The Fairy's Kiss

ballet by Igor Stravinsky

The Fairy's Kiss (under the title Le Baiser de la fée) staged by Bronislava Nijinska: 27 November 1928, The Ida Rubinstein Ballet Company, Paris

Premiere at the Mariinsky Theatre: 11 July 2021


Running time: 45 minutes

Age category: 12+

Credits

Music by Igor Stravinsky
Libretto by the composer after fairy-tales by Hans Christian
Musical Director: Valery Gergiev
Choreographer: Maxim Petrov
Set Designer: Alyona Pikalova
Costume Designer: Uldus Bakhtiozina
Lighting Designer: Konstantin Binkin
Musical Preparation: Lyudmila Sveshnikova

Stravinsky created the ballet Le Baiser de la fée based on Hans Christian Andersen's fairy-tale plot using quotations, motifs and allusions from music by Tchaikovsky and he dedicated the score to the memory of his senior colleague: "Like a fairy, the muse adorned Tchaikovsky with her kiss, the imprint of which is to be observed on every opus by this great artist." Looking for just such a fairy (or muse) is hero of Maxim Petrov's production. In his reading of Stravinsky's opus the choreographer has discarded the peripheral details of the original fairy-tale libretto: no child is stolen and there is no fatal substitution of the bride at the wedding. His male protagonist saves himself from wintry probation dressed in a fashionable down jacket and carrying a mobile phone. And, unlike with Stravinsky there are four fairies, not just one, in this story. Moreover, the beauty of the duet with one of them is not at all an indicator that the protagonist's search is to be crowned with success, and he meets the one who possesses the secret of creation. Which of the fairies is to be the guide in a "land beyond time and space", revealing to the one who has been kissed — a country, with the universal image of which the composer chose to conclude his ballet?

Any use or copying of site materials, design elements or layout is forbidden without the permission of the rightholder.
user_nameExit

The highlighting of performances by age represents recommendations.

This highlighting is being used in accordance with Federal Law N436-FZ dated 29 December 2010 (edition dated 1 May 2019) "On the protection of children from information that may be harmful to their health"