For years I have wanted to see this amazing tribute to Rudolph Nureyev, a fringed kilim rug meticulously crafted in bronze and glass mosaics by Ezio Frigerio. The loose drapes of rug over the "traveling trunk" is a bright gem in the Russian Orthodox Cemetery, an homage to Nureyev's Bashkir heritage.
His funeral, the civil ceremony, was at Opéra Garnier in the rococo foyer after an elegant procession up the grand staircase. The devotees of Nureyev payed their respects as an orchestra played Tchaikovsky and Bach. The splendor of Garnier was left behind and he was buried in the Russian cemetery at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois.
One week ago, Peter (
Peter's Paris) and I made the journey by train, by bus, and on foot to the remote town. As a town it is oblivious to the cemetery and does not encourage the tourists with signs of direction. For two hours we saw only the custodians of the cemetery as we walked among the graves, a quiet time in this spectacular resting place of the great dancer and choreographer.
To read more about Rudolph Nureyev, the biography Nureyev, the Life (2007) by Julie Kavanagh is spellbinding.
Rudolph Nureyev (1938-1993)
Russian Orthodox Cemetery
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois
