Diaghilev: and His Friends

Melville´s major biography of the Russian impressario brings to life a brief and daring age of sophistication and hedonistic pleasure set against the backdrop of a swiftly changing world. In Paris and London, Diaghilev drew together an amazingly talented group of like-minded artists such as Picasso, Baskt and Fokine, as well as dancers like Nijinsky, Lifar and Karsavina, and the composers Igor Stravinsky and Sergei Prokofiev. Diaghilev´s tempestuous and destructive affair with Nijinsky and his friendship with Jean Cocteau are closely examined.