Sophie Fedorovitch ( be, Сафія Федаровіч; 3 December 1893 – 25 January 1953) was a Russian-born theatrical designer who worked with ballet choreographer Sir

Frederick Ashton Sir Frederick William Mallandaine Ashton (17 September 190418 August 1988) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. He also worked as a director and choreographer in opera, film and revue. Determined to be a dancer despite the oppositi ...

from his first choreographed ballet in 1926 until her accidental death in 1953. Fedorovitch designed for several British choreographers including

Ninette de Valois Dame Ninette de Valois (born Edris Stannus; 6 June 1898 – 8 March 2001) was an Irish-born British dancer, teacher, choreographer, and director of classical ballet. Most notably, she danced professionally with Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, ...

and

Antony Tudor Antony Tudor (born William Cook; 4 April 1908 – 19 April 1987) was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer. He founded the London Ballet, and later the Philadelphia Ballet Guild in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., in the mid-1950 ...

, as well as for opera and theatre. From 1951 until her death in 1953, she was a member of the artistic advisory panel of

Sadler's Wells Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, a role she had unofficially undertaken for many years. In her 2012 article in ''Research in Dance Education'', Elizabeth McLean's view was that Fedorovitch had a "formative influence" on British ballet design of the 1930s and 1940s, and that she should be considered the equal of her contemporary,

Christian Bérard Christian Bérard (20 August 1902 – 11 February 1949), also known as Bebè, was a French artist, fashion illustrator and designer. Bérard and his lover Boris Kochno, who worked for the Ballets Russes and was also co-founder of the Ballets d ...

Early life

Fedorovitch was born and raised in

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

Belarus Belarus,, , ; alternatively and formerly known as Byelorussia (from Russian ). officially the Republic of Belarus,; rus, Республика Беларусь, Respublika Belarus. is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by R ...

) and studied painting in Kraków, Moscow, and St Petersburg. She migrated from Russia to England in 1920. She was established as a painter until she met Ashton, after which she increasingly came to devote her career to set and costume design.

Career

Ashton and Fedorovitch met in 1925, introduced by

Marie Rambert Dame Marie Rambert, Mrs Dukes DBE (20 February 188812 June 1982) was a Polish-born English dancer and pedagogue who exerted great influence on British ballet, both as a dancer and teacher. Early years and background Born to a liberal Lithuan ...

, who had met her in 1921. They worked together from ''

A Tragedy of Fashion ''A Tragedy of Fashion, or the Scarlet Scissors'' is a ballet which was first choreographed and performed on 15 June 1926 by Frederick Ashton, who starred with Marie Rambert. The BBC described this debut as "a pivotal moment in the history of ball ...

'', Ashton's first ballet in 1926. Costumes and scenery were by Fedorovitch, who continued to work with Ashton for more than twenty years, and became, in his words, "not only my dearest friend but my greatest artistic collaborator and adviser".Genné, Beth
"My Dearest Friend, My Greatest Collaborator – Ashton, Fedorovitch and Symphonic Variations"
, Ballet.co.uk, accessed 23 June 2013 As a friend and collaborator, she did most of her early works for Ashton. Altogether, they collaborated on eleven works. In 1940, Fedorovitch did stage design and "simple but gorgeous costumes" for choreographer

Andrée Howard Andrée Howard (3 October 1910 – 18 April 1968), originally Andrea, was a British ballet dancer and choreographer. She created over 30 ballets, of which almost nothing remains. Early life Andrée Howard was born in London on 3 October 1910. ...

's best known work ''La fête étrange'', for London Ballet, based on an episode in

Alain Fournier Alain Fournier (1943–2000) was a computer graphics researcher. Biography Alain Fournier was born on November 5, 1943, in Lyon, France. He was married twice, first to Beverly Bickle (married 1968, divorced 1984) and later to Adrienne Drobnies ...

's novel ''

Le Grand Meaulnes ''Le Grand Meaulnes'' () is the only novel by French author Alain-Fournier, who was killed in the first month of World War I. The novel, published in 1913, a year before the author's death, is somewhat autobiographical – especially the name of th ...

''. It has been performed over 200 times by

The Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, and by

Scottish Ballet Scottish Ballet is the national ballet company of Scotland and one of the five leading ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside the Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Birmingham Royal Ballet and Northern Ballet. Founded in 1969, ...

. Her confidants, in addition to Ashton, included Barbara Ker-Seymer,

Olivia Wyndham Olivia Madeline Grace Mary Wyndham (30 November 1897 – 1967) was a British society photographer and a member of the 1920s socialite group known as the bright young things. The daughter of Colonel Guy Percy Wyndham, C.B., M.V.O. (a member of t ...

Marty Mann Margaret Marty Mann (October 15, 1904 – July 22, 1980) is considered by some to be the first woman with longterm sobriety in Alcoholics Anonymous. There were several remarkable women in the early days of AA including but not limited to: Floren ...

and Lucy Norton.

Death

Sophie Fedorovitch 1893-1953 ballet & opera designer lived here

Fedorovitch died as a result of a gas leak at her house at 22 Bury Walk, Chelsea. The house, known as the "Gothic Box", was left to Simon Fleet, later mentor to fellow interior designer

Nicky Haslam Nicholas Ponsonby Haslam (born 27 September 1939) is an English interior designer and socialite, and founder of the London-based interior design firm, NH Studio Ltd. Early life and education Haslam was born at Great Hundridge Manor, Amersham, ...

. A memorial plaque to "Sophie Fedorovitch, costume designer" was subsequently erected there. Ashton dedicated '' A Month in the Country'' to her memory.

Designs created

* * 1933 - ''

Les Masques ''Les Masques, ou Changement de dames'' is a short ballet of 1933 choreographed by Frederick Ashton to music by Francis Poulenc.Vaughan D. ''Frederick Ashton and his Ballets.'' A & C Black Ltd, London, 1977, p84-7. Ashton's biographer describes it ...

'', for Frederick Ashton * * * * * * * * * 1948 - ''

La traviata ''La traviata'' (; ''The Fallen Woman'') is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on ''La Dame aux camélias'' (1852), a play by Alexandre Dumas ''fils'' adapted from his own 18 ...

'', for Covent Garden Opera (now The Royal Opera) * 1950 - ''

Madama Butterfly ''Madama Butterfly'' (; ''Madame Butterfly'') is an opera in three acts (originally two) by Giacomo Puccini, with an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa. It is based on the short story "Madame Butterfly" (1898) by John Luther ...

'', for Covent Garden Opera (now The Royal Opera) * *

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fedorovitch, Sophie 1893 births 1953 deaths Russian designers Russian costume designers Ballet designers Opera designers Artists from Minsk Accidental deaths in London People from Chelsea, London Artists from London Emigrants from the Russian Empire to the United Kingdom