De Basil was born in
Kaunas
Kaunas (; ; also see other names) is the second-largest city in Lithuania after Vilnius and an important centre of Lithuanian economic, academic, and cultural life. Kaunas was the largest city and the centre of a county in the Duchy of Trakai ...
,
Lithuania
Lithuania (; lt, Lietuva ), officially the Republic of Lithuania ( lt, Lietuvos Respublika, links=no ), is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea. Lithuania ...
, in 1888 (his year of birth is given alternately as 1880 or 1886). He retired from the Russian Imperial Army as a colonel in the
Cossack
The Cossacks , es, cosaco , et, Kasakad, cazacii , fi, Kasakat, cazacii , french: cosaques , hu, kozákok, cazacii , it, cosacchi , orv, коза́ки, pl, Kozacy , pt, cossacos , ro, cazaci , russian: казаки́ or ...
army, fighting in Baku against the Turkish and German forces and was awarded the Order of St. George by his General, Lazar Fedorovich Bicherakhov, himself referred to as the "last soldier of the Empire" by writer, Vlad Olgin. Basil was demobilised from the army in 1919 and worked as a truck driver in Paris before launching himself as a ballet impresario with his first small ballet touring company in 1921. Hiving off the success of Diaghilev, by 1923 Wassily was doing well enough to hire Olga Smimova and Nikolay Tripolitov as his principal dancers on small tours in France, Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
It was at this point he adopted a "stage name" Wassily de Basil (essentially Basil de Basil) in 1923 and gave the name of his troupe as ''Ballet Russe directed by W. de Basil.''
Following the death of
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...
in 1929, the members of his
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...
went in many directions. Around 1925, de Basil partnered with
Alexey Tsereteli (also Zereteli) and Ignaty Zon to form the artists agency called Zerbason.
In 1929–1930 de Basil's ballet troupe acted together with Tsereteli's opera troupe. De Basil, Tseretelli and Michel Kachouk, the manager of
Feodor Chaliapin
Feodor Ivanovich Chaliapin ( rus, Фёдор Ива́нович Шаля́пин, Fyodor Ivanovich Shalyapin, ˈfʲɵdər ɪˈvanəvʲɪtɕ ʂɐˈlʲapʲɪn}; April 12, 1938) was a Russian opera singer. Possessing a deep and expressive bass v ...
, became directors of the
Opéra Russe à Paris, a company originally formed by soprano Maria Kousnetsova (also
Maria Kuznetsova).
De Basil and
René Blum, ballet director at the
Monte Carlo Opera
Monte may refer to:
Places Argentina
* Argentine Monte, an ecoregion
* Monte Desert
* Monte Partido, a ''partido'' in Buenos Aires Province
Italy
* Monte Bregagno
* Monte Cassino
* Montecorvino (disambiguation)
* Montefalcione
Portugal
* Mont ...
, along with financier Serge Denham, founded the ''
Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo'' in 1931.
[Amanda]
"Ballets Russes"
''The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'' (17 July 2005) The ballet gave its first performance in Monte Carlo on January 11, 1932- the national holiday of Monte Carlo.
Blum and de Basil did not agree artistically, leading to a 1934 split,
[Homans, Jennifer]
"René Blum: Life of a Dance Master,"
''New York Times'' (July 8, 2011). after which de Basil formed an arrangement with financier
Sol Hurok
Sol Hurok (Solomon Israilevich Hurok; born Solomon Izrailevich Gurkov, Russian Соломон Израилевич Гурков; April 9, 1888March 5, 1974) was a 20th-century American impresario.
Early life
Hurok was born in Pogar, Chernigov G ...
.
Col. de Basil initially renamed the company ''Ballets Russes de Colonel W. de Basil''.
In 1937, René Blum and former
Ballets Russes
The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...
choreographer
Léonide Massine organized a new ballet company
"BLUM BALLET SOLD TO COMPANY HERE; World Art, Inc., Formed by Julius Fleischmann, Takes Over Monte Carlo Troupe,"
''New York Times'' (November 20, 1937)
and lured away some of de Basil's dancers. In addition, Massine sued de Basil in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
to regain the intellectual property rights to his own works. He also sued to claim the ''Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo'' name. The jury decided that de Basil owned Massine's ballets created between 1932 and 1937, but not those created before 1932.[ through the Internet Archive] It also ruled that both successor companies could use the name ''Ballet Russe'' — but only Massine & Blum's company could be called Ballet Russe de Monte-Carlo
The company Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo (with a plural name) was formed in 1932 after the death of Sergei Diaghilev and the demise of Ballets Russes. Its director was Wassily de Basil (usually referred to as Colonel W. de Basil), and its ...
. Col. de Basil renamed his company again, as the ''Covent Garden Russian Ballet''. In 1939, he gave the company its final name, the Original Ballet Russe
The Original Ballet Russe (originally named Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo) was a ballet company established in 1931 by René Blum and Colonel Wassily de Basil as a successor to the Ballets Russes, founded in 1909 by Sergei Diaghilev. The company ...
.
De Basil brought the Original Ballet Russe on a tour of Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
in 1939–1940, travelling there aboard the P&O ocean liner RMS ''Maloja'' in September 1938. He had earlier organised tours to Australia in 1936–1937 and 1938–1939, although he did not travel with the company. During his visit to Australia, de Basil commissioned work from Australians, especially from designers, who included Sidney Nolan
Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...
and Kathleen and Florence Martin. He also instigated a design competition for an original Australian ballet, which was won by Donald Friend
Donald Stuart Leslie Friend (6 February 1915 – 16 August 1989) was an Australian artist and diarist who lived much of his life overseas. He has been the subject of controversy since the posthumous publication of diaries in which he wrote of sex ...
with designs for a ballet based on a fictitious event in the life of Ned Kelly
Edward Kelly (December 1854 – 11 November 1880) was an Australian bushranger, outlaw, gang leader and convicted police-murderer. One of the last bushrangers, he is known for wearing a suit of bulletproof armour during his final shootout wi ...
.
He directed his Ballet Russe companies, which performed under a variety of different names, until his death in Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
in 1951. All in all, De Basil's troupes presented 40 world premieres, and maintained 100 ballets. They gave performances in 600 cities located in 70 countries around the world. His acquisition of Serge Diaghilev's costumes and sets in 1934 when Massine couldn't come up with the money, helped De Basil's company assume the mantle of leadership in the modern ballet world. He died penniless in a studio apartment with his third wife, Olga Morasova, at his side.
After his death, he joined many of his ballet dancers and comrades in the Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois Russian Cemetery (french: Cimetière russe de Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois) is part of the ''Cimetière de Liers'' and is called the Russian Orthodox cemetery, in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Paris, France.
History
The ...
, Paris.
References
External links
*
National Gallery of Australia – The de Basil Russian Ballet Company
{{DEFAULTSORT:Basil, Wassily de
1888 births
1951 deaths
Ballets Russes and descendants
Ballet impresarios
Businesspeople from Kaunas