- Élégie
"Élégie" is a ballet made by
New York City Ballet co-founder and balletmasterGeorge Balanchine toIgor Stravinsky 's "Élégie" for solo viola (1944). The first of three ballets made with this title was a pas de deux which had its premiere November 5, 1945, on a program of theNational Orchestral Society entitled "Adventure in Ballet", together with "Circus Polka ", danced bySchool of American Ballet students withTodd Bolender as guest artist, and "Symphonie Concertante ".The
Ballet Society premiere was April 28, 1948, at City Center of Music and Drama; the violist was Emanuel Vardi. The evening included the premiere of "Orpheus", which lead directly to the founding of New York City Ballet as a resident company at City Center. Stravinsky referred to "Élégie" as a kind of preview for the Orpheus pas de deux, the music reflecting through the interlaced bodies of the dancers fixed in a central spot on stage.The second version was a solo created for
Lukas Foss ' "A Festival of Stravinsky: His Heritage and His Legacy", which also included the premiere of Balanchine's "Ragtime (II) ". Its premiere took place on July 15, 1966, inPhilharmonic Hall , New York; the violist was Jesse Levine; the first City Ballet performance was July 28 atSaratoga Performing Arts Center , again with Jesse Levine.Balanchine created the third version for City Ballets's Stravinsky Centennial Celebration; its premiere was June 13, 1982, at the
New York State Theater , Lincoln Center; the on-stage violist was Warren Laffredo; at the opening and closing of the work the dancer kneels in a pool of light on an otherwise dark stage.Casts
original
*
Tanaquil LeClerq *
Pat McBride NYCB 1966
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Suzanne Farrell NYCB 1982
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Suzanne Farrell External links
* [http://www.nycballet.com NYCB website]
* [http://www.balanchine.com George Balanchine Trust website]
* [http://www.balanchine.org George Balanchine Foundation website]
* [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DEFD6163BF936A25755C0A964948260 NY Times review by
Anna Kisselgoff , June 15, 1982]
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