Table of contents:
- Russian masquerade ball in the Winter Palace
- Black and white Truman Capote ball
- Oriental Ball of Baron Alexis de Rede
- Ball of Proust
- Surrealist Ball
Video: The most grandiose balls of the twentieth century: From the 290th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty to the Ball of the Surrealists
2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55
Balls used to be an integral part of social life. Particularly successful were costume balls held in honor of any significant events or famous personalities. In the twentieth century, there were many fans of such events, and the balls themselves went down in history and left an indelible mark in the memory of the participants. No money was spared for their holding, and the most famous and influential people sought to become a guest of the grand event.
Russian masquerade ball in the Winter Palace
In February 1903, one of the most grandiose balls was held, which Emperor Nicholas II and his wife Alexandra Fedorovna timed to coincide with the 290th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty. The festivities lasted for two days. On February 11, the guests attended a grand concert with the participation of Fyodor Chaliapin, Medea Figner and Anna Pavlova, and then a sumptuous dinner followed by dancing.
On February 13, the masquerade ball itself took place, which was attended by all the Russian nobility. According to eyewitnesses, the ball held in the Concert Hall of the Hermitage was a truly grandiose spectacle: a multitude of national costumes richly decorated with furs and jewels, specially staged dances that opened the program, an amazing atmosphere of a general celebration.
The costumes for the event were designed by the artist Sergei Solomko, and each of them was very expensive. Some of the outfits are still kept in the Hermitage funds.
Black and white Truman Capote ball
On November 28, 1966, Truman Capote hosted a grand Black and White Ball at the Plaza Hotel in New York in honor of Washington Post publisher Catherine Graham. The writer was at the peak of his popularity and decided to throw a grand party that would be worthy of being called the ball of the century. Truman Capote got the idea in the film "My Fair Lady", where in the "Ascot scene" all the ladies were dressed in black and white.
It took the writer a whole month just to compile a guest list for his event. He specially acquired a black and white notebook, which he carried with him everywhere and where, first of all, he wrote down the initial list of guests, and then corrected it over the course of three months. It was not so easy to get to the party of the century: Capote organized several verification events at which he evaluated his potential guests, deciding whether they were worthy to attend his ball. There was an unprecedented excitement around the party, and no one could explain on what principles the final guest list was formed as a result.
On November 28, 1966, the ball itself took place. All guests were dressed in black and white outfits and the same masks. The ball was attended by sister Jacqueline Kennedy Lee Radziwill, Henry Ford II, Henry Fonda, Sargent Shriver, Françoise de Langlade and many other guests.
Instead of flower vases, tables were decorated with gold candelabra with white candles, and scrambled eggs, spaghetti, cookies, cakes, meatballs and chicken stew, Plaza's signature dish, were served at the table. In total, 450 bottles of Taittinger champagne were drunk during the evening, and Truman Capote spent $ 16 million on organizing the event.
Oriental Ball of Baron Alexis de Rede
On December 5, 1969, Baron de Rede hosted one of the most amazing parties of the century, Le Bal Oriental, at the Hotel Lambert. By the baron's own admission, there was no special reason for the ball except his desire. On the day of the party, the entire mansion turned into an amazing oriental fairy tale, and each of the 400 guests felt like a part of a unique action. The invitations were sent out six months before the event, and Baron de Rede took at least 12 months to prepare.
Among those invited were Salvador Dali and Amanda Lear, Baron and Baroness de Rothschilds, Countess Jacqueline de Ribas, Crown Princess of Denmark Margrethe, Brigitte Bardot and many other distinguished guests. Already in the 21st century, the French jewelry house Van Cleef & Arpels dedicated its special series Le Bal Oriental to this event.
Ball of Proust
On July 10, 1971, a grand ball was held by Marie-Helene Rothschild in honor of the centenary of the birth of the French writer Marcel Proust. About 350 people took part in the grand ball, among which one could see Audrey Hepburn and Marisa Berenson, Princess Grace Kelly of Monaco, Elizabeth Taylor with Richard Burton. Guests of the country castle Ferrière seemed to have traveled back in time to the era of Marcel Proust. All the guests were dressed in exquisite costumes, which were worn in the days of the writer, only the outfits were much more expensive and elegant.
Surrealist Ball
A year after the first triumph of Marie-Helene Rothschild, on December 12, 1972, an equally gorgeous surrealist ball took place, which was held in the same country castle of Ferrière. This time the event was dedicated to Salvador Dali and Rene Magritte. In addition to Dali himself, Audrey Hepburn and members of the royal families of Europe attended the ball.
The only person who ignored the dress code was the eccentric artist himself. The rest of the guests came in accordance with the requirement printed on the invitation: "Black tie, long dresses and surreal heads." By the way, the text of the invitation could only be read with the help of a mirror, because it was printed in a mirror image.
The surreal heads of the guests were impressive: Audrey Hepburn had a cage on her head, Marie-Helene Rothschild was wearing a mask of a deer crying with diamond tears, Baron Alexis de Rede came in a two-faced mask created by Dali himself.
The guests were greeted by growling cats acting as butlers. In the labyrinth, through which the participants of the ball had to go, they were also accompanied by cats. Dinner was served on a huge mannequin decorated with stuffed turtles, and the plates were made of fur.
Masquerade balls were very popular in the twentieth century. In 1951, Venice hosted one of the largest fancy-dress celebrations of the century, the first celebration of this magnitude since the end of World War II. Among those invited were, among others, Salvador Dali, Christian Dior, Princess Natalya Pavlovna Paley. The famous billionaire, nicknamed the Count of Monte Cristo of the 20th century, hosted the guests.
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