Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring

 (2008)

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray delivers stunning video and reference-quality audio in this must-own Blu-ray release
Two great 20th century works, performed energetically by the Mariinsky Orchestra and Ballet, under the baton of the great Russian conductor Valery Gergiev.

For more about Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring and the Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray release, see the Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray Review

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray Review

The original productions of Stravinsky's most famous ballets are reconstructed and reproduced in this stunning new Blu-ray.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, October 27, 2009

In the staid and stolid world of classical music (not to mention its sometimes even more reserved sibling, ballet), it may be hard to imagine the chaos surrounding the Paris premiere of Igor Stravinsky's Le Sacre du Printemps (The Rite of Spring) in 1913. The audience was split between very vocal detractors and an equal number of modernist adherents, and the cacophony of their shouts was drowning out even Stravinsky's gargantuan orchestra, leading famed Ballets Russes star Nijinsky to clamber backstage where he attempted to scream out the count (a perhaps impossible task, given Stravinsky's use of polyrhythms) to the hapless dancers. Of course, the mere mention of the name Stravinsky should indicate in and of itself that this premiere was not your typical staid and stolid classical affair. Stravinsky had been tweaking the collective noses of the musical establishment for at least a few years, going back to his somewhat less revolutionary, but still quite forward leaning, L'Oiseau de Feu (The Firebird), also originally staged by the Ballets Russes under the leadership of their visionary impresario, Serge Diaghelev. This famous (some would argue infamous) one-two punch of modern ballet repertoire survived the ravages of time, musically at least, becoming some of the most beloved work of 20th century composition. Unfortunately the original productions, if not the choreography (which was notated, if rather primitively), soon faded from memory and it wasn't until relatively recently that restorations were attempted. This stunning new Blu-ray attempts to recreate those original performances, and if the result is perhaps understandably less revolutionary than it was circa 1910-13, it is not less revelatory. Indeed, it may be more so, given the intervening years.

The Firebird dances with Prince Ivan.

The Firebird first introduced Stravinsky's heretofore largely unknown unusual musical vocabulary to the classical music and ballet public at large. The 1910 Parisian audience reacted at least partially more acceptingly than their French counterparts did three years later at The Rite of Spring, perhaps because Firebird is clad in not only a more understandable musical idiolect, but story as well. In fact one can almost trace a direct line from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake to Stravinsky's first great balletic masterpiece. Both works feature magical fowl, unscrupulous black magic and an enchanted (both figuratively and literally) Prince. If Swan Lake is the more ostensibly tragic, Stravinsky's is easily the darker piece, a fierce and viscerally demonic slice of compositional magic that burns, as does its title character, in tones of lush reds and oranges.

This stunning reconstruction of the original production features gorgeous sets and costumes by Alexander Golovin, Léon Bakst and Michel Fokine, reconstructed here by Anna and Anatoly Nezhny. The Firebird offers a ceaselessly exciting visual treat of bright colors and imaginative costumes. When added to Stravinsky's epochal music, some of his most glorious and haunting, under the direction of Valery Gergiev (who could use a shave, but I digress), the combination is unmistakably powerful and very, very Russian. Prima ballerina Ekaterina Kondaurova is amazing as the title heroine, en pointe for ridiculously lengthy periods of time and evincing a very believable magical creature. Ilya Kuznetsov makes an athletic Prince Ivan and Vladimir Ponomarev is a frankly frightening Kashchei.

If The Firebird was revolutionary but still largely understandable from both a dramatic and musical standpoint to audiences of its day, The Rite of Spring was, to the haute couture Parisians of 1913, like some caterwauling of a Neanderthal. From the famous opening bassoon melody, one placed impossibly high in the instrument's register and backed by some subtly discordant tones, members of that premiere audience made their displeasure quite public. (The rumor that Saint-Saëns left the audience in disgust is thought to be apocryphal). Where The Firebird went back at least a few hundred years in Russian folklore to a well known tale, Stravinsky pretty much forged The Rite of Spring's patently pagan libretto on his own. This is a piece that reaches far back into the vestiges of human memory, a time of pantheism and human sacrifice. That ultra-primitive element is completely explicit in Stravinsky's surging, polytonal and polyrhythmic music, including his famously dissonant "seven note chord."

The original was choreographed by Nijinsky, who did not take kindly to Stravinsky's daily theory lessons during rehearsals. Nijinsky's unusual jumping, bobbing and weaving motions were reconstructed several years ago by historian Millicent Hodson (the Joffrey has also done her version). Nicholas Roerich's beautiful and fascinating original sets and costumes are reconstructed here by Knneth Archer. What may strike many American viewers is how Native American a lot of these pagans look. One could almost imagine this being a rain dance or other tribal affair at times. While the bulk of the first part of the ballet, "L'Adoration de la Terre (The Adoration of the Earth)," traverses a dance and musical language from frenzy to lyrical calm, it's the second act, "Le Sacrifice (The Sacrifice)," which must have completely shocked 1913 audiences. This depiction of a chosen one (Alexandra Iosifidi) literally dancing herself to death to appease the Gods of Spring and rebirth is a tour de force of primitivism set to some of the most alarmingly modern music ever written. It is magnificently performed here with a vibrancy and nuance in both the orchestral and balletic departments that will help to preserve Nijinsky and Stravinsky's original vision for generations to come.

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray, Video Quality

 

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes arrives on Blu-ray from Bel Air Classics in a sterling 1080i AVC presentation. The ballets were filmed at the historic Marinsky Theater in June of 2008. These productions are a visual feast of the highest order, and the Blu-ray offers them in a brilliant presentation that exudes color and detail. The Firebird is alive with deeply saturated reds, oranges and blues. The weave of Ivan's jacket can be clearly seen, as can the fine detail on the Princesses' gowns. The backdrop is fairly bursting with finely dappled color, courtesy of some very inventive lighting design. The Rite of Spring tends more toward white and brown costumes, but even here the magical background, as well as some of the more fanciful costumes, are presented in astoundingly clear detail. This is one of the sharpest looking Blu-ray ballet offerings I've had the pleasure of viewing recently.

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray, Audio Quality

 

What an experience to have Stravinsky's two most bombastic ballet scores in superb DTS HD-MA 5.1! While some think of the Russian composer as a largely "vertical" composer (and it can't be denied his massed chords certainly have that aural effect), his rather ingenious contrapuntal skills come through with brilliant clarity in this sound mix. Everything from the overbearing brass to the haunting tones of the bassoon in Le Sacre are reproduced with absolute accuracy. These are two scores which thrive on dynamic contrasts, and everything from the softest whisper of a flute to unbelievably loud tutti passages are offered without a hint of distortion. This is quite simply amazing music, amazingly performed and equally amazingly recorded. I really didn't spend too much time with the PCM 2.0 fold down. It sounded fine for what it is, but I definitely recommend the 5.1 for a thrillingly immersive orchestral experience.

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray, Special Features and Extras

 

One excellent and one fair to middling featurette supplement the main ballets:

An Interview with Millicent Hodson and Kenneth Archer (29:42) gives some interesting background on the duo's research and restoration efforts, as well as the history of Le Sacre itself.

The generically named Documentary (no, I'm not kidding), at 7:46 offers a brief look at the Ballets Russes' history with these venerable pieces.

Stravinsky and the Ballets Russes: The Firebird and The Rite of Spring Blu-ray, Overall Score and Recommendation

 

If you were to ask lovers of 20th century music and/or ballet where they would visit if they were able to time travel, chances are a lot of them would opt for the Diaghelev era at Ballets Russes, and probably for one or both of these splendid Stravinsky masterpieces. It's simply wonderful to be able to see these at least more or less like they were originally produced, and this Blu-ray should be treasured by Stravinsky fans in particular, and ballet lovers generally.