''Le train bleu'' is a one-act

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska to music by Darius Milhaud for Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, based on a scenario by

Jean Cocteau Jean Maurice Eugène Clément Cocteau ( , ; ; 5 July 1889 11 October 1963) was a French poet, playwright, novelist, designer, film director, visual artist and critic. He was one of the foremost avant-garde artists of the 20th-c ...

. The title was taken from the night train called '' Le Train Bleu'', which transported wealthy passengers from Calais to the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern Eur ...

. The ballet is set on the fashionable French Riviera and has a sporting theme, with swimmers, tennis players, and weight lifters. Henri Laurens supplied a Cubist beach scene and Coco Chanel outfitted the cast in sportswear. The curtain was painted after ''Deux femmes courant sur la plage'', a 1922 work by

Pablo Picasso Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, Ceramic art, ceramicist, and Scenic ...

. The ballet was first performed on 20 June 1924 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, with Nijinska, who played a tennis player based on Suzanne Lenglen, Lydia Sokolova, Anton Dolin and Leon Woizikovsky in the leading roles. The orchestra was conducted by André Messager.

Sections

*Introduction *Choeur des poules et des gigolos *Entrée de Beau-Gosse *Entrée de Perlouse *Rentrée de Beau-Gosse *Choeur des poules et des gigolos (farce des cabines et scène de l'avion) *Entrée de la championne de tennis et couplets avec Beau-Gosse *Entrée du joueur de golf et valse avec Perlouse *Introduction et duo de Beau-Gosse et de Perlouse *Choeur des poules et des gigolos ; Fugue de l'engueulade *Final du chapeau.

Notes

* Richard Buckle's biography of Diaghilev made a mistake in citing the setting as Deauville. Deauville was a fashionable resort in Normandy, and it was not on the line of the Blue Train.Sjeng Scheijen, "Diaghilev: A Life," Oxford UP, 2009

References

* Au, Susan (2002). ''Ballet and Modern Dance''. Thames and Hudson Ltd. * Grumbach, Didier (2008). ''Histoires de la mode''. Paris: Éditions du Regard.
''New York Times'' article by Gay Morris, 4 March 1990
{{Pablo Picasso Ballets by Darius Milhaud Ballets by Bronislava Nijinska Ballets by Jean Cocteau Ballets designed by Coco Chanel 1924 ballets Works about rail transport