Mozartiana
Encyclopedia
Mozartiana is a ballet by New York City Ballet
co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine
which opened their Tschaikovsky Festival. It is the choreographer's third homage to Mozart
and is set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
's Suite No. 4, Mozartiana, Op. 61 (1887), consisting of:
The new version Balanchine made for City Ballet had its premiere on Thursday, June 4, 1981, at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center
, with costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian
.
The Preghiera is danced by a ballerina, usually a principal dancer, accompanied by four young girls, the Gigue by a male soloist and the Minuet by four women from the corps de ballet. The ballerina returns and is joined by a principal danseur for a pas de deux to the Theme and Variations; the entire cast dances the finale; the Gigue is of sufficient importance that it is not infrequently danced by a second principal danseur.
The choreographer made the original version on his first ballet company, the Paris-based Les Ballets, for its 1933 season at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
, which also included The Seven Deadly Sins. It was danced again by the School of American Ballet
at its first recital Saturday, June 9, 1934, which was held on the Felix Warburg
estate in White Plains, N.Y., where Serenade
was danced the following day.
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...
which opened their Tschaikovsky Festival. It is the choreographer's third homage to Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
and is set to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky
Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (Russian: Пётр Ильи́ч Чайко́вский ; often "Peter Ilich Tchaikovsky" in English. His names are also transliterated "Piotr" or "Petr"; "Ilitsch", "Il'ich" or "Illyich"; and "Tschaikowski", "Tschaikowsky", "Chajkovskij"...
's Suite No. 4, Mozartiana, Op. 61 (1887), consisting of:
- Preghiera (Prayer)
- Gigue
- Minuet
- Theme and Variations
- Finale
The new version Balanchine made for City Ballet had its premiere on Thursday, June 4, 1981, 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 costumes by Rouben Ter-Arutunian
Rouben Ter-Arutunian
Rouben Ter-Arutunian was a costume and scenic designer for dance, opera, theater and television.Born in Tiflis, Georgia, he attended the Reimann Art School from 1939 to 1941, studied film music at the Hochschule fur Musik and took courses at the Friedrich-Wilhelm University , 1941–43, and at the...
.
The Preghiera is danced by a ballerina, usually a principal dancer, accompanied by four young girls, the Gigue by a male soloist and the Minuet by four women from the corps de ballet. The ballerina returns and is joined by a principal danseur for a pas de deux to the Theme and Variations; the entire cast dances the finale; the Gigue is of sufficient importance that it is not infrequently danced by a second principal danseur.
The choreographer made the original version on his first ballet company, the Paris-based Les Ballets, for its 1933 season at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
Théâtre des Champs-Élysées
The Théâtre des Champs-Élysées is a theatre at 15 avenue Montaigne. Despite its name, the theatre is not on the Champs-Élysées but nearby in another part of the 8th arrondissement of Paris....
, which also included The Seven Deadly Sins. It was danced again by the School of American Ballet
School of American Ballet
The School of American Ballet is one of the most famous classical ballet schools in the world and is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a leading international ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the...
at its first recital Saturday, June 9, 1934, which was held on the Felix Warburg
Felix M. Warburg
Felix Moritz Warburg was a member of the Warburg banking family of Hamburg, Germany.- Biography :He was a grandson of Moses Marcus Warburg, one of the founders of the bank, M. M. Warburg . Felix Warburg was a partner in Kuhn, Loeb & Co.. He is known as a leading advocate of a Federal Reserve...
estate in White Plains, N.Y., where Serenade
Serenade (ballet)
Serenade is a ballet by George Balanchine, subsequently co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet, to Tschaikovsky's 1880 Serenade for Strings in C, Op. 48...
was danced the following day.
NYCB premiere
- 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....
- Ib AndersenIb AndersenIb Andersen is a Danish dancer and choreographer. He is currently the artistic director of Ballet Arizona in Phoenix, Arizona.Internationally admired as both a dancer and choreographer, Andersen’s contribution to the world of dance is the product of a journey through multiple influences...
- Christopher d'AmboiseChristopher d'AmboiseChristopher d'Amboise is an American dancer, choreographer, writer, and theatre director.Born and raised in New York City, the son of dancers Jacques d'Amboise and Carolyn George, d'Amboise became a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet, where he worked closely with George Balanchine and...
2008 Winter
- 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...
- Benjamin MillepiedBenjamin MillepiedBenjamin Millepied is a French danseur, best known for his work as choreographer in the movie Black Swan .-Early life:...
- Tom Gold
2008 Spring
- Wendy Whelan
- Philip NealPhilip NealPhilip Neal was a principal dancer with New York City Ballet. He studied from age 11 at the Richmond Ballet School. After six years of study there, Edward Villella arranged a summer scholarship for him at NCYB's School of American Ballet...
- Tom Gold
Articles
- The Sunday New York Times, June 10, 1934
- The New York Times, June 11, 1934
- The New York Times by Jennifer DunningJennifer DunningJennifer Dunning is a writer and critic for the New York Times on the subjects of dance and ballet. She is the author of the 1985 But First a School: The First Fifty Years of the School of American Ballet, the 1996 Alvin Ailey, a Life in Dance and the 1997 Great Performances: A...
, February 10, 1981 - The New York Times by Jennifer DunningJennifer DunningJennifer Dunning is a writer and critic for the New York Times on the subjects of dance and ballet. She is the author of the 1985 But First a School: The First Fifty Years of the School of American Ballet, the 1996 Alvin Ailey, a Life in Dance and the 1997 Great Performances: A...
, May 23, 1981 - The Sunday New York Times by John CorryJohn CorryColonel John Corry was an Irish politician.He was the son of Colonel James Corry and his first wife Sarah Anketill, daughter of Captain Oliver Anketill. Corry was educated at Kilkenny and Trinity College, Dublin. Corry became High Sheriff of Fermanagh in 1711...
, May 31, 1981
Reviews
- The New York Times by John MartinJohn Martin (dance critic)John Martin became America’s first major dance critic in 1927. Focusing his efforts on propelling the modern dance movement, he greatly influenced the careers of dancers such as Martha Graham...
, March 8, 1945 - The New York Times by John MartinJohn Martin (dance critic)John Martin became America’s first major dance critic in 1927. Focusing his efforts on propelling the modern dance movement, he greatly influenced the careers of dancers such as Martha Graham...
, February 21, 1946 - The New York Times 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...
, June 5, 1981 - The New York Times 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...
, June 23, 2008