Ballet-Cantata

Music: By Vittorio Rieti (1947, commissioned by Ballet Society). Words from a Florentine carnival song by Lorenzo de' Medici.

Choreography: By George Balanchine.

Production: Scenery and costumes by Corrado Cagli.

Premiere: February 9, 1948, Ballet Society, City Center of Music and Drama, New York. Conductor: Leon Barzin. Singers: Ellen Faull, soprano; Leon Lishner, bass; chorus of 40.

Cast: INTRODUCTION (PRELUDE AND CHORUS): Major Domo, Lew Christensen; Spectators, 6 couples; BACCHUS AND ARIADNE (CHORUS): Bacchus, Nicholas Magallanes; Ariadne, Tanaquil Le Clercq; SATYRS AND NYMPHS (TARANTELLA WITH CHORUS): Satyr, Herbert Bliss; Nymph, Marie-Jeanne; 6 Satyrs, 6 Nymphs; SILENUS (ARIA FOR SOLO BASS): Silenus, Charles Laskey; MIDAS (CHORUS): Midas, Francisco Moncion; 2 Discoboles; Little Girl, Claudia Hall; Young Girl, Pat McBride; INVITATION TO THE DANCE (ARIA FOR SOLO SOPRANO); BACCHANALE (CHORUS): Ensemble.

Note: The work consisted of songs, pageantry, and dance episodes celebrating Youth and Age and sacred and profane love, in an Italianate setting. At the premiere, the singers were visible in the windows of the scenic façade; in later performances they sang from the orchestra pit.