422. Noah and the Flood 1982
- Music
Dance-drama by Igor Stravinsky (The Flood, 1962, written for television). Text chosen and arranged by Robert Craft from Genesis, the Te Deum and Sanctus hymns, and the fifteenth-century York and Chester miracle plays
- Choreography
Staged by George Balanchine and Jacques d’Amboise
- Production
Designed by Rouben Ter-Arutunian (costumes and masks from the 1962 television production [342]; hanging backdrop based on the 1962 designs; some new décor)
- Premiere
June 11, 1982, New York City Ballet with students from the School of American Ballet, New York State Theater. Conductor: Robert Craft. Off-stage singers: Members of the New York City Opera chorus; Chorus Master: Lloyd Walser
- Cast
VOICES: Narrator (spoken), John Houseman; Voices of God (basses), Robert Brubaker, Barry Carl; Voice of Satan (tenor), John Lankston.
DANCERS: Adam, Adam Lüders; Eve, Nina Fedorova; Lucifer, Bruce Padgett; Noah, Francisco Moncion; Noah’s Wife, Delia Peters; The Family, 2 women, 3 men; Builders of the Ark, 8 women, 8 men
DANCERS: Adam, Adam Lüders; Eve, Nina Fedorova; Lucifer, Bruce Padgett; Noah, Francisco Moncion; Noah’s Wife, Delia Peters; The Family, 2 women, 3 men; Builders of the Ark, 8 women, 8 men
Performance Type
Staged Choral Work
See Also
-
*342. Noah and the Flood,
420. Symphony No. 6 --- Pathétique. Fourth Movement, Adagio Lamentoso
Note
Balanchine’s staged presentation for the Stravinsky Centennial Celebration of the morality play originally conceived for television, reproducing almost exactly the choreographed sections of the original production. THE PROLOGUE and SATAN’S ARIETTA were omitted; the narration, divided among several actors on television, was spoken solely by John Houseman on stage. The decor was based on the designs for television, but the animals, which in the original production had been miniature toys belonging to Balanchine, were replaced by large cut-outs carried in procession by students of the School of American Ballet. (See FESTIVALS DIRECTED BY BALANCHINE.)
Deborah Koolish, Gordon Boelzner