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Les Noces [The Wedding]

Music and text: Igor Stravinsky.
Choreography: Bronislava Nijinska.
Plot: Jean Cocteau.
Sets and costumes: Natalia Goncharova.

Premiered on June 13, 1923 by the Ballets Russes in Paris at the Théâtre de la Gaîté-Lyrique.

Dancers at the premiere: Felia Dubrovska (the Bride), Léon Woizikowski (the Bridegroom).

In the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet since 1976.

About the ballet:
Les Noces is one of the masterpieces of XXth-century ballet because of the architectural dignity of Nijinska's invention and the extraordinary rhythmic complexity by which she reflects the intricacies of Stravinsky's score for four pianists, percussion, and a group of singers.
(The Ballet Goer's Guide, Mary Clarke and Clement Crisp)

About the plot: The ballet is divided into four scenes: the Blessing of the Bride, the Blessing of the Bridegroom, the Departure of the Bride and the Wedding Feast.

Video: this ballet was filmed in 1990 at the Paris Opera (with Elisabeth Platel as the Bride, Kader Belarbi as the Bridegroom, Françoise Legrée as the Bride's friend, and Jean-Yves Lormeau as the Bridegroom's friend.)


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Email: Estelle.Souche@cmi.univ-mrs.fr