Le Sacre du printemps was originally choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky for the Ballets Russes . Commissioned by company impresario Serge Diaghilev and set to music by Igor Stravinsky, the ballet premiered 29 May 1913 at the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées, Paris.
The Rite of Spring nearly caused an audience riot. It stunned people because of its willful rhythms and aggressive dynamics. The Rite of Spring had to be pulled after just a few performances. The audience’s negative reaction to it is now regarded as a theatrical scandal.
The concept behind The Rite of Spring, developed by Roerich from Stravinsky’s outline idea, is suggested by its subtitle, “Pictures of Pagan Russia in Two Parts”; the scenario depicts various primitive rituals celebrating the advent of spring, after which a young girl is chosen as a sacrificial victim and dances herself to death.
Le Sacre du Printemps
Ballet synopsis broken down scene by scene
| Episode | English translation | Synopsis | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part I: L’Adoration de la Terre (Adoration of the Earth) | |||
| Introduction | Introduction | Before the curtain rises, an orchestral introduction resembles, according to Stravinsky, “a swarm of spring pipes (dudki) | |
| Les Augures printaniers | Augurs of Spring | The celebration of spring begins in the hills. An old woman enters and begins to foretell the future. | |
| Jeu du rapt | Ritual of Abduction | Young girls arrive from the river, in single file. They begin the “Dance of the Abduction”. | |
| Rondes printanières | Spring Rounds | The young girls dance the Khorovod, the “Spring Rounds”. | |
| Jeux des cités rivales | Ritual of the Rival Tribes | The people divide into two groups in opposition to each other, and begin the “Ritual of the Rival Tribes”. | |
| Cortège du sage: Le Sage | Procession of the Sage: The Sage | A holy procession leads to the entry of the wise elders, headed by the Sage who brings the games to a pause and blesses the earth. | |
| Danse de la terre | Dance of the Earth | The people break into a passionate dance, sanctifying and becoming one with the earth. | |
| Part II: Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice) | |||
| Introduction | Introduction | ||
| Cercles mystérieux des adolescentes | Mystic Circles of the Young Girls | The young girls engage in mysterious games, walking in circles. | |
| Glorification de l’élue | Glorification of the Chosen One | One of the young girls is selected by fate, being twice caught in the perpetual circle, and is honoured as the “Chosen One” with a martial dance. | |
| Évocation des ancêtres | Evocation of the Ancestors | In a brief dance, the young girls invoke the ancestors. | |
| Action rituelle des ancêtres | Ritual Action of the Ancestors | The Chosen One is entrusted to the care of the old wise men. | |
| Danse sacrale (L’Élue) | Sacrificial Dance | The Chosen One dances to death in the presence of the old men, in the great “Sacrificial Dance”. | |
