Nijinsky (44 page)

138
‘Down with the whores'
: Kelly,
First Nights
, p. 293.

138
‘the refined primitivism'
: Roerich p. 89.

138
‘What an idiot …
dura publika
'
: Drummond (ed.),
Speaking of Diaghilev
, p. 113.

138
‘She seemed to dream'
: André Levinson quoted in Kirstein,
Dance: A Short History of Classic Theatrical Dancing
, p. 288.

138
‘no cathartic outpouring'
: Homans,
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
, p. 311.

139
‘Nothing could be'
: Scholl,
From Petipa to Balanchine: Classical Revival and the Modernisation of Ballet
, p. 75.

139
‘This is not'
: Jacques Rivière quoted in Buckle,
Nijinsky
, p. 299.

139
‘a bleak and intense celebration'
: Homans,
Apollo's Angels: A History of Ballet
, p. 311.

139
‘excited, angry … what I wanted'
: Aschengreen,
Jean Cocteau and the Dance
, pp. 8–9.

140
‘dress coat and top hat'
: Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 272.

140
‘You cannot imagine'
: Cocteau,
The Cock and Harlequin
, pp. 49–50. Aschengreen cites Stravinsky, who denied Cocteau was there that night (‘Cocteau's story was only intended to make himself important'; they weren't intimate enough with him then to take him to dinner ‘after such an event'); Aschengreen,
Jean Cocteau and the Dance
, p. 9. But in his diary, written at the time, Kessler remembered Cocteau being there, lending Cocteau's account more credence; Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 273.

140
‘as if she'
: Romola Njinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 194.

140
‘and watched them'
: ibid., p. 195.

141
‘seemed now almost'
: ibid., p. 208.

142
‘a sound … My God!'
: M. Draper,
Music at Midnight
(Kingswood, Surrey, 1929), p. 145.

142
‘defeated and … this work'
: A. Rubinstein,
My Young Years
(London, 1973), p. 412.

142
‘really
terrible
and intense'
: Gathorne-Hardy (ed.),
Ottoline: the Early Memoirs of Lady Ottoline
Morrell, p. 227.

142
‘much more attractive'
: M. Holroyd,
Lytton Strachey: a Critical Biography
, Vol. 2,
1910–1932
(London, 1968), p. 94.

142
‘that boredom and sheer anguish'
: ibid., p. 95.

143
‘in a few years'
: quoted in Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 208.

143
‘The fact is … in dancing'
: Macdonald,
Diaghilev Observed by Critics in England and the United States, 1911–1929
, p. 100.

143
‘primitive music with'
: Debussy
Letters
, p. 270; 29 May 1913.

143
‘An artist sacrifices'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 203.

143
‘uprooted … be reborn'
: quoted in Blom,
The Vertigo
Years, p. 289.

143
‘one of the great'
: Stravinsky and Craft,
Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents
, p. 102.

144
‘death warrant … my madness'
: Lifar,
Diaghilev
, p. 202.

144
‘Where would he be'
: Gold and Fizdale,
Misia: The Life of Misia Sert
, p. 133.

144
‘intolerable and
mal elevé
'
: ibid., p. 156 and Buckle,
Diaghilev
, p. 258.

144
Friends of St Stephen's
: Macdonald,
Diaghilev Observed by Critics in England and the United States, 1911–1929
, p. 84.

144
‘capable of giving life'
: Burt,
The Male Dancer: Bodies, Spectacle, Sexualities
, p. 88.

145
‘I am confident'
: Krasovskaya,
Nijinsky
, p. 249.

145
‘Nijinsky's choreography is'
: Stravinsky and Craft,
Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents
, p. 102, 3 July 1913.

145
‘I had to tell Nijinsky'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 473.

145
‘Let Diaghilev give it'
: ibid., p. 474.

146
‘It's a possibility'
: ibid., p. 475.

146
‘I shall have to part'
: ibid., p. 475.

148
‘Twenty-one days'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 218.

148
‘the agreeable routine'
: ibid., p. 217.

149
‘our art'
: Tamara Nijinsky,
Nijinsky and Romola
, p. 87.

149
‘She is also alone'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 478.

149
‘endless talks about Nijinsky'
: Rambert,
Quicksilver: The Autobiography of Marie Rambert
, p. 72.

149
‘he was only absorbed'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 214

150
‘harboured a burning'
: Tamara Nijinsky,
Nijinsky and Romola
, p. 58.

151
eating his glass
: Massine,
My Life in Ballet
, p. 62.

151
‘courteous …
Pas casser!
'
: Rambert,
Quicksilver: The Autobiography of Marie Rambert
, p. 74.

151
‘Oh, she … Diaghilev's lover'
: ibid., p. 74.

152
‘Nijinsky gave me … a lift'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 230.

152
‘Romola Carlovna …
oui, oui
'
: ibid., pp. 231–2.

152
‘her affection was not'
: Tamara Nijinsky,
Nijinsky and Romola
, p. 87.

153
‘This is indeed'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 232.

153
‘utterly heartless … without him'
: ibid., pp. 235–6.

153
‘not quite sure'
: ibid., p. 237.

153
‘I am not stupid'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 480.

154
‘saying that of all'
: Rambert,
Quicksilver: The Autobiography of Marie Rambert
, p. 75.

154
‘rather dreary … so worried'
: Sokolova interviewed in Drummond (ed.),
Speaking of
Diaghilev, p. 147.

155
‘strong undercurrent'
: Tamara Nijinsky,
Nijinsky and Romola
, p. 94.

155
‘they all seemed happy'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 241.

155
‘handed to Anna'
: ibid., p. 245.

155
‘made me notice … of happiness'
: ibid., pp. 245–6.

157
‘madly superstitious … beloved child'
: Sert,
Two or Three Muses
, p. 120.

157
‘Diaghilev burst out again'
: ibid., p. 120.

157
‘As high as Nijinsky'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 257.

157
‘an escape … the friendship'
: Haskell,
Balletomania
, p. 67.

158
‘for I believe'
: Tamara Nijinsky,
Nijinsky and Romola
, p. 116.

158
‘a being never'
: A. L. Haskell,
Diaghileff: His Artistic and Private
Life (London, 1935), p. 255. Through Arnold Haskell and as Stravinsky's first ghost-writer, Walter Nouvel was one of Diaghilev's staunchest defenders against the memory of his former lover. According to him, it was the already ‘debauched' (Haskell and Nouvel,
Diaghileff
, p. 252) Nijinsky who pursued Diaghilev sexually, rather than the other way round; without Diaghilev, he would have been no more than ‘another brilliant dancer among brilliant dancers' (Haskell,
Balletomania
, p. 66); when Nijinsky is choreographing, ‘Diaghilev can truly be said to be in sole command' (Haskell and Nouvel,
Diaghileff
, p. 71); Nijinsky did not understand music; by the time of their break Nijinsky was a ‘spent force' (Haskell and Nouvel,
Diaghileff
, p. 254).

158
‘had to ejaculate'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 53.

158
‘experiencing a feeling'
: ibid., p. 155.

159
‘was not mature'
: ibid., p. 165.

159
‘the background … flaccid will'
: Gold and Fizdale,
Misia: The Life of Misia Sert
, p. 124.

159
‘a wild orgy'
: ibid., p. 160.

159
‘He was sitting alone'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 489.

160
‘for treating Nijinsky'
: Grigoriev,
The Diaghilev Ballet, 1909–1929
, p. 101.

160
‘Be kind and'
: Buckle,
Diaghilev
, p. 264 and Stravinsky and Craft,
Memories and Commentaries
, p. 135.

160
‘Of course … moral sense'
: Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 280 and Stravinsky and Craft,
Stravinsky in Pictures and Documents
, p. 106.

161
‘There was a heavenly moment'
: Rambert,
Quicksilver: The Autobiography of Marie Rambert
, p. 78.

162
‘I asked her'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 143.

163
‘for material things'
: Tamara Nijinsky,
Nijinsky and Romola
, p. 43.

163
‘I am only an artist'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, pp. 252–3.

163
‘she loved me'
: Nijinsky,
Nijinsky's Diary
, p. 143.

163
‘a young, good-looking'
: ibid., p. 59.

163
‘the intelligent Romola'
: ibid., p. 56.

163
‘prevent her from'
: ibid., p. 12.

163
‘I was petrified … be helpful'
: Romola Nijinsky,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 255.

163
‘whole world had collapsed'
: Sokolova,
Dancing for Diaghilev
, p. 50.

165
‘engagements on golden trays'
: Garafola,
Diaghilev's Ballets Russes
, p. 190.

165
‘something like a million francs'
: Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 284.

165
‘I can't believe'
: Scheijen,
Diaghilev
, p. 283 and Stravinsky and Craft,
Memories and Commentaries
, p. 38.

165
‘It seems incredible'
: Buckle,
Nijinsky
, p. 333.

165
‘his legendary irresistible charm'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 490.

166
‘When we parted'
: ibid., p. 491.

167
‘sandwiched between'
: Macdonald,
Diaghilev Observed by Critics in England and the United States, 1911–1929
, p. 108. Nijinsky interviewed by
T. P.'s Magazine
, 1911.

167
‘to perfect himself'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 390.

167
‘He also felt'
: Romola Nijinska,
Nijinsky; and, The last years of Nijinsky
, p. 257.

167
‘I was the intruder'
: ibid., p. 258.

168
‘to shrink … the end'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 501.

168
Romola says her eyes filled
with tears to see Vaslav perform after a clown and before a popular singer, but here and below I have followed the Palace's programme as reproduced in Macdonald,
Diaghilev Observed by Critics in England and the United States, 1911–1929
, p. 109.

168
‘with a pang … had vanished'
: Beaumont,
The Diaghilev Ballet in London
, p. 79.

169
‘the responsibility and'
: Beaumont,
Bookseller at the Ballet: Memoirs 1891 to 1929
, p. 151.

169
‘It was as if'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 503.

169
‘Is this what'
: Nijinska,
Early Memoirs
, p. 506.

169
‘a wretched choice'
: ibid., p. 506.

170
‘
Mais, il est fou
'
: Monteux,
It's All in the Music: The Life and Work of Pierre Monteux
, p. 90.

170
‘busily revising his past'
: R. Tarushkin quoted in van den Toorn,
Stravinsky and The Rite of Spring
, p. 17.

171
‘his ignorance of'
: I. Stravinsky,
An Autobiography
(New York), p. 40.

171
many believed his work
: like the composer François Poulenc, who saw it in his teens. See Krasovskaya,
Nijinsky
, p. 272.