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.)