Jean Cocteau, « J’ai voulu être chorégraphe »

During certain periods, Jean Cocteau worked in a focused manner as a librettist. He designed his librettos not only on the textual level but also on the performative level. An in-depth reading of three scripts—Le Dieu bleu (1912), Le Train bleu (1924), and Le Jeune Homme et la Mort (1946)—demonstrates Cocteau’s intelligence in relation to the aesthetic trends in vogue in the dance world, and to the personality of the male protagonists performing on stage.