This morning my effort to catch up on past memorable experiences of ballet performances led me back to YouTube to revisit Bronislava Nijinska’s choreography for Igor Stravinsky’s “Les Noces” (the wedding). The video was made in 2008 during the White Night Festival in Leningrad. The performance was by the Mariinsky Ballet; and the music was conducted by Valery Gergiev, who is General Director of the Mariinsky Theatre.
The video is in two parts, which correspond roughly to the two parts of Stravinsky’s score. The first thing that anyone approaching Nijinska’s choreography must understand is that Stravinsky did not intended his score to be “about” a wedding. He gave his score the descriptive subtitle “Choreographed Scenes with Music and Voices.” There are four of these scenes, the first three of which (constituting the first part of the choreography) involve events before the marriage ceremony: the preparation of the bride (which includes combing her long tresses), the bridegroom and his parents, and the departure of the bride for the church. The second part consists of the single scene of the feast following the wedding.
The biggest problem that Stravinsky had with composing his score was the instrumentation. After more attempts than can be enumerated, he finally settled on four pianos and an extended percussion ensemble. These provide accompaniment for not only the dancers but also a mixed chorus and four vocal soloists: soprano, mezzo, tenor, and bass. Following up on the abstractions connoted by that subtitle, none of of the soloists embodies a specific character in the events that are enacted in the choreography.
Nijinska (younger sister of Vaslav Nijinsky) did a more than admirable job in matching Stravinsky’s detached approach to narrative with equally abstract detachments of her own. There are no end of static images, which also create the impression that the viewer is leafing through a photograph album, rather than intruding on the proceedings of a wedding. Nijinska’s capacity for compelling stasis is matched only by her group performances of large numbers of dancers. Indeed, it would be fair to say that the heart of this ballet resides in the corps, rather than in the solo portrayals of the bride, the groom, and their respective parents. Thus, just as Stravinsky detached his music from any narrative flow, Nijinska did the same, dwelling on the spirit of the observers, rather than the activities of the protagonists.
An example of Nijinska’s abstract approach to the first scene of “Les Noces” (screen shot from the video being discussed)
Ideally, this is choreography whose execution demands military precision. Sadly, while many of Nijinska’s abstract patterns are faithfully reproduced by the Mariinsky dancers, the dynamic flow tends to be more ragged that I would have preferred to see. Sadly, there were similar problems in the orchestra pit when the balance across the four solo voices was not properly established. To be fair, I have seen enough performances of “Les Noces” (both on stage and in a concert hall) to know that just getting from beginning to end without a major fumble is an achievement unto itself. However, on the basis of having seen other videos of the Mariinsky Ballet, I approached “Les Noces” with expectations that were never quite satisfied.
Those who choose to watch this YouTube video will be pleased to know that the transition from the first part to the second is automatic. Sadly, the second part begins with commercials; and there is a second round of them about three-quarters of the way through that second part. Nevertheless, this is a free offering. We have to take what we can get, and what is probably most important is how this video allows the viewer to appreciate how strikingly imaginative Nijinska could be while working with one of the most challenging scores that Stravinsky ever wrote.
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