On June 25, 1910, the Grand Opera in Paris hosted a major premiere – part of the Ballets Russes private theater company by the famous promoter Sergei Diaghilev. The “Firebird” single-phase ballet show with Igor Stravinsky’s music took to the stage. It became the first exclusive creation by Diaghilev’s team. The lead roles were performed by Michel Fokine and the Prima Ballerina of the Ballets Russes – Tamara Karsavina.

The show’s stage life has also endured. The “Firebird” has been popular with many choreographers, including Maurice Bejart, who brought the show first to Stockholm and then to Paris. In 1945, the show rocked New York – courtesy of choreographer Leonid Myasin and the famous painter Marc Chagall. In 1949, the same fairytale was reimagined by the founding father of American ballet, George Balanchine, on the same stage. The “Firebird” remains part of the New York City Ballet’s repertoire to this day.

Diaghilev cultivated the idea of creating a “national ballet” driven by the popularity of Russian folk songs and dances among the French public. Michel Fokine created the libretto for the new play, showcasing traditional Russian fairytale characters.

From the choreographer’s memoirs: “There was a shortage of ballet inspired by the Russian way of life or by Russian fairytales. All the images of folk fantasy have already been on stage. The only character left untouched is the Firebird. And all the while, the Firebird remains the most fantastical creature of Russian folklore and yet the most befitting of a choreographic incarnation”.

Michel Fokine used the entire spectrum of the libretto and musical motifs of the “Firebird” to create dance images on stage that transport the audience into the world of Russian fairytales.

The round-dance by enchanted princesses, folk dance and grotesque moves by beasts captivated the audience, while the exotic and limber Firebird, performed by Karsavina, stole the show as a symbol of unattainable and ethereal beauty.

The folk decorations and costumes of the “Firebird” have been admired by audiences for more than a century and spawned a competition between the two artists behind the decorations for the show’s premiere: Alexander Golovin designed the costumes of the prince and secondary characters, while Leon Bakst was responsible for the firebird and the princess.

Rich and peculiar patterns, “burning” colors — yellow, red, orange, all overtones of the spectre of flame underlined by stripes of gold and pearl – and vivid feathers. All that created the fantastical look of the main character — a fairytale bird-girl – dramatically contrasting with the deep blue overtones of the underworld.

In 1945, Marc Chagall created around 80 costumes for Myasin’s “Firebird,” which were used in later shows as well. Today, they have become popular items at art exhibitions.