[The Bores: Theatre of Serge Diaghilev]. Les Fâcheux: théâtre Serge de Diaghilew. 2 vol.

[Cover by Georges Braque].  

Paris, Éditions des Quatre Chemins, 1924.
4to, vol. 1. [41] pp., ill., vol.2. [30] pp., ill.

In original pictorial wrappers. Without paper box. Plates and illustrations accompanied by tissue guards.
Near very good condition, front cover light detached from block (vol. 1).

No 358 of 385 copies on Vélin d'Arches, of an edition of 500.       

These albums are dedicated to the 1924 performance of 'Les Fâcheux' by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes at the Théâtre de Monte-Carlo. Based on Molière's comedy-ballet, it was conceived by Boris Kochno, librettist and Diaghilev's secretary and lover. Kochno later co-founded the short-lived but influential company Les Ballets 1933 with George Balanchine and, after WWII, the Ballets des Champs-Élysées. 'Les Fâcheux' was choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska, an innovative Russian ballet dancer of Polish origin, with music by Georges Auric, a French composer and member of Les Six. The sets and costumes were designed by Georges Braque, the renowned French painter and sculptor, celebrated for his role in the development of Cubism.
These volumes feature critical works by French critics Jean Cocteau and Louis Laloy, hand-colored lithographs of Braque’s set and costume designs, a portrait of Auric by Cocteau, a facsimile of a page from the score, a photograph of Braque by Man Ray, and photographic plates showcasing Diaghilev’s dancers in costume.