Balanchine Catalogue Archive
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388. Boris Godunov 1974
Opera in Three Acts and Ten Scenes by Modest Moussorgsky
ACT II, SCENE 2 POLONAISE
- Music
Modest Moussorgsky
- Choreography
George Balanchine
- Premiere
December 16, 1974, Metropolitan Opera, New York. Danced by Metropolitan Opera Ballet. Conductor: Thomas Schippers
- Cast
Corps de ballet
Performance Type
Ballet for Opera
298. Boris Godunov 1953
Opera in Prologue, Four Acts, and Seven Scenes by Modest Moussorgsky
POLONAISE
- Music
Modest Moussorgsky
- Choreography
George Balanchine
- Premiere
April 20, 1953, Teatro alla Scala, Milan. Conductor: Antonino Votto
Performance Type
Ballet for Opera
Note
Although the printed program credits no dance or dancers, the ballet was probably a POLONAISE performed in the scene set in the Polish castle.
Source Notes
Tanaquil Le Clercq
38. Carmen 1925
Opera in Four Acts by Georges Bizet
ACT II SEGUIDILLA
- Music
Georges Bizet
- Choreography
George Balanchine
- Premiere
January 25, 1925, Opéra de Monte-Carlo. Danced by Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes
- Cast
4 couples
Performance Type
Ballet for Opera
Note
Diaghilev’s dancers were employed between ballet seasons as the resident company of the Opéra de Monte-Carlo, and his first assignments to Balanchine were opera divertissements. Balanchine has said that all choreography for operas in Monte Carlo during his tenure with Diaghilev was newly created by him; programs occasionally include no credits for choreography, and it may be that some dances by Nijinska, resident choreographer with Diaghilev at Monte Carlo in 1923 and 1924, remained during Balanchine’s early years. When choreography credits appear in the opera programs between 1925 and 1929, they are variously given as ‘Maître de ballet: Georges Balanchine,’ ‘Chorégraphie de Georges Balanchine,’ or ‘Ballet reglé par Georges Balanchine’; the significance of these differences is unknown.
Source Notes
Balanchine