342. Noah and the Flood 1962
Made for Television
- Music
Dance-drama by Igor Stravinsky (The Flood, 1962). Text chosen and arranged by Robert Craft from Genesis, the Te Deum and Sanctus hymns, the fifteenth-century York and Chester miracle plays, and for Satan’s final Arietta from several sources including Shakespeare and Dylan Thomas. Prologue written by Jack Richardson
- Choreography
George Balanchine
- Production
Produced by Sextant, Inc. Directed by Kirk Browning. Production Designer: Rouben Ter-Arutunian
- Premiere
First telecast: June 14, 1962, CBS. Danced by New York City Ballet. Columbia Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Conductors: Igor Stravinsky and Robert Craft. Chorus Director: Gregg Smith
- Cast
VOICES: Narrator, Laurence Harvey; Noah, Sebastian Cabot; Mrs. Noah, Elsa Lanchester; Caller, Paul Tripp; The Voice of God, John Reardon and Robert Oliver; Satan, Robert Robinson. DANCERS: Adam and Lucifer, Jacques d’Amboise; Eve, Jillana; Satan, Edward Villella; Noah, Ramon Segarra; Mrs. Noah, Joysanne Sidimus; 8 women, 8 men
Performance Type
Television
Note
Conceived and written for television. Balanchine worked closely with the composer during the composition and production. The work is divided into six parts. Four sections are sung: Prelude (including the Creation, the Expulsion from the Garden, and God’s Command to Noah), The Catalogue of the Animals, The Comedy (Noah and his wife and sons), and The Covenant of the Rainbow; two sections are choreographed: The Building of the Ark and The Flood. Balanchine did not choreograph a subsequent stage performance until the 1982 New York City Ballet production for the Stravinsky Centennial Celebration.
1962 (CBS, Breck Golden Showcase)
