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Le train bleu
Darius Milhaud in 1923.
Choreographer	Bronislava Nijinska
Music	Darius Milhaud
Premiere	20 June 1924 Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris
Original ballet company	Ballets russes

Le train bleu is a one-act ballet choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska to music by Darius Milhaud for Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, based on a scenario by Jean Cocteau. The title was taken from the night train called Le Train Bleu, which transported wealthy passengers from Calais to the Mediterranean Sea.

The ballet is set on the fashionable French Riviera and has a sporting theme, with swimmers, tennis players, and weight lifters. Henri Laurens supplied a Cubist beach scene and Coco Chanel outfitted the cast in sportswear. The curtain was painted after Deux femmes courant sur la plage, a 1922 work by Pablo Picasso.

The ballet was first performed on 20 June 1924 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, with Nijinska, who played a tennis player based on Suzanne Lenglen, Lydia Sokolova, Anton Dolin and Leon Woizikowski in the leading roles. The orchestra was conducted by André Messager.

Sections

• Introduction
• Choeur des poules et des gigolos
• Entrée de Beau-Gosse
• Entrée de Perlouse
• Rentrée de Beau-Gosse
• Choeur des poules et des gigolos (farce des cabines et scène de l'avion)
• Entrée de la championne de tennis et couplets avec Beau-Gosse
• Entrée du joueur de golf et valse avec Perlouse
• Introduction et duo de Beau-Gosse et de Perlouse
• Choeur des poules et des gigolos ; Fugue de l'engueulade
• Final du chapeau.

Notes

1. Histoires de la mode, 2008, p. 153.
2. Harris, Dale (September 1989). "Legends: Chanel and Diaghilev". Architectural Digest: 42, 46, and 50.

• Richard Buckle's biography of Diaghilev made a mistake in citing the setting as Deauville. Deauville was a fashionable resort in Normandy, and it was not on the line of the Blue Train.

References

• Au, Susan (2002). Ballet and Modern Dance. Thames and Hudson Ltd. ISBN 978-0500203521
• Grumbach, Didier (2008). Histoires de la mode. Paris: Éditions du Regard. ISBN 978-2-84105-223-3
• New York Times article by Gay Morris, 4 March 1990

v t e Darius Milhaud
List of compositions
Operas	L'Orestie d'Eschyle Christophe Colomb L'abandon d'Ariane La Délivrance de Thésée La mère coupable Le pauvre matelot David
Ballets	La création du monde Le Bœuf sur le toit Les mariés de la tour Eiffel L'éventail de Jeanne L'Homme et son désir Le Train bleu
Symphonies	No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 ("Te Deum") No. 4 No. 5 No. 6 No. 7 No. 8 ("Rhôdanienne") No. 9 No. 10 No. 11 ("Romantique") No. 12 ("La Rurale") No. 13 ("Pacem in terris") Little Symphonies No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 5 No. 6
Orchestra works	Saudades do Brasil Suite provençale
Incidental and film music	Days of Hope Dreams That Money Can Buy Judith Land Without Bread La Tragédie impériale Le jeu de Robin et Marion Le Voyageur sans bagage Love Cavalcade Madame Bovary Mollenard The Beloved Vagabond The Citadel of Silence The Private Affairs of Bel Ami
Chamber music	La cheminée du roi René Scaramouche Sonata for flute, oboe, clarinet and piano
Piano music	Le Bœuf sur le toit Saudades do Brasil
Collaborations	Genesis Suite Homage to Paderewski L'Album des Six Les mariés de la tour Eiffel L'éventail de Jeanne Mouvements du coeur Variations sur le nom de Marguerite Long
Named for Milhaud	Lycée intercommunal Darius-Milhaud
Related articles	Les Six Neoclassicism
Category

1. Sjeng Scheijen, "Diaghilev: A Life," Oxford UP, 2009

• Ballets by Darius Milhaud
• Ballets by Bronislava Nijinska
• Ballets by Jean Cocteau
• Ballets designed by Coco Chanel
• 1924 ballet premieres
• Works about rail transport