Natalia Sergeevna Goncharova

Lefebvre-Foinet Collection

In Stravinsky's ballet L'Oiseau de feu the hero Prince Ivan must rescue an enchanted princess, who has been captured by the evil sorcerer Koschei the Deathless. Diaghilev's first production of L'Oiseau de feu premiered in Paris in 1910 with designs by Bakst and Golovin. In 1922 the original scenery was ruined by rain while in storage and Diaghilev commissioned Goncharova to create a new set of designs. This version of the ballet was first performed by Diaghilev's troupe at the Lyceum Theatre in London on 25 November 1926. The role of Koschei, depicted in the present lot, was performed by George Balanchine.