84. Apollon Musagète 1928

(also called APOLLO MUSAGETES; APOLLO, LEADER OF THE MUSES; APOLLO; APOLO MUSAGETA) Ballet in Two Scenes

Igor Stravinsky (Apollo Musagetes, 1927-28, commissioned by Mrs. Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge, 1927)

George Balanchine

Scenery and costumes by André Bauchant. (New costumes, by Chanel, 1929.) Scenery executed by Prince A. Schervashidze; costumes executed under the direction of Mme A. Youkine

June 12, 1928, Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes, Théâtre Sarah-Bernhardt, Paris. Conductor: Igor Stravinsky. Violinist: Marcel Darrieux

Apollo, Serge Lifar; Terpsichore, Alice Nikitina (alternating with Alexandra Danilova); Calliope, Lubov Tchernicheva; Polyhymnia, Felia Doubrovska; 2 Goddesses; Leto, Mother of Apollo, Sophie Orlova.
SCENE I: THE BIRTH OF APOLLO.
SCENE 2: Apollo; PAS D’ACTION (Apollo and Muses): Calliope; Polyhymnia; Terpsichore; Apollo; PAS DE DEUX (Apollo and Terpsichore); CODA; APOTHEOSIS (Apollo and Muses)

Performance Type

Ballet

See Also

Video Archives Recording

George Balanchine Foundation Interpreters Archive
(PAS D’ACTION: Terpsichore’s variation; PAS DE DEUX), 1998

Note

SCENE I: Leto’s labor, and the birth and youth of Apollo; two goddesses present him with a lute and teach him music.
SCENE 2: Apollo plays the lute and dances. The three Muses enter; he presents each with an emblem of her art: Calliope, receiving the stylus and tablet, personifies poetry and rhythm; Polyhymnia, finger to lips, represents mime; Terpsichore combines both poetry and gesture in dance and is honored by Apollo. He dances a solo variation and a pas de deux with Terpsichore.
APOTHEOSIS: Apollo and the Muses join in a final dance and ascend toward Parnassus. Stravinsky conceived and composed Apollo Musagetes as a ballet; the music was commissioned for a festival of contemporary music in Washington, D. C., with choreography by Adolph Bolm. Balanchine’s production was his first collaboration with the composer; he later described the choreography as the turning point in his creative life.

Additional Productions

Revisions

New Productions by Balanchine Companies

1937, American Ballet: Scenery and costumes by Stewart Chaney.
1941, American Ballet Caravan: Scenery and costumes by Tomás Santa Rosa.
1951, New York City Ballet: Costumes by Karinska.
1957, New York City Ballet: Danced in practice clothes with minimal scenery; scenery omitted entirely since 1979.

Stagings

1931 Royal Danish Ballet
1937 American Ballet Ensemble (1935-1938—resident Metropolitan Opera company
1941 American Ballet Caravan
1942 Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1943 Ballet Theatre (in 1957 became American Ballet Theatre)
1946 Sociedad Pro-Arte Musical (Cuba)
1947 Paris Opera Ballet
1948 Ballet Alicia Alonso (Cuba, 1948-55)
late 1940s? La Plata (Teatro Argentino Ballet)
1950 Ballet Nacional (Alberto Alonso Company, Cuba, 1950-51)
1951 New York City Ballet
1955 San Francisco Ballet
1958 Civic Ballet Society (Washington, D.C.; disbanded)
1959 Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1960 Uruguay (S.O.D.R.E., Servicio Oficial de Difusion Radio Electrica [Ballet])
1962 Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper
1965 Boston Ballet
1965   Halina Biernacka Ballet (renamed Sao Paulo Chamber Ballet)
1966   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
1966   Dutch National Ballet (Amsterdam)
1966   Royal Ballet
1967   Stuttgart Ballet
1967   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1968   Halina Biernacka Ballet (renamed Sao Paulo Chamber Ballet)
1969   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1969   Geneva Ballet (Grand Theatre de Geneve [Ballet])
1970   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
1970   Teatro Comunale-Florence
1971   Ballett der Deutschen Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf)
1971   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
1973   Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma
1973   Wisconsin Ballet
1974   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1974   Nureyev and Friends
1974   Royal Flemish Ballet (Koninklijk Ballet Van Vlaanderen)
1975   Teatro Massimo (Palermo)
1976   Turino Opera
1977   Hungarian National Ballet
1977   Paris Opera Ballet
1977   Stora Teaterns Balett (Gothenburg, Sweden)
1978   Second International Dance Festival
1978   Teatro Massimo Bellini (Catania, Sicily)
1979   Teatro Communale Ballet (Bologna, Italy)
1981   Ballets de San Juan (Puerto Rico)
1981   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1981   Dutch National Ballet
1981   Royal Ballet
1982   Ballet de l’Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)
1982   Ballett der Deutschen Oper am Rhein (Dusseldorf)
1982   Ballett der Deutschen Staatsoper (East Berlin)
1984   Ballet de Nancy (France)
1984   Ballet du Nord (France)
1984   Chicago City Ballet (Closed)
1985   Dutch National Ballet
1985   Universal Ballet Company (Korea)
1986   NAPAC Ballet (Natal Performing Arts Council—Durban, South Africa)
1987   Caracas New World Ballet
1987   Miami City Ballet
1987   National Ballet Lisbon
1987   Royal Swedish Ballet
1987   Teatro Nacional de San Carlo
1988   Ballet British Columbia
1988   Ballet Chicago
1988   Ballet du Louvre
1988   Cincinnati Ballet
1988   English National Ballet (London Festival)
1988   Stora Teaterns Balett (Gothenburg, Sweden)
1988   Matsuyama Ballet Company (Japan)
1988   Royal Ballet
1988   Teatro Nacional de San Carlo
1988   Teresa Carreno-Ballet Caracas
1989   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1989   Washington Ballet
1990   Ballet Chicago
1990   Ballet du Nord (France)
1990   Ballett der Deutschen Oper (Berlin)
1990   Ballett der Deutschen Staatsoper (Berlin)
1990   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1990   Stora Teaterns Balett (Gothenburg, Sweden)
1990   Miami City Ballet
1991   The Australian Ballet
1991   Den Norske Opera [Ballet] (Norway)
1991   Kansas City Ballet
1991   Kirov Ballet
1991   National Ballet Lisbon
1991   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1991   Theatre & Philharmonie Essen (Germany)
1992   Ballet Chicago
1992   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1992   Dutch National Ballet
1992   Miami City Ballet
1992   Ottawa Ballet
1992   Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia
1992   Royal Danish Ballet
1992   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1992   Washington Ballet
1993   Atlanta Ballet
1993   Ballet de San Juan
1993   Bellas Artes (Madrid, Spain)
1993   Boston Ballet
1993   Montana Ballet
1993   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1993   Paris Opera Ballet
1993   Royal Ballet
1993   Teresa Carreno-Ballet Caracas
1994   Louisville Ballet
1994   Paris Opera Ballet
1994   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1994   Theatre & Philharmonie Essen (Germany)
1995   Ballett der Bayerischen Staatsoper (Munich)
1995   Colorado Ballet
1995   Dance Alive! State Touring Company of Florida
1995   Miami City Ballet
1995   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1996   American Ballet Theatre
1996   Asami Maki Ballet (Japan)
1996   Ballett der Wiener Staatsoper (Vienna)
1996   Grand Theatre de Bordeaux
1996   Dutch National Ballet
1996   Les Ballets de Monte-Carlo
1996   Paris Opera Ballet
1996   Pennsylvania Ballet
1996   Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre
1996   Royal Danish Ballet
1996   Teatro Comunale (Florence, Italy)
1996   Texas Ballet (formerly Fort Worth Dallas Ballet)
1996   Wiesbaden
1997   The Australian Ballet
1997   Cleveland San Jose Ballet
1997   Hartford Ballet
1997   Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
1997   Miami City Ballet
1997   Santa Fe Festival Ballet
1998   Diablo Ballet
1998   Kirov Ballet
1998   Louisville Ballet
1998   Sarasota Ballet of Florida
1998   Teatro Colon (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1999   Aterballetto-Centro Regionale della Danza (Reggio Emilia, Italy)
1999   Ballet de l’Opera du Rhin (Strasbourg, France)
1999   Dance Theatre of Harlem
1999   The Metropolitan Opera Association (Kirov Ballet performance at the Met)
1999   National Ballet of Canada
1999   Pennsylvania Ballet
1999   Richmond Ballet, The State Ballet of Virginia
2000   Ballet Arizona
2000   Ballet Arlington
2000   National Ballet Lisbon
2000   Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma
2001   Aspen Santa Fe Ballet
2001   Boca Ballet Theatre
2001   English National Ballet (London Festival)
2001   National Ballet of Canada
2001   Stuttgart Ballet
2002   Ballett Mainz
2002   Channel Island Ballet (formerly Ballet Wisconsin)
2002   Oper Leipzig
2002   Pennsylvania Ballet
2002   Teatro Comunale (Florence, Italy)
2003   Birmingham Royal Ballet/Sadler’s Wells Royal Ballet
2003   Caramoor
2003   Croatian National Ballet
2003   Milwaukee Ballet
2003   New Orleans Ballet Theatre
2003   Royal Ballet
2003   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2004   Ballet Arizona
2004   Ballet du Capitole de Toulouse
2004   Houston Ballet
2004   National Ballet Lisbon
2004   Richmond Ballet
2004   San Francisco Ballet
2004   Stuttgart Ballet
2004   Joffrey Ballet
2004   National Ballet of Canada
2005   American Ballet Theatre
2005   Ballet National de Marseille
2005   Diablo Ballet
2005   Minnesota Ballet
2005   New Orleans Ballet Theatre
2005   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2005   Staatsoper Unter den Linden
2005   State Ballet of Georgia
2005   Teatro dell’ Opera di Roma
2005   Scottish Ballet
2006   Ballet Arlington
2006   Birmingham Royal Ballet
2006   City Ballet of San Diego
2007   Los Angeles Ballet
2007   Norwegian National Ballet
2007   Oregon Ballet Theatre
2007   Paris Opera Ballet
2007   Sacramento Ballet
2007   Australian Ballet
2007   Zurich Ballet
2008   Absolute Ballet
2008   Royal Ballet of Flanders
2008   Carolina Ballet
2008   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2008   Novosibirsk Ballet
2009   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2009   Kansas City Ballet
2009   City Ballet of San Diego
2009   Teatro alla Scala (Milan)
2010   Houston Ballet
2010   Compania Nacional de Danza (Mexico City)
2010   Boston Ballet
2010   North Carolina Dance Theatre
2010   Festival Ballet Providence
2010   Paris Opera Ballet
2011   Opera National de Bordeaux
2011   Pacific Northwest Ballet
2012   American Ballet Theatre
2012   Ballet Concierto de Puerto Rico
2012   Bolshoi Ballet
2012   Carolina Ballet
2012   Dresden SemperOpera Ballet
2012   English National Ballet
2012   Miami City Ballet
2012   Royal Danish Ballet
2012   Slovene National Ballet
2012   Tulsa Ballet
2013   New National Theatre Tokyo
2013   Royal Ballet
2014   City Ballet of San Diego
2014   Perm State Opera and Ballet Theatre
2014   Sacramento Ballet
2014   Tbilisi Ballet
2015   American Ballet Theatre
2015   Bolshoi Ballet
2015   Diablo Ballet
2015   Festival Ballet Providence
2015   Mariinsky Ballet
2015   Perm State Ballet
2015   Sarasota Ballet
2016   Ballet Arizona
2016   Ballet Augsburg
2016   Het Nationale Ballet
2016   Perm State Ballet
2017   Ballet Nacional del Peru
2017   Charlotte Ballet (NCDT)
2018   Carolina Ballet
2018   Miami City Ballet
2018   Teatro alla Scala
2019   American Ballet Theatre
2019   Ballet West
2019   City Ballet of San Diego
2019   Diablo Ballet
2019   National Ballet of Canada
2019   Pennsylvania Ballet
2020   Compania Nacional de Danza (Madrid)
2020   Los Angeles Ballet
2021 Boston Ballet
2021 National Balet of Canada, The
2021 Royal Ballet (with birth)
2021 Tbilisi Ballet (with birth)
2022 Los Angeles Ballet
2022 Teatro alla Scala
2022 Washington Ballet

Recorded Performances

Videos/DVD

1995, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library: Dancing for Mr. B (PAS DE DEUX [excerpt]);
1996, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library: The Balanchine Celebration, Part One (complete 1979 version [1993]);
2002, George Balanchine Foundation, Music Dances: Balanchine Choreographs Stravinsky (PAS D’ACTION: Calliope’s variation);
2004, Kultur, Balanchine (PAS DE DEUX, CODA);
2006, VAI, Jacques d’Amboise: Portrait of a Great American Dancer (complete [1960])

Film

1989, Seahorse Films, Dancing for Mr. B (PAS DE DEUX [excerpt])

Television

1960 (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1962 excerpts (CBC [Montreal])
1962 (BBC [London])
1963 excerpts (NBC, Bell Telephone Hour)
1966 (Norddeutscher Rundfunk [Germany]; rebroadcast 1982 BBC [London], “Stravinsky and the Dance”)
1967 rehearsal and performance (BBC [London])
1969 (CBC [Montreal], L’Heure du Concert)
1972 rehearsal excerpts (PBS, “A Stravinsky Portrait”)
1973 (French television, ORTF, Les Reflets de la danse)
ca. 1974 (German television; rebroadcast 1976, BBC [London])
1979 pas de deux (BBC [London], The Magic of Dance)
1980 excerpts, rehearsal, performance (CBS, “A Portrait of Jacques d’Amboise”)
1982 (PBS, Live from Lincoln Center, “Stravinsky and Balanchine: Genius Has a Birthday”)
1984 excerpts (PBS, Dance in America, “Balanchine”)
1984 pas de deux (BBC [London], “Dancer”)
1988 (PBS, Dance in America, “Baryshnikov Dances Balanchine”)
1989 (BBC [London], “Baryshnikov Dances Balanchine”)
1993 excerpts (PBS, Dance in America, “The Balanchine Celebration”)

Source Notes

Alexandra Danilova (1928 revisions); additional revision information provided by Nancy Goldner, Allegra Kent.