''L'Homme et son désir'', Op. 48, is a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

composed by

Darius Milhaud Darius Milhaud (; 4 September 1892 – 22 June 1974) was a French composer, conductor, and teacher. He was a member of Les Six—also known as ''The Group of Six''—and one of the most prolific composers of the 20th century. His compositions ...

from 1917–18, based on a scenario of

Paul Claudel Paul Claudel (; 6 August 1868 – 23 February 1955) was a French poet, dramatist and diplomat, and the younger brother of the sculptor Camille Claudel. He was most famous for his verse dramas, which often convey his devout Catholicism. Early lif ...

. 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 The Ballets Russes () was an itinerant ballet company begun in Paris that performed between 1909 and 1929 throughout Europe and on tours to North and South America. The company never performed in Russia, where the Revolution disrupted society. A ...

with

Vaslav Nijinsky Vaslav (or Vatslav) Nijinsky (; rus, Вацлав Фомич Нижинский, Vatslav Fomich Nizhinsky, p=ˈvatsləf fɐˈmʲitɕ nʲɪˈʐɨnskʲɪj; pl, Wacław Niżyński, ; 12 March 1889/18908 April 1950) was a ballet dancer and choreog ...

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 ''Jeanne d'Arc au bûcher'' (''Joan of Arc at the Stake'') is an oratorio by Arthur Honegger, originally commissioned by Ida Rubinstein. It was set to a libretto by Paul Claudel, and the work runs about 70 minutes. It premiered on 12 May 1938 in ...

''). 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 Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

under the orchestral direction of

Jean Börlin Jean Börlin was a Swedish dancer and choreographer, who was born in Härnösand on March 13, 1893 and who died in New York on December 6, 1930. He worked with Michel Fokine, who was his teacher in Stockholm. Biography Jean Börlin was held in hig ...

Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht Désiré-Émile Inghelbrecht (17 September 188014 February 1965) was a French composer, conductor and writer. Life and career Inghelbrecht was born in Paris, the son of a violist. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire and made his debut as a ...

Structure

The ballet is composed of eight parts played as a single movement: # Scène I # Apparition de la lune # L'Homme endormi et le fantôme de la femme morte # L'Homme qui dort debout, oscillant comme dans un courant d'eau et comme sans aucun poids # Toutes les choses de la forêt qui viennent voir l'homme endormi # Danse de la passion # Réapparition de la femme qui entraîne l'Homme peu à peu en tournant lentement devant lui sur elle-même # La lune I a disparu la première. La lune II disparaît à son tour. Les heures noires se sont écoulées. On voit apparaître les premières heures blanches A typical performance lasts around 20 minutes.

References

External links

Darius Milhaud : L'Homme et son désir, ballet for wordless singers and small orchestra Op. 48 (1918)
Ballets by Darius Milhaud 1918 compositions 1919 ballet premieres {{ballet-stub