"Crafting the Ballets Russes" highlights Robert Owen Lehman’s incredible collection of music manuscripts, which has been an inspiration to scholars and visitors. Among its many works are Igor Stravinsky’s Firebird (1910), Petrouchka (1911), and Les Noces (1923); Claude Debussy’s L’après-midi d’un Faune (1912); and Maurice Ravel’s Bolero (1928) and La Valse (1920).

The exhibition opens with Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes troupe in Paris in 1909 and traces its impact across the arts, highlighting the rise of women in leading creative roles. They include Bronislava Nijinska, who in 1921 became the Ballets Russes’ only female choreographer; and Ida Rubinstein, who helped establish the Ballets Russes in its first seasons.

The exhibition and accompanying catalog address the sketches, drafts, and working copies of the composers, choreographers, and designers.

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