Alexandre Benois (1870-1960)
Alexandre Benois (1870-1960)

Nine set designs for the opera Boris Gudunof

Details
Alexandre Benois (1870-1960)
Nine set designs for the opera Boris Gudunof
each signed, titled and dated on the mount sheet Alexander Benois 1943
all with pencil annotations, watercolours with pencil or pen and ink on paper, 6 works unframed
18 x 25in. (45 x 63cm.)
Each executed in 1943 (9)

Lot Essay

After the great success of Tschaikowsky's opera Eugne Onegin which opened at the Mnchner National theatre in October 1938, Benois was commissioned to design the sets for Modeste Mussorgsky's Boris Gudunoff. Tragically, the opera was never staged. Political differences between Germany and Russia during the Second World War led to the breakdown of relations between the two countries and it was immediately forbidden for the work of Russian composers to be performed in German theatres.

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