Petrushka (ballet)
1911 ballet by Igor Stravinsky / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Petrushka (French: Pétrouchka; Russian: Петрушка) is a ballet by Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1911 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine and stage designs and costumes by Alexandre Benois, who assisted Stravinsky with the libretto. The ballet premiered at the Théâtre du Châtelet on 13 June 1911 with Vaslav Nijinsky as Petrushka, Tamara Karsavina as the lead ballerina, Alexander Orlov as the Moor, and Enrico Cecchetti the charlatan.[1]
Petrushka | |
---|---|
Choreographer | Michel Fokine |
Music | Igor Stravinsky |
Libretto | Igor Stravinsky Alexandre Benois |
Based on | Russian folk material |
Premiere | 13 June 1911 Théâtre du Châtelet Paris |
Original ballet company | Ballets Russes |
Characters | Petrushka The Ballerina The Moor The Charlatan |
Design | Alexandre Benois |
Setting | Admiralty Square Saint Petersburg Shrovetide, 1830 |
Created for | Vaslav Nijinsky |
Genre | Ballet burlesque |
Petrushka tells the story of the loves and jealousies of three puppets. The three are brought to life by the Charlatan during the 1830 Shrovetide Fair (Maslenitsa) in Saint Petersburg. Petrushka loves the Ballerina, but she rejects him. She prefers the Moor. Petrushka is angry and hurt, and challenges the Moor. The Moor kills him with his scimitar. Petrushka's ghost rises above the puppet theatre as night falls. He shakes his fist at the Charlatan, then collapses in a second death.
Petrushka brings music, dance, and design together in a unified whole. It is one of the most popular of the Ballets Russes productions. It is usually performed today using the original designs and choreography. Grace Robert wrote in 1946, "Although more than thirty years have elapsed since Petrushka was first performed, its position as one of the greatest ballets remains unassailed. Its perfect fusion of music, choreography, and décor and its theme—the timeless tragedy of the human spirit—unite to make its appeal universal".[2]