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The Rite of Spring

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The Rite of Spring

The Rite of Spring (French: Le Sacre du printemps) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1913 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Vaslav Nijinsky with stage designs and costumes by Nicholas Roerich. When first performed at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on 29 May 1913, the avant-garde nature of the music and choreography caused a sensation. Many have called the first-night reaction a "riot" or "near-riot", though this wording did not come about until reviews of later performances in 1924, over a decade later. Although designed as a work for the stage, with specific passages accompanying characters and action, the music achieved equal if not greater recognition as a concert piece and is widely considered to be one of the most influential musical works of the 20th century. Stravinsky was a young, virtually unknown composer when Diaghilev recruited him to create works for the Ballets Russes. Le Sacre du printemps was the third such major project, after the acclaimed Firebird (1910) and Petrushka (1911). The concept behind The Rite of Spring, developed by Roerich from Stravinsky's outline idea, is suggested by its subtitle, "Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts"; the scenario depicts various primitive rituals celebrating the advent of spring, after which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death. After a mixed critical reception for its original run and a short London tour, the ballet was not performed again until the 1920s, when a version choreographed by Léonide Massine replaced Nijinsky's original, which saw only eight performances. Massine's was the forerunner of many innovative productions directed by the world's leading choreographers, gaining the work worldwide acceptance. In the 1980s, Nijinsky's original choreography, long believed lost, was reconstructed by the Joffrey Ballet in Los Angeles. Stravinsky's score contains many novel features for its time, including experiments in tonality, metre, rhythm, stress and dissonance. Analysts have noted in the score a significant grounding in Russian folk music, a relationship Stravinsky tended to deny. Regarded as among the first modernist works, the music influenced many of the 20th century's leading composers and is one of the most recorded works in the classical repertoire.

Infobox

Native title
Russian: Весна священная, romanized: Vesna svyashchennaya, lit. 'Sacred Spring'
Choreographer
Vaslav Nijinsky
Music
Igor Stravinsky
Based on
Pagan myths
Premiere
29 May 1913 (1913-05-29)Théâtre des Champs-ÉlyséesParis
Original ballet company
Ballets Russes
Design
Nicholas Roerich

Tables

Synopsis and structure · Synopsis and structure
Part I: L'Adoration de la Terre (Adoration of the Earth)
Part I: L'Adoration de la Terre (Adoration of the Earth)
Episode
Part I: L'Adoration de la Terre (Adoration of the Earth)
Introduction
Introduction
Episode
Introduction
English translation
Introduction
Synopsis
Before the curtain rises, an orchestral introduction resembles, according to Stravinsky, "a swarm of spring pipes [dudki]"
Les Augures printaniers
Les Augures printaniers
Episode
Les Augures printaniers
English translation
Augurs of Spring
Synopsis
The celebration of spring begins in the hills. An old woman enters and begins to foretell the future.
Jeu du rapt
Jeu du rapt
Episode
Jeu du rapt
English translation
Ritual of Abduction
Synopsis
Young girls arrive from the river, in single file. They begin the "Dance of the Abduction".
Rondes printanières
Rondes printanières
Episode
Rondes printanières
English translation
Spring Rounds
Synopsis
The young girls dance the Khorovod, the "Spring Rounds".
Jeux des cités rivales
Jeux des cités rivales
Episode
Jeux des cités rivales
English translation
Ritual of the Rival Tribes
Synopsis
The people divide into two groups in opposition to each other, and begin the "Ritual of the Rival Tribes".
Cortège du sage: Le Sage
Cortège du sage: Le Sage
Episode
Cortège du sage: Le Sage
English translation
Procession of the Sage: The Sage
Synopsis
A holy procession leads to the entry of the wise elders, headed by the Sage who brings the games to a pause and blesses the earth.
Danse de la terre
Danse de la terre
Episode
Danse de la terre
English translation
Dance of the Earth
Synopsis
The people break into a passionate dance, sanctifying and becoming one with the earth.
Part II: Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice)
Part II: Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice)
Episode
Part II: Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice)
Introduction
Introduction
Episode
Introduction
English translation
Introduction
Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes
Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes
Episode
Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes
English translation
Mystic Circles of the Young Girls
Synopsis
The young girls engage in mysterious games, walking in circles.
Glorification de l'élue
Glorification de l'élue
Episode
Glorification de l'élue
English translation
Glorification of the Chosen One
Synopsis
One of the young girls is selected by fate, being twice caught in the perpetual circle, and is honoured as the "Chosen One" with a forceful dance.
Évocation des ancêtres
Évocation des ancêtres
Episode
Évocation des ancêtres
English translation
Evocation of the Ancestors
Synopsis
In a brief dance, the young girls invoke the ancestors.
Action rituelle des ancêtres
Action rituelle des ancêtres
Episode
Action rituelle des ancêtres
English translation
Ritual Action of the Ancestors
Synopsis
The Chosen One is entrusted to the care of the old wise men.
Danse sacrale (L'Élue)
Danse sacrale (L'Élue)
Episode
Danse sacrale (L'Élue)
English translation
Sacrificial Dance
Synopsis
The Chosen One dances to death in the presence of the old men, in the great "Sacrificial Dance".
Episode
English translation
Synopsis
Part I: L'Adoration de la Terre (Adoration of the Earth)
Introduction
Introduction
Before the curtain rises, an orchestral introduction resembles, according to Stravinsky, "a swarm of spring pipes [dudki]"
Les Augures printaniers
Augurs of Spring
The celebration of spring begins in the hills. An old woman enters and begins to foretell the future.
Jeu du rapt
Ritual of Abduction
Young girls arrive from the river, in single file. They begin the "Dance of the Abduction".
Rondes printanières
Spring Rounds
The young girls dance the Khorovod, the "Spring Rounds".
Jeux des cités rivales
Ritual of the Rival Tribes
The people divide into two groups in opposition to each other, and begin the "Ritual of the Rival Tribes".
Cortège du sage: Le Sage
Procession of the Sage: The Sage
A holy procession leads to the entry of the wise elders, headed by the Sage who brings the games to a pause and blesses the earth.
Danse de la terre
Dance of the Earth
The people break into a passionate dance, sanctifying and becoming one with the earth.
Part II: Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice)
Introduction
Introduction
Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes
Mystic Circles of the Young Girls
The young girls engage in mysterious games, walking in circles.
Glorification de l'élue
Glorification of the Chosen One
One of the young girls is selected by fate, being twice caught in the perpetual circle, and is honoured as the "Chosen One" with a forceful dance.
Évocation des ancêtres
Evocation of the Ancestors
In a brief dance, the young girls invoke the ancestors.
Action rituelle des ancêtres
Ritual Action of the Ancestors
The Chosen One is entrusted to the care of the old wise men.
Danse sacrale (L'Élue)
Sacrificial Dance
The Chosen One dances to death in the presence of the old men, in the great "Sacrificial Dance".

References

  1. Russian: Весна священная, romanized: Vesna svyashchennaya, lit. 'sacred spring'. Full name: The Rite of Spring: Pictures
  2. Though The Firebird was their first major project, Stravinsky's first collaboration with Diaghilev was creating new orch
  3. Except as indicated by a specific citation, the synopsis information is taken from Stravinsky's February 1914 note to Ko
  4. In many early editions of the score, the closing section of this episode, in which the Sage blesses the earth, is separa
  5. Nijinsky's sister Bronislava Nijinska later insisted that her brother could play a number of instruments, including the
  6. Kelly and Walsh both cite Henri Girard, a member of the double-bass section. According to Truman Bullard, the section re
  7. Monteux's biographer records that Saint-Saëns walked out of the Paris premiere of the concert version of The Rite, which
  8. In a different account of the incident, the music historian Richard Morrison writes that Stravinsky arrived at the end o
  9. This is enharmonically equivalent to an E major triad, i.e. E, G♯, and B; however, the score clearly notates it as an F♭
  10. Levitz, pp. 146–178
  11. Everdell, pp. 323, 331–333
  12. Walsh 2012, § 1: Background and early years, 1882–1905
  13. Walsh 2012, § 2: Towards The Firebird, 1902–09
  14. Walsh 2012, § 11: Posthumous reputation and legacy: Works
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