Gaîté Parisienne
Encyclopedia
Gaîté parisienne is a 1938 ballet based on music by Jacques Offenbach
, arranged by Manuel Rosenthal
. The ballet had the original title of Tortoni, after a Paris café, but Rosenthal recalled that Count Étienne de Beaumont, the ballet's librettist, later came up with the ballet's eventual title.
Léonide Massine had originally commissioned this ballet from Roger Désormière
, but Désormière was unable to fulfill the commission for lack of time, according to Rosenthal. Rosenthal and Désormière were friends, and Désormière asked Rosenthal to take on the commission. Rosenthal was originally not inclined to fulfill this assignment, and initially said to Désormière:
However, Désormière was insistent enough that Rosenthal eventually accepted the task. Massine directed Rosenthal's selection of the Offenbach excerpts. After the completion of the score, when Rosenthal showed it to Massine, he initially rejected the ballet. Rosenthal then proposed that Igor Stravinsky
act as arbitrator over the acceptance of the score, to which Massine agreed. Upon hearing the music, Stravinsky strongly advised Massine to accept Rosenthal's score. However, because of the poor relations between Massine and Rosenthal, Rosenthal himself did not conduct the first performance of the ballet, and instead Efrem Kurtz
was conductor for the ballet's premiere, which was on 5 April 1938 at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo. Massine danced the role of the Peruvian tourist in the premiere.
on 78-rpm discs. In 1947, Arthur Fiedler
and the Boston Pops Orchestra
recorded the ballet for RCA Victor; this high fidelity recording was later issued by RCA as its first 33-1/3 rpm LP in 1950. In 1954, Fiedler recorded the concert suite in stereo, his first stereophonic session for RCA. Rosenthal himself made four recordings of the ballet.
In 1941, Warner Bros. produced a Technicolor version of the ballet as staged by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
, featuring many of the original cast members, including Léonide Massine and Frederic Franklin. Directed by Jean Negulesco
, this film was included as a "Warner Night at the Movies" bonus feature on the 3-DVD set of The Maltese Falcon
.
In 1954, Victor Jessen recorded the ballet on film, which has subsequently been released on video.
Various members from all levels of society meet, including upper-class aristocrats, high society-ladies, as well as a lower-class flower girl, along with the professional can-can dancers. The glove seller becomes the attention for various rival suitors, including a baron and an officer. Another suitor is a Peruvian tourist with two carpetbags, full of jewelry, hoping to make his fortune in Paris. In due course, a quarrel between the customers ensues. After order is restored, the ballet culminates in a high-spirited can-can, the celebrated can-can from Orpheus in the Underworld
. However, with the "Barcarolle" from Les contes d'Hoffmann
as the featured music after the can-can, the café customers disperse and the café closes for the evening. The ballet ends as the Peruvian is left alone, ready to search for new adventures.
Jacques Offenbach
Jacques Offenbach was a Prussian-born French composer, cellist and impresario. He is remembered for his nearly 100 operettas of the 1850s–1870s and his uncompleted opera The Tales of Hoffmann. He was a powerful influence on later composers of the operetta genre, particularly Johann Strauss, Jr....
, arranged by Manuel Rosenthal
Manuel Rosenthal
Manuel Rosenthal was a French composer and conductor who held leading positions with musical organizations in France and America...
. The ballet had the original title of Tortoni, after a Paris café, but Rosenthal recalled that Count Étienne de Beaumont, the ballet's librettist, later came up with the ballet's eventual title.
Léonide Massine had originally commissioned this ballet from Roger Désormière
Roger Désormière
Roger Désormière was a French conductor.Désormière was born in Vichy in 1898. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, where his professors included Philippe Gaubert , Xavier Leroux and Charles Koechlin , and Vincent d'Indy...
, but Désormière was unable to fulfill the commission for lack of time, according to Rosenthal. Rosenthal and Désormière were friends, and Désormière asked Rosenthal to take on the commission. Rosenthal was originally not inclined to fulfill this assignment, and initially said to Désormière:
"I don't know Offenbach well; I'm not used to orchestrating the music of other people; I don't want to do it; I don't know Miasine [Massine]".
However, Désormière was insistent enough that Rosenthal eventually accepted the task. Massine directed Rosenthal's selection of the Offenbach excerpts. After the completion of the score, when Rosenthal showed it to Massine, he initially rejected the ballet. Rosenthal then proposed that Igor Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
act as arbitrator over the acceptance of the score, to which Massine agreed. Upon hearing the music, Stravinsky strongly advised Massine to accept Rosenthal's score. However, because of the poor relations between Massine and Rosenthal, Rosenthal himself did not conduct the first performance of the ballet, and instead Efrem Kurtz
Efrem Kurtz
Efrem Kurtz was a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg conservatory with Alexander Glazunov and Nikolai Tcherepnin, among others. He later studied in Riga, Berlin and in Leipzig, in the last city as a pupil of Arthur Nikisch....
was conductor for the ballet's premiere, which was on 5 April 1938 at the Théâtre de Monte Carlo. Massine danced the role of the Peruvian tourist in the premiere.
Recordings
The full ballet, as well as a concert suite, has been frequently performed and recorded. Efrem Kurtz, who conducted the world premiere, recorded some of the music for Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
on 78-rpm discs. In 1947, Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler
Arthur Fiedler was a long-time conductor of the Boston Pops Orchestra, a symphony orchestra that specializes in popular and light classical music. With a combination of musicianship and showmanship, he made the Boston Pops one of the best-known orchestras in the country...
and the Boston Pops Orchestra
Boston Pops Orchestra
The Boston Pops Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts, that specializes in playing light classical and popular music....
recorded the ballet for RCA Victor; this high fidelity recording was later issued by RCA as its first 33-1/3 rpm LP in 1950. In 1954, Fiedler recorded the concert suite in stereo, his first stereophonic session for RCA. Rosenthal himself made four recordings of the ballet.
In 1941, Warner Bros. produced a Technicolor version of the ballet as staged by the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
, featuring many of the original cast members, including Léonide Massine and Frederic Franklin. Directed by Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco
Jean Negulesco was a Romanian-born American film director and screenwriter....
, this film was included as a "Warner Night at the Movies" bonus feature on the 3-DVD set of The Maltese Falcon
The Maltese Falcon (1941 film)
The Maltese Falcon is a 1941 Warner Bros. film based on the novel of the same name by Dashiell Hammett and a remake of the 1931 film of the same name...
.
In 1954, Victor Jessen recorded the ballet on film, which has subsequently been released on video.
Roles
- The Baron (original cast dancer: Frederic Franklin)
- The Duke
- The glove-seller (original cast dancer: Nina Tarankova)
- The flower girl (original cast dancer: Eugenia Delarova)
- A Peruvian tourist (original cast dancer: Léonide Massine)
- The dance-master
- The officer
- La Lionne (original cast dancer: Lubov Rostova)
- The lady in green
Synopsis
The setting is the Café Tortoni, in Paris during the Second Empire. The ballet does not have a conventional narrative.Various members from all levels of society meet, including upper-class aristocrats, high society-ladies, as well as a lower-class flower girl, along with the professional can-can dancers. The glove seller becomes the attention for various rival suitors, including a baron and an officer. Another suitor is a Peruvian tourist with two carpetbags, full of jewelry, hoping to make his fortune in Paris. In due course, a quarrel between the customers ensues. After order is restored, the ballet culminates in a high-spirited can-can, the celebrated can-can from Orpheus in the Underworld
Orpheus in the Underworld
Orphée aux enfers is an opéra bouffon , or opéra féerie in its revised version, by Jacques Offenbach. The French text was written by Ludovic Halévy and later revised by Hector-Jonathan Crémieux....
. However, with the "Barcarolle" from Les contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann
Les contes d'Hoffmann is an opéra by Jacques Offenbach. The French libretto was written by Jules Barbier, based on short stories by E. T. A...
as the featured music after the can-can, the café customers disperse and the café closes for the evening. The ballet ends as the Peruvian is left alone, ready to search for new adventures.