I. Stravinsky. "The Firebird", "The Rite of Spring"

Two one-act ballets by Igor Stravinsky, "The Firebird" and "The Rite of Spring", performed by the French "Ballet of Biarritz".

The ballet "The Firebird" was written by the then little-known composer, commissioned by Sergei Diaghilev for his "Russian Seasons" company. Their close collaboration began with this ballet. The libretto was written by the outstanding choreographer Mikhail Fokin. It used the tales of Ivan Tsarevich, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf, Kashchei the Deathless and the Princess of Unfathomable Beauty. The premiere took place on the stage of the Grand Opera Theatre on June 25, 1910, choreographed by Mikhail Fokin, designed by Alexander Golovin and Leon Bakst. The orchestra was conducted by Gabriel Pierné. The success was colossal. In one day, a previously unknown Russian composer became famous.

"The Rite of Spring" is a ballet that premiered on May 29, 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris as part of the "Russian Seasons". The ballet was based on a dream Stravinsky had, in which he saw an ancient pagan ritual: a young girl, surrounded by elders, dances to exhaustion to awaken spring, and dies.

The ballet does not have a clear plot. In essence, it is a series of changing scenes of ritual dances: spring fortune telling, round dances, the elder's procession, a kiss of the earth, tribal dances and, finally, the final ritual dance of the chosen victim. The irregular rhythm and constant changes in rhythm confused the listener. And its first performance was an absolute failure.

PERFORMERS:

Biarritz Ballet

Choreography - Thierry Malandain ("Firebird")

Martin Harriague ("The Rite of Spring")

Soloists - Noé Ballo, Julie Bruno, Giuditta Banchetti, Clemence Chevillotte, Elisa Costa and others.

National Dance Theatre, Paris, 2021