Boris Evgenievich Kochno or Kokhno (; 3 January 1904 – 8 December 1990) was a Russian poet, dancer, and

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

Early life

Kochno was born in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, on 3 January 1904. His father served as a colonel in the

hussars A hussar, ; ; ; ; . was a member of a class of light cavalry, originally from the Kingdom of Hungary during the 15th and 16th centuries. The title and distinctive dress of these horsemen were subsequently widely adopted by light cavalry ...

. He studied at the Imperial Lyceum in Moscow before emigrating to Paris in 1920.

Career

He was close with

Karol Szymanowski Karol Maciej Szymanowski (; 3 October 188229 March 1937) was a Polish composer and pianist. He was a member of the modernism (music), modernist Young Poland movement that flourished in the late 19th and early 20th century. Szymanowski's early w ...

, who gave him as a gift a Russian translation of the chapter ''The Symposium'' from his unpublished novel ''Efebos''.Stephen Downes, "Eros and Paneuropeanism", in Harry White and Michael Murphy, eds., ''Musical Constructions of Nationalism: Essays on the History and Ideology of European Musical Culture, 1800-1945'' (Cork University Press, 2001), 51-71, esp. 52, 66-7 Szymanowski also dedicated four poems to him. In 1920 he became

Sergei Diaghilev Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪrˈɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), also known as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, patron, ballet impresario an ...

's secretary, librettist, and eventually main collaborator. They were also briefly lovers. Kochno wrote the libretto of

Stravinsky Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ( – 6 April 1971) was a Russian composer and conductor with French citizenship (from 1934) and American citizenship (from 1945). He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of ...

's '' Mavra'' (1921), George Auric's '' Les Fâcheux'' (1924), Henri Sauguet's ''La Chatte'' (1927), and of

Sergei Prokofiev Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''. , group=n ( – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, pianist, and conductor who l ...

's ballet score '' The Prodigal Son'' (1929). He also wrote a libretto for Massin's ballet ' to

Georges Bizet Georges Bizet (; 25 October 18383 June 1875) was a French composer of the Romantic music, Romantic era. Best known for his operas in a career cut short by his early death, Bizet achieved few successes before his final work, ''Carmen'', w ...

music (1932). Upon Diaghilev's death, Kochno and

Serge Lifar Serge Lifar (, ''Serhіy Mуkhailovуch Lуfar'') ( 15 December 1986) was a Ukrainian dancer, choreographer, and one of the greatest male ballet dancers of the 20th century. Lifar was also a choreographer, director, writer, theoretician abou ...

tried but failed to hold the

Ballets Russes The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Russian Revolution, Revolution ...

together. The two inherited part of Diaghilev's archives and collections, which Kochno completed and part of which was acquired by the

Bibliothèque nationale de France The (; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites, ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository of all that is published in France. Some of its extensive collections, including bo ...

. In 1933 he co-founded, together with

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...

, the short-lived but history-making company Les Ballets 1933, which made its debut that summer at the

Théâtre des Champs-Élysées The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées () is an entertainment venue standing at 15 avenue Montaigne in Paris. It is situated near Avenue des Champs-Élysées, from which it takes its name. Its eponymous main hall may seat up to 1,905 people, while th ...

. That same year, he and Edward James commissioned Brecht and Weill's last collaboration, '' The Seven Deadly Sins'', which Balanchine produced, directed, and choreographed. At the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, Kochno entered into a partnership with

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ro ...

, with whom he founded the Ballets des Champs-Élysées. His later career included a position as ballet director with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, where he became an influential figure in post-World War II French ballet. Kochno authored several works, including ''Diaghilev and the Ballets Russes'', a record of the Diaghilev era, and '' Christian Bérard'', a scrapbook of artwork by Bérard, Kochno's former lover and collaborator, along with reminiscences.

Personal life

In 1925 Kochno had a "passionate affair" with American composer and songwriter

Cole Porter Cole Albert Porter (June 9, 1891 – October 15, 1964) was an American composer and songwriter. Many of his songs became Standard (music), standards noted for their witty, urbane lyrics, and many of his scores found success on Broadway the ...

, with whom he carried on a lengthy correspondence, as well as Porter's friend, the American diplomat and heir, Hermann Oelrichs Jr., a son of Hermann and Theresa Fair Oelrichs. Today, two of Oelrich's handwritten love letters to Kochno are in the

National Library of France National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

, which "leave no doubt that the two had a sexual relationship." He died on 8 December 1990 in Paris following a fall. He was buried in the Père Lachaise cemetery in Paris, next to Wladimir Augenblick (1911–2001).

References

Literature

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Kochno, Boris Musicians from Moscow Ballets Russes and descendants Ballets Russes dancers 1904 births 1990 deaths Russian LGBTQ poets Russian LGBTQ dancers Russian gay writers Ballet librettists Burials at Père Lachaise Cemetery Russian male poets 20th-century Russian male writers 20th-century Russian poets Accidental deaths from falls Accidental deaths in France Writers from Moscow Gay dancers Gay poets 20th-century Russian LGBTQ people Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France