Symphony in C (ballet)
Encyclopedia
Symphony in C, originally titled Le Palais de Cristal, is a ballet made by New York City Ballet
co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine
to Bizet
's Symphony in C
(1855), which he wrote at the age of 17 while studying with Charles Gounod
at the Paris Conservatory. The score was lost and only rediscovered and published in 1933; Stravinsky
alerted Balanchine to the existence of the symphony.
The premiere was on Monday, July 28th, 1947, in the Théâtre National de l'Opéra
with the Paris Opéra Ballet
where Balanchine was guest ballet master. According to City Ballet docents the four movements were originally associated with and designed using the colors four gemstones, three of which Balanchine subsequently retained for the three movements of his 1967 ballet Jewels
: Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds. Even before the ballet was renamed Symphony in C, he had eliminated the color scheme and changed to the white costumes still used.
The NYCB premiere took place as the final piece on the first performance, October 11, 1948, of the newly renamed City Ballet at the City Center of Music and Drama
with costumes by Karinska and lighting by Mark Stanley. Jerome Robbins
was in the audience at that performance and is quoted as saying that he immediately wrote to Balanchine asking to be hired in any capacity. Suzanne Farrell
says that Symphony in C is the first ballet she ever saw and determined at once to become a ballerina and join City Ballet; which both did. When she was in rehearsal learning her rôle from Balanchine, he asked her whether she could touch her knee with her nose en penchée, which she could, and this addition to the choreography remains to this very 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...
to Bizet
Georges Bizet
Georges Bizet formally Alexandre César Léopold Bizet, was a French composer, mainly of operas. In a career cut short by his early death, he achieved few successes before his final work, Carmen, became one of the most popular and frequently performed works in the entire opera repertory.During a...
's Symphony in C
Symphony in C (Bizet)
The Symphony in C is an early work by the French composer Georges Bizet. According to Grove's Dictionary, the symphony "reveals an extraordinarily accomplished talent for an 17-year-old student, in melodic invention, thematic handling and orchestration." Bizet started work on the symphony on 29...
(1855), which he wrote at the age of 17 while studying with Charles Gounod
Charles Gounod
Charles-François Gounod was a French composer, known for his Ave Maria as well as his operas Faust and Roméo et Juliette.-Biography:...
at the Paris Conservatory. The score was lost and only rediscovered and published in 1933; Stravinsky
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky ; 6 April 1971) was a Russian, later naturalized French, and then naturalized American composer, pianist, and conductor....
alerted Balanchine to the existence of the symphony.
The premiere was on Monday, July 28th, 1947, in 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...
with the Paris Opéra Ballet
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet is the oldest national ballet company in the world, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it...
where Balanchine was guest ballet master. According to City Ballet docents the four movements were originally associated with and designed using the colors four gemstones, three of which Balanchine subsequently retained for the three movements of his 1967 ballet Jewels
Jewels (ballet)
Jewels is an award-winning ballet in three parts created for New York City Ballet by co-founder and founding choreographer George Balanchine. It premièred on Thursday,...
: Emeralds, Rubies and Diamonds. Even before the ballet was renamed Symphony in C, he had eliminated the color scheme and changed to the white costumes still used.
The NYCB premiere took place as the final piece on the first performance, October 11, 1948, of the newly renamed City Ballet at the City Center of Music and Drama
New York City Center
New York City Center is a 2,750-seat Moorish Revival theater located at 131 West 55th Street between 6th and 7th Avenues in Manhattan, New York City. It is one block south of Carnegie Hall...
with costumes by Karinska and lighting by Mark Stanley. Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
was in the audience at that performance and is quoted as saying that he immediately wrote to Balanchine asking to be hired in any capacity. Suzanne Farrell
Suzanne Farrell
Suzanne Farrell is an eminent 20th century ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C....
says that Symphony in C is the first ballet she ever saw and determined at once to become a ballerina and join City Ballet; which both did. When she was in rehearsal learning her rôle from Balanchine, he asked her whether she could touch her knee with her nose en penchée, which she could, and this addition to the choreography remains to this very day.
Casts
| original | ||
|---|---|---|
| first movement | Lycette Darsonval | Alexandre Kalioujny |
| second movement | Tamara Toumanova Tamara Toumanova Tamara Toumanova was an American ballerina and actress. "Toumanova" was a stage name proposed by Olga Preobrazhenskaya, after her mother’s family name of Tumanishvili.-Personal life:... |
Roger Ritz |
| third movement | Micheline Bardin | Michel Renault |
| fourth movement | Madeleine Lafon | Max Bozzoni |
| NYCB revivals | ||
| 1948 | ||
| first movement | Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief was the first native-American prima ballerina. From 1942 to 1947 she danced with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo, but she is best known for her time with the New York City Ballet from 1947 to 1965.-Early life:... |
Nicholas Magallanes Nicholas Magallanes Nicholas Magallanes was a first-generation principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. Along with Jerome Robbins, Francisco Moncion and Maria Tallchief, Magallanes was among the core group of dancers with which George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein formed the New York City Ballet in 1948... |
| second movement | Tanaquil Le Clercq | Francisco Moncion |
| third movement | Beatrice Tompkins | Herbert Blass |
| fourth movement | Elise Reiman | Lew Christensen Lew Christensen Lewellyn Farr "Lew" Christensen was a ballet dancer, choreographer and director for many companies. He was largely associated with George Balanchine and the San Francisco Ballet, which he directed from 1952–1984... |
| 2008 at the Kennedy Center John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C... |
||
| first movement | Abi Stafford | Jonathan Stafford |
| second movement | Wendy Whelan Wendy Whelan Wendy 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... |
Philip Neal Philip Neal Philip 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... |
| third movement | Ashley Bouder | Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied Benjamin Millepied is a French danseur, best known for his work as choreographer in the movie Black Swan .-Early life:... |
| fourth movement | Tiler Peck | Sean Suozzi |
Articles
Reviews
- http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/30/arts/dance/30ball.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...
, June 30, 2008]
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0917FB3E55157493C1AB178AD95F418785F9Sunday NY 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...
, November 23, 1975]
- http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00A16F93F5A107A93CBA9178AD95F4C8485F9NY Times review 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...
, November 9, 1948]