Rite of Spring ballet

[gvopedz]

Has anyone watched the DVD "Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird/Le Sacre Du Printemps"? This DVD appears to be a new film of the recreation of the original ballet for the Rite of Spring - its not the Joffrey ballet peformance that PBS broadcasted about 20 years ago. Here's one place that has the DVD:

http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?...amp;style=movie

[Claude]

I just ordered the Blu-ray disc (the UK version is much cheaper), but it hasn't arrived yet.

Here's a review (probably competent only for the technical aspects of the disc): http://www.blu-ray.com/movies/Stravinsky-a...ay-Review/7455/

Edited November 28, 2009 by Claude

[Matthew]

The premier of Rite of Spring is one of my all-time "I wished I was there" moments in history. Can you imagine, fist fights in the crowd? Loud booing from the first bassoon note? The police being called in? There is a very good chapter on the premier in the book Rites of Spring : The Great War and the Birth of the Modern Age by Modris Eksteins.

Edited November 28, 2009 by Matthew

[mikeweil]

Gabriel Astruc, promoter of the first performance, wrote a nice book of his memoirs about all the scandals he provoked with music by Strauss, Debussy, and Stravinskij. At this occasion I learned, while doing some research, that the composer re-workd the score as the rights to the scores lay with Russian publsihers, and through the wars he had no longer access to the royalties from the performances - a big financial loss for him. So he signed with Boosey & Hawkes and wrote new version which were then, of course, preferred by orchestras the world over. The version of The Rite od Spring that we usually hear is form 1947.

When François-Xavier Roth started his project on performing and recording the Stravinskiy ballets he encountered many problems, from obtaining to locating the original scores, but the result is stunning, the music should disturb, as Chuck said about this music, but the sound of the original score on perios instruments is even more disturbing. Highly recommende. I still lick myself fro missing their performance here in town. 

Edited May 23 by mikeweil