Petrouchka

Premiere – 13 June 1911, Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev, Théâtre du Châtelet, Paris

Premiere at the State Academic Opera and Ballet Theatre, today the Mariinsky Theatre (production by Leonid Leontiev after the choreography by Michel Fokine) – 20 November 1920

Production premiere by Gary Chryst – 6 February 2010

Running time: 40 minutes
Age category 6+

Credits

Music by Igor Stravinsky

Choreography by Michel Fokine (1911)
Libretto, sets and costumes by Alexandre Benois

Musical Director: Valery Gergiev

Staging by Gary Chryst

Revival Designer: Batozhan Dashitsyrenov

Lighting design: Vladimir LukasevichCoach: Igor Petrov

Petrouchka, staged for Diaghilev’s Saison russe in 1911, marked a triumph for all of its creators. For composer Igor Stravinsky it was his first yet brilliant attempt to come up with his own production, the story of the clownish Petrouchka, told through an orchestral piece where the grand piano plays the lead part. For Alexandre Benois, artist, librettist and St Petersburg antiques enthusiast, it was an opportunity to explore cherished childhood memories of town fairs and circuses. Choreographer Michel Fokine made the most of his reformist ideas of movement as means of expression, the ‘speaking’ choreography. Vaslav Nijinsky, who gracefully brought all these ideas to life in his interpretation of the lead role, was not only a darling with the audiences. The role somehow foreshadowed his own destiny. The ingredients of  Petrouchka’s success include a score without mellow tunes, where the main character’s death is marked by the sound of a tambourine dropped to the floor; Petrouchka’s feet turned toes in, so unlike the traditional ballet feet; and the tragedy of loneliness in a flamboyant crowd at the fair. This cocktail of Petrouchka ingredients did not only lead to success in Paris, but also marked a veritable change of ballet epochs.

The Firebird

Premiere: 25 June 1910, Les Saisons Russes, Théâtre de l´Opéra, Paris

Premiere of Michel Fokin’s version at the Mariinsky Theatre: 28 May 1994

Running time: 50 minutes
Age category 6+

Credits

Music by Igor Stravinsky

Libretto by Michel Fokine

Choreography by Michel Fokine (1910)
Reconstruction: Andris Liepa (1994)

Set and costume design: Anna and Anatoly Nezhny after original sketches: Alexander Golovin, Léon Bakst and Michel Fokine

Lighting Designer: Vladimir Lukasevich

Lighting Adaptation for the Mariinsky II by Yegor Kartashov

Igor Stravinsky began his career with The Firebird. It was his first commissioned work, his theatrical debut, followed by a huge success. After the ballet was premiered in Paris, this previously unknown aspiring composer was now ranked among the main newsmakers of the new European art. Stravinsky was invited to write a new score for the Ballets Russes by Diaghilev, since Anatoly Lyadov, composer known for his ability to evoke the world of Russian fairy tales, had failed this order on time. Diaghilev who had a knack for discovering new talents had been impressed by young Stravinsky's Scherzo Fantastique for symphony orchestra, which was “burning and sparkling” as choreographer Michel Fokine put it. It was Fokine who came up with a “glowing image” of the Firebird. By the time Stravinsky became involved with the score, the libretto had already been completed. Fokine had a clear vision of the ballet and guided the composer. Colourful musical themes of the Firebird, the round dance of the Princesses with its Russian femininity, the “Infernal Dance of All Kastchei's Subjects” that turns into a riot of rhythm, it all grew out of discussions between the composer, choreographer and designers, Alexander Golovin and Léon Bakst. In 1910, they created an export Russian fairy tale and it conquered Paris. Yet in Russia, Stravinsky’s The Firebird was performed only in 1921 Fedor Lopukhov's avant-garde production. Fokine's version of The Firebird, for which Stravinsky created his score, became a part of the Mariinsky Theatre’s repertoire only in the late 20th century. Olga Makarova