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The Ballet "Sacre du
Printemps" ("Scenes of Pagan Russia") was composed by Igor
Stravinsky in the beginning of 1913 on a libretto by Nikolai and Svyatoslav
Roerichs. The premiere performance of the ballet took place on May 28 of the
same year in Paris. The ballet was staged by V. Nizhinsky. Music of
this work,
which is believed to be one of the most significant creative discoveries of the
20th century’s art, has not lost its freshness and novelty.
The work consists of two parts. The first one is opened
by an introduction, which presents the scene of nature’s awakening in
spring. Gradually, primordial, boisterous forces are being firmly established.
The acme of the first part is an episode - "Consecration of the Soil".
The second part of the ballet depicts the somber scene of a human sacrifice. The
final part - "Sacred Dance" turns into an explosion of accumulated
tension, but here in the frenzied finale one can hear a mournful human voice.
I. Stravinsky created his ballet "Jeu de
Cartes" in 1937 at the request of ballet-master G. Balanchine. The ballet
was staged in the New York Metropolitan Opera.
The plot of the ballet is poker. That is why the author
called it "ballet in three deals", during which the nimble and smart
Joker, the major card in the deck and a main personage of the ballet, is
constantly interfering with the game and often unexpectedly destroys the natural
course of the game. Each "deal" starts with the same theme refrain –
an energetic march-minuet.
In the first "deal", there prevails a common
understanding, sympathy. It does not last long, only till the moment when the
game is joined by an impetuous Joker. However, the noble cards manage to repulse
the Joker's onslaught and win a game. The second "deal" commences with
the mysterious march. Significant are the variations, in which Stravinsky
somehow makes a parody out of the charm and grace of the romantic ballet.
In the third "deal" there develops the
last and most reckless game. Again, Joker overturns the card combination. Their
movements acquire a threatening manner. At this very moment a march refrain
suddenly completes the ballet.
Igor Stravinsky
Sacre du Printemps, ballet
Scenes of Pagan Russia
1. Part I The Adoration of the Earth – 15:40
Introduction
Spring Fortune-Telling
Dance of Adolescents
Game of Abduction
Spring Rounds
Game of Rival Tribes
March of the Sage
The Adoration of the Earth (the Sage)
Consecration of the Soil
2. Part
II The Sacrifice – 18:20
Introduction
Mysterious Circle of Adolescents
Honoring with Rites and Songs of the Chosen Maiden
Evocation of the Ancestors
Ritual of the Ancestors
Sacred dance (the Chosen Maiden)
3. Jeu
de Cartes
Ballet in three deals – 23:45
Total time – 57:45
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