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{{About|the ballet to Stravinsky's 1910 music|other uses of the word|Firebird (disambiguation){{!}}Firebird}}
{{About|the ballet to Stravinsky's 1910 music|other uses of the word|Firebird (disambiguation){{!}}Firebird}}
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{{Infobox ballet
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'''''The Firebird''''' ({{lang-fr|link=no|L'oiseau de feu}}; {{lang-ru|link=no|''Жар-птица''}}, ''Zhar-ptitsa'') is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer [[Igor Stravinsky]]. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of [[Sergei Diaghilev]]'s [[Ballets Russes]] company, with choreography by [[Michel Fokine]]. The ballet is based on Russian [[Folklore|folk tale]]s of the [[Firebird (Slavic folklore)|magical glowing bird]] that can be both a blessing and a curse to its owner. When the ballet was first performed on 25 June 1910, it was an instant success with both audience and critics.
'''''The Firebird''''' ({{lang-fr|link=no|L'Oiseau de feu}}; {{lang-ru|link=no|''Жар-птица''}}, ''Zhar-ptitsa'') is a ballet by the Russian composer [[Igor Stravinsky]], written for the 1910 Paris season of [[Sergei Diaghilev]]'s [[Ballets Russes]], with choreography by [[Michel Fokine]]. The scenario by [[Alexandre Benois]] and [[Michel Fokine]] is based on Russian [[fairy tale]]s of the [[Firebird (Slavic folklore)|magical glowing bird]] that can be both a blessing and a curse to its owner. At the premiere on 25 June 1910 in Paris, the work was an instant success with both audience and critics.

Stravinsky was a young, virtually unknown composer when Diaghilev recruited him to create works for the Ballets Russes. ''The Firebird'' was his first project. Originally, Diaghilev approached the Russian composer [[Anatoly Lyadov]], but later hired Stravinsky to compose the music.


The ballet has historic significance not only as Stravinsky's breakthrough piece — "Mark him well", said [[Sergei Diaghilev]] to [[Tamara Karsavina]], who was dancing the title role: "He is a man on the eve of celebrity..."<ref>White, Eric Walter. "The Man," ''Stravinsky the Composer and his Works'' (University of California Press, 1969), p. 18.</ref> — but also as the beginning of the collaboration between Diaghilev and Stravinsky that would also produce ''[[Petrushka (ballet)|Petrushka]]'' and ''[[The Rite of Spring]]''.
The ballet has historic significance not only as Stravinsky's breakthrough piece, but also as the beginning of the collaboration between Diaghilev and Stravinsky that would also produce ''[[Petrushka (ballet)|Petrushka]]'', ''[[The Rite of Spring]]'', ''[[Pulcinella (ballet)|Pulcinella]]'' and others.


== Background ==
== Background ==
[[File:Igor Stravinsky as drawn by Pablo Picasso 31 Dec 1920_-_Gallica.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Stravinsky, sketched by [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]]]]
[[File:Igor Stravinsky as drawn by Pablo Picasso 31 Dec 1920_-_Gallica.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Stravinsky, sketched by [[Pablo Picasso|Picasso]]]]
[[Igor Stravinsky]] was the son of [[Fyodor Stravinsky]], the principal [[bass (voice type)|bass]] at the [[Mariinsky Theatre|Imperial Opera]], [[St Petersburg]], and Anna, née Kholodovskaya, a competent amateur singer and pianist from an old-established Russian family. Fyodor's association with many of the leading figures in Russian music, including [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov]], [[Alexander Borodin|Borodin]] and [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]], meant that Igor grew up in an intensely musical home.<ref>{{cite web|last= Walsh|first= Stephen|title= Stravinsky, Igor, §1: Background and early years, 1882–1905|url= http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/52818pg1#S52818.1|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref> In 1901 Stravinsky began to study law at [[Saint Petersburg State University|St Petersburg University]], while taking private lessons in harmony and [[counterpoint]]. Having impressed Rimsky-Korsakov with some of his early compositional efforts, Stravinsky worked under the guidance of the older composer. By the time of his mentor's death in 1908 Stravinsky had produced several works, among them a [[Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor (Stravinsky)|Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor]] (1903–04), a [[Symphony in E-flat (Stravinsky)|Symphony in E-flat major]] (1907), which he catalogued as "Opus 1", and in 1908 a short orchestral piece, ''[[Feu d'artifice]]'' ("Fireworks").<ref>{{cite web|last= Walsh|first= Stephen|title= Stravinsky, Igor, §2: Towards ''The Firebird'', 1902–09 | url = http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/52818pg2#S52818.2|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Stravinsky, Igor, §11: Posthumous reputation and legacy: Works | url = http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article_works/grove/music/52818pg11#S52818.12|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref>
[[Igor Stravinsky]] was the son of [[Fyodor Stravinsky]], the principal [[bass (voice type)|bass]] at the [[Mariinsky Theatre|Imperial Opera]], [[St Petersburg]], and Anna, née Kholodovskaya, a competent amateur singer and pianist from an old-established Russian family. Fyodor's association with many of the leading figures in Russian music, including [[Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov|Rimsky-Korsakov]], [[Alexander Borodin|Borodin]] and [[Modest Mussorgsky|Mussorgsky]], meant that Igor grew up in an intensely musical home.<ref>{{cite web|last= Walsh|first= Stephen|title= Stravinsky, Igor, §1: Background and early years, 1882–1905|url= http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/52818pg1#S52818.1|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref> In 1901 Stravinsky began to study law at [[Saint Petersburg State University|St Petersburg University]], while taking private lessons in harmony and counterpoint. Having impressed Rimsky-Korsakov with some of his early compositional efforts, Stravinsky worked under the guidance of the older composer. By the time of his mentor's death in 1908 Stravinsky had produced several works, among them a [[Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor (Stravinsky)|Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor]] (1903–04), a [[Symphony in E-flat (Stravinsky)|Symphony in E-flat major]] (1907), which he catalogued as "Opus 1", and in 1908 a short orchestral piece, ''[[Feu d'artifice]]'' ("Fireworks").<ref>{{cite web|last= Walsh|first= Stephen|title= Stravinsky, Igor, §2: Towards ''The Firebird'', 1902–09 | url = http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/52818pg2#S52818.2|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title= Stravinsky, Igor, §11: Posthumous reputation and legacy: Works | url = http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article_works/grove/music/52818pg11#S52818.12|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref>


In 1909 ''Feu d'artifice'' was performed at a concert in St Petersburg. Among those in the audience was the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who at that time was planning to introduce Russian music and art to western audiences.<ref name= Hartog52>White 1961, pp. 52–53</ref> Like Stravinsky, Diaghilev had initially studied law, but had gravitated via journalism into the theatrical world.<ref>{{cite web|title= Diaghilev, Serge|url= http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e2929?q=Diaghilev&search=quick&pos=3&_start=1#firsthit|publisher= The Oxford Dictionary of Music Online edition|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref> In 1907 he began his theatrical career by presenting five concerts in Paris; in the following year he introduced Mussorgsky's opera ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]''. In 1909, still in Paris, he launched the [[Ballets Russes]], initially with Borodin's [[Polovtsian Dances]] from ''[[Prince Igor]]'' and Rimsky-Korsakov's ''[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Scheherazade]]''. To present these works Diaghilev recruited the choreographer [[Michel Fokine]], the designer [[Léon Bakst]] and the dancer [[Vaslav Nijinsky]]. Diaghilev's intention, however, was to produce new works in a distinctively 20th-century style, and he was looking for fresh compositional talent.<ref>{{cite web|last= Griffiths|first= Paul|title= Diaghilev [Dyagilev], Sergey Pavlovich|url= http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08450?q=Diaghilev&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref>
In 1909 ''Feu d'artifice'' was performed at a concert in St Petersburg. Among those in the audience was the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who at that time was planning to introduce Russian music and art to western audiences.<ref name= Hartog52>White 1961, pp. 52–53</ref> Like Stravinsky, Diaghilev had initially studied law, but had gravitated via journalism into the theatrical world.<ref>{{cite web|title= Diaghilev, Serge|url= http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/opr/t237/e2929?q=Diaghilev&search=quick&pos=3&_start=1#firsthit|publisher= The Oxford Dictionary of Music Online edition|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref> In 1907 he began his theatrical career by presenting five concerts in Paris; in the following year he introduced Mussorgsky's opera ''[[Boris Godunov (opera)|Boris Godunov]]''. In 1909, still in Paris, he launched the [[Ballets Russes]], initially with Borodin's [[Polovtsian Dances]] from ''[[Prince Igor]]'' and Rimsky-Korsakov's ''[[Scheherazade (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Scheherazade]]''. To present these works Diaghilev recruited the choreographer [[Michel Fokine]], the designer [[Léon Bakst]] and the dancer [[Vaslav Nijinsky]]. Diaghilev's intention, however, was to produce new works in a distinctively 20th-century style, and he was looking for fresh compositional talent.<ref>{{cite web|last= Griffiths|first= Paul|title= Diaghilev [Dyagilev], Sergey Pavlovich|url= http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/08450?q=Diaghilev&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1#firsthit|publisher= Grove Music Online|year= 2012|accessdate= 9 August 2012}} {{subscription}}</ref>


== Genesis and premiere ==
== Genesis and premiere ==
The ballet was the first of [[Sergei Diaghilev|Diaghilev's]] [[Ballets Russes]] productions to have an all-original score composed for it. [[Alexandre Benois]] wrote in 1910 that he had two years earlier suggested to Diaghilev the production of a Russian nationalist ballet,<ref>Benois' 1910 article: "Two years ago I gave voice … to the dream that a true 'Russian (or perhaps Slavonic) mythology' would make its appearance in ballet"; quoted in Taruskin (1996), p.555</ref> an idea all the more attractive given both the newly awakened French passion for Russian dance and also the ruinously expensive costs of staging opera. The inspiration of mixing the mythical [[Firebird (Slavic folklore)|Firebird]] with the unrelated Russian tale of [[Koschei|Kashchey the deathless]] possibly came from a popular child's verse by [[Yakov Polonsky]], "A Winter's Journey" (''Zimniy put'', 1844), which includes the lines:
The ballet was the first of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes productions to have an all-original score composed for it. Alexandre Benois wrote in 1910 that he had two years earlier suggested to Diaghilev the production of a Russian nationalist ballet,<ref>Benois' 1910 article: "Two years ago I gave voice … to the dream that a true 'Russian (or perhaps Slavonic) mythology' would make its appearance in ballet"; quoted in Taruskin (1996), p.555</ref> an idea all the more attractive given both the newly awakened French passion for Russian dance and also the ruinously expensive costs of staging opera. The inspiration of mixing the mythical [[Firebird (Slavic folklore)|Firebird]] with the unrelated Russian tale of [[Koschei|Koschei the Deathless]] possibly came from a popular child's verse by [[Yakov Polonsky]], "A Winter's Journey" (''Zimniy put'', 1844), which includes the lines:


<blockquote><poem>
<blockquote><poem>
And in my dreams I see myself on a wolf's back
And in my dreams I see myself on a wolf's back
Riding along a forest path
Riding along a forest path
To do battle with a sorcerer-tsar ([[Koschei|Kaschei]])
To do battle with a sorcerer-tsar ([[Koschei]])
In that land where a princess sits under lock and key,
In that land where a princess sits under lock and key,
Pining behind massive walls.
Pining behind massive walls.
Line 47: Line 46:
</poem></blockquote>
</poem></blockquote>


Benois collaborated with the choreographer Michel Fokine, drawing from several books of Russian fairy tales including the collection of [[Alexander Afanasyev]], to concoct a story involving the Firebird and the evil magician Kashchei.
Benois collaborated with the choreographer Michel Fokine, drawing from several books of Russian fairy tales including the collection of [[Alexander Afanasyev]], to concoct a story involving the Firebird and the evil magician Koschei.


Diaghilev approached the Russian composer [[Anatoly Lyadov]] (1855–1914) to write the music.<ref>Taruskin, pp. 576–77</ref> There is no evidence, however, despite the much-repeated story that Lyadov was slow to start composing the work, that he ever accepted the commission to begin with.<ref>See Taruskin (1996), pp. 577–78.</ref> There is evidence to suggest that [[Nikolai Tcherepnin]] had previously started composing music for the ballet—music which became ''The Enchanted Kingdom''—but that Tcherepnin, for reasons unexplained, withdrew from the project.<ref>Taruskin (1996), pp. 574–75.</ref> Diaghilev eventually transferred the commission to the 28-year-old Stravinsky.
Diaghilev approached the Russian composer [[Anatoly Lyadov]] (1855–1914) to write the music.<ref>Taruskin, pp. 576–77</ref> There is no evidence, however, despite the much-repeated story that Lyadov was slow to start composing the work, that he ever accepted the commission to begin with.<ref>See Taruskin (1996), pp. 577–78.</ref> There is evidence to suggest that [[Nikolai Tcherepnin]] had previously started composing music for the ballet—music which became ''The Enchanted Kingdom''—but that Tcherepnin, for reasons unexplained, withdrew from the project after completing only one scene.<ref>Taruskin (1996), pp. 574–75.</ref> Diaghilev eventually transferred the commission to the 28-year-old Stravinsky.


The ballet was premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris on 25 June 1910 conducted by [[Gabriel Pierné]].<ref>Stephen Walsh: 'Stravinsky, Igor', ''[http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online]'' ed. L. Macy (Retrieved 1 April 2008)</ref> Even before the first performance, the company sensed a huge success in the making; and every performance of the ballet in that first production, as Karsavina recalled, met a "crescendo" of success.<ref>Taruskin, p.638</ref> The critics were ecstatic, praising the ballet for what they saw as an ideal symbiosis between decor, choreography and music: "The old-gold vermiculatino of the fantastic back-cloth seems to have been invented to a formula identical with that of the shimmering web of the orchestra" enthused [[Henri Ghéon]] in ''[[Nouvelle Revue Française|Nouvelle revue française]]'' (1910).<ref>Taruskin, p. 638.</ref> The scenery was designed by Alexander Golovine and the costumes by Léon Bakst.
The ballet was premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris on 25 June 1910, conducted by [[Gabriel Pierné]].<ref>Stephen Walsh: 'Stravinsky, Igor', ''[http://www.grovemusic.com Grove Music Online]'' ed. L. Macy (Retrieved 1 April 2008)</ref> Even before the first performance, the company sensed a huge success in the making, and every performance of the ballet in that first production, as Karsavina recalled, met a "crescendo" of success.<ref>Taruskin, p.638</ref> The critics were ecstatic, praising the ballet for what they saw as an ideal symbiosis between decor, choreography and music: "The old-gold vermiculatino of the fantastic back-cloth seems to have been invented to a formula identical with that of the shimmering web of the orchestra" enthused [[Henri Ghéon]] in ''[[Nouvelle Revue Française|Nouvelle revue française]]'' (1910).<ref>Taruskin, p. 638.</ref> The scenery was designed by Alexander Golovine and the costumes by Léon Bakst.


For Stravinsky, it was a major breakthrough both with the public and with the critics, [[Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi]] in particular hailing Stravinsky as the legitimate heir to [[The Mighty Handful]].<ref>Taruskin, p. 639</ref> ''The Firebird'''s success also secured Stravinsky's position as Diaghilev's star composer, and there were immediate talks of a sequel,<ref>Taruskin, p. 662</ref> leading to the composition of ''[[Petrushka (ballet)|Petrushka]]'' and ''[[The Rite of Spring]]''.
For Stravinsky, it was a major breakthrough both with the public and with the critics, [[Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi]] in particular hailing Stravinsky as the legitimate heir to [[The Mighty Handful]].<ref>Taruskin, p. 639</ref> ''The Firebird'''s success also secured Stravinsky's position as Diaghilev's star composer, and there were immediate talks of a sequel,<ref>Taruskin, p. 662</ref> leading to the composition of ''[[Petrushka (ballet)|Petrushka]]'' and ''[[The Rite of Spring]]''. "Mark him well—said [[Sergei Diaghilev]] to [[Tamara Karsavina]], who was dancing the title role—he is a man on the eve of celebrity..."<ref>White, Eric Walter. "The Man," ''Stravinsky the Composer and his Works'' (University of California Press, 1969), p. 18.</ref>


Stravinsky used several ideas from works by Rimsky-Korsakov in his score. Kashchei's "Infernal Dance" borrows the highly chromatic scale Rimsky-Korsakov created for the character Chernobog in his opera ''[[Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Mlada]]''. The Khorovod dance, meanwhile, uses the same folk tune Rimsky-Korsakov presented in his Sinfonietta, Op. 31.
Stravinsky used several ideas from works by Rimsky-Korsakov in his score. Koschei's "Infernal Dance" borrows the highly chromatic scale Rimsky-Korsakov created for the character Chernobog in his opera ''[[Mlada (Rimsky-Korsakov)|Mlada]]''. The [[Khorovod]], meanwhile, uses the same folk tune Rimsky-Korsakov presented in his Sinfonietta, Op. 31.


== Subsequent ballet performances ==
== Subsequent ballet performances ==
{{Main|List of Firebird casts}}
{{Main|List of Firebird casts}}
The ''Firebird'' has been restaged by many choreographers, including [[George Balanchine]] and [[Jerome Robbins]] (co-coreographers), [[Graeme Murphy]], [[Alexei Ratmansky]], and Yuri Possokhov.
The ballet was revived in 1934 by Colonel [[Wassily de Basil]]'s company, the [[Original Ballet Russe|Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo]], in a production staged in London, using the original decor and costumes from Diaghilev's company.<ref>Sorley Walker (1982), p. 41</ref> The company subsequently performed the ballet in Australia, during the 1936–37 tour.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/balletsrusses/whatson.html |title=Ballets Russes &#124; What's On |publisher=[[National Library of Australia]] |accessdate=2011-04-05}}</ref>
The ballet was revived in 1934 by Colonel [[Wassily de Basil]]'s company, the [[Original Ballet Russe|Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo]], in a production staged in London, using the original decor and costumes from Diaghilev's company.<ref>Sorley Walker (1982), p. 41</ref> The company subsequently performed the ballet in Australia, during the 1936–37 tour.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web|url=http://www.nla.gov.au/balletsrusses/whatson.html |title=Ballets Russes &#124; What's On |publisher=[[National Library of Australia]] |accessdate=2011-04-05}}</ref>


The ballet was staged by [[George Balanchine]] for the [[New York City Ballet]] in 1949 with [[Maria Tallchief]] as the Firebird with scenery and costumes by [[Marc Chagall]], and was performed in repertory until 1965. The ballet was restaged by George Balanchine and [[Jerome Robbins]] in 1970 for the [[New York City Ballet]] with elaborated scenery by Chagall, and with new costumes by [[Karinska]] based on Chagall's for the 1972 [[Stravinsky Festival]] that introduced [[Gelsey Kirkland]] as the Firebird.<ref>The 1970 restaging uses only the 1945 suite as accompaniment, as indicated by a program note whenever the work is performed.</ref>
The work was staged by George Balanchine for the [[New York City Ballet]] in 1949 with [[Maria Tallchief]] as the Firebird, with scenery and costumes by [[Marc Chagall]], and was kept in the repertory until 1965. The ballet was restaged by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins in 1970 for the [[New York City Ballet]] with elaborated scenery by Chagall, and with new costumes by [[Karinska]] based on Chagall's for the 1972 [[Stravinsky Festival]] that introduced [[Gelsey Kirkland]] as the Firebird.<ref>The 1970 restaging uses only the 1945 suite as accompaniment, as indicated by a program note whenever the work is performed.</ref>


The [[Mariinsky Ballet]] performed the original choreography at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] in August 2011 as part of their Fokine retrospective.
The [[Mariinsky Ballet]] performed the original choreography at [[Royal Opera House|Covent Garden]] in August 2011, as part of their Fokine retrospective.


The National Ballet of Canada created a version of the Firebird Ballet for television, occasionally rebroadcast, in which special effects were used to make it appear that the Firebird is in flight.
The [[National Ballet of Canada]] created a version of the ''Firebird'' for television, occasionally rebroadcast, in which special effects were used to make it appear that the Firebird is in flight.


On 29 March 2012, [[American Ballet Theatre]] premiered the Firebird, starring [[Misty Copeland]], with choreography by [[Alexei Ratmansky]] at the [[Segerstrom Center for the Arts]] in [[Costa Mesa, California]].
On 29 March 2012, the [[American Ballet Theatre]] premiered the ballet with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky at the [[Segerstrom Center for the Arts]] in [[Costa Mesa, California]], starring [[Misty Copeland]].


== Story ==
== Plot summary ==
The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. Ivan enters the magical realm of [[Kashchei the Immortal]]; all of the magical objects and creatures of Kashchei are herein represented by a [[chromatic scale|chromatic]] descending [[motif (music)|motif]], usually in the strings. While wandering in the gardens, he sees and chases the Firebird. The Firebird, once caught by Ivan, begs for its life and ultimately agrees to assist Ivan in exchange for eventual freedom.
The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for its life and offers her help in exchange for her freedom.


Next, Prince Ivan sees thirteen princesses, with one of whom he falls in love. The next day, Ivan chooses to confront Kashchei to ask to marry one of the princesses; the two talk and eventually begin quarreling. When Kashchei sends his magical creatures after Ivan, the Firebird, true to its pledge, intervenes, bewitching the creatures and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance"). The creatures and Kashchei then fall asleep; however, Kashchei awakens and is then sent into another dance by the Firebird. While Kashchei is bewitched, the Firebird tells Ivan the secret to Kashchei's immortality – his soul is contained inside an enormous, magical egg. Ivan destroys the egg, killing Kashchei. With Kashchei gone and his spell broken, the magical creatures and the palace all disappear. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken and with one final hint of the Firebird's music (though in Fokine's choreography she makes no appearance in that final scene on-stage), celebrate their victory.
Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them. The next day, Ivan confronts the magician and eventually they begin quarrelling. When Koschei sends his minions after Ivan, he summons the Firebird. She intervenes, bewitching the monsters and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance"). The creatures and Koschei then fall asleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg and with the spell broken, the magical creatures and the palace disappear, and the prisoners are freed. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken and with one final hint of the Firebird's music (though in Fokine's choreography she makes no appearance in that final scene on-stage), celebrate their victory.


== Order of numbers in the 1910 ballet score ==
== Versions ==
⚫
[[File:Ivan Bilibin 175.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Ivan Bilibin]]. A warrior — costume design for 1931 performance of ''The Firebird'']]
⚫
Besides the complete 50-minute ballet score of 1909–10 (written for a very large orchestra including quadruple woodwind and three harps, as well as a piano), there are three shorter 'suites', arranged by the composer himself for concert performance by a smaller orchestra. These date from 1911, 1919 and 1945. While the 1919 suite remains the most well known and often played, the 1945 version contains the most music from the original ballet score (partly motivated by the need to secure copyright in a USA that did not recognize European agreements).

⚫
There is no consensus for the precise naming of either the different versions, or of the movements, or the numbering of the movements. Different recordings tend to follow different naming conventions. While this partly might be due to the English translation from the original French names, some recordings of the orchestral suites even avoid referring to the tale by just calling the movements by their tempo markings (i.e., Adagio, Allegro, etc.) or the name of the musical form (i.e., Scherzo, Rondo, etc.).

⚫
Many adaptations of ''The'' ''Firebird'' ''Suite'' for [[concert band]], [[marching band]] and [[drum and bugle corps (modern)|drum corps]] have been made throughout the years. There are also multiple versions of the choreography for ''The Firebird''—for example, [[Graeme Murphy]]'s 2009 version.

=== 1910 Ballet Score (aka "Fairy-tale ballet in two tableaux for orchestra") ===
{{hide in print|1=
{{hide in print|1=
{{col begin}}
{{col begin}}
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** VIII. ''Jeu des princesses avec les pommes d'or'' (The Princesses' Game with the Golden Apples). Scherzo
** VIII. ''Jeu des princesses avec les pommes d'or'' (The Princesses' Game with the Golden Apples). Scherzo
** IX. ''Brusque apparition d'Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Sudden Appearance of Prince Ivan)
** IX. ''Brusque apparition d'Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Sudden Appearance of Prince Ivan)
** X. ''Khorovode (Ronde) des princesses'' ([[Khorovod]] (Round Dance) of the Princesses)
** X. ''Khorovode (Ronde) des princesses'' (Khorovod (Round Dance) of the Princesses)
** XI. ''Lever du jour'' (Daybreak)
** XI. ''Lever du jour'' (Daybreak)
** XII. ''Ivan Tsarévitch pénètre dans le palais de Kachtcheï'' (Prince Ivan Penetrates Kastchei's Palace)
** XII. ''Ivan Tsarévitch pénètre dans le palais de Kachtcheï'' (Prince Ivan Penetrates Kastchei's Palace)
Line 127: Line 120:
** VII. ''Jeu des princesses avec les pommes d'or'' (The Princesses' Game with the Golden Apples). Scherzo
** VII. ''Jeu des princesses avec les pommes d'or'' (The Princesses' Game with the Golden Apples). Scherzo
** VIII. ''Brusque apparition d'Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Sudden Appearance of Prince Ivan)
** VIII. ''Brusque apparition d'Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Sudden Appearance of Prince Ivan)
** IX. ''Khorovode (Ronde) des princesses'' ([[Khorovod]] (Round Dance) of the Princesses)
** IX. ''Khorovode (Ronde) des princesses'' (Khorovod (Round Dance) of the Princesses)
** X. ''Lever du jour'' (Daybreak) – ''Ivan Tsarévitch pénètre dans le palais de Kachtcheï'' (Prince Ivan Penetrates Kastchei's Palace)
** X. ''Lever du jour'' (Daybreak) – ''Ivan Tsarévitch pénètre dans le palais de Kachtcheï'' (Prince Ivan Penetrates Kastchei's Palace)
** XI. ''Carillon Féerique, apparition des monstres-gardiens de Kachtcheï et capture d'Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Magic Carillon, Appearance of Kastchei's Monster Guardians, and Capture of Prince Ivan) – ''Arrivée de Kachtcheï l'Immortel'' (Arrival of Kastchei the Immortal) – ''Dialogue de Kachtcheï avec Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Dialogue of Kastchei and Prince Ivan) – ''Intercession des princesses'' (Intercession of the Princesses) – ''Apparition de l'Oiseau de feu'' (Appearance of the Firebird)
** XI. ''Carillon Féerique, apparition des monstres-gardiens de Kachtcheï et capture d'Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Magic Carillon, Appearance of Kastchei's Monster Guardians, and Capture of Prince Ivan) – ''Arrivée de Kachtcheï l'Immortel'' (Arrival of Kastchei the Immortal) – ''Dialogue de Kachtcheï avec Ivan Tsarévitch'' (Dialogue of Kastchei and Prince Ivan) – ''Intercession des princesses'' (Intercession of the Princesses) – ''Apparition de l'Oiseau de feu'' (Appearance of the Firebird)
Line 140: Line 133:
'''Orchestration:''' 4 [[flute]]s (3rd & 4th also [[Piccolo]]); 3 [[oboe]]s; [[cor anglais]]; 3 [[clarinet]]s (3rd also [[E flat clarinet|D Clarinet]]); [[bass clarinet]]; 3 [[bassoon]]s (2nd also 2nd [[contrabassoon]]); contrabassoon; 4 [[French horn|horns]]; 3 trumpets; 3 [[trombone]]s; [[tuba]]; 3 trumpets (onstage); 4 [[Wagner tuba]]s (two tenor and two bass, onstage); [[timpani]]; [[bass drum]]; [[cymbal]]s; [[triangle (instrument)|triangle]]; [[tambourine]]; [[tamtam]]; [[tubular bells]]; [[glockenspiel]]; [[xylophone]]; [[celesta]]; 3 [[harp]]s; [[pianoforte]]; [[String instruments|strings]].
'''Orchestration:''' 4 [[flute]]s (3rd & 4th also [[Piccolo]]); 3 [[oboe]]s; [[cor anglais]]; 3 [[clarinet]]s (3rd also [[E flat clarinet|D Clarinet]]); [[bass clarinet]]; 3 [[bassoon]]s (2nd also 2nd [[contrabassoon]]); contrabassoon; 4 [[French horn|horns]]; 3 trumpets; 3 [[trombone]]s; [[tuba]]; 3 trumpets (onstage); 4 [[Wagner tuba]]s (two tenor and two bass, onstage); [[timpani]]; [[bass drum]]; [[cymbal]]s; [[triangle (instrument)|triangle]]; [[tambourine]]; [[tamtam]]; [[tubular bells]]; [[glockenspiel]]; [[xylophone]]; [[celesta]]; 3 [[harp]]s; [[pianoforte]]; [[String instruments|strings]].


== The Firebird Ballet Suites ==
⚫
=== 1911 Suite (aka "Concert suite for orchestra No. 1") ===
⚫
[[File:Ivan Bilibin 175.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Ivan Bilibin]]. A warrior — costume design for 1931 performance of ''The Firebird'']]
⚫
Besides the complete 50-minute ballet score of 1909–10 (written for a very large orchestra including quadruple woodwind and three harps, as well as a piano), there are three shorter suites arranged by the composer himself for concert performance by a smaller orchestra, which date from 1911, 1919 and 1945. While the 1919 suite remains the most well known and often played, the 1945 version contains the most music from the original ballet score (partly motivated by the need to secure copyright in a USA that did not recognize European agreements).

⚫
There is no consensus for the precise naming of either the different versions, or of the movements, or the numbering of the movements. Different recordings tend to follow different naming conventions. While this partly might be due to the English translation from the original French names, some recordings of the orchestral suites even avoid referring to the tale by just calling the movements by their tempo markings (i.e., Adagio, Allegro, etc.) or the name of the musical form (Scherzo, Rondo, etc.).

⚫
Many adaptations of ''The'' ''Firebird'' ''Suite'' for [[concert band]], [[marching band]] and [[drum and bugle corps (modern)|drum corps]] have been made throughout the years. There are also multiple versions of the choreography for ''The Firebird''—for example, [[Graeme Murphy]]'s 2009 version.

== Order of numbers in the 1911 Suite ==
⚫
"Concert suite for orchestra No. 1"
# Introduction – Kashchei's Enchanted Garden – Dance of the Firebird
# Introduction – Kashchei's Enchanted Garden – Dance of the Firebird
# Supplication of the Firebird
# Supplication of the Firebird
Line 147: Line 149:
# Infernal dance of all Kashchei's Subjects
# Infernal dance of all Kashchei's Subjects


''Orchestration:'' essentially as per the original ballet—the score was printed from the same plates, with only the new endings for the movements being newly engraved.
Orchestration: essentially as per the original ballet—the score was printed from the same plates, with only the new endings for the movements being newly engraved.


Some recordings will list movement no. 1 as three movements.
Some recordings will list movement no. 1 as three movements.
Line 157: Line 159:
The 2005 remastered edition on Sony with conductor Pierre Boulez calls it "Ballet suite for orchestra", while in 1991 Sony called it "Suite, 1910".
The 2005 remastered edition on Sony with conductor Pierre Boulez calls it "Ballet suite for orchestra", while in 1991 Sony called it "Suite, 1910".


== Order of numbers in the 1919 Suite ==
=== 1919 Suite (aka "Concert suite for orchestra No. 2") ===
"Concert suite for orchestra No. 2"
{{listen
{{listen
|filename=Infernal Dance of Kastchei.ogg
|filename=Infernal Dance of Kastchei.ogg
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# Finale
# Finale


''Orchestration:'' 2 Flutes (2nd also Piccolo); 2 Oboes (2nd also English Horn for one measure); 2 Clarinets; 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns; 2 Trumpets; 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Bass Drum; Tambourine; Cymbals; Triangle; Xylophone; Harp; Pianoforte (also opt. Celesta); Strings.
Orchestration: 2 Flutes (2nd also Piccolo); 2 Oboes (2nd also English Horn for one measure); 2 Clarinets; 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns; 2 Trumpets; 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Bass Drum; Tambourine; Cymbals; Triangle; Xylophone; Harp; Pianoforte (also opt. Celesta); Strings.


Some recordings will list movement no. 1) as two or three movements. It is sometimes also referred to as a "Symphonic Suite".
Some recordings will list movement no. 1) as two or three movements. It is sometimes also referred to as a "Symphonic Suite".


=== 1945 Suite (aka "Ballet suite for orchestra") ===
== Order of numbers in the 1945 Suite ==
"Ballet suite for orchestra"
# Introduction—The Firebird and its dance—The Firebird's variation
# Introduction—The Firebird and its dance—The Firebird's variation
# Pantomime I
# Pantomime I
Line 187: Line 191:
# Finale
# Finale


''Orchestration:'' 2 Flutes (2nd also Piccolo); 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets; 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns; 2 Trumpets; 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Bass Drum; Snare Drum; Tambourine; Cymbals; Triangle; Xylophone; Harp; Pianoforte; Strings.
Orchestration: 2 Flutes (2nd also Piccolo); 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets; 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns; 2 Trumpets; 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Bass Drum; Snare Drum; Tambourine; Cymbals; Triangle; Xylophone; Harp; Pianoforte; Strings.


Once again, some recordings will list movement no. 1) as three movements or may refer to this as a "Symphonic Suite". Stravinsky recorded this suite in 1967, his last commercial recording for [[Columbia Records]].
Once again, some recordings will list movement no. 1) as three movements or may refer to this as a "Symphonic Suite". Stravinsky recorded this suite in 1967, his last commercial recording for [[Columbia Records]].
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{{Igor Stravinsky}}
{{Igor Stravinsky}}
{{Balanchine ballets}}
{{Balanchine ballets}}
{{Ballet}}
{{Jerome Robbins}}
{{New York City Ballet repertory}}
{{New York City Ballet repertory}}
{{Jerome Robbins}}
{{Disney's Fantasia}}
{{Disney's Fantasia}}
{{Ballet}}

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{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2012}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firebird, The}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Firebird, The}}
[[Category:New York City Ballet repertory]]
[[Category:Ballets by Michel Fokine]]
[[Category:Ballets by Igor Stravinsky]]
[[Category:Ballets by Igor Stravinsky]]
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[[Category:1910 ballet premieres]]
[[Category:Ballets Russes productions]]
[[Category:Ballets Russes productions]]
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[[Category:1910 compositions]]
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[[Category:Orchestral suites]]
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[[Category:Ballets designed by Marc Chagall]]
[[Category:Ballets by George Balanchine]]
[[Category:Ballets by George Balanchine]]
[[Category:Ballets by Jerome Robbins]]
[[Category:Ballets by Jerome Robbins]]
[[Category:Ballets by Michel Fokine]]
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[[Category:1910 ballet premieres]]
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[[Category:Ballets designed by Marc Chagall]]
[[Category:Ballets designed by Barbara Karinska]]
[[Category:Ballets designed by Barbara Karinska]]
[[Category:1910 compositions]]
[[Category:New York City Ballet repertory]]
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[[Category:Stefan Zweig Collection]]
[[Category:Segments from Fantasia 2000]]
[[Category:Segments from Fantasia 2000]]
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[[Category:Orchestral suites]]
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[[Category:Yes (band) songs]]
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[[Category:Stefan Zweig Collection]]

Revision as of 11:12, 26 June 2015

This article is about the ballet to Stravinsky's 1910 music. For other uses of the word, see Firebird.

The Firebird
Léon Bakst: Firebird, Ballerina, 1910
ChoreographerMichel Fokine
MusicIgor Stravinsky
Based onRussian folk tales
Premiere25 June 1910
Paris Opera[1]
Original ballet companyBallets Russes
CharactersThe Firebird
Prince Ivan Tsarevich
Kaschei, the Immortal
The Beautiful Tsarevna
DesignAlexander Golovine (scenery)
Léon Bakst (costumes)
Created forTamara Karsavina, Michel Fokine

The Firebird (French: L'Oiseau de feu; [Жар-птица] Error: {{Lang-xx}}: text has italic markup (help), Zhar-ptitsa) is a ballet by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky, written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, with choreography by Michel Fokine. The scenario by Alexandre Benois and Michel Fokine is based on Russian fairy tales of the magical glowing bird that can be both a blessing and a curse to its owner. At the premiere on 25 June 1910 in Paris, the work was an instant success with both audience and critics.

The ballet has historic significance not only as Stravinsky's breakthrough piece, but also as the beginning of the collaboration between Diaghilev and Stravinsky that would also produce Petrushka, The Rite of Spring, Pulcinella and others.

Background

Stravinsky, sketched by Picasso

Igor Stravinsky was the son of Fyodor Stravinsky, the principal bass at the Imperial Opera, St Petersburg, and Anna, née Kholodovskaya, a competent amateur singer and pianist from an old-established Russian family. Fyodor's association with many of the leading figures in Russian music, including Rimsky-Korsakov, Borodin and Mussorgsky, meant that Igor grew up in an intensely musical home.[2] In 1901 Stravinsky began to study law at St Petersburg University, while taking private lessons in harmony and counterpoint. Having impressed Rimsky-Korsakov with some of his early compositional efforts, Stravinsky worked under the guidance of the older composer. By the time of his mentor's death in 1908 Stravinsky had produced several works, among them a Piano Sonata in F-sharp minor (1903–04), a Symphony in E-flat major (1907), which he catalogued as "Opus 1", and in 1908 a short orchestral piece, Feu d'artifice ("Fireworks").[3][4]

In 1909 Feu d'artifice was performed at a concert in St Petersburg. Among those in the audience was the impresario Sergei Diaghilev, who at that time was planning to introduce Russian music and art to western audiences.[5] Like Stravinsky, Diaghilev had initially studied law, but had gravitated via journalism into the theatrical world.[6] In 1907 he began his theatrical career by presenting five concerts in Paris; in the following year he introduced Mussorgsky's opera Boris Godunov. In 1909, still in Paris, he launched the Ballets Russes, initially with Borodin's Polovtsian Dances from Prince Igor and Rimsky-Korsakov's Scheherazade. To present these works Diaghilev recruited the choreographer Michel Fokine, the designer Léon Bakst and the dancer Vaslav Nijinsky. Diaghilev's intention, however, was to produce new works in a distinctively 20th-century style, and he was looking for fresh compositional talent.[7]

Genesis and premiere

The ballet was the first of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes productions to have an all-original score composed for it. Alexandre Benois wrote in 1910 that he had two years earlier suggested to Diaghilev the production of a Russian nationalist ballet,[8] an idea all the more attractive given both the newly awakened French passion for Russian dance and also the ruinously expensive costs of staging opera. The inspiration of mixing the mythical Firebird with the unrelated Russian tale of Koschei the Deathless possibly came from a popular child's verse by Yakov Polonsky, "A Winter's Journey" (Zimniy put, 1844), which includes the lines:

And in my dreams I see myself on a wolf's back
Riding along a forest path
To do battle with a sorcerer-tsar (Koschei)
In that land where a princess sits under lock and key,
Pining behind massive walls.
There gardens surround a palace all of glass;
There Firebirds sing by night
And peck at golden fruit.[9]

Benois collaborated with the choreographer Michel Fokine, drawing from several books of Russian fairy tales including the collection of Alexander Afanasyev, to concoct a story involving the Firebird and the evil magician Koschei.

Diaghilev approached the Russian composer Anatoly Lyadov (1855–1914) to write the music.[10] There is no evidence, however, despite the much-repeated story that Lyadov was slow to start composing the work, that he ever accepted the commission to begin with.[11] There is evidence to suggest that Nikolai Tcherepnin had previously started composing music for the ballet—music which became The Enchanted Kingdom—but that Tcherepnin, for reasons unexplained, withdrew from the project after completing only one scene.[12] Diaghilev eventually transferred the commission to the 28-year-old Stravinsky.

The ballet was premiered by the Ballets Russes in Paris on 25 June 1910, conducted by Gabriel Pierné.[13] Even before the first performance, the company sensed a huge success in the making, and every performance of the ballet in that first production, as Karsavina recalled, met a "crescendo" of success.[14] The critics were ecstatic, praising the ballet for what they saw as an ideal symbiosis between decor, choreography and music: "The old-gold vermiculatino of the fantastic back-cloth seems to have been invented to a formula identical with that of the shimmering web of the orchestra" enthused Henri Ghéon in Nouvelle revue française (1910).[15] The scenery was designed by Alexander Golovine and the costumes by Léon Bakst.

For Stravinsky, it was a major breakthrough both with the public and with the critics, Michel-Dimitri Calvocoressi in particular hailing Stravinsky as the legitimate heir to The Mighty Handful.[16] The Firebird's success also secured Stravinsky's position as Diaghilev's star composer, and there were immediate talks of a sequel,[17] leading to the composition of Petrushka and The Rite of Spring. "Mark him well—said Sergei Diaghilev to Tamara Karsavina, who was dancing the title role—he is a man on the eve of celebrity..."[18]

Stravinsky used several ideas from works by Rimsky-Korsakov in his score. Koschei's "Infernal Dance" borrows the highly chromatic scale Rimsky-Korsakov created for the character Chernobog in his opera Mlada. The Khorovod, meanwhile, uses the same folk tune Rimsky-Korsakov presented in his Sinfonietta, Op. 31.

Subsequent ballet performances

Main article: List of Firebird casts

The Firebird has been restaged by many choreographers, including George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins (co-coreographers), Graeme Murphy, Alexei Ratmansky, and Yuri Possokhov.

The ballet was revived in 1934 by Colonel Wassily de Basil's company, the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo, in a production staged in London, using the original decor and costumes from Diaghilev's company.[19] The company subsequently performed the ballet in Australia, during the 1936–37 tour.[20]

The work was staged by George Balanchine for the New York City Ballet in 1949 with Maria Tallchief as the Firebird, with scenery and costumes by Marc Chagall, and was kept in the repertory until 1965. The ballet was restaged by George Balanchine and Jerome Robbins in 1970 for the New York City Ballet with elaborated scenery by Chagall, and with new costumes by Karinska based on Chagall's for the 1972 Stravinsky Festival that introduced Gelsey Kirkland as the Firebird.[21]

The Mariinsky Ballet performed the original choreography at Covent Garden in August 2011, as part of their Fokine retrospective.

The National Ballet of Canada created a version of the Firebird for television, occasionally rebroadcast, in which special effects were used to make it appear that the Firebird is in flight.

On 29 March 2012, the American Ballet Theatre premiered the ballet with choreography by Alexei Ratmansky at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, California, starring Misty Copeland.

Plot summary

The ballet centers on the journey of its hero, Prince Ivan. While hunting in the forest, he strays into the magical realm of Koschei the Immortal, whose immortality is preserved by a magic egg hidden in a casket. Ivan chases and captures the Firebird and is about to kill her; she begs for its life and offers her help in exchange for her freedom.

Prince Ivan then meets thirteen princesses who are under the spell of Koschei and falls in love with one of them. The next day, Ivan confronts the magician and eventually they begin quarrelling. When Koschei sends his minions after Ivan, he summons the Firebird. She intervenes, bewitching the monsters and making them dance an elaborate, energetic dance (the "Infernal Dance"). The creatures and Koschei then fall asleep. While they sleep, the Firebird directs Ivan to a tree stump where the casket with the egg is hidden. Ivan destroys the egg and with the spell broken, the magical creatures and the palace disappear, and the prisoners are freed. All of the "real" beings, including the princesses, awaken and with one final hint of the Firebird's music (though in Fokine's choreography she makes no appearance in that final scene on-stage), celebrate their victory.

Order of numbers in the 1910 ballet score

Orchestration: 4 flutes (3rd & 4th also Piccolo); 3 oboes; cor anglais; 3 clarinets (3rd also D Clarinet); bass clarinet; 3 bassoons (2nd also 2nd contrabassoon); contrabassoon; 4 horns; 3 trumpets; 3 trombones; tuba; 3 trumpets (onstage); 4 Wagner tubas (two tenor and two bass, onstage); timpani; bass drum; cymbals; triangle; tambourine; tamtam; tubular bells; glockenspiel; xylophone; celesta; 3 harps; pianoforte; strings.

The Firebird Ballet Suites

Ivan Bilibin. A warrior — costume design for 1931 performance of The Firebird

Besides the complete 50-minute ballet score of 1909–10 (written for a very large orchestra including quadruple woodwind and three harps, as well as a piano), there are three shorter suites arranged by the composer himself for concert performance by a smaller orchestra, which date from 1911, 1919 and 1945. While the 1919 suite remains the most well known and often played, the 1945 version contains the most music from the original ballet score (partly motivated by the need to secure copyright in a USA that did not recognize European agreements).

There is no consensus for the precise naming of either the different versions, or of the movements, or the numbering of the movements. Different recordings tend to follow different naming conventions. While this partly might be due to the English translation from the original French names, some recordings of the orchestral suites even avoid referring to the tale by just calling the movements by their tempo markings (i.e., Adagio, Allegro, etc.) or the name of the musical form (Scherzo, Rondo, etc.).

Many adaptations of The Firebird Suite for concert band, marching band and drum corps have been made throughout the years. There are also multiple versions of the choreography for The Firebird—for example, Graeme Murphy's 2009 version.

Order of numbers in the 1911 Suite

"Concert suite for orchestra No. 1"

  1. Introduction – Kashchei's Enchanted Garden – Dance of the Firebird
  2. Supplication of the Firebird
  3. The Princesses’ Game with Apples
  4. The Princesses’ Khorovod (Rondo, round dance)
  5. Infernal dance of all Kashchei's Subjects

Orchestration: essentially as per the original ballet—the score was printed from the same plates, with only the new endings for the movements being newly engraved.

Some recordings will list movement no. 1 as three movements.

In 1928, Stravinsky conducted a group of Parisian musicians in a recording of this suite for Columbia Records, which was released on a set of 12-inch 78-rpm discs.

The Kalmus orchestral score for this suite is dated "1910", while Luck's Music publishes this version as "1912"

The 2005 remastered edition on Sony with conductor Pierre Boulez calls it "Ballet suite for orchestra", while in 1991 Sony called it "Suite, 1910".

Order of numbers in the 1919 Suite

"Concert suite for orchestra No. 2"

  1. Introduction—The Firebird and its dance—The Firebird's variation
  2. The Princesses’ Khorovod (Rondo, round dance)
  3. Infernal dance of King Kashchei
  4. Berceuse (Lullaby)
  5. Finale

Orchestration: 2 Flutes (2nd also Piccolo); 2 Oboes (2nd also English Horn for one measure); 2 Clarinets; 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns; 2 Trumpets; 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Bass Drum; Tambourine; Cymbals; Triangle; Xylophone; Harp; Pianoforte (also opt. Celesta); Strings.

Some recordings will list movement no. 1) as two or three movements. It is sometimes also referred to as a "Symphonic Suite".

Order of numbers in the 1945 Suite

"Ballet suite for orchestra"

  1. Introduction—The Firebird and its dance—The Firebird's variation
  2. Pantomime I
  3. Pas de deux: Firebird and Ivan Tsarevich
  4. Pantomime II
  5. Scherzo: Dance of the Princesses
  6. Pantomime III
  7. The Princesses' Khorovod (Rondo, round dance)
  8. Infernal dance of King Kashchei
  9. Berceuse (Lullaby)
  10. Finale

Orchestration: 2 Flutes (2nd also Piccolo); 2 Oboes; 2 Clarinets; 2 Bassoons; 4 Horns; 2 Trumpets; 3 Trombones; Tuba; Timpani; Bass Drum; Snare Drum; Tambourine; Cymbals; Triangle; Xylophone; Harp; Pianoforte; Strings.

Once again, some recordings will list movement no. 1) as three movements or may refer to this as a "Symphonic Suite". Stravinsky recorded this suite in 1967, his last commercial recording for Columbia Records.

In popular culture

The chapter "The Princesses' Khorovod and The Infernal Dance of King Katscheï" was used in Bruno Bozzetto's animated film Allegro Non Troppo. The segment visualizes a variant of the Adam and Eve story.[22] However, in this version, both Adam and Eve refuse to eat the apple offered by the Serpent, who then swallows it himself. Falling asleep, he is immediately plunged into a nightmare where he is first tormented by fiery demons and then plagued by things that are supposed to corrupt mankind (sex, alcohol, money, material objects, drugs, violence); he also somehow grows arms and legs and is magicked into a suit and fedora. When he wakes up, he is still wearing the suit and hat; after telling Adam and Eve his dream in a fast-motion and incomprehensible fashion, he sheds the suit (losing his arms and legs but keeping the hat) and spits up the still-whole apple.

The chapter in the animated film Fantasia 2000 based on Stravinsky's piece uses an abridged version (this can be most evidenced by a shortened Infernal Dance) of the 1919 suite to tell the story of the Spring Sprite and her companion, an elk. After a long winter, the Sprite is brought forth by the Elk and attempts to restore life to a forest but accidentally wakes the "Firebird" spirit of a nearby volcano. Angered, the Firebird proceeds to destroy the forest and seemingly the Sprite. She survives, but is initially despondent. With the Elk to comfort her, she quickly regains her confidence and restores the forest to its prior glory. The Fantasia 2000 Firebird chapter is considered an exercise in the theme of life-death-rebirth deities; the depiction of the Firebird in it as a violent, flaming volcanic spirit is not related to Stravinsky's original theme.

Saviour Pirotta and Catherine Hyde's picture book, Firebird, is based on the original stories that inspired the ballet. It was published by Templar in the UK and Candlewick Press in 2010 to celebrate the ballet's centenary. It won an Aesop Accolade in the US and was nominated for the Kate Greenaway Award in the UK. The paperback was published in 2014.[23]

The ending section of the ballet is closely associated with the progressive rock band Yes, who regularly used it as their "walk-on" music in concert in the 1970s. It was used in the opening ceremony of Sochi 2014 during the Cauldron Lighting segment.[24]

Selected recorded versions

Complete ballet

Notable recordings of the complete ballet include:

Orchestra Conductor Record Company Year of Recording Format Notes
London Symphony Orchestra Antal Doráti Mercury Records 1959 CD
Columbia Symphony Orchestra Igor Stravinsky Columbia Masterworks 1961 CD / LP
New Philharmonia Orchestra Ernest Ansermet Decca 1968 CD / LP
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Colin Davis Philips 1978 CD [25]
Royal Danish Orchestra Paul Jorgensen Kultur 1982 DVD [26]
Detroit Symphony Orchestra Antal Doráti Decca Records 1982 CD
Montreal Symphony Orchestra Charles Dutoit Decca Records 1984 CD
Seattle Symphony Orchestra Gerard Schwarz Delos Records 1992 CD [27]
Chicago Symphony Orchestra Pierre Boulez Deutsche Grammophon 1993 CD [28]
Kirov Orchestra Valeri Gergiev Philips Classics Records 1998 CD
Philharmonia Orchestra Robert Craft Koch Records / Naxos Records 1996 CD [29]
Orchestre de Paris Seiji Ozawa EMI 1997 CD
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra Michael Tilson Thomas RCA 1998 CD [30][31]
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra Simon Rattle EMI 2008 CD
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra Esa-Pekka Salonen Deutsche Grammophon 2008 Digital download [32][33]

Firebird Suite

Excerpts from The Firebird Suite

Notes

Citation notes
  1. ^ Potter, Caroline. "Firebird," Philharmonia Orchestra website. Accessed Jan. 25, 2015.
  2. ^ Walsh, Stephen (2012). "Stravinsky, Igor, §1: Background and early years, 1882–1905". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 9 August 2012. (subscription required)
  3. ^ Walsh, Stephen (2012). "Stravinsky, Igor, §2: Towards The Firebird, 1902–09". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 9 August 2012. (subscription required)
  4. ^ "Stravinsky, Igor, §11: Posthumous reputation and legacy: Works". Grove Music Online. 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012. (subscription required)
  5. ^ White 1961, pp. 52–53
  6. ^ "Diaghilev, Serge". The Oxford Dictionary of Music Online edition. 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2012. (subscription required)
  7. ^ Griffiths, Paul (2012). "Diaghilev [Dyagilev], Sergey Pavlovich". Grove Music Online. Retrieved 9 August 2012. (subscription required)
  8. ^ Benois' 1910 article: "Two years ago I gave voice … to the dream that a true 'Russian (or perhaps Slavonic) mythology' would make its appearance in ballet"; quoted in Taruskin (1996), p.555
  9. ^ Quoted Taruskin (1996), pp. 556–57.
  10. ^ Taruskin, pp. 576–77
  11. ^ See Taruskin (1996), pp. 577–78.
  12. ^ Taruskin (1996), pp. 574–75.
  13. ^ Stephen Walsh: 'Stravinsky, Igor', Grove Music Online ed. L. Macy (Retrieved 1 April 2008)
  14. ^ Taruskin, p.638
  15. ^ Taruskin, p. 638.
  16. ^ Taruskin, p. 639
  17. ^ Taruskin, p. 662
  18. ^ White, Eric Walter. "The Man," Stravinsky the Composer and his Works (University of California Press, 1969), p. 18.
  19. ^ Sorley Walker (1982), p. 41
  20. ^ "Ballets Russes | What's On". National Library of Australia. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  21. ^ The 1970 restaging uses only the 1945 suite as accompaniment, as indicated by a program note whenever the work is performed.
  22. ^ Chris Hicks (12 March 1991). "Allegro Non Troppo". Deseret News. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
  23. ^ "FIREBIRD". Catherine Hyde Home. Retrieved 22 August 2014.
  24. ^ "The XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi in 2014 has opened with a grand show thrilling spectators". Sochi Organizing Committee. 8 February 2014. Archived from the original on 8 February 2014.
  25. ^ "L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), ballet in 2 scenes for orchestra – Stravinsky: Ballets". Rovi Corporation. 2 August 1993. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  26. ^ Features the Royal Danish Ballet choreographed by Glen Tetley.
  27. ^ Russian prima ballerina Natalia Makarova narrates the story. This recording won the 1991/1992 American Library Association Award.
  28. ^ "STRAVINSKY Der Feuervogel Boulez – Catalogue". Deutsche Grammophon. 2 August 1993. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  29. ^ "STRAVINSKY, I.: Firebird (The) / Petrushka (Craft) (Stravinsky, Vol. 2)". Naxos Digital Services Ltd. 2 August 1993. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  30. ^ This set won the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Orchestral Performance and the 2000 Grammy Award for Best Classical Album
  31. ^ "L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), ballet in 2 scenes for orchestra – Stravinsky: Le sacre du printemps; L'Oiseau de feu; Perséphone". Rovi Corporation. 2 August 1993. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
  32. ^ This live recording is only available in CD. Itwas recorded in the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
  33. ^ "L'oiseau de feu (The Firebird), ballet in 2 scenes for orchestra". Deutsche Grammophon. 2 August 1993. Retrieved 5 April 2011.]

References

  • Sorley Walker, Kathrine. 1982. De Basil's Ballets Russes. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-147510-4; New York: Atheneum. ISBN 0-689-11365-X.
  • Taruskin, Richard. 1996. Stravinsky and the Russian Traditions. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-816250-2
  • http://www.nla.gov.au/balletsrusses/whatson.html

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to The Firebird.

Template:New York City Ballet repertory

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