STRAVINSKY AND THE BALLET RUSSES / Ballet in Cinema
ONE SHOW ONLY!
Saturday, August 7th at 11:00 a.m.
Admission: $15.00 general; $10.00 Loft members
**HD Digital Presentation made possible by COX COMMUNICATIONS**
In celebration of the new film COCO CHANEL AND IGOR STRAVINSKY, The Loft presents a spectacular HD Digital showcase of one-act ballets based on the music of IGOR STRAVINSKY, performed at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia in June, 2008, featuring THE FIREBIRD, THE WEDDING and Stravinsky's controversial THE RITE OF SPRING.
Don't miss this thrilling companion piece to the acclaimed film about the celebrated composer and his scandalous love affair with fashion icon Coco Chanel!
The Loft Cinema proudly presents exclusive world class cultural programming with the HIGH ART IN HIGH DEF series, featuring acclaimed opera, ballet and theatre productions from across the globe, presented on the big screen in stunning, crystal-clear High Definition digital projection. From the La Scala Opera House in Milan to The National Theatre in London, HIGH ART IN HIGH DEF takes viewers on a grand tour of the greatest productions from the most famous performance venues in the world.
STRAVINSKY AND THE BALLET RUSSES
An Evening of one-act ballets based on the music of Igor Stravinsky, performed at the Mariinsky Theatre, St. Petersburg, Russia.
(Approximate running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes)
THE FIREBIRD (running time: 44 mins.)
In this thrilling Russian folk tale, young prince Ivan finds himself in the terrible realm of the Kashchei, the immortal, who imprisons women and transforms men into stone. Premiered on June 25th, 1910 in Paris – commissioned by Serge de Diaghilev.
Serge de Diaghilev heard Stravinsky for the first time on 6 February 1909, the day when his Fantastic Scherzo and Fireworks were created. Diaghilev was extremely impressed by this last work. Since his Ballets Russes had already performed for a season in Paris in 1909 and were a great success, he wished to repeat the experience the following year and include a brand new work inspired by the legend of the Firebird. He commissioned the young Stravinsky to write the music.
The ballet was an immediate success.The Ballets Russes enabled Fokine to fully realize his ideas since he shared the same vision of ballet with Diaghilev, perceiving it as a total work of art where every element must be in harmony with the artistic project. As for Diaghilev, he found in Fokine the choreographer who could bring his enterprise the right amount of novelty needed to captivate but not clash with the audience. It was a total success.
THE RITE OF SPRING (Le Sacre du printemps) (Running time: 40 mins.)
The Rite of Spring is a series of episodes depicting a wild pagan spring ritual. Its première at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, Paris, on May 29, 1913 caused a veritable scandal. The audience was shocked by the primitive violence of the ballet. It was so radically rejected that the ballet was canceled after eight performances.
Although long forgotten, thanks to the relentless work of Millicent Hodson, Nijinsky's original choreography was recreated. After fifteen years' research, notably helped by Marie Rambert who had been Nijinsky's assistant, she managed to recreate the original Rite of Spring, which was performed by the Joffrey Ballet on 30 September 1987 in Los Angeles. In this work, Igor Stravinsky further developed the rhythm and harmony, elements he had already experimented with in his first two ballets, The Firebird and Petrouchka.
THE WEDDING (Les Noces) (Running time: 20 mins.)
This ballet in four scenes recounts the entire story of a Russian peasant wedding.
Igor Stravinsky started to compose The Wedding using folk texts that he adapted, relating the details of a traditional Russian peasant wedding. The score for the first two scenes was finished in the spring of 1915 but the complete work was only finished two years later on April 4th, 1917 in Morges. Diaghilev decided to put these choreographic scenes on the program of his Ballets Russes in June 1923. The choreography was entrusted to Bronislava Nijinska, sister of the famous dancer.
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