A stage for the world : French exoticism in the Gesamtkunstwerk of the Ballets Russes

Abstract

As one of the most successful ballet companies in the first half of the 20th century, the Ballets Russes produced more than sixty ballets and operas based on the concept of Gesamtkunstwerk (total work of art). Among these productions, exoticism was a major theme which fascinated millions of Euro-American audiences at the time. This thesis aims to explore how the productions of the Ballets Russes represented their contributors’ different understandings of exoticism and the audience’s reactions to them. Drawing from the visual, audio and written records of four productions, Schéhérazade (1910), Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) (1913), Le Chant du Rossignol (The Song of the Nightingale) (1920), and Les Noces (The Wedding) (1923), I argue that the exoticism of the Ballets Russes was primitive and universal at the same time. An apparent distinction in style existed between the former two productions and the latter two. The two ballets produced in the 1910s were more erotic and archaic, while the other two in the 1920s were more versatile and modern. Accordingly, I suggest a transition from Primitivism to Universalism in between. By analyzing the costumes, sets, music and choreography of each production, I rediscovered their own non-Western origins and the universal qualities of their artistic expressions. The Ballets Russes scholars from different fields have written numerous articles and books on this troupe and its productions. Based on their research, this thesis elaborates on a specific theme—exoticism—and further investigates the connection between exoticism and the other two concepts to reveal the rationale behind the avant-gardism of the Ballets Russes. My thesis thus attempts to participate in a larger discussion on the spirituality and the originality of the European avant-garde movements in the early 20th century.