Petrouchka is a ballet in four scenes devised and composed by Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), with sets and costumes by Alexandre Benois (1870-1960) and choreography by Mikhail Fokine (1880-1942). The ballet was commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev (1872-1929) and premiered with his Ballets Russes at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 13 June 1911 with Vaslav Nijinsky portraying the title character.
The ballet, set in Saint Petersburg in 1830 during the city's Shrovetide Fair, tells the story of three puppets, Petrouchka, a gangly and awkward puppet who is in love with the Ballerina, who in turn is in love with the Moor. All three puppets are brought to life by the Charlatan, or magician, during the fair, but when the Ballerina rejects Petrouchka, he challenges the Moor, who kills him. The ballet ends with the Charlatan showing the fair crowd Petrouchka's straw-filled puppet body to ease their fears of what they just saw, but when the crowd has dispersed, the spirit of Petrouchka appears to the Charlatan scaring him away, before collapsing again.
Benois' designs for Petrouchka drew largely from his personal memories of attending the Shrovetide Fairs in Saint Petersburg, with the opening and closing scenes set in Admiralty Square and costumes designed as accurate recreations of period clothing. The magical themes of the ballet became apparent, though, in the dramatic costuming of the three puppets, as well as the settings of the second and third scenes, in Petrouchka's room painted with a starry sky above icy peaks and decorated with a icon-like portrait of the Charlatan, and in the Moor's room, with an exotic divan and walls brightly decorated with palm trees and exotic flowers. Though not related to a specific scene within the ballet, Benois' depiction in the present lot of this group of terrifying goblins flying in the night sky over Saint Petersburg on the drop curtain sets the tone for the fantastical themes throughout the story.
Most recently, four costume designs by Benois for Petrouchka were sold from The Ann & Gordon Getty Collection, Christie's, New York, 25 October 2022, lot 1779.