Dreams about the theater
Ida Rubinstein was born on October 3, 1883 in Kharkov. But the date of birth became known to the public only after the dancer’s death, when the archival records of the Kharkov synagogue were found. She herself never celebrated her birthday and never told anyone her exact age.
Ida was orphaned early. Her father, Leon Rubinstein, an honorary citizen of Kharkov, died when the girl was 9 years old. Sister Ernestina Isaakovna – even earlier, in 1888. After the death of both parents, their only daughter inherited a huge fortune – her grandfather was the founder of the banking house Roman Rubinstein and Sons, and her father, together with his brother Adolf, was engaged in large wholesale trade and owned three sugar factories. and a brewery. With the separation of her parents, Ida remained in the care of her uncle, and when he died her relatives took her to St. Petersburg, where the girl received the best possible education and did not know that she needed anything. She moved to St. Petersburg.
Rubinstein spoke four languages perfectly, studied at a prestigious gymnasium, studied the history of Ancient Greece with a Hellenistic teacher, took lessons in reading and dramatic art from actors of imperial theaters, practiced choreography, practiced poses for hours.
Because of Ida’s passion for the theater, a scandal even broke out in the family. When the girl went to Paris to continue her theater education, her relatives living in France were very worried about this decision and tried to transfer the girl to a nursing home for the mentally ill. Rubinstein, outraged by such an action, wrote to St. He was saved from an enviable fate by his St. Petersburg relatives.
Of course, the interest in theater in Ida has not decreased. Marriage helped her realize her desire for independence – she fictitiously married her cousin Vladimir and divorced him after the honeymoon, maintaining good relations. Now she could spend her own money on her true passion. He dreamed of staging Sophocles’ tragedy Antigone and playing the leading role in it.
first failure
Ida implemented this idea and managed to involve the artist of the World of Art association Lev Bakst in the design of the performance staged with her own money (she met him at a social reception and quickly fascinated him). However, critics hardly noticed the production, remembering only the poor diction and hysterical statements of the artist.
But Rubinstein had an interesting appearance. She was quite ugly according to the beauty rules of the past – flat chest, wide mouth, sharp nose, slightly slanted eyes. But artists were inspired by Ida’s beauty, which was partly the reason for her future success. On stage, Rubinstein will attract attention with his appearance, extraordinary sophistication and bright stage costumes created by Bakst.
Despite the fact that Antigone was staged only once and unsuccessfully, Ida only strengthened her desire to pursue a career as an actress. Moreover, he could even become an artist in the Art Theater – later Stanislavsky invited him to the group. But Rubinstein refused—she entered the Komissarzhevskaya Theater, where she was supposed to act in a play based on Oscar Wilde’s play “Salome,” directed by Vsevolod Meyerhold.
In 1907 the production was banned on the grounds that it insulted the feelings of believers. Nevertheless, in 1908 the public saw part of the performance – at the Komissarzhevskaya Theater they showed the number “Dance of the Seven Veils” to the music of Alexander Glazunov. Rubinstein took off her veils one after another on stage, ending up in what we today call “naked,” a dress consisting of multiple strings of beads. By the way, the number was staged by choreographer Mikhail Fokin. The future choreographer of Diaghilev’s “Russian Seasons”, where in a few years Ida will find herself on the same stage with Anna Pavlova, Tamara Karsavina and Vaslav Nijinsky.
From Cleopatra to her business
In 1909, Rubinstein went to Paris – on the recommendation of Fokin and with the support of Bakst, entrepreneur Sergei Diaghilev invited him to the Russian Seasons group. Among other things, he brought the play “Cleopatra” to the French capital, but without Cleopatra. Ida was perfect for the role of eastern queen.
During the performance, Ida-Cleopatra was carried to the stage in a sarcophagus and wrapped in blankets like a mummy and taken out. It gradually opened up, and the artist appeared before the public in a revealing outfit by Bakst and a blue wig, as in the “Dance of the Seven Veils”.
Ida never returned to Russia. He bought a mansion in Paris – which was also luxuriously decorated by Lev Bakst.
In 1910, Rubinstein danced again in the play “Russian Seasons” – this time she played the role of Zobeida in “Scheherazade”. Vaslav Nijinsky again became the partner of the artist. Like Cleopatra, Scheherazade was a huge success and it is difficult to give any reason for this. The audience especially applauded Nijinsky, who became famous for the extraordinary height of his jumps. And also Ida’s extraordinary beauty and angular flexibility. And finally, Bakst’s costumes and sets. Thanks to the Russian Seasons, it got to the point that everything oriental became fashionable in Paris – at social events, guests appeared in velvet dresses, silk and turbans.
brave beauty
The press wrote about Rubinstein’s luxurious life and exotic travels. “The bold beauty has just returned from Northern Rhodesia. Surrounding himself with “loyal Africans,” he journeyed through exotic jungles, sometimes on horseback, sometimes on a strange African stretcher. […] The rewards of his journey were the skins of three lions killed by his black retinue, the skin of a rhinoceros, five elephants and a small leopard; He tamed them so much that he made them sleep at his feet and even put him in a carriage. chain etc.,” wrote Russia’s “Blue Journal”.
Artists drew portraits of him. Ida posed for Jacques-Emile Blanche, Antonio de la Gandara, Georges Barbier, Kees Van Dongen in the image of Cleopatra. But Rubinstein’s most famous portrait is by Russian artist Valentin Serov, who painted it for the Russian Seasons poster in 1910, but exhibited it separately in 1911.
Serov’s portrait turned out to be scandalous. And not because the artist depicted her naked – by the way, he wanted to paint the girl just like that and quickly received approval. The fact is that the portrait, which made the crooked lines of the figure look straight, was considered ugly by the public. And today it is considered a masterpiece of Russian modernism.
In 1911, Ida left the famous troupe and opened her own company, finding herself a rival not of her artist, but of Diaghilev. For Bakst, for example, he competed with impresarios – the artist collaborated with both and could barely cope with the orders of rivals.
At the same time, Rubinstein began a relationship with writer Gabriele D’Annunzio, which lasted from 1911 to 1915. The Italian writer wrote a play for him called “The Mystery of the Martyrdom of St. Sebastian”. Meanwhile, the performance turned out to be scandalous again. St. Sebastian was played by Ida herself – a woman and a Jew. D’Annunzio was excommunicated from the church for this act.
For his venture, Rubinstein commissioned music from the greatest composers of his time, Igor Stravinsky, Maurice Ravel (for whom he created the famous “Bolero”), and Claude Debussy. After Bakst’s death in 1924, Rubinstein began collaborating with Alexandre Benois, and despite some differences in artistic vision, the work from 1928 to 1935 was quite productive.
In his memoirs of working with Rubinstein, Benoit emphasized how luxuriously Rubinstein lived. “Ida looks gorgeous in an outfit. Gold and silver tulle dress. Sparkles etc. shines with.”; “Five and a half. Ida greets me with her luxurious white satin desabilia. Surrounded by huge bouquets of dahlias,” he wrote over the years. Benoit noted that Ida is flirty, knows how to look sick when she needs to, and wants compliments on her beauty and youth.
The Rubinstein society existed until 1938. In 1939, due to the looming Nazi threat, he left France and went to Great Britain, where he established a hospital for French and British soldiers. Her new lover, Walter Guinness, heir to the Guinness empire, helped her maintain her usual lifestyle.
[1945’teIdaFransa’yadöndüBirdahasahneyeçıkmadı:enson1935’teHonegger’in”JoanofArctehlikede”oratoryosuperformansıylasahneyeçıktıSavaştansonrakısabirsüreBM’detercümanolarakçalıştıKatolikliğegeçtiveardındanFransızRivierası’ndakibirmalikanedeemekliolduve1960yılındakalpkrizindenöldü
İda’nın gençliğinde bıraktığı vasiyetnameye göre onun ölümü gazetelere bildirilmediği gibi cenaze tarihi de arkadaşlarına söylenmemişti. Ida Rubinstein’ın mezarında sadece iki harf var: “IR”. Üzerinde tarih yok.