Kratt
An Estonian four-act ballet based entirely on folk tunes, with music by Eduard Tubin and libretto by Elfriede Saarik; it premiered at Vanemuine Theatre in 1943.
Ballets
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A two-act ballet based on the Albanian folk song Kënga e Rexhës, also called Çohu Rexho.
L'Après-midi d'un faune
The Afternoon of a Faun (L'Après-midi d'un faune) is a ballet choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky for the Ballets Russes, and was first performed in the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris on 29 May 1912. Nijinsky danced the main part himself. The ballet is set to Claude Debussy's symphonic poem Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune. Both the music and the ballet were inspired by the poem L'Après-midi d'un faune by Stéphane Mallarmé. The costumes, sets and programme illustrations were designed by the painter Léon Bakst. The style of the 12-minute ballet, in which a young faun meets several nymphs and proceeds to flirt with and chase them, was deliberately archaic. In the original scenography designed by Léon Bakst, the dancers were presented as part of a large tableau, a staging reminiscent of an ancient Greek vase painting. They often moved across the stage in profile as if on a bas relief. The ballet was presented in bare feet and rejected classical formalism. The work had an overtly erotic subtext beneath its façade of Greek antiquity and ended with a scene of graphic sexual desire. This led to a controversial reception from both audience and critics, and the quality of the ballet was debated widely through multiple news reviews. The piece also led to the dissolution of a partnership between Nijinsky and Michel Fokine, another prominent choreographer for the Ballets Russes, due to the extensive amount of time required to train the dancers in what was then an unconventional style of dance. L'Après-midi d'un Faune is considered one of the first modern ballets and proved to be as controversial as Nijinsky's Jeux (1913) and Le Sacre du printemps (1913).
L'Homme et son désir
L'Homme et son désir, Op. 48, is a ballet composed by Darius Milhaud from 1917–18, based on a scenario of Paul Claudel. It was written in Brazil, where Milhaud had accompanied Claudel as a secretary when the latter was appointed ambassador to Rio de Janeiro. It was the passage of the Ballets Russes with Vaslav Nijinsky in Rio de Janeiro that triggered it. This was Claudel's first musical collaboration and he then repeated the experience several times with some major works (including Honegger's Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher). The work is also one of Milhaud's first ballets. The score is written for four voices (wordless) and a small orchestra and a large number of percussion instruments (including a whip and a whistle). The Premiere took place on 6 June 1921, with a choreography by the Ballets suédois under the orchestral direction of Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht.
L'enfant prodigue
French emperor Napoleon selected the subject of the ballet from several librettos choreographer Pierre Gardel presented to him. Gardel had hoped to stage a work on William Tell with themes of liberty and resistance, but the emperor favored The Prodigal Son. The ballet of the Prodigal Son, taken from the New Testament, unfolded across three main acts: Act I depicted the Prodigal Son's departure from home, act II followed his wanderings in a foreign land, and act III portrayed his return home. In the first act, young Azaël, the Prodigal Son, declares his intent to leave home, lured by the allure of Memphis, the capital of Egypt. Despite his grief, his father provides him with money, while his mother expresses deep sorrow. Act two shifts to Memphis, where Azaël who arrives alone succumbs to indulgence, losing his wealth and betraying Lia, a virtuous Moabite girl who had fallen in love with him. Overcome by despair and rejected by her father, Lia sacrifices herself to the Nile. The third act finds Azaël destitute in the desert starving and robbed by crooks, where an angel inspires him to return home. Upon returning home to the land of "Jessen", the first person he meets is Jephtelle.
L'histoire de Manon
Music by Jules Massenet, with the original orchestration by Leighton Lucas. Act I – Paris; Scene 1 – The courtyard of an inn near Paris; The courtyard at the inn is frequented by actresses, gentlemen and the demimonde from Paris. Among them are des Grieux, a young student, the wealthy Monsieur GM, and Lescaut, who is there to meet his sister Manon on her way to enter a convent. A coach arrives bringing Manon and an old gentleman who has been very much attracted to her. Lescaut notices this and takes the gentleman into the inn to come to an arrangement with him over Manon. Manon remains outside and meets des Grieux. They fall in love and decide to escape to Paris with the help of the money that she has stolen from the old gentleman. Lescaut and the old gentleman come out of the inn, having made a bargain, and to their dismay see that Manon has disappeared. Monsieur GM tells Lescaut that he too is interested in Manon and because of this wealth Lescaut promises to find Manon and persuade her to accept GM. Scene 2 – Des Grieux's lodgings in Paris; Des Grieux is writing a letter to his father but Manon interrupts by declaring her love for him. Des Grieux goes to post the letter and in his absence Lescaut arrives with Monsieur GM. Manon yields to GM's advances and when des Grieux returns, Lescaut persuades him that there will be great wealth for all of them if he, des Grieux, will sanction the liaison between Manon and GM. Act II; Scene 1 – A party at the hotel particulier of Madame; Manon arrives at the party given by Monsieur GM and is clearly torn between the wealth of her companion and her love for des Grieux, who is also there with Lescaut. Des Grieux tries to persuade Manon to leave with him but she tells him that the time is not right and only will be when he takes more of Monsieur GM's money at cards. Des Grieux is caught cheating and he and Manon rush away. Scene 2 – Des Grieux's lodgings; Manon and des Grieux once again declare their love for one another but Monsieur GM arrives with the police and Manon is arrested as a prostitute. In the ensuing struggle Lescaut is killed. Act III – New Orleans; Scene 1 – The port; The gaoler of the penal colony awaits the arrival of the convicts from France. Manon has been deported to America as a prostitute and des Grieux has followed her there by pretending to be her husband. The gaoler now turns his interest towards Manon. Scene 2 – The gaoler's room; The gaoler has arrested Manon but offers her rewards in the hope that she will desert des Grieux and live with him. Des Grieux, however, breaks in and kills the gaoler. Scene 3 – The swamp; Manon and des Grieux have escaped into the swamp of Louisiana. All her former ambitions of wealth and splendour have been renounced for her love for des Grieux. While eluding their pursuers, Manon collapses and dies in his arms.
L'Éventail de Jeanne
L'Éventail de Jeanne (Jeanne's Fan) is a children's ballet choreographed in 1927 by Alice Bourgat and Yvonne Franck. The music is a collaborative work by ten French composers, each of whom contributed a stylised dance in classic form: Maurice Ravel (Fanfare) Pierre-Octave Ferroud (Marche) Jacques Ibert (Valse) Alexis Roland-Manuel (Canarie) Marcel Delannoy (Bourrée) Albert Roussel (Sarabande) Darius Milhaud (Polka) Francis Poulenc (Pastourelle) Georges Auric (Rondeau) Florent Schmitt (Finale: Kermesse-Valse) "Jeanne" refers to a Parisian hostess and patroness of the arts, Jeanne Dubost, who ran a children's ballet school. In the spring of 1927 she presented ten of her composer friends with leaves from her fan, asking each of them to write a little dance for her pupils. The children were dressed in fairytale costumes and the décor was enlivened by a set designed with mirrors. It was produced in private at Jeanne Dubost's Paris salon on 16 June 1927, with Maurice Ravel playing a piano transcription of the music. It had its public premiere at the Paris Opera on 4 March 1929, with the ten-year-old Tamara Toumanova dancing the lead role. This was the first performance of Darius Milhaud's music there and he was so annoyed to debut with a trifling work that he boycotted the performance. Excerpts have been recorded, particularly Ravel's Fanfare and Poulenc's Pastourelle. The first complete recording was made in 1984 by the Philharmonia Orchestra led by Geoffrey Simon.
L'Île Enchantée
L'Île Enchantée (literally, The Enchanted Island) is a ballet by Arthur Sullivan written as a divertissement at the end of Vincenzo Bellini's La Sonnambula and premiered in 1864 at Covent Garden. It was choreographed by Henri Desplaces.
L'île des pirates
The plot of L'île des pirates involves a young man in love with Mathilde played by Mlle Elssler, who is the fiancée of a pirate. Amid a backdrop of continual disguises, comings and goings, and romantic glances, the young man ultimately seeks to win her affection. With the aid of an entire fleet, he attempts to besiege the pirate's floating citadel and reclaim his beloved from the pirate.
La Bayadère
La Bayadère («Баядерка») is an 1877 ballet, originally staged in four acts and seven tableaux by the French choreographer Marius Petipa to music by Ludwig Minkus and libretto by. The ballet was staged for the benefit performance of the Russian Prima ballerina Ekaterina Vazem, who created the principal role of Nikiya. La Bayadère was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia, on. From the first performance the ballet was hailed by contemporary critics and audiences as one of the choreographer Petipa's masterpieces, particularly the scene of act II The Kingdom of the Shades, which is one of the most celebrated pieces in all of classical ballet. Nearly all modern versions of La Bayadère are derived from and Vakhtang Chabukiani's redacted version staged for the Kirov/Mariinsky Ballet in 1941 that has remained in the company's repertory to the present day. Outside of the Soviet Union, Natalia Makarova staged the first full-length production of La Bayadère in 1980 for American Ballet Theatre, a version that is itself derived from Ponomarev and Chabukiani's production of 1947.
La Création du monde
La Création du monde, Op. 81a, is a 15-minute-long ballet composed by Darius Milhaud in 1922–23 to a libretto by Blaise Cendrars, which outlines the creation of the world based on African folk mythology. The premiere took place on 25 October 1923 at Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris.
La Esmeralda
Plot outline based on the full synopsis translated by Professor Roland John Wiley: The beautiful Romani girl Esmeralda marries the poet Pierre Gringoire, to save him from death in the hands of the Romani king. The groom is smitten with his new bride, but she makes it clear that the marriage is strictly one of convenience. Gringoire is not the only one infatuated with Esmeralda, the archdeacon of Notre Dame cathedral, Claude Frollo, is dangerously obsessed with the girl and orders his deformed henchman, Quasimodo, to abduct her. When Quasimodo attacks Esmeralda in the street, she is rescued by the King's Archers, led by their handsome captain Phoebus de Chateaupers, who capture Quasimodo. They plan to torture him, but Esmeralda asks for his release. The hunchback is deeply touched by her kindness. Phoebus is enchanted by the girl and gives her a scarf that was given to him by his fiancée, Fleur de Lys. The next day, Fleur de Lys and her mother hold a grand celebration for her engagement to Phoebus, who is distracted by thoughts of Esmeralda. She arrives to entertain the guests, but is left heartbroken when she sees that Fleur de Lys' fiancé is none other than her beloved Phoebus. Fleur de Lys notices that Esmeralda is wearing the scarf that she gave to Phoebus and realising that he has fallen in love with another, angrily calls off the engagement. Phoebus leaves with Esmeralda. Alone in a tavern, the two declare their love for each other, unaware that the archdeacon Frollo is also there, eavesdropping on them. Taking a dagger that he stole from Esmeralda's room, Frollo sneaks up behind the lovers and stabs Phoebus, who falls unconscious to the ground. Frollo calls for the authorities, shows them the body of Phoebus and the dagger that was used to stab him, which is identified as Esmeralda's. The poor girl is taken away and sentenced to death. At dawn the following morning, the Festival of Fools is under way and Esmeralda is due to be hanged for the murder of Phoebus. Her friends and Gringoire are all present and bid her farewell, while Frollo watches in triumph. Just as Esmeralda is led to the gallows, Phoebus arrives alive and well, having survived and recovered from the stabbing. He reveals the true culprit to be Frollo and announces that Esmeralda is innocent of any crime. Frollo takes a dagger and attempts to do away with them, but Quasimodo wrests the dagger from his master and stabs him to death. Esmeralda and Phoebus are happily reunited.
La Fille de marbre
La Fille de marbre is a ballet-pantomime in 2 acts by Arthur Saint-Léon, with music by Cesare Pugni, premiered on 20 October 1847 at the Opéra de Paris. The main roles were held by Fanny Cerrito and Arthur Saint-Léon, who were making their debut at the Opéra de Paris. The ballet master Germain Quériau was also part of the cast. Théophile Gautier, an uncompromising critic, raised many improbabilities that did not prevent the public to give a triumphant welcome to the couple who would become famous.
La Fille du Danube
A romantic ballet about a supernatural maiden of the water, contrasted with the air-dwelling Sylph in La Sylphide.
La Fin du jour
A one-act ballet inspired by the style, fashion, and way of life of the 1930s, which MacMillan described as shattered by the Second World War. It is set to Maurice Ravel’s Piano Concerto in G.
La Forêt enchantée
In an old forest in Hungary, Ilka walks with her friends. Suddenly they are taken unawares by a storm. In the confusion Ilka is separated from her friends and cannot find her way out of the forest. As the storm rages on, she becomes frightened and falls faint. She is then discovered by dryads and other forest creatures who take delight in her beauty, but they frighten her upon awakening. The Genie of the Forest enters and soon falls in love with Ilka. With the aid of the forest creatures, the Genie begs Ilka to become his queen. Upon learning that she has a human fiancé, the Genie threatens her and she falls faint again. Mortals are now approaching and the forest creatures withdraw. Peasants find Ilka. Among them is Josy, her intended, to whom she recounts her experiences with the Genie of the Forest. The ballet ends with rejoicing and dances.
La Guiablesse
La Guiablesse is a 1927 ballet composition in nine-movements by American composer William Grant Still. The ballet was first performed in 1933 by Howard Hanson and Thelma Biracree at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and Ruth Page in Chicago, Illinois. The work is about nineteen minutes long.
La Guirlande de Campra
A ballet created for New York City Ballet to a 1952 collaborative score by seven composers, based on a theme from André Campra’s 1717 opera Camille, reine des Volsques. The article gives no further account of the ballet's action.
La Perle
In a vast grotto beneath the sea, the White Pearl lives with pearls of different colors. The Genie of the Earth tries to abduct her for his crown, and the King of the Corals defends her by setting the elements of earth and sea against one another. The Genie captures the White Pearl, and the ocean’s inhabitants salute them both. The finale depicts the triumph of Amphitrite and Poseidon.
La Prima Ballerina, ou L'embuscade
A one-act choreographic episode, based on a ballet Paul Taglioni created for London’s Ballet of Her Majesty’s Theatre.
La Péri
The world-weary Sultan Achmet sees a Persian fairy in an opium dream and falls in love with her. To test him, she becomes Leila, a runaway slave. Achmet is imprisoned when he refuses to surrender her to her owner; in the finale, the prison walls vanish and he is shown entering paradise with the Péri.
La Péri
Iskender travels to find the Flower of Immortality and encounters a Peri guarding it. He steals the flower, but Ormuzd transforms it into worldly desires. The Peri dances close enough to reclaim it and returns to Paradise; Iskender is left to die. The work is a one-act dance poem.
La Péri (Burgmüller)
The ballet, in two acts, three scenes, had a typically Romantic plot dealing with a mortal's love for a supernatural being. Gautier's scenario was inspired by his attraction to the Orient and was devised for his favorite ballerina, Carlotta Grisi, in the guise of a Persian fairy. She appears to the wealthy and world-weary Sultan Achmet, danced by Lucien Petipa, in one of his opium dreams, and he falls in love with her. To test his love, she takes the form of a runaway slave, Leila. Achmet is imprisoned for refusing to surrender her to her owner, but in an apotheosis the walls of his prison vanish and he is seen entering paradise with the Péri.
La Péri (Dukas)
At the end of his days of youth, the Magi having observed that his star had faded, Iskender travels throughout Iran in search of the Flower of Immortality. After three years of looking and wandering, he finally arrives at the Ends of the Earth, a place of utmost tranquility and calm. Iskender finds a temple to Ormuzd, and on its steps is a Peri. With a star flashing above her head and a lute in one hand, the Peri carries the Flower of Immortality, a lotus decorated with emeralds, in the other. Later, as the Peri is sleeping, Iskender steals the Flower, careful to avoid making noise so that she does not wake up. Immediately the Flower sparkles brightly in his hands, and when the Peri wakes up, she strikes her hands against each other and lets out a great cry, because without the Flower she cannot enter into the presence of the light of Ormuzd. Upon this realization, Iskender delights at the power he now seemingly has over the Peri. While in his hand, however, the Flower is transformed by Ormuzd to Iskender's earthly and material desires. This is a sign to the Peri that possession of the Flower is not intended for Iskender, and so she performs a dance, gradually coming closer and closer until she is able to wrest the Flower from him. As the Peri slowly disappears in the light and returns to Paradise, Iskender realizes with calmness that he has been stranded and left to die.
La Rose, la violette et le papillon
A rose and a violet both court a butterfly with their floral charms. The butterfly ultimately flies away rather than choosing between them.
La Sonnambula
At a masked ball in a decaying castle, a poet dances with a coquette, who leaves. He then meets and falls in love with a sleepwalker, secretly imprisoned by the host because she is his wife. The jealous coquette alerts the host; after the sleepwalker drifts away and guests return, the poet breaks through their dance but is stabbed by the host. The sleepwalker reappears, raises him, and they glide away together.
La Source
A New York City Ballet ballet using music from Léo Delibes’s La source and Sylvia. Balanchine expanded choreography from an earlier pas de deux and a 1965 divertissement into this final version.
La Sylphide
In the hall of a Scottish farmhouse, James Ruben, a young Scotsman, sleeps in a chair by the fireside. A sylph gazes lovingly upon him and dances about his chair. She kisses him and then vanishes when he suddenly wakes. James rouses his friend Gurn from sleep, and questions him about the sylph. Gurn denies having seen such a creature and reminds James that he is shortly to be married. James dismisses the incident and promises to forget it. James' bride-to-be, Effie, arrives with her mother and bridesmaids. James dutifully kisses her, but is startled by a shadow in the corner. Thinking his sylph has returned, he rushes over, only to find the witch, Old Madge, kneeling at the hearth to warm herself. James is furious with disappointment. Effie and her friends beg Old Madge to tell their fortunes, and the witch complies. She gleefully informs Effie that James loves someone else and she will be united with Gurn. James is furious. He forces Madge from the hearth and throws her out of the house. Effie is delighted that James would tangle with a witch for her sake. Effie and her bridesmaids hurry upstairs to prepare for the wedding, and James is left alone in the room. As he stares out the window, the sylph materializes before him and confesses her love. She weeps at his apparent indifference. James resists at first, but, captivated by her ethereal beauty, capitulates and kisses her tenderly. Gurn, who spies the moment from the shadows, scampers off to tell Effie what has happened. When the distressed Effie and her friends enter after hearing Gurn's report, the sylph disappears. The guests assume Gurn is simply jealous and laugh at him. Everyone dances. The sylph enters during the midst of the revelry and attempts to distract James. As the bridal procession forms, James stands apart and gazes upon the ring he is to place on Effie's finger. The Sylph snatches the ring, places it on her own finger, and, smiling enticingly, rushes into the forest. James hurries after her in ardent pursuit. The guests are bewildered with James' sudden departure. Effie is heartbroken. She falls into her mother's arms sobbing inconsolably. In a fog-shrouded part of the forest, Madge and her companion witches dance grotesquely about a cauldron. The revellers add all sorts of filthy ingredients to the brew. When the contents glow, Madge reaches into the cauldron and pulls a diaphanous, magic scarf from its depths. The cauldron then sinks, the witches scatter, the fog lifts, and a lovely glade is revealed. James enters with the sylph, who shows him her charming woodland realm. She brings him berries and water for refreshment but avoids his embrace. To cheer him, she summons her ethereal sisters who shyly enter and perform their airy dances. The young Scotsman is delighted and joins the divertissement before all flee for another part of the forest. Meanwhile, the wedding guests have been searching the woodland for James. They enter the glade. Gurn finds his hat, but Madge convinces him to say nothing. Effie enters, weary with wandering about the forest. Madge urges Gurn to propose. He does and Effie accepts his proposal. When they all have left, James enters the glade. Madge meets him, and tosses him the magic scarf. She tells the young farmer the scarf will bind the sylph to him so she cannot fly away. She instructs him to wind the scarf about the sylph's shoulders and arms for full effect. James is ecstatic. When the sylph returns and sees the scarf, she allows James to place it around her trembling form. As James embraces the sylph passionately, her wings fall off, she shudders, and dies in James' arms. Sorrowfully, her sisters enter and lift her lifeless form. Suddenly, a joyful wedding procession led by Effie and Gurn crosses the glade. James is stunned. James directs his gaze heavenward; he sees the sylph borne aloft by her sisters. James collapses. Madge exults over his lifeless body. She has triumphed.
La Tarentule
In La Tarentule, Luigi suffers a bite from a venomous tarantula, and his only hope for a cure lies with Dr. Omeopatica, who demands Luigi's lover, Lauretta, in exchange for the remedy. To save Luigi, Lauretta reluctantly agrees, but she secretly devises a plan to outwit the doctor. As her plot unfolds, the lovers successfully reunite, and Dr. Omeopatica, thwarted, is ultimately sent back to his wife.
La Tulipe de Haarlem
A fantastic ballet in three acts and four scenes, choreographed by Lev Ivanov to music by Boris Fitinhof-Schell.
La Valse
La Valse is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Maurice Ravel's Valses Nobles et Sentimentales and La Valse. It premiered on February 20, 1951, at the City Center of Music and Drama, performed by the New York City Ballet. The ballet depicts dancers waltzing in a ballroom, during which a woman becomes attracted to a figure of death, and ultimately dies.
La Vestale
La Vestale (en. The Vestal) is a grand ballet in three acts and four scenes with choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Mikhail Ivanov. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.
La Vivandière
A one-act ballet centered on Kathi, a vivandière, and Hans, with a six-dancer pas de six excerpt later reconstructed from Saint-Léon's notation. The article does not describe the full ballet's plot.
La Vivandière or Markitenka
La Vivandière (or Markitenka, as it is known in Russia) is a ballet in one act with choreography by Arthur Saint-Léon and Fanny Cerrito, and music by Cesare Pugni. The ballet was first presented on 23 May 1844 by the Ballet of Her Majesty's Theatre, London, England. The principal dancers were Fanny Cerrito (as Kathi, the Vivandière) and Arthur Saint-Léon (as Hans).
La boîte à joujoux
A toy soldier falls in love with a doll, but the quarrelsome Polichinelle refuses to give her up. During a battle, he wounds the soldier and then renounces the doll. She nurses the soldier, falls in love with him, and they marry. The seven sections move from the sleeping toy-box and toyshop through battle, a sheepfold for sale, fortune, and an epilogue.
La fille mal gardée (Ashton)
Lise and Colas love each other, but her mother, Widow Simone, wants her to marry the wealthy Alain. After a storm separates Alain from the others, the lovers are briefly reunited in the farmhouse, where Colas hides in Lise's room. Alain finds them there and his father tears up the marriage contract. Simone accepts Lise and Colas, while Alain returns for his umbrella.
La flûte magique
A one-act ballet comique choreographed by Lev Ivanov to music by Riccardo Drigo.
La revue de cuisine
Kitchen utensils enact a comic love triangle: Pot is tempted away from Lid by Twirling Stick, while Dishcloth attracts Lid and faces a duel with Broom. Pot tires of Twirling Stick and longs for Lid, who has disappeared. An enormous foot kicks Lid back onstage; Pot and Lid reconcile, and Twirling Stick leaves with Dishcloth.
La somnambule, ou L'arrivée d'un nouveau seigneur
La somnambule is a ballet-pantomime composed by Ferdinand Hérold and premiered on 19 September 1827 at the Académie Royale de Musique. The scenario was by Eugène Scribe, and it was choreographed by Jean-Pierre Aumer. This ballet was produced in 1827 at the height of a fashion for stage works incorporating somnambulism. The work was quite popular in Paris and inspired many more works incorporating somnambulism, including Vincenzo Bellini's well-known Italian opera La sonnambula. Although the work was unperformed for over 150 years and remains unpublished, it was rediscovered and recorded under the direction of conductor Richard Bonynge, and released in 2005.
La source (Saint-Léon)
Act 1. On her way to marry the Khan of Ghendjib, the beautiful Nouredda and her accompanying party rest by a stream in a rocky desert. When Nouredda admires a flower which is growing in an inaccessible spot, Djémil, a young hunter, climbs up and picks it for her. Nouredda is thrilled and asks him to state whatever he wishes as his reward. He asks her to lift her veil so that he can see her face: in fury she orders that he be tied up and left to his fate. However, the nymph Naïla rescues him; she is in love with him and promises to help him win the hand of Nouredda. Act 2. In the grand palace gardens, where the court of Khan is awaiting Nouredda's arrival, entertainment is offered to the guests: a solo for the favourites and a dance for Circassian slaves. A fanfare proclaims a visitor, incognito (Djémil), who proffers presents for the Khan and his bride. The visitor asks Nouredda to choose any of the gifts and she selects a jewelled flower. Djémil throws it on the ground and magically a spring gushes forth from this spot and Naïla emerges from the fountain. She dances, entrancing the Khan, who kneels in front of her and he implores her to become his wife. She consents, provided he dismisses Nouredda, who angrily goes off as the Khan leads Naïla inside the palace. Act 3. Djémil can now pursue Nouredda but she still rejects him; so he appeals to Naïla, who says that if he gets Nouredda to love him she herself will die. Djémil agrees, and as he departs with Nouredda, Naïla disappears back into the earth and the spring dries up.
La tragédie de Salomé
A symbolic portrayal of Salomé unfolds through a series of dances revealing different aspects of her personality. In this version she is an obedient young woman dancing at her mother's request, rather than a woman in love with John the Baptist or seeking his death.
Lamentation
Lamentation is a modern dance solo choreographed by Martha Graham to Zoltán Kodály's 1910 Piano Piece, Op. 3, No. 2. One of Graham's signature works, it premiered on January 8, 1930 at Maxine Elliott's Theatre in New York City. The performance was part of a concert staged by the Dance Repertory Theatre, a group that included dancer/choreographers Doris Humphrey, Charles Weidman and Helen Tamiris. Their stated goal was "to give annually a season of continuous dance programs which will be representative of the art of dance in America and will give native artists an outlet for their creative work."
Land Be Bright
Land Be Bright is a modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Arthur Kreutz with a set and costumes by Charlotte Trowbridge. The unabashedly patriotic piece premiered on March 14, 1942, at Chicago's Civic Opera House. The original cast included Graham and members of the Martha Graham Dance Company.
Las Hermanas
A one-act ballet for Stuttgart Ballet, loosely based on Federico García Lorca's play The House of Bernarda Alba and set to Frank Martin's 1952 Harpsichord Concerto.
Laurencia
In a Spanish village, the Commander desires Laurencia, who loves Frondoso. When the Commander tries to abduct her, Frondoso protects her; his soldiers later seize Jacinta and punish Mengo. Laurencia consents to marry Frondoso, but the Commander arrests him and takes her to his castle. Laurencia rallies the village men and women to rebel. They storm the castle, free Frondoso, and kill the tyrant.
Le Baiser de la fée
Le Baiser de la fée (The Fairy's Kiss) is a neoclassical ballet in one act and four scenes composed by Igor Stravinsky in 1928 and revised in 1950 for George Balanchine and the New York City Ballet. Based on Hans Christian Andersen's short story Isjomfruen (English: The Ice-Maiden), the work is an homage to Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, for the 35th anniversary of the composer's death. Stravinsky elaborated several melodies from early piano pieces and songs by Tchaikovsky in his score. A commission by Ida Rubinstein from 1927, the ballet was choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and premiered in Paris on 27 November 1928. In 1937, Balanchine made a full-length ballet for his American Ballet, which premiered on 27 April, at the Old Metropolitan Opera House, New York City. His 1950 version premiered on 28 November, at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, at which time it was presented under the English translation of the title, The Fairy's Kiss (the original French title is now more commonly used by English-speakers). In 1960 Kenneth MacMillan choreographed his own version for The Royal Ballet.
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme refers to two different ballets by George Balanchine set to Richard Strauss's Concert Suite (1917), with a libretto after Molière's 17th-century comédie-ballet of the same name. The first Balanchine Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme ballet was produced in 1932 by the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo. In 1979, Balanchine (with the assistance of Jerome Robbins) created all-new choreography (who at the time was 41 years old).
Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme (Balanchine, 1932)
A neoclassical ballet created for the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo, set to Richard Strauss's Concert Suite and based on Molière's comédie-ballet.
Le Bœuf sur le toit
Le Bœuf sur le toit (literally "the ox on the roof"), Op. 58 is a 15-minute piece for small orchestra by the composer Darius Milhaud, written in 1919–20. Milhaud conceived the piece as incidental music for any one of the comic silent films of Charlie Chaplin, but it received its premiere as the music for a ballet staged by Jean Cocteau in February 1920.
Le Conservatoire, or A Marriage by Advertisement
The first act recreates the kind of dance class Bournonville attended at the Paris Conservatoire. In the second, Monsieur Dufour, a Conservatoire inspector, places a matrimonial advertisement but ends up marrying his housekeeper, Mademoiselle Bonjour. The students disguise themselves as attractive women to fool him, with divertissements woven into the action.
Le Corsaire
Scene 1 – A Bazaar in a Seaport Square; Slave girls are among the goods for sale. Corsairs (pirates) arrive with their leader, Conrad. Watching the scene from a balcony is a young woman, Medora, the ward of the bazaar owner, Lankendem. She fashions a coded message into a bouquet of flowers, which she throws to Conrad. Later, when Medora and Lankendem go to the square, she and Conrad exchange loving glances. At this point, Seyd Pasha, a rich buyer of slave girls, arrives in the square. Seeing Medora, he is smitten and asks to buy her. Lankendem initially refuses, but as Seyd Pasha raises his price Lankendem eventually relents. Seyd Pasha orders that Medora be delivered to his palace and leaves. Conrad promises Medora that he and his corsairs will rescue her. The corsairs begin to dance with the slave girls. At a signal from Conrad the corsairs all run off with the girls. For good measure, they also kidnap Lankendem. Scene 2 – The Corsair's Den; Medora asks Conrad to release the women slaves. To this he agrees. However, one of his men – Birbanto – objects and begins a fight. Conrad subdues him. Meanwhile, Lankendem tries to escape. The corsairs who are opposed to Conrad's release of the women convince Lankendem to stay long enough to give Conrad a flower sprayed with a sleeping potion. Later, at dinner, Medora dances for Conrad. Lankendem gives her the flower with the sleeping potion, asking that she give it to Conrad. She does this, and when he smells the flower he falls asleep. Corsairs surround Medora, threatening her. Defensively, she stabs Birbanto in the arm and faints into the arms of the corsairs, who take her away. Conrad awakens and sets out to recapture Medora. Scene 3 – Harem at the Palace of Seyd Pasha; The Sultana Zulina demands that the Odalisques (female concubines of the harem) respect her. For this, she is mocked by harem slave Gulnare and her friends. Seyd Pasha enters. Gulnare teases him flirtatiously in dance, and he gives her a handkerchief. She makes fun of him by passing the handkerchief around the group of women. Seyd Pasha is furious. His Keeper of the Harem attempts to distract and calm him with dancing performances by the girls. Lankendem arrives, leading Medora in delivery of her sale to Seyd Pasha. She begs Seyd Pasha for her freedom and also complains of mistreatment by Lankendem. Gulnare comforts her. Seyd Pasha offers Medora jewels, which she refuses. The Corsairs enter, disguised as robed members of a religious order. They act embarrassed at the sight of the concubines of the harem. Seyd Pasha orders the women of the harem to dance for the entertainment of his guests. Conrad, in his disguise, recognizes Medora. The corsairs throw off their disguises and threaten Seyd Pasha with daggers. The Corsairs begin pillaging the palace. Gulnare rushes in, pursued by Birbanto. Medora recognizes Birbanto as her kidnapper and informs Conrad. She demonstrates the identification by pointing out the wound she inflicted on Birbanto's arm. Medora prevents Conrad from killing Birbanto, who then runs away. Seyd Pasha's guards enter and attack the corsairs, capturing them including Conrad. Seyd Pasha sentences Conrad to death. Scene 4 – Seyd Pasha's Private Room at the Palace; Seyd Pasha proposes to Medora, who refuses him. As Conrad is led to his execution, Medora begs Seyd Pasha to pardon him. He agrees on the condition that she freely submit to him. He leaves the room as she considers the offer. Conrad is able to run to her; she informs him of the deal she must make to have him freed. Conrad objects and talks her out of the offer. They resolve to die together. At this point Gulnare, who is in love with Seyd Pasha, approaches the two and proposes a plan to secretly switch places with Medora in the wedding. Seyd Pasha returns to the room where after assurances from Medora he orders Conrad to be freed and the marriage ceremony to commence. Later, as the wedding procession approaches, the bride enters covered in a veil. Seyd Pasha places a ring on the bride's finger in marriage, and the odalisques dance. After the wedding, Seyd Pasha is alone with Medora. As she dances for him, she tells him that the pistol on his belt scares her and asks that he give it to her. He complies. She then asks for his dagger, and he hands that over also. She continues to dance to evade him. As he kneels before her and begs for her love, he hands her his handkerchief. Acting as if playfully joking, she ties his hands with the handkerchief. At this point Conrad enters the room. He and Medora threaten Seyd Pasha, warning him not to raise a cry of alarm. They escape. Gulnare rushes into the room and unties Seyd Pasha. She shows him the ring on her finger and reveals it was she whom he had married. Scene 5 – Corsair Ship at Sea; At first the sea is calm. Birbanto is in chains. On Medora's pleas, Conrad releases him. As a storm arises, Birbanto tries to sow dissatisfaction among the crew. Conrad throws him overboard. The ship runs aground. The sea calms. Conrad and Medora are seen climbing safely on to land together.
Le Cygne
Pierrot has happened across Leda bathing in the river Eurotas. He falls in love with her, and returns at dawn the next day hoping to catch sight of her again. A little faun, seeing the boy's sadness, offers him wine, fruits, and flowers, and summons nymphs and dryads from the adjoining laurel grove. They dance round him while he plays on a pipe, but he remains inconsolable. When music is heard in the distance announcing the arrival of Leda, with her attendants, he drives away the nymphs, dryads, and faun, and conceals himself among the flowers. Leda prepares for her morning bath, expressing the hope that she will again meet the beautiful swan – Zeus in disguise – who often meets her at this spot. She and her women undress and plunge into the river; the swan appears, gliding towards Leda. The attendants raise their cloaks to hide from view the embrace with which the queen welcomes the bird; but Pierrot has seen all, and, furious with jealousy, he strikes the swan with his stick, inflicting a mortal wound, from which the bird soon dies, singing before he expires. Struck with remorse, Pierrot runs to hide himself in the laurel grove, but Leda wounds him with an arrow. She then orders her attendants to place the swan on a litter of branches and flowers; the funeral procession moves off, leaving Pierrot alone, weeping despairingly. The faun returns and advises him to impersonate the swan. He is white like his dead rival, and his wide sleeves resemble wings. If the moon goddess Selene would only bring on a momentary eclipse of the sun the deception could be easily carried out. The sky darkens; Leda and her women return, and are astonished when another swan comes gliding on the river towards the queen. Night comes on suddenly, but soon daylight returns, and in a final apotheosis there appear huge eggs, from which hatch three little Pierrots with swans' wings on their backs.
Le Diable amoureux
Le Diable amoureux (also known as Satanella or Love and Hell) is a ballet-pantomime in three acts and eight scenes, originally choreographed by Joseph Mazilier to the music of Napoléon Henri Reber and François Benoist. The libretto by Jules-Henri Vernoy de Saint-Georges is based on Jacques Cazotte's 1772 occult romance The Devil in Love. The work was first presented by the Ballet of the Royal Academy of Music (Paris Opera Ballet) in Paris on 23 September 1840, with Pauline Leroux (as Uriel), Mazilier (as Alvaro, for ballet his name is Frederic), and Louise Fitz-James (as Lilia).
Le Diable boiteux
Le Diable boiteux is a ballet in three acts by Jean Coralli, with music by Casimir Gide, which premiered on 1 June 1836 at the Paris Opera. The main roles were played by Fanny Elssler, Joseph Mazilier, Amélie Legallois, Pauline Leroux and Jean-Baptiste Barrez. Loosely inspired by the novel of the same name by Lesage, this ballet was the first great success of Coralli who had, until then, mainly re-edited the ballets of other authors. The cachucha performed by Fanny Elssler was a sensational success.
Le Diable à quatre
Le Diable à quatre is a ballet in two acts and three scenes (or in three acts), with choreography by Joseph Mazilier, music by Adolphe Adam, and libretto by Adolphe de Leuven, first presented by the Ballet of the Académie Royale de Musique on 11 August 1845, with Carlotta Grisi (as Mazourka) and Lucien Petipa (as Count Polinski).
Le Dieu bleu
The curtain rises on a warm evening in India, centuries in the past. In front of a rock temple, a pool is seen with a lotus on the surface of the water. Snakes, tortoises, and other animals rest near the pool. The temple walls are covered with masses of flowering plants. A crowd is waiting for a ceremony to begin. The Young Man is about to become a priest of the temple. The Young Girl runs in and kneels at his feet. She does not want him to desert her for the priesthood and dances before him. The priests are shocked and lead The Young Man away while The Young Girl is prepared for death. The gates are shut. The Young Girl tries to escape, but monsters rise from a place beneath a trap door. The Goddess rises from the lotus. The Blue God rises from the pool, and calms the monsters with his flute. The monsters are trapped by the masses of plants. The Blue God's work is done. The priests enter. They are surprised to see The Young Girl still alive and fall on their knees before her. The Young Man rejoins The Young Girl. The Goddess orders a golden staircase to descend from the heavens. The Blue God flies up the staircase and disappears into the clouds.
Le Lys
A three-act, four-scene ballet by Arthur Saint-Léon with music by Ludwig Minkus and Léo Delibes; Minkus adapted music from Saint-Léon's 1866 La Source.
Le Miroir Magique
The Magic Mirror (Le Miroir Magique) is a ballet-féerie in four acts and seven scenes, originally choreographed by Marius Petipa with music by Arseny Koreshchenko. The libretto is based on the 1812 fairy tale Snow White by the Brothers Grimm and the 1833 poem The Tale of the Dead Princess and the Seven Knights by Alexander Pushkin. The ballet was premièred on the at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia.
Le Pavillon d'Armide
Le Pavillon d'Armide is a ballet in one act and three scenes choreographed by Michel Fokine with music by Nikolai Tcherepnin to a libretto by Alexandre Benois. It was inspired by the novella Omphale by Théophile Gautier.
Le Poisson doré
Le Poisson doré (The Golden Fish) (ru: Золотая рыбка; a.k.a. Zolotaia Ribka) is a "fantastic ballet" in 4 acts/6 scenes with prologue and epilogue. The choreography was by Arthur Saint-Léon, and the music by Ludwig Minkus.
Le Roi Candaule
ACT 1 Scene 1 - A forest glade. In the background is the cave of Pythia of Sardis The kings and people of Lydia come to this spot to question the oracle as to the future. At the rise of the curtain, peasants, shepherds and shepherdesses come to rest on the grass after their toil. Among them is a shepherd called Gyges, who plays on his pipe and induces the company to dance. Near him is his betrothed, Clytia, who looks at him tenderly. Gradually the light fades. The peasants look fearfully at the cave and take their departure. Night falls. Follows the hooting of owls and the whistling of bats. Pythia emerges from the cave amid clouds of smoke and, knowing that King Candaules is about to consult her, commands everyone to leave. King Candaules enters, escorted by his followers. Gyges, whom the king encountered in the forest, acts as his guide. He informs the King that if he wishes to consult the oracle, he must strike the shield that hangs beside Pythia's cave. Gyges and the King's attendants retire. Candaules strikes the shield and Pythia appears. He entreats her to cast his future. She tells him that he kidnapped the true king in his infancy, placed him in the forest at the mercy of wild beasts and seized the crown himself. Candaules, alarmed, protests that she is mistaken. Pythia offers to retract her words if he will submit to the judgement of Heaven. She raises her arms in readiness, but Candaules, afraid, implies his guilt. Then Pythia informs him that the true king lives and will seize his throne and power. Candaules swears to kill the king if he be alive. Pythia bids Candaules walk in fear of the gods. Owls appear carrying in their claws a roll of papyrus, which predicts that Candaules will die an unnatural death. Terrified, he flees into the forest. Gyges returns and is surprised no to find the King, but Pythia takes him by the hand, bids him put on the armour left by Candaules and foretells that he will soon be king. Gyges obeys her and, becoming conscious of his destiny, waves his sword and disappears into the forest. Scene 2 - King Candaules's camp on the borders of Libya and Misia. There are numerous tents with the King's abode in the centre. In the distance are mountains. Night There is considerable activity. Sentries are being changed, soldiers are furbishing armour and officers are passing in and out of the King's tent for their orders. The flap is thrown back and Candaules emerges. His Queen, Nisia, with the aid of her women, put on armour. She is attended by Amazons and, under her direction, warlike games are played; meanwhile, Candaules's warriors practise the testudo. The games end and silence reigns. Suddenly, a messenger gives a warning of a night attack. Candaules orders everyone to be on the alert and a warrior, Gyges, is placed at the entrance of the tent. In the half-darkness, troops can be seen creeping along the ground. The surprise the guards and gradually near the King's tent. Then the enemy leap to their feet and begin to destroy the tents. They are impressed by the splendour of the King's tent, which Gyges forbids them to enter. Nisia raises the flap and faces the enemy. Two of her assailants endeavour to capture the Queen, but Gyges cuts them down. Other soldiers attack Gyges, who is almost overcome when a party of Candaule's men come to the rescue, led by the King. Seeing his wife in Gyges's arms, Candaules takes the warrior for an enemy and rushes upon him with an upraised dagger, but Nisia explains that Gyges has saved her life. Candaules thanks Gyges warmly and announces that henceforth, he shall rank next to him. Everyone does homage to Gyges, who, however, cannot accustom himself to this high honour. ACT 2 An arena with a triumphal arch. In the background is a statue of Venus Victrix. On either side are tiers of seats with places of honour for the King and Queen and their suite Citizens of all rank, carrying laurel wreaths and flowers, are seen arriving to greet the King, whose approach is heralded by fanfares. The Lydian warriors enter through the arch, followed by captive chiefs in chains and captive soldiers of various nations. The rear of the procession is formed by the notables of Lydia, and a gold chariot drawn by slaves. In this chariot are King Candaules, Gyges and the principal ministers. Nisia follows on a magnificently accoutred elephant. She is surrounded by girls who rain down flowers. The triumphal procession stops at the centre of the arena. The nobles offer their King the keys of his capital, then the captives are paraded before him. Finally, Candaules, accompanied by Nisia, takes his seat and the festival begins. First, there is a dance by nymphs, bayadères and graces. Just before the dance ends, a Lydian representing a sunflower and surrounded by other dancers representing roses and forget-me-nots treads a measure. Nisia is entreated to take part and represent Venus. At first, she refuses, then consents. A new dance begins in which Nisia, cupids, nymphs and sylphs take part. Everyone does homage to the new Venus and Candaules, drunk with pride, declares his consort to be the true Venus. Nisia declines these compliments, but Candaules orders the statue of Venus to be removed from its pedestal and Nisia lifted in its place. Candaules and his courtiers acclaim her as a goddess. The warriors present arms and the women strew flowers at her feet. All at once, the sky grows dark and the priests and people look away in fear, while Candaules, in his arrogance, seems to defy the powers of Heaven. ACT 3 The Queen's bathing-place. Splendid tables are laid with gold dishes. In the background is a bathing-pool of pink and while marble, adorned with a fountain and surrounded with flowers Nisia is seen standing beneath a curtain and attended by female slaves. They dress her hair and remove her jewels. Others hold up a mirror in which she admires herself. To the music of harps, the slaves take up a series of attitudes and afterwards, Nisia dances. During the last group, a curtain falls and masks the bathing-pool. The Queen's ladies enter and prepare to receive her. Nisia arrives, splendidly attired and attended by many slaves. The arrival of Candaules is announced. He kneels before the Queen whom he has elevated to a goddess. He is surrounded by the women who attempt to fascinate him. Suddenly, Gyges runs in distraught, for he is the bearer of evil news. He is followed by the priests of Venus who demand an audience with the King. Candaules, alarmed, orders them to be admitted. The priests are afraid, for Venus has already given signs of her displeasure, since hunger, pestilence and other miseries have fallen on the land and are spreading throughout Lydia. The King asks the High Priest how the goddess can be appeased. He replies that the goddess insists that Nisia shall be punished by being forced the renounce her title of Queen. Nisia is terrified and the King refuses the demand. Then the Priest warns him to beware of the anger of the gods. The sky darkens, thunder rolls, lightning flashes and the tremor of an earthquake is felt. Candaules induces Nisia to renounce her title and she flings her gold circlet to the ground. The King falls on his knees and swears eternal love. The sky clears and the Priest returns thanks to Heaven, but Nisia looks contemptuously at Candaules and seeks consolation from her women. ACT 4 Scene 1 - The bedchamber of King Candaules The King is seen asleep on a couch. Nisia sits beside a table on which rests his crown. She gazes sadly on this symbol of earthly power, conscious of the gloomy future that lies before her. Then she looks at Candaules, the cause of her fall. In her anger, she menaces the sleeping King. At the same moment, a curtain parts and Pythia appears, bearing a golden cup. She tells Nisia that it contains poison and urges her to satisfy her revenge, for Gyges will marry her and she will again become a Queen. A vision of Gyges is seen at the far end of the room. Candaules awakes and Pythia disappears. Courtiers enter, including Gyges. All pass by Nisia without noticing her, save only Gyges who bows before her as usual. Nisia conceals her displeasure, but vows vengeance, Candaules, still in love with his wife, tries to calm her. He asks her to dance for him. She consents, but asks him to send everyone away, since she is a slave now and only he may see her dance. At Candaules's command, the courtiers retire. Nisia dances and soon captivates the amorous king. He tries to embrace her, but she eludes him. Meanwhile, Pythia watches behind a curtain and points to the poisoned cup. Nisia takes it and presents it to Candaules with averted eyes. The King drains the cup. He feels the effects of the poison and strikes a gong, but Pythia appears. As Candaules writhes in the throes of death, Gyges and his courtiers rush in. Gyges goes to help the King, but Pythia forces him to confess that Gyges is the rightful monarch. Gyges takes the King's crown and presents it to Nisia who, surprised, looks at Pythia, who reminds her of her prediction. Scene 2 - A hall in the palace of King Candaules. On the terrace is a table laid with gold dishes. The hall is lit with bronze scones A betrothal feast is in progress, for Gyges has become King of Lydia and is to wed Nisia. Courtiers and nobles are present. The priests enter to conduct the marriage ceremony. They bring a sacrificial table. Gyges, crowned, leads his bride towards the table, places a hand over the holy flame and takes a vow. Nisia does the same, but the flame expires and there is a clap of thunder. The people are astonished at this portent and the priests withdraw from the table. Gyges, enraptured with Nisia, ignores the warning, takes the Queen towards the gardens and commands the festival to begin. The proceedings open with the Dance of Diana, in which Endymion and a satyr take part. Slaves wait on the guests who are reclining at the tables and fill their cups with wine.
Le Réveil de Flore
At night, Diana guards the sleeping Flora and her nymphs. The cold north wind Aquilon awakens them; Flora seeks help from Aurora, who promises Apollo's arrival. Apollo appears, falls for Flora, and summons Zephyr, Flora's beloved, with Cupid and the little Loves. Mercury brings Hebe and Ganymede, who offer nectar and announce the gods' gift of eternal youth. A procession and grand dance lead to an apotheosis on Olympus.
Le Spectre de la rose
Music by Carl Maria von Weber, orchestrated by Hector Berlioz. The curtain rises on a girl's bedroom. The Young Girl comes into the room dressed in a white bonnet and ball gown. She has returned to her home after her first ball. She holds a rose as a souvenir of the evening. She drops into a chair and falls asleep. The rose falls from her fingers to the floor. The Spirit of the Rose is seen at the window. He steps to the floor and nears The Young Girl. Still asleep, she rises and dances with him. He leads her back to the chair, kisses her, then leaps through the window and into the night. The Young Girl awakes and rises. She picks up the rose she dropped and kisses it. The curtain falls.
Le Tombeau de Couperin
Le Tombeau de Couperin is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Ravel's eponymous suite. It features a cast of sixteen divided into two groups, dancing separately. The score, which references 18th-century dances, was first choreographed by the Ballets suédois in the 1920s. Balanchine's version of Le Tombeau de Couperin was made for the New York City Ballet's Ravel Festival, celebrating the composer's centenary, and premiered on May 29, 1975, at the New York State Theater.
Le Tombeau de Couperin (Balanchine)
Eight couples form two quadrilles that dance separately, with no principal roles. The ballet pairs these formal group dances with Ravel's orchestral tribute to François Couperin and French music; Balanchine described it as the dancers moving to Ravel's score.
Le chant du rossignol
The real Nightingale sings for the Chinese Emperor, who is pleased. A mechanical nightingale arrives and captivates the court, so the real bird flies away. When illness brings the Emperor near death, the Nightingale returns and persuades Death to spare him. The courtiers find the Emperor recovered, while the bird returns to nature.
Le jeune homme et la mort
Le Jeune Homme et la Mort is a ballet by Roland Petit, choreographed in 1946 to Bach's Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 582, with a one-act libretto by Jean Cocteau. It tells the story of a young man driven to suicide by his faithless lover. Sets were by Georges Wakhévitch and costumes variously reported as being by Karinska or Cocteau. Petit is purported to have created Le Jeune Homme et la Mort for his wife-to-be Zizi Jeanmaire, but it was danced by Jean Babilée and Nathalie Philippart at its 25 June 1946 premiere at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées with costumes by Tom Keogh. In 1951, Petit staged the ballet at American Ballet Theatre. In 1966, he filmed the ballet in France with Rudolf Nureyev and Zizi Jeanmaire. Le Jeune Homme et la Mort was revived by Mikhail Baryshnikov at the American Ballet Theatre in 1975 and in the 1985 movie White Nights, in arrangements by Petit for Baryshnikov. It has been in the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet since 1990 and was danced at its premiere there by Kader Belarbi. It has also been danced by the Ballet National de Marseilles (1984), the Berlin Opera Ballet (1985), the Boston Ballet (1998), the Bolshoi Ballet (2009), the Mariinsky Ballet (late 1990s, revival 2012) and the English National Ballet (2018).
Le papillon
In Circassia, Farfalla, the Emir's daughter, serves the old fairy Hamza, who hopes to become young by receiving a prince's kiss. After Prince Djalma kisses Farfalla, Hamza transforms her into a butterfly. Djalma discovers her identity and brings her to the Emir's palace, where Hamza intercepts a kiss meant for Farfalla and becomes young. She later turns Farfalla back into a butterfly, but Farfalla's wings burn at a torch and she returns to human form. Hamza's sisters break her magic crutch and turn her into a statue, leaving Djalma and Farfalla free to marry.
Le pas d'acier
Originally conceived as a celebration of Soviet industrialization, with scenes of speculators, sailors, and workers at a station, market, and factory. A factory scene centers on a romance between a sailor and a young woman worker. The scenario changed before the 1927 production, which included Russian-folklore scenes.
Le train bleu
Le train bleu is a one-act ballet choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska to music by Darius Milhaud for Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, based on a scenario by Jean Cocteau. The title was taken from the night train called Le Train Bleu, which transported wealthy passengers from Calais to the Mediterranean Sea. The ballet is set on the fashionable French Riviera and has a sporting theme, with swimmers, tennis players, and weight lifters. Henri Laurens supplied a Cubist beach scene and Coco Chanel outfitted the cast in sportswear. The curtain was painted after Deux femmes courant sur la plage, a 1922 work by Pablo Picasso. The ballet was first performed on 20 June 1924 at the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées in Paris, with Nijinska, who played a tennis player based on Suzanne Lenglen, Lydia Sokolova, Anton Dolin and Leon Woizikovsky in the leading roles. The orchestra was conducted by André Messager.
Lenox Avenue
A ballet adaptation of Still's orchestral work about Harlem street life, structured around episodes titled The Crap Game, The Flirtation, The Fight, The Law, dances, a philosopher, a mission, a rent party, an orator, and a finale.
Les Animaux modèles
Les Animaux modèles, FP 111, is a ballet dating from 1940 to 1942 with music by Francis Poulenc. It was the third and final ballet that he composed and was staged at the Paris Opéra in 1942, with choreography by Serge Lifar, who also danced in the 1942 premiere. The themes of the ballet are drawn from the Fables of Jean de La Fontaine.
Les Aventures de Pélée
A three-act, five-scene ballet based on the Greek myth of Thetis and the circumstances of her marriage to the mortal Peleus, arranged by Jupiter.
Les Biches
Les Biches (The Hinds or The Does, or The Darlings) is a one-act ballet to music by Francis Poulenc, choreographed by Bronislava Nijinska and premiered by the Ballets Russes on 6 January 1924 at the Salle Garnier in Monte Carlo. Nijinska danced the central role of the Hostess. The ballet has no story, and depicts the random interactions of a group of mainly young people in a house party on a summer afternoon. The ballet was seen in Paris and London within a year of its premiere, and has been frequently revived there; it was not produced in New York until 1950. Nijinska directed revivals of the ballet for several companies in the four decades after its creation. Les Biches, with recreations of Marie Laurencin's original costumes and scenery, remains in the repertoire of the Paris Opera Ballet, the Royal Ballet and other companies. The music has been used for later ballets, although they have not followed Nijinska's in gaining a place in the regular repertoire. The music for the original ballet contains three choral numbers. Poulenc made the choral parts optional when he revised the score in 1939–1940, and the work is usually given with wholly orchestral accompaniment. The composer extracted a five-movement suite from the score, for concert performance. The suite has been recorded for LP and CD from the 1950s onwards.
Les Deux Pigeons
Les Deux Pigeons is a ballet originally choreographed in two acts by Louis Mérante to music by André Messager. The libretto by Mérante and Henri de Régnier is based on the fable The Two Pigeons by Jean de La Fontaine. The work was first performed at the Paris Opéra on 18 October 1886. The premiere cast included Rosita Mauri as Gourouli and Marie Sanlaville as Pépio. Frederick Ashton later created a new ballet to Messager's music under the title The Two Pigeons.
Les Fêtes Chinoises
A large-scale ballet of dance tableaux depicting a Chinese festival, including a character march, rows of dancers moving like waves, and a concluding contredanse. The spectacle ends with the dancers concealed as vases rise to form a china cabinet.
Les Gentilhommes
A ballet for nine men set to Handel's Concerti grossi, Op. 6, Nos. 9 and 2. It unfolds through three trios of contrasting moods, with ensemble sections before and after, and ends with a solo.
Les Mariés de la tour Eiffel
The story of the ballet is somewhat nonsensical: The new couple have a wedding breakfast on Bastille Day (July 14) at a table on one of the platforms of the famous tower. A guest makes a pompous speech. When a humpbacked photographer bids everyone to "watch the birdie," it appears that a telegraph office suddenly springs into existence on the platform. A lion comes in and eats one of the guests for breakfast and a strange figure called "a child of the future" appears and kills everybody. Nevertheless, the ballet concludes with the end of the wedding. When asked what the ballet was about, Cocteau replied: "Sunday vacuity; human beastliness, ready-made expressions, disassociation of ideas from flesh and bone, ferocity of childhood, the miraculous poetry of everyday life." On 29 July 1923, in a letter, Francis Poulenc described the work as "toujours de la merde... hormis l'Ouverture d'Auric" ("yet more shit... apart from Auric's Overture").
Les Masques, ou Changement de dames
At a masked ball, a man and his companion meet another couple, who turn out to be his wife and her lover. After partners change repeatedly, the husband and wife end together, as do the lover and his mistress. The short ballet reflects the social and sexual manners of Ashton's world.
Les Millions d'Arlequin, or Harlequinade
Les Millions d'Arlequin (English: Harlequin's Millions) (Russian: "Миллионы Арлекина", Milliony Arlekina) also known under the title Harlequinade (Russian: "Арлекинада", Arlekinada) is a ballet comique in two acts and two tableaux with libretto and choreography by Marius Petipa and music by Riccardo Drigo. Les Millions d'Arlequin was first presented by the Imperial Ballet at the Theatre of the Imperial Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia on. The ballet was given a second premiere with the same cast at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre on. In the principal roles were Mathilde Kschessinskaya as Columbine, Georgy Kyaksht as Harlequin, Olga Preobrajenskaya as Pierrette, Sergei Lukianov as Pierrot, Enrico Cecchetti as Cassandre, Nikolai Aistov as Leandre, and Anna Urakova as the Good Fairy. The Sérénade from the first act of the ballet became a popular repertory piece that has been arranged for various instruments and recorded on numerous occasions.
Les Orientales
Les Orientales is a choreographic divertissement by Michel Fokine. A production of Ballets Russes, it was premiered on June 25, 1910, at the Theatre National de l'Opera in Paris. The ballet consisted of a series of oriental-themed dances performed by soloists Vaslav Nijinsky (Danse Siamoise and Kobold), Tamara Karsavina (Assyrian Dance), Vera Fokina, Alexander Orlov (Saracens’ Dance), Catherine Gheltzer and Alexander Volinine (pas de deux). The dances were choreographed by Michel Fokine and Marius Petipa. The music was by Alexander Glazunov, Christian Sinding, Anton Arensky, and Edvard Grieg. Michel Fokine, who choreographed Vaslav Nijinsky's "Danse Siamoise", may have been “inspired by a Thai Classical troupe, the Nai But Mahin Dance Company, that Fokine had seen in St. Petersburg in 1900.” Léon Bakst started working on scenic design and costumes for Les Orientales in 1908. In 1909, Bakst made a name for himself as a scene-painter for Diaghilev with the Ballets Russes.He designed scenery and costumes for Cleopatra (1909), Scheherazade (1910), and Carnaval (1910). In 1910, Konstantin Korovin continued working on scenic design and costumes for Les Orientales in collaboration with Léon Bakst.
Les Patineurs
The ballet, in one act, depicts a Victorian skating party that takes place on a frozen pond on a winter's evening. A semicircle of arched trellises painted white separates the pond from the snowy woods behind. Suspended above are colourful Chinese lanterns, shedding light on the white canvas stage covering, simulating ice, and dimly illuminating the dark trees silhouetted against the starry night sky. The first skaters to enter are four couples dressed in matching brown jackets. They are soon joined by others: two girls wearing blue jackets and bonnets, two girls wearing red jackets and bonnets, a girl and boy dressed all in white, and a lone boy wearing blue. This happy group of young people dance together in various combinations, gliding and leaping and spinning across the ice until snow begins to fall and the single boy is finally left alone, whirling like a top in the middle of the pond.
Les Présages
Massine's first plotless ballet based on symphonic music, set to Tchaikovsky's Fifth Symphony.
Les Rendezvous
Les Rendezvous is a plotless one-act ballet created in 1933, with choreography by Frederick Ashton to the music of Daniel Auber (the ballet music from his opera L'enfant prodigue) arranged by Constant Lambert and with designs by William Chappell. It was the first major ballet created by Ashton for the Vic-Wells company. It was first performed on Tuesday, 5 December 1933 by Vic-Wells Ballet at Sadler's Wells Theatre, with Alicia Markova and Stanislas Idzikowski in the lead roles; these were later taken by Margot Fonteyn and Robert Helpmann. The choreography was revised in 1934 and the work was performed every season up to 1945, then from 1959 to 1963, when it used the set by Sophie Fedorovitch for Act 1 of La Traviata. The ballet was designed to show off the brilliance and style of Markova and the elevation and technical skill of Idzikowsky. Order of numbers: An LP 'A Silver Jubilee Tribute to Sadler's Wells Ballet' included short extracts with the Royal Opera House Orchestra conducted by Robert Irving. In June 1988 the ballet was recorded by the English Concert Orchestra conducted by Richard Bonynge and issued in 1990 as part of a 'Ballet Gala' on a two-disc set by Decca.
Les Sylphides
A non-narrative ballet blanc: a poet or young man dances in moonlight among white-clad sylphs. The work is a romantic reverie built from Chopin piano pieces orchestrated for ballet.
Les noces
Les noces (The Wedding, or Svadebka (Свадебка)), is a Russian-language ballet-cantata by Igor Stravinsky scored unusually for four vocal soloists, chorus, percussion and four pianos. Dedicating the work to impresario Sergei Diaghilev, the composer described it in French as "choreographed Russian scenes with singing and music" [sic], and it remains known by its French name of Les noces despite being Russian. Les noces was completed in 1917 but was then subjected to a series of changes of heart by Stravinsky regarding its scoring; he settled on the above forces only in 1923, in time for the premiere in Paris on 13 June that year under conductor Ernest Ansermet and danced by the Ballets Russes to choreography by Bronislava Nijinska. Several versions of the score have been performed over the years, substituting an orchestra for the percussion and pianos or using pianolas in accordance with a version Stravinsky abandoned.
Les petits riens
Les petits riens (French for "The Little Nothings") is a ballet in one act and three tableaux by Jean-Georges Noverre, with music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and other, unknown composers, first performed at the Academie Royale de Musique in Paris on 11 June 1778. The score consists of 20 numbers, of which Mozart composed the overture and nos. 9–12, 15, 16 and 18. The three tableaux are described in the Journal de Paris: The opera was a flop and closed after four performances. Although the ballet music was well-received, Mozart was not credited with it, and he was at the time little known in Paris. The score, catalogued as K. Anh. 10/299b, was thought lost, but it was rediscovered in the Paris Opera's archives in the late 19th century
Leyli and Majnun
Leyli and Majnun are separated by their families. Leyli is forced to marry another man, while Majnun withdraws to the wilderness and recites poetry for her among the animals. He dies there, and the lovers are reunited after death.
Liebeslieder Walzer
Liebeslieder Walzer is a two-part neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Johannes Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes, Op. 52 and Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65, with original sets and lighting designed by David Hays, and costumes designed by Barbara Karinska. The ballet premiered on 12 November 1960 at the New York City Center, performed by the New York City Ballet.
Lifecasting
A ballet choreographed to the third movement of Ryoji Ikeda's Opus 1 and Steve Reich's Triple Quartet.
Like Water for Chocolate
Like Water for Chocolate follows the life of Tita De La Garza, a woman living during the Mexican Revolution, as she yearns for her one true love, Pedro Muzquiz. The ballet spans the length of 20 years, as Tita, Pedro, and the other members of the De La Garza Ranch are caught between tradition, the cycles of generations, war, and romance. The ballet opens inside the De la Garza Ranch kitchen, as a young Tita cooks with the family cook, Nacha. Nacha and Tita express their affection for each other while cooking, and Tita as well expresses her love and affection for her neighbor, Pedro. Tita and Pedro long for each other and Pedro proposes marriage to Tita. However, according to family tradition, the youngest daughter cannot marry in order to care for her mother as she ages. When Pedro and his father approach Tita's mother, Elena De la Garza, to ask for Tita's hand in marriage, Elena refuses, and redirects Pedro's proposal to Tita's older sister, Rosaura. Tita is devastated by this, and weeps into the batter she prepares to celebrate Pedro and Rosaura's wedding. Nacha tastes the cake that was baked with Tita's tears and is filled with grief over her lost love, and dies. The guests arrive to celebrate Rosaura and Pedro's wedding. Tita, still consumed with sadness over the marriage is reassured by Pedro that they will still be able to be together, as Pedro gives Tita a rose as a symbol of their love. The guests consume the cake filled with Tita's tears, and become violently ill. Nacha is also revealed to have passed. One year later, Rosaura and Pedro have had a baby boy, Roberto. However, Rosaura is struggling to feed him, and Doctor John Brown is called in as assistance. As the baby cries, Tita is left alone for a moment with the baby and Pedro, as they are both filled with love for each other. Mama Elena walks in on the two, interrupting the moment, and Mama Elena grows suspicious of both of them. Tita prepares a meal for the family using the rose that Pedro gave her at the wedding. After eating the meal, Gertrudis, Tita's sister, is filled with sensuality and romance, and tears off her clothes in an act of lust. She is spotted by a revolutionary soldier, who picks up Gertrudis as the two are wrapped up in sexual desire, and carries Gertrudis away. In the middle of the night, Tita and Pedro meet each other amidst the hanging sheets of laundry. As Tita and Pedro become swept up in each other, Mama Elena and Rosaura each prowl the home, suspicious of the two. As Tita and Pedro kiss, they are interrupted by a furious Mama Elena, who orders Pedro and Rosaura to leave the ranch. Tita is devastated that Pedro and Roberto are now gone. When Chencha brings news that Roberto has died, Tita and Mama Elena blame each other for the death of the baby. During the fight, Mama Elena beats Tita, causing Tita to have a breakdown. Dr. John Brown is brought in to care for Tita. Tita's health is improved by living with Dr. John and his son from his first wife. Dr. John proposes marriage to Tita. Tita and Dr. John are informed that Mama Elena has died. Tita, Dr. John, Pedro, Rosaura, and their young daughter, Esperanza, arrive at the ranch to mourn Mama Elena. The group gather around the table that Mama Elena's body was placed on, as Tita discovers through a diary left in a box by Mama Elena, that Mama Elena too once has a forbidden love. A young Mama Elena rises to reenact her love to José, a man who she loved dearly but was forbidden from marrying by her parents. Young Mama Elena was forced instead to marry another man, and in spite her efforts to escape before her marriage with José. Dr. John announces his engagement to Tita, as Pedro continues to declare his love to Tita when they are alone together. When Tita and Pedro once again become swept up in their love for each other, a ghost of Mama Elena appears, haunting their love. Suddenly, Gertrudis and soldiers from the revolutionary army arrive, along with the commander that Gertrudis has married, bringing a joyous surprise and celebration to the sisters. Celebrating the return of Gertrudis, a party is thrown outside, littered with bright campfires. Tita returns her engagement ring to Dr. John, wishing to be with Pedro, her true love. As Tita and Pedro join the group of happy dancers, they continue to be haunted by the ghost of Mama Elena, who follows and confronts them as they dance. Mama Elena's ghost reveals herself to Pedro, causing him to have a heart attack. As Pedro, being treated by Dr. John, improves, Rosaura's health fails. Dr. John and Tita work to care for both Pedro and Rosaura as John's son dances with Esperanza, raising Rosaura's jealousy and possessiveness over her daughter. Holding Esperanza back in the same way that Mama Elena held back Tita, Rosaura, grips her daughter until Rosaura suddenly dies. 20 years later, Tita, Pedro, and Dr. John return to celebrate the marriage of Dr. John's son to Esperanza, all celebrating that the oppressive tradition has been broken. After the wedding, Tita and Pedro are left alone, where they can finally consummate their love together. As they have sex, the house bursts into flames, fueled by the passion Tita and Pedro have for each other.
Liturgy
Liturgy is a ballet made by New York City Ballet resident choreographer Christopher Wheeldon to Fratres by Arvo Pärt. The premiere took place on May 31, 2003 at the New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, originated by Jock Soto and Wendy Whelan. Whelan described the piece as "a piece about union".
Lolita
A 70-minute ballet adaptation of Vladimir Nabokov's novel, created by Davide Bombana with music by Dmitri Shostakovich, György Ligeti, Alfred Schnittke, and Salvatore Sciarrino.
Love Lies Bleeding
A contemporary jukebox ballet inspired by Elton John's personal struggles. Its central character, Elton Fan, moves through struggles with fame, sexuality, and drug use as a group called the Demonics leads him toward darker aspects of fame and prejudice.
Lugubre
A modern dance solo choreographed by Martha Graham to music by Alexander Scriabin, originally one of five solo sections in the ballet Five Poems.
Lydia, the Swiss Milkmaid
A two-act demi-caractère ballet choreographed by Filippo Taglioni to music by Adalbert Gyrowetz.
L’Étoile de Grenade
A ballet divertissement choreographed by Marius Petipa to music by Cesare Pugni; no narrative is described.
Ma mère l'Oye
A ballet in five scenes with a concluding apotheosis, drawing on fairy-tale episodes including Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, Tom Thumb, the Empress of the Pagodas, and the Fairy Garden. Ravel expanded the suite with a prelude, a spinning-wheel scene, and interludes.
Maiden Tower
The story begins with Khan Jhahangir coming back to the palace from the battle. One of many wives of the khan was pregnant before he left, and the khan was expecting a male heir. But the child was a girl, so the khan ordered the execution of the baby. Princess Gulyanag is raised as an unwanted child, away from the eyes of the khan until she reaches maturity. By then, she has a lover named Polad. But the khan sees the now 17 years old Gulyanag, and not realizing that she is his daughter, falls in love with her. Starting from here, the two versions of the play start to diverge, before connecting at the end. In the first version, upon learning of her loves, the khan separates Gulyanag from Polad by locking her in a tower. Polad find the tower eventually, but the khan is also there to marry Gulyanag. Polad and Khan Jhahangir battle and Polad wins. Polad climbs the stairs of the tower and Gulyanag hears the steps. She thinks that it is the Khan coming to get her instead of Polad and throws herself off the window of the tower to the sea, falling to her death. In the revised version, the Khan forces Gulyanag to marry him. But the princess refuses, and tells the khan she won't marry him until he builds her a tower, to gain time. This shows the smart leading female character, not shown in the previous Soviet version. When the tower is finished, the Khan locks her in the tower and starts preparations for the wedding. But Polad finds him in the palace and kills the khan before making his way to the tower. Gulyanag, knowing the Khan was preparing for the wedding, upon hearing the rushed footsteps, assumes the person is the Khan instead of her lover, coming to reunite with her. She, again, jumps off the window of the tower and to her death. Polad reaches the top of the tower with no trace of Gulyanag. Realizing his lover died, he mourns her.;
Mam'zelle Angot
In three scenes, Mam'zelle Angot falls in love with a caricaturist who becomes enamored of an aristocrat. She engineers a carnival confrontation that exposes the aristocrat, then decides she loves the barber she was meant to marry.
Maple Leaf Rag
The curtain rises to reveal a grand piano at the rear of a darkened stage. The only other set element is a joggling board, a long springy plank set on two upright supports with rocker feet. The musician enters first and sits at the piano, repeatedly striking a foreboding chord. The dancers come in, initially a couple executing an overhead lift, then a circle of dancers, leaping and landing dramatically to the pounding of the piano. A female ensemble member breaks away from the group to perform a bouncing dance on the joggling board. The audience then hears Graham's recorded voice, "Oh Louis, play me the Maple Leaf Rag!" As Joplin's music starts, the stage lights come up. Six couples dance joyfully around the board on which the lone female now reclines. The pianist briefly interrupts the rag to reprise the ominous beat as a somber white-gowned, chignoned figure crosses the stage in a series of swirling turns. As she exits, the ensemble returns to joyous movement. The ballet is approximately 15 minutes in length. Three Scott Joplin rags provide the work's structure: Maple Leaf Rag (1899) opens the dance, followed by the waltz Bethena (1905) and Elite Syncopations (1902); a reprise of Maple Leaf Rag concludes the dance. The work is brimming with parodies of Graham's signature moves and send-ups of her best-known dances. Her twirling white-clad surrogate crosses the stage intermittently, accompanied each time by ill-boding percussive piano. Graham also pokes fun at the overwrought sexuality of some her repertory. Just before darkness hides the remaining couple on stage, he tears off her skirt.
Marguerite and Armand
On her deathbed, Marguerite Gautier recalls her love for Armand. After his father reveals why she left him, Armand returns to her apartment, where she dies in his arms.
Matthew Bourne's Swan Lake
This synopsis is derived from programme notes and the synopsis provided on the DVD. The plot of the ballet revolves around a young crown prince, his distant mother, his desire for freedom and his love portrayed as a swan who has been cursed by an evil sorcerer von Rothbart. In the prologue, the Prince, as a child, is awakened by a nightmare of a swan. The Prince's mother enters to comfort him, but leaves after becoming nervous by the situation's intimacy. Scene 1 opens with the Prince being prepared for a day of official duties by chambermaids and valets. In Scene 2, arrayed in his full dress uniform, the Prince becomes bored by a boat christening, a ribbon cutting, and other official tasks. His mother prods him to keep up appearances, even as she devotes more attention to the soldiers than she does to him. During this scene, there is a transition from the child actor playing the young Prince to the identically-dressed adult dancer who portrays the grown Prince. This now-adult Prince is introduced to a girl called "the Girlfriend". Although the girl seems foisted on him by von Rothbart, the Private Secretary, the Prince prefers her to his duty-bound life. In Scene 3, the Queen, one of her admiring soldiers, the Private Secretary, the Prince, and the Girlfriend all appear in a theatre box, where they watch a ballet that is staged for the actual audience as well as for the characters. The ballet's backdrop (from a design for Castle Falkenstein by Christian Jank), ornate costumes, and acting parody the romantic ballets of which the original Swan Lake was an example. The Girlfriend's responses to the dance as well as her eventual dropping her purse from the royal box annoy the Queen and von Rothbart. Scene 4 finds the Prince drinking in his private chambers in front of a mirror, to his mother's shock. A nearly violent pas de deux ensues in which he pleads for her attention and love, while she rebukes him. The Prince then goes into the streets and into the Swank Bar, a 1970s-style disco, in Scenes Five and Six. Here is where the choreography veers from classical ballet, with jazz forms and modern dance dominating. The Prince gets into a fight with sailors at the bar, and he is thrown out into the street. In Scene Seven, he sees the Girlfriend being paid off by von Rothbart, and he is totally shattered to discover that the only person who appeared to love him is a fake. This increases his desperation and he vows to kill himself. While sitting in the street at the end of Scene Seven the Prince imagines a group of swans flying towards him but the vision disappears. It is the first flash of the Prince's descent into mental turmoil. Distraught and disappointed that he will never find affection, the Prince writes a suicide note and goes to throw himself into a lake at a public park inhabited by swans. He is saved by a vision in which he encounters the lead Swan, who had appeared to him in his dreams. Initially rejected by the lead Swan, the Prince is gradually accepted and taken into the Swan's arms. The prince and lead swan fall in love. The Prince is elated and abandons his plan to kill himself. This Act contains the most talked-about element of the ballet in which bare-chested, barefoot male dancers play the swans, and it contains a very sensual pas de deux between the lead Swan and the Prince. Scene 1 begins with princesses from various European nations and their escorts arriving at the palace gates for a grand ball. The Girlfriend sneaks in amongst them. Scene 2 takes place in a ballroom. It commences with the arrival of the Queen and the Prince and some formal dancing, but quickly degenerates into a debauched party of drinking and lascivious come-ons. Into this arrives the charismatic and sexually aggressive son of von Rothbart, the Stranger, in black leather trousers, who intensifies the sexual tension even further by flirting with every woman present, including the Queen. Each woman finds herself drawn to him and actively participates in the mutual, sometimes lewd, flirtation. Just as in the original Swan Lake, where customarily (although not always) one ballerina performs the roles of both the white swan (Odette) and the black swan (Odile), the same ballet dancer performs the white Swan and the black-clad young von Rothbart in this version. The Prince sees something of his beloved Swan in the son, and he is very attracted to his bravado and animal magnetism but shocked by his lewdness, especially towards his mother. During bump and grind group numbers and a sequence of national dances, it becomes clear that the Queen is powerfully attracted to von Rothbart's son. His father, the Private Secretary, looks on with an increasingly triumphant approval. The Prince also tries to approach young von Rothbart, only to be rebuffed. The Prince retreats into his mind and imagines dancing intimately with him, but the Prince's confusion interrupts the fantasy, and the son's movements turn from love to violence. The Prince imagines the Queen and young von Rothbart flaunting their growing physical affection for each other. They join with the other guests at the ball to laugh and ridicule him because of his growing distress. The Queen and young von Rothbart end their dancing with an embrace and passionate kissing. The Prince, in his fury, violently separates them and is rewarded by outrage from both and a slap from his mother. Overwhelmed by conflicted feelings, the Prince produces a pistol and threatens to shoot his mother. In an ensuing scuffle the Girlfriend tries to dissuade the Prince, while the Private Secretary draws a pistol and points it at the Prince. As shots ring out, the Girlfriend and the Prince fall to the ground, but only the Girlfriend has been hit. She lies unconscious and the Prince is dragged away, while the Queen throws herself into young von Rothbart's arms. He gives the pistol he had taken from the Prince to his father, the two of them laughing. The plot has evolved over the years since the debut. The most conspicuous change Bourne made was to remove the subplot of the von Rothbart conspiracy to put his son on the throne. The Private Secretary now becomes just a functionary (no longer a von Rothbart counterpart, nor villain) and the Stranger is no longer shown conspiring with him. The identity of the Stranger becomes even more vague and Bourne prefers to leave him and his relationship with the Prince up to the individual interpretation of the viewer. In the final act, the Prince, regarded as having lost his mind, is confined to an asylum in a room with a high barred window, and is treated by a doctor and a team of nurses wearing masks that resemble the Queen's face, in a scene reminiscent of his dressing at the beginning of the ballet. The Queen visits but, again, she is still unable to fully express love for her son. The Prince crawls into bed and appears to sleep. However, he begins writhing as he dreams of the troupe of swans emerging from under and behind, dancing around him. He wakes from his nightmare, checking under his bed and around his room for swans. His tortured expression and jerky movements convey the Prince in turmoil. His lead Swan then slowly emerges from within the Prince's bed. The Swan dances with the Prince and assures him of his continued affection. But, the rest of the swans turn on the lead Swan when he makes it clear that he values his relationship with the Prince more than he does them. They separate the two and begin attacking the Prince before the Swan leaps in to save him. The Swan embraces the Prince and envelops him in his wings. The swans' fury increases and their next attack dismembers the Swan, who then disappears. Heartbroken and despondent, the Prince wails in agony and collapses onto the bed. The Queen then finds her dead son's body and breaks down in tears. However, in death the Prince and the Swan are reunited, as shown by a tableau depicting the lead Swan tenderly holding the young Prince in his arms.
Matthew Bourne's The Car Man
A crime story set in a 1960s Midwestern town: drifter Luca arrives at a garage and diner, where he and Lana plot to kill her husband Dino. Angelo is wrongly blamed, later escapes prison, and returns for revenge. The story loosely adapts James M. Cain’s novel The Postman Always Rings Twice.
Mayerling
Characters from Kenneth MacMillan's Mayerling, via The Ballet Bag Prologue: The cemetery at Heiligenkreuz before dawn Scene 1: The ballroom at the Hofburg Palace, Vienna A ball to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Rudolf of Austria-Hungary and Princess Stephanie of Belgium is in full swing. Rudolf flirts shamelessly with Stephanie's sister, Princess Louise, offending both his new bride and his parents, Emperor Franz Josef and Empress Elisabeth. Rudolf meets Countess Marie Larisch, a former mistress, and Baroness Vetsera. The Baroness introduces her 17-year-old daughter Mary Vetsera. Four Hungarian officers, friends of Rudolf, enter and forcefully argue the separatist cause of their country. Countess Larisch tries to rekindle her relationship with Rudolf. The pair are discovered by the Emperor, who demands that Rudolf return to his wife. Scene 2: The Empress’s apartments at the Hofburg Having retired from the ball, Empress Elisabeth is being attended by her ladies-in-waiting. Rudolf visits his mother, on his way to his new bride. He expresses his deep unhappiness at being pressured into marriage. Desperate for maternal affection he tries to embrace the Empress, only to be coldly rebuffed. Scene 3: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg Princess Stephanie is getting ready for her wedding night. Rudolf enters and threatens Stephanie with a revolver before taking her forcibly. Scene 1: A notorious tavern Rudolf and Stephanie enter the tavern in disguise. They are accompanied by Rudolf's driver Bratfisch, who attempts to lighten Stephanie's spirits. Prostitutes compete for the men's attention and Stephanie flees the tavern in disgust. Rudolf turns his attention to his Hungarian friends and his regular mistress, the courtesan Mitzi Kaspar. The police burst in and Rudolf, Mitzi and the Hungarian officers hide. The police arrest several people before leaving. In a despairing mood, Rudolf proposes a suicide pact to Mitzi. The Prime Minister Count Taaffe enters the tavern, looking for Rudolf. Rudolf hides again but Mitzi tells the Count where he is hidden. The Count and Mitzi leave together. Scene 2: Outside the tavern Countess Larisch, ostensibly chaperoning Mary, presents the young girl to Rudolf as he leaves the tavern. Scene 3: The Vetsera house Countess Larisch calls on her friend Baroness Vetsera. She finds Mary absorbed by a portrait of Rudolf. Countess Larisch tells Mary's fortune using a pack of cards and informs her that her romantic dreams will come true. Mary gives the Countess a letter to deliver to Rudolf on her behalf. Scene 4: The Hofburg During the Emperor's birthday celebrations Count Taaffe confronts Rudolf over an incriminating political pamphlet on the Hungarian cause. Colonel 'Bay' Middleton hands the Count a joke cigar, to Rudolf's intense amusement. The Empress presents the Emperor with a portrait of his 'friend' Katherina Schratt. A firework display distracts everyone except the Empress and 'Bay.' Rudolf notices their amorous exchange and becomes bitterly resentful. Following a performance by Schratt and the pianist Alfred Grünfeld, Countess Larisch produces Mary's letter and teases Rudolf with it. Scene 5: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg Mary and Rudolf meet in secret for the first time. Scene 1: A royal shoot in the countryside During a hunting expedition, Rudolf unaccountably shoots wildly. He kills a member of the court, narrowly missing his father. Scene 2: Rudolf’s apartments at the Hofburg The Empress discovers Countess Larisch and Rudolf alone together and angrily dismisses the Countess, unaware Mary is waiting outside. Mary enters after the Empress has left. Rudolf asks her to commit suicide with him. Scene 3: The hunting lodge at Mayerling Rudolf shares a drink with Count Hoyos and Prince Philipp of Coburg, attended by his valet Loschek. He asks them to leave, saying he is unwell. Bratfisch enters with Mary. Rudolf instructs Bratfisch to entertain him and Mary. Bratfisch, soon realizing he has lost their attention, leaves. In a mounting frenzy Rudolf has sex with Mary. He injects himself with morphine to calm his nerves and embraces Mary for the last time. He shoots her. Loschek, Hoyos and Philipp rush in, having heard the shot. Rudolf reassures them and instructs them to leave. Alone, he shoots himself. His friends rush in again, and collapse in despair when they find Rudolf's dead body. Epilogue: The cemetery at Heiligenkreuz before dawn
Medea
Medea, Op. 23, (1946) is a ballet suite by American composer Samuel Barber. It was commissioned by the Ditson Fund of Columbia University for Martha Graham and was premiered on 10 May 1946, at Columbia University's McMillin Theater, New York City. The ballet was originally called Serpent Heart, but the work was revised in 1947 and retitled Cave of the Heart. Costumes were designed by Edythe Gilfond and the set was created by Isamu Noguchi. The original cast list included Graham, Erick Hawkins, Yuriko, May O'Donnell, and other members of the Martha Graham Dance Company. Although loosely based on Euripides' play Medea, neither Barber nor Graham desired to use the legend literally in the ballet. Instead, these mythical figures served rather to project psychological states of jealousy and vengeance which are timeless. The choreography and music were conceived, as it were, on two time levels, the ancient mythical and the contemporary. Medea and Jason first appear as godlike, super-human figures of the Greek tragedy. As the tension and conflict between them increases, they step out of their legendary roles from time to time and become the modern man and woman, caught in the nets of jealousy and destructive love; and at the end resume their mythical quality. In both the dancing and music, archaic and contemporary idioms are used. Medea, in her final scene after the denouement, becomes once more the descendant of the sun. Beside Medea and Jason there are two other characters in the ballet, the Young Princess whom Jason marries out of ambition and for whom he betrays Medea, and an attendant who assumes the part of the onlooking chorus of the Greek tragedy, sympathizing, consoling and interpreting the actions of the major characters.
Mercure
Mercure (Mercury, or The Adventures of Mercury) is a 1924 ballet with music by Erik Satie. The original décor and costumes were designed by Pablo Picasso and the choreography was by Léonide Massine, who also danced the title role. Subtitled "Plastic Poses in Three Tableaux", it was an important link between Picasso's Neoclassical and Surrealist phases and has been described as a "painter's ballet". Mercure was commissioned by the Soirées de Paris stage company and first performed at the Théâtre de la Cigale in Paris on June 15, 1924. The conductor was Roger Désormière.
Mercurial Manoeuvres
Mercurial Manoeuvres is a ballet choreographed by Christopher Wheeldon to Shostakovich's Piano Concerto No. 1, with costumes designed by Carole Divet. The ballet premiered on April 28, 2000 at the New York State Theater. The first movement features a male soloist, two female demi-soloists, four male demi-soloists and a corps de ballet of twelve women. The second movement is a pas de deux. The entire cast then return to the stage for the final movement. In 2020, in response to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic on the performing arts, the New York City Ballet will release a 2017 video recording of the pas de deux from Mercurial Manoeuvres, featuring Tiler Peck and Tyler Angle.
Metastaseis and Pithoprakta
An abstract ballet in two parts set to Xenakis's orchestral works Metastaseis and Pithoprakta.
Miracle in the Gorbals
The front cloth shows a rainswept ship in a dry dock with vast cranes in the background. The first scene in the slum is set in the afternoon, with a pub 'The Shamrock' on the left and on the right a fish and chip shop 'Mac's'; tenements crowd in on either side. Urchins are playing, but they run off when scolded by a minister. Evening approaches, and the prostitute comes out, and young men follow her around. The minister and the prostitute meet; he turns away and she goes into a doorway with a young man. A girl enters, but goes off after seeing a group of drunks. Two lovers come on and dance; the prostitute emerges and tries to entice the man, but the re-appearance of the minister foils her. An old beggar and some children pass news around a gathering crowd; the minister faces the audience. Two men carry in the body of the suicide. The minister crosses her hands and the crowd feels the certainty of her death. A stranger enters, the crowd parts and he is left with the suicide's body. After he bends over the body, the girl rises, and she slowly warms to rebirth and starts dancing. The stranger is acclaimed, but the minister is disturbed, resentful of his loss of authority. The stranger blesses the crowd, and he leaves the scene with the revived girl. The minister sends a child to spy on the stranger, when the prostitute walks by. The minister follows her up some stairs as she glories in her success. The people return to the street in excitement at the miracle. The minister comes back down the stairs, and the two lovers say good-night. The urchin brings news back to the minister, and the stranger is sent to the prostitute's room on a supposed mercy errand. The minister poisons the thoughts of the people, predicting that the stranger will emerge from the prostitute's room. Although initially stirred, the crowd are silent when the stranger re-emerges; only the beggar is aware of the plot and retreats to a doorway. After the stranger has left, the prostitute appears in a more lyrical frame of mind, as if having visions. The minister next summons a gang of thugs, who loiter in dark alleys. As the stranger comes back, he offers no resistance; they jostle him, slash him with knives and kick him to the ground, where the silence is broken by the sound of a distant ship siren. The minister realises the horror of what he has done. The beggar goes to help the stranger, and he is joined by the prostitute and the suicide, before the two women leave the beggar alone with the stranger.
Mirage
A contemporary ballet for 16 dancers inspired by the optical illusion of Fata Morgana, with electronic minimalist music following the work's changing states.
Miss Sally's Party
Miss Sally's Party is a 1940 ballet composition in eight-movements by American composer William Grant Still. A related libretto was written by Verna Arvey, wife of composer Still. The ballet was first performed on May 2, 1941, and is about nineteen minutes long.
Mlada
Mlada is a ballet in 4 Acts/9 Scenes, with choreography by Marius Petipa, and music by Ludwig Minkus. The ballet was first presented by the Imperial Ballet on December 2/14 (Julian/Gregorian calendar dates), 1879 at the Imperial Bolshoi Kamenny Theatre in St. Petersburg, Russia. Principal dancers: Eugeniia Sokolova (as Mlada), Felix Kschessinsky (as Mstivoi, Prince Ratarskii), and Mariia Gorsjenkova (as Princess Voislava).
Moment Rustica
Moment Rustica was a Martha Graham ballet performed to the music of Francis Poulenc. It premiered on April 14, 1929, at the Booth Theatre in New York City. The performance marked the debut of Graham's concert ensemble, Martha Graham and Group, the predecessor of the Martha Graham Dance Company. The piece was choreographed for the entire ensemble. Members of the group included: Kitty Reese, Irene Emery, Ethel Rudy, Lillian Ray, Hortense Bunsick, Sylivia Wasserstrom, Mary Rivoire, Ruth White, Lillian Shapero, Virginia Briton, Sylvia Rosenstein, Evelyn Sabin, Betty Macdonald and Rosina Savelli. The program included a total of 13 works. Graham performed the solos Dance, Four Insincerities, Fragments, Adolescence (Prelude and Song) and Resurrection. Sabin, Macdonald and Savelli appeared in Danse Languide, Dance Piece, Spires and Ronde. The entire ensemble performed Heretic, Vision of the Apocalypse, Sketches from the People and Moment Rustica. Dance Magazines reviewer noted that Moment Rustica was in the "vein of grotesquerie and humor" and "remarkable more for what it implied than for what it actually represented." The critic interpreted the costumes as representative of a "peasant scene" and the choreography "notable for an economy of movement seldom paralleled in so vigorous and lusty a composition." Louis Horst's piano accompaniment was called "sympathetic and invaluable."
Monotones
A two-part ballet structured around Satie's music: the earthier Monotones I uses the Gnossiennes for two women and one man, while the celestial Monotones II uses the Gymnopédies for two men and one woman.
Monumentum pro Gesualdo
Monumentum pro Gesualdo is a 1960 arrangement and recomposition by Igor Stravinsky of three madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo: Asciugate i begli occhi (Book 5, XIV) Ma tu, cagion di quella (Book 5, XVIII) Beltà poi che t'assenti (Book 6, II) It was composed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Gesualdo's birth and was intended to complement Stravinsky's similar Tres Sacrae Cantiones. It was premiered on September 27, 1960, at the Venice Biennale, played by the Orchestra del Teatro la Fenice conducted by Stravinsky. The piece was later choreographed by the New York City Ballet (NYCB) co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine. The premiere took place on Wednesday, November 16, 1960, at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with scenery and lighting by David Hays (new lighting by Ronald Bates in 1974; current production's lighting by Mark Stanley). It was first performed in conjunction with Balanchine's choreographic interpretation of Movements for Piano and Orchestra in 1963 and was regularly performed in this pairing thereafter.
Mother Goose
Jerome Robbins's ballet expands Ravel's five-piece Ma Mère l'Oye suite with a prelude, an opening scene, and four interludes connecting the original pieces.
Movements for Piano and Orchestra
Movements for Piano and Orchestra is a neoclassical ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Stravinsky's score of the same name. The ballet premiered on April 9, 1963, at City Center of Music and Drama, performed by the New York City Ballet. Though the two lead roles were created for Diana Adams and Jacques d'Amboise, seventeen-year-old Suzanne Farrell danced the female lead at the premiere due to Adams' pregnancy. Starting in 1966, Movements and Monumentum pro Gesualdo (1960) are performed together.
Moves
Moves is a ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins. The ballet was made for Robbins's troupe Ballet: USA's 1959 tour, with Aaron Copland brought in to write the music. However, he struggled with the score, and Robbins ultimately decided to have the ballet performed in silence instead. The ballet premiered at the Festival of Two Worlds held in Spoleto, Italy, on July 3, 1959. It has since been revived by other dance companies, including the New York City Ballet. Copland's score was later published as Dance Panels.
Mozartiana
Mozartiana is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to Tchaikovsky's Orchestral Suite No. 4, Mozartiana. The current version of the ballet was made for New York City Ballet's Tchaikovsky Festival, and premiered on June 4, 1981, at the New York State Theater. It is considered Balanchine's last major work. Balanchine had previously choreographed to the same score in 1933, for his short-lived troupe Les Ballets 1933 in Paris, his first major ballet to music by Tchaikovsky. It had its American premiere the following year, and Balanchine made some changes to the choreography in 1935. This earlier version was performed by several troupes until 1956. This version's choreography and designs are completely different from the 1981 version.
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