Nicola Alexandrovich Benois (2 May 1901 – 31 March 1988
) was a stage designer, known for his work as principal scenographer and costume designer at
La Scala
La Scala (, , ; officially , ) is a historic opera house in Milan, Milan, Italy. The theatre was inaugurated on 3 August 1778 and was originally known as (, which previously was Santa Maria della Scala, Milan, a church). The premiere performa ...
in Milan.
Education and early career
Nicola was the son of
Alexandre Benois
Alexandre (Alexander) Nikolayevich Benois (; Salmina-Haskell, Larissa. ''Russian Paintings and Drawings in the Ashmolean Museum''. pp. 15, 23-24. Published by Ashmolean Museum, 19899 February 1960) was a Russian artist, art critic, historian, ...
, an influential artist, critic, historian and stage designer. He was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, where his father was the costume designer of the
Mariinsky Theatre
The Mariinsky Theatre (, also transcribed as Maryinsky or Mariyinsky) is a historic opera house in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Opened in 1860, it became the preeminent music theatre of late 19th-century Russia, where many of the stage masterpieces ...
, the imperial opera house. The family lived in their grand mansion near the opera house, which was built by his grandfather
Nikolai Benois. Nicola studied art and design under his father before attending the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg.
[Owen, Bobbi. ''Costume Design on Broadway: Designers and Their Credits, 1915–1985.'' Greenwood Press: New York, 1987]
After working as scenographer and set designer for several of the Mariinsky opera and ballet productions, he emigrated from Russia to Paris, France in 1923. There he worked for
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 ...
as a set designer for several of 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 ...
productions.
Work at La Scala
Nicola later moved to Italy, following his father Alexandre Benois, and was invited by
Alexander Sanin
Alexander Akimovich Sanin (, né Shoenberg, Шёнберг; – 8 May 1956) was a Russian actor, director and acting teacher. to design Khovanshchina at La Scala. His designs were well received and he was offered a position as a designer at Teatro dell'Opera di Roma.
In 1935, Nicola accepted the post of principal scenographer at La Scala. There he collaborated with
Luchino Visconti
Luchino Visconti di Modrone, Count of Lonate Pozzolo (; 2 November 1906 – 17 March 1976) was an Italian filmmaker, theatre and opera director, and screenwriter. He was one of the fathers of Italian neorealism, cinematic neorealism, but later ...
, the powerful producer of La Scala, who insisted on genuine period jewelry and costumes for the performing stars. Benois was a master of period design.
His stage works are remarkable for their mastery of line, form and color scheme. Many are now exhibited as museum pieces and studied by designers worldwide. In all, he designed about 300 ballet and opera productions for theaters of Turin, Milan, Rome, and other cities worldwide.
He died in 1988, in
Codroipo
Codroipo () is a (municipality) in the Regional decentralization entity of Udine, in the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia, located about northwest of Trieste and about southwest of Udine.
Codroipo borders the following municipalities: ...
, Italy.
References
External links
Nikolai Alexandrovich Benois at artnet
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benois, Nicola
1901 births
1988 deaths
La Scala
Russian designers
Emigrants from the Russian Empire to France