Behind the name...
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev (1872-1929) Russian art critic, patron, balletimpresario and founder of the Ballets Russes
Our Live Art Boutique Hotel bears the name of this extraordinary man, who brought together from across the art forms men and women of awe-inspiring talent in a collaboration that revolutionized the theatrical world of the 20th century. He is our inspiration.
Diaghilev was born in Novgorod gubernia, Russia; He graduated in law and music but decided to find another path in the field of Arts.
With his friends ,Alexandre Benois and Leon Baskt, he founded the journal Mir iskusstva (World of Art).
During his life, Diaghilev was holding key positions in Imperial theaters. He was the first to introduce Russian art abroad, he travelled extensively through Russia to collect and exhibit pieces of art of the 18th and 19th centuries.
His popularity abroad in general and particulary in Paris led to the launching of his famous "Ballets Russes".
Among many other composers, Diaghilev comissioned works from Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Erik Satie, Manuel de Falla, Richard Strauss, Sergei Prokofiev, Ottorino Respighi, Francis Poulenc, Igor Stravinsky (The Firebird, Petrushka, The Rite of Spring ,Pulcinella and Les noces).
