52. Le Chant du Rossignol 1925
(Also called THE SONG OF THE NIGHTINGALE)
Ballet in One Act, after Hans Christian Andersen’s Fairy Tale
- Music
Igor Stravinsky (symphonic poem for orchestra in three parts, 1917; adapted from his 1913 opera Le Rossignol)
- Choreography
Originally choreographed by Léonide Massine (1920); rechoreographed by George Balanchine
- Production
Curtain, scenery, and costumes by Henri Matisse (from the 1920 production)
- Premiere
June 17, 1925, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Théâtre Gaîeté Lyrique, Paris. Conductor: Marc-César Scotto
- Cast
Nightingale, Alicia Markova; Death, Lydia Sokolova; Emperor, Serge Grigoriev; Mechanical Nightingale, George Balanchine; Japanese Maestro, Nicolas Kremnev; 16 Ladies of the Court; 6 Warriors; 6 Mandarins; 4 Chamberlains
Performance Type
Ballet
Video Archives Recording
George Balanchine Foundation Archive of Lost Choreography
(Nightingale’s solo, excerpts of pas de deux with Death), 1996
(Nightingale’s solo, excerpts of pas de deux with Death), 1996
Note
Stravinsky prefixed a ballet scenario to the score based on quotations from Andersen, with the following headings:
1. The Fête in the Emperor of China’s Palace;
2. The Two Nightingales;
3. Illness and Recovery of the Emperor of China. Balanchine’s first choreography for performance in the regular seasons of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and his first choreography in the West to music by Stravinsky; in Russia he had choreographed Ragtime [3], and rehearsed Pulcinella [35]. On one occasion, when Markova was ill, Balanchine danced the role of the Nightingale.
1. The Fête in the Emperor of China’s Palace;
2. The Two Nightingales;
3. Illness and Recovery of the Emperor of China. Balanchine’s first choreography for performance in the regular seasons of Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, and his first choreography in the West to music by Stravinsky; in Russia he had choreographed Ragtime [3], and rehearsed Pulcinella [35]. On one occasion, when Markova was ill, Balanchine danced the role of the Nightingale.
Additional Productions
Reconstructions
Les Ballets de Monte Carlo, 2000
1999 Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
2002 Europa Danse
2006 Kansas City Ballet
2019 Ballet West
