Boris Kochno | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1904-01-03)3 January 1904 Moscow, Russia |
| Died | 8 December 1990(1990-12-08) (aged 86) Paris, France |
| Resting place | Père Lachaise Cemetery[1] |
| Education | Imperial Lyceum |
| Known for | Les Ballets 1933 |
Boris Evgenievich Kochno orKokhno (Russian:Бори́с Евге́ньевич Кохно́; 3 January 1904 – 8 December 1990) was a Russian poet, dancer, andlibrettist.
Kochno was born inMoscow,Russia, on 3 January 1904. His father served as a colonel in thehussars. He studied at theImperial Lyceum in Moscow before emigrating to Paris in 1920.[2]
He was close withKarol Szymanowski, who gave him as a gift a Russian translation of the chapterThe Symposium from his unpublished novelEfebos.[3] Szymanowski also dedicated four poems to him. In 1920 he becameSergei Diaghilev's secretary, librettist, and eventually main collaborator. They were also briefly lovers. Kochno wrote the libretto ofStravinsky'sMavra (1921),[4]George Auric'sLes Fâcheux (1924),[5]Henri Sauguet'sLa Chatte (1927),[6] and ofSergei Prokofiev's ballet scoreThe Prodigal Son (1929).[7] He also wrote a libretto forMassin's balletJeux d'enfants [ru] toGeorges Bizet music (1932).
Upon Diaghilev's death, Kochno andSerge Lifar tried but failed to hold theBallets Russes together. The two inherited part of Diaghilev's archives and collections, which Kochno completed and part of which was acquired by theBibliothèque nationale de France.[8] In 1933 he co-founded, together withGeorge Balanchine, the short-lived but history-making companyLes Ballets 1933,[9] which made its debut that summer at theThéâtre des Champs-Élysées. That same year, he andEdward James commissionedBrecht andWeill's last collaboration,The Seven Deadly Sins,[2] which Balanchine produced, directed, and choreographed.
At the end ofWorld War II, Kochno entered into a partnership withRoland Petit, with whom he founded theBallets des Champs-Élysées.[10]
His later career included a position as ballet director with theBallet Russe de Monte Carlo, where he became an influential figure in post-World War II French ballet.
Kochno authored several works, includingDiaghilev and the Ballets Russes, a record of the Diaghilev era, andChristian Bérard, a scrapbook of artwork by Bérard, Kochno's former lover and collaborator, along with reminiscences.
In 1925 Kochno had a "passionate affair" with American composer and songwriterCole Porter,[11] with whom he carried on a lengthy correspondence,[12] as well as Porter's friend, the American diplomat and heir, Hermann Oelrichs Jr., a son ofHermann andTheresa Fair Oelrichs.[13] Today, two of Oelrich's handwritten love letters to Kochno are in theNational Library of France,[14] which "leave no doubt that the two had a sexual relationship."[13]
He died on 8 December 1990 in Paris following a fall.[2] He was buried in thePère Lachaise cemetery in Paris,[15] next to Wladimir Augenblick (1911–2001).
