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Opera in Two Acts and Five Scenes by Christoph Willibald Gluck DANCES OF SHEPHERDS AND SHEPHERDESSES; FURIES AND DEMONS; BLESSED SPIRITS

Willibald Gluck

George Balanchine, staged by Brigitte Thom

November 22, 1975, Chicago Lyric Opera. Danced by Chicago Lyric Opera Ballet. Conductor: Jean Fournet

Corps de ballet

Performance Type

Ballet for Opera

See Also

Note

The finale of Gluck’s opera is in the form of a dance rather than song. This choreography, first performed in the 1963 Hamburg State Opera production of Orfeo ed Euridice [345], was somewhat altered for presentation as the ballet Chaconne and Balanchine added a new pas deux at the beginning for Farrell and Martins. Initially danced in practice clothes; costumes by Karinska were added in the spring of 1976.

Additional Productions

Revisions

Spring 1976, New York City Ballet: Opening ensemble added to ‘The Dance of the Blessed Spirits.’

Stagings

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1978   Paris Opera Ballet
1983   Pacific Northwest Ballet (with San Francisco Ballet)
1983   San Francisco Ballet (with Pacific Northwest Ballet)
1986   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1989   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1992   Pacific Northwest Ballet
1994   Stuttgart Ballet
1995   Miami City Ballet
1996 Pacific Northwest Ballet
2001 Pacific Northwest Ballet
2003   Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2005   State Ballet of Georgia
2007   Cincinnati Ballet
2007   The Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2008   Ballet West
2011 Ballet West
2014   Tbilisi Ballet
2017 Ballet West
2017 Suzanne Farrell Ballet
2018 Boston Ballet
2019 National Ballet of Canada
2022 Boston Ballet

Recorded Performances

Videos/DVD

1995, Nonesuch, The Balanchine Library: Choreography by Balanchine (excerpts [1978]);
2001, Kultur, Peter Martins: A Dancer (PAS DE DEUX);
2004, Kultur, Balanchine (excerpts)

Film

1978, The Film Company, Peter Martins: A Dancer (PAS DE DEUX)

Television

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1978 excerpts (PBS, Dance in America)
1978 (CBC [Montreal])
1983 excerpt (PBS, Gala of Stars)
1984 Faust (French television, TF1)

Source Notes

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Balanchine, Arlene Croce, Nancy Goldner, Barbara Horgan

Opera in Three Acts and Five Scenes

Christoph Willibald Gluck (Orfeo ed Euridice, produced 1762, with ballet music from the Paris production of 1774). Libretto by Raniero da Calzabigi, translated by Hans Swarowsky

George Balanchine

Directed and choreographed by George Balanchine. Scenery and costumes designed by Rouben Ter-Arutunian

November 16, 1963, Hamburgische Staatsoper, Hamburg. Danced by Ballett der Hamburgischen Staatsoper. Conductor: Janos Kulka

SINGERS: Orpheus, Ursula Boese; Eurydike, Doris Jung; Amor, Ria Urban; and others.
DANCERS: SCENE 1: Shepherds and Shepherdesses, 7 women, 4 men.
SCENE 2: Furies, 12 women, 12 men.
SCENE 3: Night, Angèle Albrecht; 8 Spirits (women), 4 Shadows (women).
SCENE 5: CHACONNE: Christa Kempf, Heinz Clauss; Albrecht; Erika Czarnecki, Falco Kapuste; Wilfried Schumann; 9 women, 6 men;
PAS DE TROIS: Uta Graf, Heidi Korf, Helmut Baumann;
CUPID AND CHERUBS (PAS DE CINQ): Henni Vanhaiden, 4 women;
PAS DE DEUX: Dulce Anaya, Rainer Kochermann; Marilyn Burr, Peter van Dyk

Performance Type

Opera