Chaconne (ballet)
Encyclopedia
Chaconne is a ballet made by New York City Ballet
co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine
to ballet music from Gluck's
Orfeo ed Euridice
(Vienna, 1762; Paris, 1774). The premiere took place Wednesday, January 22nd, 1976, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center
with lighting by Ronald Bates
; Robert Irving
conducted. Chaconne was danced in practice clothes at its premiere; Karinska's
costumes were added in the Spring season.
The finale to Orfeo ed Euridice is a chaconne, a dance form built on a short bass phrase and often used by 17th and 18th century opera composers to achieve a festive mood at the end. The choreography was first performed at the Hamburgische Staatsoper
in their 1963 production of Orpheus und Eurydike and somewhat altered in Chaconne, especially that for the principal dancers. Balanchine added the pas de deux for Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins to the 1976 ballet and the opening ensemble (to the 1774 Dance of the Blessed Spirits) for the Spring season.
Balanchine's first Orpheus and Eurydice was made on the Metropolitan Opera
in 1936; his approach, the singers remaining in the pit while the action was danced on stage, was not well received; the production had only two performances. He choreographed Orphée et Eurydice for the Théâtre National de l'Opéra
, Paris, in 1973 and Orfeo ed Euridice for the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1975 as well.
In 1773 Gluck wrote, "Always as simple and natural as I can make it, my music strives toward the utmost expressiveness and seeks to reinforce the meaning of the underlying poetry. It is for this reason that I do not use those trills, coloraturas, and cadences that Italians employ so abundantly."
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
to ballet music from Gluck's
Christoph Willibald Gluck
Christoph Willibald Ritter von Gluck was an opera composer of the early classical period. After many years at the Habsburg court at Vienna, Gluck brought about the practical reform of opera's dramaturgical practices that many intellectuals had been campaigning for over the years...
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice
Orfeo ed Euridice is an opera composed by Christoph Willibald Gluck based on the myth of Orpheus, set to a libretto by Ranieri de' Calzabigi. It belongs to the genre of the azione teatrale, meaning an opera on a mythological subject with choruses and dancing...
(Vienna, 1762; Paris, 1774). The premiere took place Wednesday, January 22nd, 1976, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...
with lighting by Ronald Bates
Ronald Bates
Ronald Bates was production stage manager for New York City Ballet where he began working in 1957. He studied scenic design at Los Angeles City College after serving in the Navy...
; Robert Irving
Robert Irving (conductor)
Robert Augustine Irving, DFC*, was a British conductor whose reputation was mainly as a ballet conductor.Born in Winchester, England, the son of mountaineer and author R. L. G. Irving, he was educated at Winchester College and New College, Oxford, graduating with a degree in music...
conducted. Chaconne was danced in practice clothes at its premiere; Karinska's
Barbara Karinska
Varvara Jmoudsky, better known as Barbara Karinska or simply Karinska , was costumer of the New York City Ballet, and the first costume designer ever to win the Capezio Dance Award, for costumes "of visual beauty for the spectator and complete delight for the dancer".However, she designed the...
costumes were added in the Spring season.
The finale to Orfeo ed Euridice is a chaconne, a dance form built on a short bass phrase and often used by 17th and 18th century opera composers to achieve a festive mood at the end. The choreography was first performed at the Hamburgische Staatsoper
Hamburg State Opera
The Hamburg State Opera is one of the leading opera companies in Germany.Opera in Hamburg dates back to 2 January 1678 when the "Opern-Theatrum" was inaugurated with a performance of a biblical Singspiel by Johann Theile...
in their 1963 production of Orpheus und Eurydike and somewhat altered in Chaconne, especially that for the principal dancers. Balanchine added the pas de deux for Suzanne Farrell and Peter Martins to the 1976 ballet and the opening ensemble (to the 1774 Dance of the Blessed Spirits) for the Spring season.
Balanchine's first Orpheus and Eurydice was made on the Metropolitan Opera
Metropolitan Opera
The Metropolitan Opera is an opera company, located in New York City. Originally founded in 1880, the company gave its first performance on October 22, 1883. The company is operated by the non-profit Metropolitan Opera Association, with Peter Gelb as general manager...
in 1936; his approach, the singers remaining in the pit while the action was danced on stage, was not well received; the production had only two performances. He choreographed Orphée et Eurydice for the Théâtre National de l'Opéra
Théâtre National de l'Opéra
Théâtre National de l'Opéra may refer to the opera company commonly known as the Paris Opera or one of two different theatres used during periods when the company was officially named Théâtre National de l'Opéra:* Salle Le Peletier...
, Paris, in 1973 and Orfeo ed Euridice for the Chicago Lyric Opera in 1975 as well.
In 1773 Gluck wrote, "Always as simple and natural as I can make it, my music strives toward the utmost expressiveness and seeks to reinforce the meaning of the underlying poetry. It is for this reason that I do not use those trills, coloraturas, and cadences that Italians employ so abundantly."
Original
- Pas de trois
- Renee Estopinal
- Wilhelmina Frankfurt
- Jay Jolley
- Pas de deux
- Susan Hendl
- Jean-Pierre Frohlich
- Pas de cinq
- Elise Flagg
- Bonita Borne
- Elyse Borne
- Laura Flagg
- Nichol Hlinka
- Pas de deux
- Suzanne FarrellSuzanne FarrellSuzanne Farrell is an eminent 20th century ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C....
- Peter MartinsPeter MartinsPeter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...
- Chaconne
- Suzanne FarrellSuzanne FarrellSuzanne Farrell is an eminent 20th century ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C....
- Susan Pilarre
- Marjorie Spohn
- Tracy Bennett
- and corps de ballet
- Peter MartinsPeter MartinsPeter Martins is a Danish ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was named man of the year by Danish American Society, 1980...
- Gerard Ebitz
first cast
- Wendy WhelanWendy WhelanWendy Whelan is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and guest artist with Morphoses/The Wheeldon Company.-Early life:A native of Louisville, Kentucky , she began her dance training with local teacher Virginia Wooton at the age of three...
- Erica Pereira
- Sébastien Marcovici
- Adam Hendrickson
- Gwyneth Muller
- Ellen Bar
- Ask la Cour
- Stephanie Zungre
- Faye Arthurs
- Amanda Hankes
- Daniel Applebaum
- Allen Peiffer
second cast
- Maria KowroskiMaria KowroskiMaria Kowroski is a principal ballerina at the New York City Ballet.Ms. Kowroski's training in ballet began at the School ofthe Grand Rapids Ballet and subsequently the School of American Ballet in 1992; became an apprentice with New York City Ballet in 1994 and joined the corps de ballet in 1995....
- Erica Pereira
- Tyler Angle
- Antonio Carmena
- Gwyneth Muller
- Ellen Ostrom
- Andrew Scordato
- Lauren King
- Faye Arthurs
- Amanda Hankes
- Daniel Applebaum
- Allen Peiffer
Videography / DVD
- 1995 NonesuchNonesuch RecordsNonesuch Records is an American record label, owned by Warner Music Group and distributed by Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:Nonesuch was founded in 1964 by Jac Holzman to produce "fine records at the same price as a trade paperback", which would be half the price of a normal LP...
, The Balanchine Library: Choreography by Balanchine, excerpts (1978)
- 2001 Kultur, Peter Martins: A Dancer, pas de deux
- 2004 Kultur, Balanchine, excerpts
Television
- 1978 PBS, Dance in America, excerpts
- 1978 CBCCanadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
, Montreal
- 1983 PBS, Gala of Stars, excerpt
- 1984 TF1TF1TF1 is a national French TV channel, controlled by TF1 Group, whose major share-holder is Bouygues. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network...
, Faust
See also
Articles
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F10611F83558177B8EDDA80894DA405B868BF1D3Sunday NY Times article by Clive BarnesClive Barnes (critic)Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
, February 1, 1976]
- Sunday NY Times article by Elizabeth Kendall, February 8, 1976
- NY Times article by Anna Kisselgoff, February 16, 1976
Reviews
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0D16F63B58167493C6AB178AD85F428785F9NY Times review by Clive BarnesClive Barnes (critic)Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
, January 24, 1976] - http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0B1EFD3A58167493CBA91789D85F428785F9NY Times review by Clive BarnesClive Barnes (critic)Clive Alexander Barnes, CBE was a British-born American writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977 he was the dance and theater critic for the New York Times, the most powerful position he had held, since its theater critics' reviews historically have had great influence on the success or failure of...
, February 9, 1976] - http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9807E6D61338F932A05752C0A964948260NY Times review by Anna KisselgoffAnna KisselgoffAnna Kisselgoff is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for the New York Times. She began at the Times as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she held until 2005...
, January 31, 1982] - http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE1D9153AF93BA15756C0A961948260NY Times review by Anna KisselgoffAnna KisselgoffAnna Kisselgoff is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for the New York Times. She began at the Times as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she held until 2005...
, May 28, 1987]
- http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C04E4DC1738F93BA35751C0A962958260NY Times review by Jack AndersonJack Anderson (dance critic)Jack Anderson is an American dance critic and author. Since 1978, he has been a contributor of dance reviews and other articles in The New York Times...
, February 8, 1994] - http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/30/arts/30WEB-MEM.htmlNY Times review by Jack AndersonJack Anderson (dance critic)Jack Anderson is an American dance critic and author. Since 1978, he has been a contributor of dance reviews and other articles in The New York Times...
, June 30, 2001] - http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9804E7DA143CF930A35756C0A9659C8B63NY Times review by Jack AndersonJack Anderson (dance critic)Jack Anderson is an American dance critic and author. Since 1978, he has been a contributor of dance reviews and other articles in The New York Times...
, May 3, 2003] - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/27/arts/dance/27farr.htmlNY Times review by Alastair MacaulayAlastair MacaulayAlastair Macaulay is a dance critic for the New York Times. He was previously chief dance critic at The Times Literary Supplement and chief theater critic of the Financial Times, both of London...
, November 27, 2007]