Ballets Russes Autograph Manuscripts on Show at New Morgan Exhibition

Crafting the Ballets Russes will draw on the Robert Lehman private collection of autograph manuscripts of Western music on deposit at The Morgan Library & Museum, in particular early 20th century ballet materials.

On view in New York June 28 through September 22, 2024, the exhibition highlights the rise of women in leading creative roles in the creation of these seminal ballets, including the choreographer Bronislava Nijinska and the dancer/producer Ida Rubinstein. Organized around a series of ballets such as Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird (1910) and Petrouchka (1911), the exhibition features sketches, drafts, and choreographic notations to show how composers, choreographers, and designers together created works of astonishing originality and lasting influence. 

On view are over 100 objects including rare music and dance manuscripts, photographs, and costume designs by artists Léon Bakst, Alexandre Benois, and Natalia Goncharova. A significant series of Nijinska’s drafts and notes from the Library of Congress are on view, showing how she repurposed classical techniques and developed her own unique style. 

Additional highlights include an early working manuscript of Firebird, created while Stravinsky was still relatively unknown. In the draft, one can see the edits that Stravinsky made to follow the choreographer Fokine’s ideas. Also on view is an autograph manuscript of Boléro, showing the unfolding mechanical process that underlies the piece, inspired by the factory production lines of the time.