Quiz Answer

Three people correctly identified the photo of this beautifully crafted object - they were my blogging friends Gina, Janneke and Helen.  The resounding endorsement of approval from any audience at a ballet would surely applaud you all with calls of "bravo, bravo"

The clues were a Russian Orthodox Church, a Russian Orthodox Cross, purple pansy pottery cemetery memorials, 1996 was the year that the object was completed

"As long as my ballets are danced, I will live"

In accordance with his last wishes, Rudolf Nureyev, who died in Paris on 6th January 1993, was buried in the Russian cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève-des-bois.

I am pleased that in 1982 I had the opportunity to see Nureyev dance in his own highly acclaimed production of Romeo and Juliet at the London Coliseum.  I can picture him now as Romeo dancing to Prokofiev's haunting music. The striking and memorable costumes worn by the London Festival Ballet chorus along with the stage set were all designed by Ezio Frigerio who was also the designer of Rudolf's resplendent tomb. This dazzling mosaic memorial resembles one of the oriental kilim rugs that Nureyev collected and loved so much.

 The Russian cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève-des-bois, near Paris, is far larger than I had imagined it would be. It houses many interesting and notable memorials and tombs of White Russians who arrived in Paris following the Bolshevik Revolution. I shall return to the cemetery again in another post.