■ Stravinsky -
Petrushka (ballet) ■
This article is about the Stravinsky ballet.
For the Russian puppet, see
Petrushka.
Petrushka (French: Pétrouchka; Russian: Петрушка) is a ballet set to music – composed in
1910–11 and revised in 1947 – by the Russian composer Igor
Stravinsky.
Petrushka is the story of a
Russian traditional puppet, Petrushka, who is made of
straw and with a bag of sawdust as his body, but who comes to life and develops
emotions.
According to Andrew Wachtel,
Petrushka is a work that fuses music, ballet, choreography and history in
perfect balance. It evokes Richard Wagner's Gesamtkunstwerk
(total artwork), but with a Russian approach.[1]
● Composition
Stravinsky composed the music during the
winter of 1910–11 for Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. It was
premièred in Paris at the Théâtre
du Châtelet on 13 June 1911 under conductor Pierre Monteux, with
choreography by Mikhail Fokine and sets
by Alexandre Benois. The
title role was danced by Vaslav Nijinsky.[2]
The work is characterized by the
so-called Petrushka chord
(consisting of C major and F♯ major triads
played together), a bitonality device heralding
the appearance of the main character.
● Instrumentation
● 1911 original version
The original 1911 version of
Petrushka is scored for four flutes (3rd and 4th doubling piccolo), four oboes (4th doubling English horn), three clarinets in B
flat, bass clarinet in B flat
(doubling clarinet 4), three bassoons, contrabassoon (doubling
bassoon 4), four horns in F, two trumpets in B flat
(often doubling piccolo trumpet), two cornets in B flat and A, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, two snare
drums (one offstage), tambourine (tambour de
Basque), tenor drum (tambourin) (offstage), triangle, tamtam, glockenspiel, xylophone, piano, celesta, two harps, and strings.
● 1947 revised version
Stravinsky's 1947 revised version is
scored for the following smaller orchestra: three flutes (3rd doubling piccolo), two oboes, English horn, three clarinets in B
flat (3rd doubling bass clarinet in B flat),
two bassoons,
contrabassoon, four horns in F, three trumpets in B flat
and C, three trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, snare drum, tambourine,
triangle, tamtam, xylophone, piano, celesta, harp, and strings.
Compared to the 1911 version, the 1947
version requires: one less flute; two fewer oboes, but a dedicated English horn
player instead of one doubled by the fourth oboe; one fewer bassoon, but a
dedicated contrabassoon; neither of two cornets, but an additional trumpet; one
fewer snare drum and no tenor drum, thus removing the offstage instruments; no
glockenspiel; and one fewer harp.
● Story
Sets and costumes for
Petrushka's original
production were designed by
Alexandre
Benois.
The libretto was written by Alexandre Benois and Igor
Stravinsky. According to Leonard Bernstein on
his Young People's
Concerts, one of the hallmarks of this ballet and Stravinsky's The
Firebird is that there are no divertissements in
them; every single dance is firmly integrated into the plotline.
The ballet opens on Saint Petersburg's Admiralty
Square. In progress is the Shrovetide fair known as
Maslenitsa, a Russian
carnival before Lent,
analogous to Mardi Gras. The people
rejoice before the privations of the long fast.
Stravinsky's orchestration and rapidly
changing rhythms depict the hustle and
bustle of the fair. An organ grinder and two
dancing girls entertain the crowd to the popular French song "Une
jambe de bois". Drummers announce the appearance of the Charlatan, who charms the
captivated audience. Suddenly, the curtain rises on a tiny theater, as
the Charlatan introduces the inert, lifeless puppet figures of Petrushka, a
Ballerina and a Moor.
The Charlatan casts a magic spell with
his flute. The
puppets come to life, leap from their little stage and perform a vigorous
Russian Dance among the astounded carnival-goers.
The second scene, after the performance,
is set in Petrushka's Cell 'inside' the little theatre. The walls are painted in
dark colors and decorated with stars, a half-moon and jagged
icebergs or snow-capped mountains. With a resounding crash, the Charlatan kicks
Petrushka into this barren cell. We see that Petrushka leads a dismal "life"
behind the show curtains. Although Petrushka is a puppet he feels human emotions
which include bitterness toward the Charlatan for his imprisonment as well as
love for the beautiful Ballerina. All of this is sensitively described by
Stravinsky's fantasia-like piano
breaks. A frowning portrait of his jailer hangs above him as if to remind
Petrushka that he is a mere puppet. The infuriated clown-puppet shakes his fists
at the Charlatan's stern glare and tries to escape from his cell but fails.
The Ballerina then enters the room.
Petrushka ineptly attempts to express his love for her but she rejects his
pathetic, self-conscious advances and hastily departs. Petrushka collapses in a
melancholic reverie.
In the third scene the audience learns
that the Moor leads a much more comfortable "life" than Petrushka. The Moor's
room is spacious and lavishly decorated and is painted in bright reds, greens
and blues. Rabbits, palm trees and exotic flowers decorate the walls and floor.
The Moor reclines on a divan and plays with a
coconut,
attempting to cut it with his scimitar. When he fails he believes that the
coconut must be a god and proceeds to pray to it.
The Charlatan places the Ballerina in
the Moor's room. The Ballerina is attracted to the Moor's handsome appearance.
She plays a saucy tune on a toy trumpet (represented by a cornet in the original 1911
orchestration) and dances with the Moor.
Petrushka finally breaks free from his
cell, and he interrupts the seduction of the Ballerina. Petrushka attacks the
Moor but soon realizes he is too small and weak. The Moor beats Petrushka. The
clown-puppet flees for his life, with the Moor chasing him, and escapes from the
room.
The fourth and final scene returns to
the carnival. Some time has passed; it is now early evening. The orchestra
introduces a chain of colourful dances as a series of apparently unrelated
characters come and go about the stage as snow begins to fall. The first and
most prominent is the Wet-Nurses’ Dance, performed to the tune of the folk song
"Down the Petersky Road". Then comes a peasant with his dancing bear, followed
in turn by a group of a gypsies, coachmen and grooms and masqueraders.
As the merrymaking reaches its peak, a
cry is heard from the puppet-theater. Petrushka suddenly runs across the scene,
followed by the Moor in hot pursuit brandishing his sword, and the terrified
Ballerina chasing after the Moor, fearful of what he might do. The crowd is
horrified when the Moor catches up with Petrushka and slays him with a single
stroke of his blade.
The police question the Charlatan. The
Charlatan seeks to restore calm by holding the "corpse" above his head and
shaking it to remind everyone that Petrushka is but a puppet.
As night falls and the crowd disperses,
the Charlatan leaves, carrying Petrushka's limp body. All of a sudden,
Petrushka's ghost appears on the roof of the little theatre, his cry now in the
form of angry defiance. Petrushka's spirit thumbs its nose at his tormentor from
beyond the wood and straw of his carcass.
Now completely alone, the Charlatan is
terrified to see the leering ghost of Petrushka. He runs away whilst allowing
himself a single frightened glance over his shoulder. The scene is hushed,
leaving the audience to wonder who is "real" and who is not.[3]
● Sections
The work is divided into four parts
(tableaux) with the following scenes:
Part I: The Shrovetide Fair
- I. Introduction (at the Shrovetide Fair)
- II. The Crowds
- III. The Charlatan's Booth
- IV. Russian Dance
Part II: Petrushka's Cell
Part III: The Moor's Room
- I. The Moor's Room
- II. Dance of the Ballerina
- III. Waltz - The Ballerina & the Moor
Part IV: The Shrovetide Fair (Evening)
- I. The Shrove-Tide Fair (Near evening)
- II. Dance of the Wet Nurses
- III. Dance of the Peasant and the Bear
- IV. Dance of the Gypsy Girls
- V. Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms
- VI. The Masqueraders
- VII. The Scuffle: The Moor and Petrushka
- VIII. Death of Petrushka
- IX. The Police and the Juggler
- X. Vociferation of Petrushka's Ghost
● Other
versions
Prior to the premiere of the ballet, Stravinsky and several other pianists
like Russian composer Nikolai Tcherepnin
used a piano four-hands version for the rehearsals. This version has never been
published, even though several other pianists like Paul Jacobs and Ursula
Oppens have played it in concerts.[4]
In 1921, Stravinsky created a piano arrangement for Arthur Rubinstein
entitled Trois
mouvements de Petrouchka, which the composer admitted he could not play
himself for lack of adequate left hand technique.
In 1947, Stravinsky penned a revised version of Petrushka for a
smaller orchestra, in part because the original version was not covered by copyright and
Stravinsky wanted to profit from the work's popularity. The rapid continuous
timpani and snare drum notes which link each scene, optional in the 1911
original, are compulsory in the 1947 edition. The ballerina's
tune is assigned to a trumpet in the 1947 version
instead of a cornet as in the original. The
1947 version provides an optional fff (fortississimo) near the
piano conclusion of the original. Stravinsky also removed some of the difficult
metric modulations in
the original version of the first tableau from the 1947 revision.
He also created a suite for concert
performance, an almost complete version of the ballet but cutting the last three
sections.
In 1956, an animated version of the ballet appeared as part of NBC's Sol Hurok Music Hour. It
was personally conducted by Stravinsky himself and was the first such
collaboration. Directed by animator John David Wilson with
Fine Arts Films, it has
been noted as the first animated special ever to air on television.
In 1988, Maddalena Fagandini directed a version of Petrushka along
with The Sleeping Beauty (Stravinsky), The Nutcracker and the
Mouse King (Tchaikovsky)
and Coppélia (Delibes) in the BBC
puppet film, Musical Tales which was released in VHS.
Basil
Twist debuted his puppetry version of Petrushka at Lincoln Center in
2001; it was performed as well at New York City
Center's 2009 Fall for Dance
Festival.
ｅxpressions Dance
Company performed a contemporary adaptation of Petrushka at the Judith
Wright Centre of Contemporary Arts in 2009. The performance was entitled
Score! and drew heavily on the concept of Reality
Television.
The Spirit
of Atlanta Drum and Bugle Corps used the work as its 1988 competitive
program, a marked change from its previous Southern music theme.
●
Notable recordings
- Arturo Toscanini
conducting the NBC Symphony
Orchestra, live performance from 1940, RCA (1911 concert suite)
(mono)
- Ferenc Fricsay conducting
the RIAS Symphony
Orchestra, live performance from 1953, Deutsche Grammophon,
(1947 concert suite) (mono)
- Ernest Ansermet
conducting the Orchestre de
la Suisse Romande, studio recording from 1957, Decca, (1911
version)
- Pierre Monteux conducting
the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, studio recording from 1959, RCA (1911 version)
- Igor Stravinsky
conducting the Columbia
Symphony Orchestra, studio recording from 1961, Sony (1911 version)
- Karel Ančerl
conducting the Czech
Philharmonic Orchestra, studio recording from 1962, Supraphon (1947
version)
- Antal Doráti
conducting the Minneapolis
Symphony Orchestra, studio recording from 1962, Mercury (1947
version)
- Leonard Bernstein
conducting the New York
Philharmonic, studio recording from 1969, Sony
Classical (1947 version)
- Seiji
Ozawa conducting the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, studio recording from 1970, RCA (1947 version)
- Pierre Boulez conducting
the New York
Philharmonic, studio recording from 1971, Sony (1911 version)
- Kiril Kondrashin
conducting the Concertgebouw
Orchestra, live performance from 1973, Philips (1947 version)
- Bernard Haitink
conducting the London
Philharmonic Orchestra, studio recording from 1973, Philips (1911 version)
- Sir Colin Davis
conducting the Concertgebouw
Orchestra, studio recording from 1977, Philips (1947 version)
- Claudio Abbado conducting
the London Symphony
Orchestra, studio recording from 1980, Deutsche Grammophon
(1911 version)
- Riccardo Chailly
conducting the Royal
Concertgebouw Orchestra, studio recording from 1995, London (1947
version)
- Seiji
Ozawa conducting the Boston Symphony
Orchestra, studio recording from 1999, RCA (1947 version)
- Paavo Järvi conducting
the Cincinnati
Symphony Orchestra, recording in Cincinnati Music
Hall from 2002, Telarc (1947 version)
●
Notes
- ^
Wachtel 1998.
- ^
Walsh 2001.
- ^
Beaumont, 1937.
- ^
Jacobs, Paul
(2008). Stravinsky: Music for Four Hands. Jacobs & Oppens.
New York: Nonesuch Records & Arbiter of Cultural Traditions. p. 5. Retrieved January 28, 2012.
●
Bibliography
- Beaumont, Cyril W. 1937. "Petrushka". In his Complete Book of Ballets: A
Guide to the Principal Ballets of the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries.
London: Putnam.
- Wachtel, Andrew (ed.). 1998. Petrushka: Sources and Contexts.
Evanston, Ill.: Northwestern University Press. ISBN
978-0-8101-1566-8
- Walsh, Stephen. 2001. "Stravinsky, Igor". The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians, second edition, edited by Stanley Sadie and John
Tyrrell. London: Macmillan Publishers.
●
External links
■ WIKIPEDIA ■
