Table Of ContentS. r^. t-A (\ovE P^E
CAROLYN PARKS
BALLET COLLECTION
Oliver Wfendell Holmes Librury
Phillips Academy, Andover, MA
INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF DANCE
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INTERNATIONAL ENCYCLOPEDIA OF
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International encyclopedia of dance : a project of Dance
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CONTINUED
FIREBIRD, THE. \Jhis entry comprises two articles on upon him. But Ivan waves the magic feather, calling forth
ballets choreographed to Igor Stravinsky’s score: the first is a the Firebird, who flies in and casts a spell, causing the
brief description of Michel Fokine’s original production; the monsters to dance to exhaustion and allowing Ivan to
second is a survey of later productions. ] smash the egg that contains Kastchei’s soul—thus break¬
ing his dominion, destroying the Kingdom of Evil, and
freeing the princesses and their suitors, knights who had
Fokine Production
been turned to stone while attempting to overcome
French title: L’Oiseau de Feu. Ballet in one act and two Kastchei. In the end, in a scene of great pomp and
scenes. Choreography: Michel Fokine. Music: Igor Stra¬ majesty. Prince Ivan and the lovely Tsarevna are wed and
vinsky. Libretto: Michel Fokine. Scenery: Aleksandr crowned to rule over the entire kingdom.
Golovin. Costumes: Aleksandr Golovin and Leon Bakst.
First performance: 26 June 1910, Theatre National de
rOpera, Paris, Ballets Russes de Serge Diaghilev. Princi¬ THE firebird: Fokine Production. Michel Fokine as Ivan Tsare¬
pals: Tamara Karsavina (The Firebird), Michel Fokine vich and Tamara Karsavina as the Firebird in the original pro¬
(Ivan Tsarevich), Vera Fokina (Tsarevna), Aleksei Bul¬ duction of Fokine's 1910 ballet. (Photograph from the Dance Collec¬
tion, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts.)
gakov (Kastchei).
Produced during the second season of Diaghilev’s Bal¬
lets Russes in Paris, L'Oiseau de Feu was an immediate
success. The result of a close collaboration of choreogra¬
pher, composer, and designers, it had all the elements of
exoticism so characteristic of Diaghilev's early Saisons
Russes: a fantastic libretto based on Russian folklore,
elaborately beautiful sets and costumes, dramatic danc¬
ing, and the strange and ravishingly beautiful idiom of the
musical score. Parisian audiences were delighted with the
ballet, and critics claimed that it heralded a new direction
for the art of dance.
Fokine's libretto draws heavily from Russian fairy tales,
blending the stories of Ivan Tsarevich (Prince Ivan), a
magical “bird of light,” and Kastchei the Immortal, a
wicked magician who rules a world of monsters. While
hunting in the forest. Prince Ivan strays into the en¬
chanted realm of Kastchei. There he encounters and cap¬
tures the mysterious Firebird, who, in exchange for her
freedom, gives him a magic feather by which he may sum¬
mon her if he is ever in danger. Ivan then comes across
twelve tsarevnas (princesses) who live in captivity under
Kastchei. Enticed to join them in a round dance, he falls
in love with the most beautiful of them and persuades her
to try to escape. Before they can do so, they are discovered
by Kastchei and his retinue of monstrous creatures. In the
ensuing “Dance of the Impure Kingdom, staged in the
form of a dance symphony, one of the monsters advances
upon Ivan, threatening to inflict the curse of Kastchei
1
2 FIREBIRD, THE: Later Productions
In devising this libretto, Fokine not only created oppor¬ introduce an entirely new plot and setting. Common to all
tunities for beautiful and dramatic dancing but also skill¬ is a theme that can be summarized as the struggle and ul¬
fully and clearly set up the opposition of good and evil on timate triumph of good over evil.
which so many fairy tales are based. Kastchei the Immortal Fokine’s ballet served as the model for revivals by
and his Impure Kingdom are the embodiment of evil and Adolph Bolm (Ballet Theatre, 1945), Serge Lifar (Paris
ugliness, while the Firebird is a wonderful creature of light Opera Ballet, 1954), and Serge Grigoriev and Lubov Tch-
and beauty, which have power to elevate and transform the ernicheva (Sadler’s w4lls Ballet, 1954)—this last consid¬
world. Prince Ivan and the princesses represent the social ered by some observers as closest in spirit to the original.
structure of human beings, those for whom the fantastic Grigoriev, the regisseur of the Ballets Russes de Serge Di-
forces of good and evil do battle. Ivan Tsarevich is the tradi¬ aghilev, undoubtedly knew Fokine’s choreography well; in
tional fairy-tale hero possessed of a magical object, a addition, Margot Fonteyn was coached in the title role by
feather from the Firebird, that makes him invincible. Tamara Karsavina, the original Firebird. The Sadler’s
In his choreography for the various characters in the Wells production also utilized the designs that Natalia
ballet, Fokine employed a variety of expressive forms of Goncharova had made for Diaghilev in 1926.
dance, using the idiom of classical ballet for the dazzling George Balanchine's version, first mounted by New
Firebird, violent and grotesque movements for Kastchei York City Ballet in 1949, is arguably the best-known and
and his retinue, and a free form of plastique for the gentle longest-lived revival of The Firebird in the United States.
princesses. Such variety, however, in no way created a Balanchine wished to emphasize the dancing, and a
sense of stylistic disharmony; on the contrary, L’Oiseau de strong point of this production was the choreography for
Feu was later recognized as being, in a stylistic sense, one
of the most completely integrated of all Fokine's choreo¬
graphic efforts, a perfect match for the marvelous musical
program in Stravinsky’s innovative score, his first com¬ THE firebird: Later Productions. In George Balanchine’s Fire¬
bird, mounted in 1949 for the New York City Ballet, Francisco
mission for a ballet. It brought both Fokine and Stravin¬
Moncion and Maria Tallchief created the leading roles. Scenery
sky great acclaim, and it made Tamara Karsavina, who
and costumes were designed by Marc Chagall. Balanchine made
created the role of the Firebird, the darling of critics and
major revisions in his choreography in 1970, 1972, and 1980.
other balletomanes aU over Europe.
(Photograph from the Dance Collection, New York Public Library for the
BIBLIOGRAPHY Performing Arts. Choreography by George Balanchine © The George Bal¬
Beaumont, Cyril W. Complete Book of Ballets. Rev. ed. London, 1951. anchine Trust.)
Garafola, Lynn. Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. New York, 1989.
Horwitz, Dawn Lille. Michel Fokine. Boston, 1985.
Lester, Keith. "Fokine's Firebird.” The Dancing Times (April
1968):354-356.
Reynolds, Nancy, and Susan Reimer-Tom. Dance Classics. Penning¬
ton, N.J., 1991.
Schouvaloff, Alexander, and Victor Borovsky. Stravinsky on Stage.
London, 1982.
Tamskin, Richard. “From Firebird to The Rite: Folk Elements in
Stravinsky’s Score.” Ballet Review 10 (Summer 1982):72-87.
Vaughan, David. "Fokine in the Contemporary Repertory.” Ballet Re¬
view 7.2-3 (1978-1979):19-27.
Vershinina, 1.1. Rannie balety Stravinskogo. Moscow, 1967.
Galina N. Dobrovolskaya
Translated from Russian
Later Productions
Igor Stravinsky’s colorful and evocative score (original
1910) has inspired many choreographers to create new
versions of The Firebird. Some are danced to the suite that
Stravinsky made in 1945, which he himself preferred to
the complete score; a few use the 1919 suite, which is
shorter still. As the following sampling suggests, the bal¬
lets fall into three general categories: (1) those that follow
Michel Fokine’s scenario, albeit with minor variations in
detail; (2) those that discard the Russian folkloristic ele¬
ments but preserve the fairy-tale plot; and (3) those that
