Do
I have any readers who enjoy attending the Cincinnati Ballet each season? My
love for classical music began the first time I saw Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet on television as a
child. The relationship between music and dance is a powerful and beautiful art
form, and one that I would like to take a closer look at this month on Clef
Notes.
Scholars
believe that ballet was first developed during the late 15th century
in the Italian Renaissance court as a dance form that was meant to depict the
fencing sport. It was further developed in France under Louis XIV during the 17th
century. Though ballet’s popularity declined during the late 19th
century in France, it continued to thrive in countries such as Italy and
Russia. You may have heard of the Ballets Russes. The company formed under
Sergei Diaghilev and, during the early 20th century, helped to
re-establish an interest in ballet in the west. Diaghilev brought Russian
culture with him and his ballet company became quite popular, even giving
collaborative opportunities to emerging talent of the time including Igor
Stravinsky, Sergei Prokofiev, Jean Cocteau, and Pablo Picasso. We will discuss
several of these collaborations further later this month.
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| Sergei Diaghilev: Courtesy of wikimedia.org |
Let’s
start off by looking at a staple that is loved by ballet experts and novices
alike—Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. In
1875, Tchaikovsky received a commission from the director of the Bolshoi
Theater in Moscow to write what would become one of the most famous ballets of
all time. He had wanted to attempt a ballet for some time and desperately
needed the extra income, so he agreed. Conveniently, the composer was already
quite familiar with the story line, as he had written music based on the
subject to entertain his sister’s children only a few years earlier.
The
famous tale begins with a Prince who discovers a woman who is under an evil
spell. She exists as a swan by day and a woman by night. The spell can only be
broken if a prince marries her and vows to remain faithful to her forever. The
Prince falls in love and agrees to marry her. Not long after, he is tricked
into proposing to the wrong woman, thus breaking the heart of his swan lover
who throws herself into the lake. When he discovers his mistake, the Prince
follows and they are joined in the afterlife.
Did
you know that the premiere of Swan Lake was
not successful? While Tchaikovsky’s music was spot-on, the staging and dance
technique were lacking. It was not until after the composer’s death that the
ballet received improved choreography and became the lasting success we know
today.
