''El sombrero de tres picos'' (''The Three-Cornered Hat'' or ''Le tricorne'') 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 ...
choreographed by
Léonide Massine
Leonid Fyodorovich Myasin (russian: Леони́д Фёдорович Мя́син), better known in the West by the French transliteration as Léonide Massine (15 March 1979), was a Russian choreographer and ballet dancer. Massine created the wo ...
to music by
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...
. It was commissioned by
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...
and premiered in 1919. It is not only a ballet with Spanish setting but one that also employs the techniques of
Spanish dance (adapted and somewhat simplified) instead of
classical ballet
Classical ballet is any of the traditional, formal styles of ballet that exclusively employ classical ballet technique. It is known for its aesthetics and rigorous technique (such as pointe work, turnout of the legs, and high extensions), its ...
.
Composition history
In 1916-17,
Manuel de Falla
Manuel de Falla y Matheu (, 23 November 187614 November 1946) was an Andalusian Spanish composer and pianist. Along with Isaac Albéniz, Francisco Tárrega, and Enrique Granados, he was one of Spain's most important musicians of the first hal ...
composed the music for
Gregorio Martínez Sierra
Gregorio Martínez Sierra (6 May 1881 – 1 October 1947) was a Spanish writer, poet, dramatist, and theatre director, a key figure in the revival of the Spanish theatrical avant-garde in the early twentieth century.
Work as a poet and playwr ...
's two-scene
pantomime
Pantomime (; informally panto) is a type of musical comedy stage production designed for family entertainment. It was developed in England and is performed throughout the United Kingdom, Ireland and (to a lesser extent) in other English-speaking ...
''El corregidor y la molinera'' (''The Magistrate and the Miller's Wife''), built on
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón y Ariza (10 March 183319 July 1891) was a nineteenth-century Spanish novelist, known best for his novel ''El sombrero de tres picos'' (1874), an adaptation of popular traditions which provides a description of village l ...
's 1874 novel of the same title. The work premiered at Madrid's Teatro Eslava on April 6, 1917.
Sergei Diaghilev
Sergei Pavlovich Diaghilev ( ; rus, Серге́й Па́влович Дя́гилев, , sʲɪˈrɡʲej ˈpavləvʲɪdʑ ˈdʲæɡʲɪlʲɪf; 19 August 1929), usually referred to outside Russia as Serge Diaghilev, was a Russian art critic, pat ...
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 ...
had been introduced to de Falla by
Igor Stravinsky
Igor Fyodorovich Stravinsky (6 April 1971) was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor, later of French (from 1934) and American (from 1945) citizenship. He is widely considered one of the most important and influential composers of the ...
during the company's first visit to Spain in 1916. He requested permission to use de Falla's already-completed ''Noches en los jardines de España'' (''
Nights in the Gardens of Spain
''Nights in the Gardens of Spain'' ( es, Noches en los jardines de España), G. 49, is a piece of music by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Falla was Andalusian and the work refers to the Hispano-Arabic past of this region (Al-Andalus).
...
'') and the work-in-progress ''El corregidor y la molinera'' for future choreographies, but only managed to secure permission for the latter.
In preparation for producing Spanish choreography, Diaghilev and
Leonid Massine
Leonid (russian: Леонид ; uk, Леонід ; be, Леанід, Ljeaníd ) is a Slavic version of the given name Leonidas. The French version is Leonide.
People with the name include:
*Leonid Andreyev (1871–1919), Russian playwright an ...
enlisted the services of dancer Félix Fernández García, who accompanied the two men with de Falla on a tour of Spain in July 1917, introducing them to dancers and performances in Zaragoza, Toledo, Salamanca, Burgos, Sevilla, Córdoba, and Granada. Massine,
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...
, and de Falla worked separately on the choreography, sets/costumes, and music for the ballet over subsequent months; after some delays, the ballet was eventually premiered in London at the
Alhambra Theatre
The Alhambra was a popular theatre and music hall located on the east side of Leicester Square, in the West End of London. It was built originally as the Royal Panopticon of Science and Arts opening on 18 March 1854. It was closed after two yea ...
on 22 July 1919. De Falla was called home to Granada at the last moment to see his dying mother; the premiere was conducted in his stead by
Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor.
Biography
Ansermet ...
.
Structure
The story of a magistrate infatuated with a miller's faithful wife, whom he attempts to seduce, derives from the
novella
A novella is a narrative prose fiction whose length is shorter than most novels, but longer than most short stories. The English word ''novella'' derives from the Italian ''novella'' meaning a short story related to true (or apparently so) facts ...
of the same name by
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón
Pedro Antonio de Alarcón y Ariza (10 March 183319 July 1891) was a nineteenth-century Spanish novelist, known best for his novel ''El sombrero de tres picos'' (1874), an adaptation of popular traditions which provides a description of village l ...
. Falla did not prepare "suites" from this work although excerpts are performed under this term. The music is in eight main sections, split across an introduction and two parts, or acts, with some bridging scenes:
:;Introduction
:;Part I
*2. ''La tarde (The Afternoon)''
*3. ''Danza de la molinera (Dance of the Miller's Wife)'' (
Fandango
Fandango is a lively partner dance originating from Portugal and Spain, usually in triple meter, traditionally accompanied by guitars, castanets, or hand-clapping. Fandango can both be sung and danced. Sung fandango is usually bipartite: it has ...
) — ''El corregidor'' — ''La molinera''
*4. ''Las uvas (The Grapes)''
:;Part II
*5. ''La noche (At Night): Danza de los vecinos (Dance of the Neighbors)'' (
Seguidillas)
*6. ''Danza del molinero (Dance of the Miller)'' (
Farruca ''Farruca'' () is a form of flamenco music developed in the late 19th century. Classified as a cante chico, it is traditionally sung and danced by men. Its origin is traditionally associated with Galicia, a region in northern Spain.
An instrumenta ...
) — Escena (Allegretto) — ''Las coplas del cuco (The Cuckoo Couplets)'' (
Nocturno)
*7. ''Danza del corregidor (Dance of the Magistrate)'' (
Minué) — Allegro
*8. ''Danza final (Final Dance)'' (
Jota
Jota may refer to:
__NOTOC__
* Iota (Ι, ι), the name of the 9th letter in the Greek alphabet;
* (figuratively) ''Something very small'', based on the fact that the letter Iota (lat. i) is the smallest character in the alphabet;
* The name of the ...
)
Synopsis
Act I
After a short
fanfare
A fanfare (or fanfarade or flourish) is a short musical flourish which is typically played by trumpets, French horns or other brass instruments, often accompanied by percussion. It is a "brief improvised introduction to an instrumental perfo ...
, the curtain rises revealing a mill in
Andalusia
Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
. The
miller
A miller is a person who operates a Gristmill, mill, a machine to grind a grain (for example corn or wheat) to make flour. Mill (grinding), Milling is among the oldest of human occupations. "Miller", "Milne" and other variants are common surname ...
is trying to teach a pet blackbird to tell the time. He tells the bird to chirp twice, but instead it chirps three times. Annoyed, the miller scolds the bird and tells it to try again. The bird now chirps four times. The miller gets angry at the bird again and his wife offers it a grape. The bird takes the grape and chirps twice. The miller and his wife laugh over this and continue their work.
Soon the
magistrate
The term magistrate is used in a variety of systems of governments and laws to refer to a civilian officer who administers the law. In ancient Rome, a '' magistratus'' was one of the highest ranking government officers, and possessed both judici ...
, his wife, and their bodyguard pass by, taking their daily walk. The procession goes by and the couple returns to their work. The dandified, but lecherous, magistrate is heard coming back. The miller tells his wife that he will hide and that they will play a trick on the magistrate. The miller hides and the magistrate sees the miller's wife dancing. After her dance, she offers him some grapes. When the magistrate gets the grapes, the miller's wife runs away with the magistrate following her. Finally, he catches her, and the miller jumps out of a bush with a stick. The miller chases the magistrate away and the miller and his wife continue working.
Act II
That night, guests are at the miller's house. The miller dances to entertain them. His dance is interrupted by the magistrate's bodyguard, who has come to arrest him on trumped-up charges. After the miller is taken away, the guests leave one-by-one. The miller's wife goes to sleep and soon the magistrate comes to the mill. On his way to the door, the magistrate trips and falls in the river. The miller's wife wakes up and runs away.
The magistrate undresses, hangs his clothes on a tree, and goes to sleep in the miller's bed. The miller has escaped from prison and sees the magistrate in his bed. The miller thinks that the magistrate is sleeping with his wife and plans to switch clothes with the magistrate and avenge himself by seducing the magistrate's wife. The miller leaves, dressed as the magistrate, and the magistrate soon wakes up. He goes outside and sees that his clothes are gone, so he dresses in the miller's clothes.
The bodyguard comes and sees the magistrate dressed as the miller and goes to arrest him. The miller's wife sees the bodyguard fighting with what looks like her husband and joins in the fight. The miller comes back and sees his wife in the fight and joins it to protect her. The magistrate explains the entire story and the ballet ends with the miller's guests tossing the magistrate up and down in a blanket.
Music
Throughout the ballet, Falla uses traditional
Andalusian folk music. The two songs sung by the
mezzo-soprano
A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...
are examples of ''
cante jondo
''Cante jondo'' (Andalusian ) is a vocal style in flamenco, an unspoiled form of Andalusian folk music. The name means "deep song" in Spanish, with ''hondo'' ("deep") spelled with J () as a form of eye dialect, because traditional Andalusian pro ...
'' singing, which typically accompanies
flamenco music
Flamenco (), in its strictest sense, is an art form based on the various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain, developed within the gitano subculture of the region of Andalusia, and also having historical presence in Extremadura and ...
and tells a sad story. At one point (the ''
farruca ''Farruca'' () is a form of flamenco music developed in the late 19th century. Classified as a cante chico, it is traditionally sung and danced by men. Its origin is traditionally associated with Galicia, a region in northern Spain.
An instrumenta ...
''), he
quotes
Quote is a hypernym of quotation, as the repetition or copy of a prior statement or thought. Quotation marks are punctuation marks that indicate a quotation. Both ''quotation'' and ''quotation marks'' are sometimes abbreviated as "quote(s)".
Co ...
the opening of
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. Beethoven remains one of the most admired composers in the history of Western music; his works rank amongst the most performed of the classical ...
's
5th Symphony.
Recordings
There are many recordings of the complete ballet, as well as of the suites extracted from it. In the early 1960s,
Ernest Ansermet
Ernest Alexandre Ansermet (; 11 November 1883 – 20 February 1969)"Ansermet, Ernest" in ''The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th edn., 1992, Vol. 1, p. 435. was a Swiss conductor.
Biography
Ansermet ...
, the original conductor, recorded it in
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
for
London Records
London Recordings (or London Records and London Music Stream) is a British record label that marketed records in the United States, Canada, and Latin America for Decca Records from 1947 to 1980 before becoming semi-independent. The London nam ...
. The music was played by the
Orchestre de la Suisse Romande
The Orchestre de la Suisse Romande (OSR) is a Swiss symphony orchestra, based in Geneva at the Victoria Hall. In addition to symphony concerts, the OSR performs as the opera orchestra in productions at the Grand Théâtre de Genève.
History
Er ...
and the ''cante jondo'' soloist was
Teresa Berganza
Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS (16 March 1933 – 13 May 2022) was a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with roles such as Rossini's Rosina and La Cenerentola, and later Bizet's Carmen, admired for her technical virtuosity, m ...
. It has also been recorded by such conductors as
Charles Dutoit
Charles Édouard Dutoit (born 7 October 1936) is a Swiss conductor. He is currently the principal guest conductor for the Saint Petersburg Philharmonia and co-director of thMISA Festival in Shanghai In 2017, he became the 103rd recipient of th ...
,
Rafael Fruhbeck de Burgos,
Jesús López-Cobos
Jesus ( AD 30 or 33) was a Jewish preacher and religious leader who most Christians believe to be the incarnation of God and Muslims believe was a prophet.
Jesus may also refer to:
People
Religious figures
* Elymas Bar-Jesus, a Jew in the ''Ac ...
,
André Previn
André George Previn (; born Andreas Ludwig Priwin; April 6, 1929 – February 28, 2019) was a German-American pianist, composer, and conductor. His career had three major genres: Hollywood films, jazz, and classical music. In each he achieved ...
,
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music.
Born in Mont ...
and
Juanjo Mena
Juanjo Mena (also known as Juan José Mena; born 21 September 1965, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Basque Country, Spain) is a Spanish conductor.
Biography
Mena began his music studies at the Vitoria-Gasteiz Conservatory. He later attended the Madrid Ro ...
.
Leonard Bernstein
Leonard Bernstein ( ; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was the first America ...
has recorded the two suites from the ballet with the
New York Philharmonic
The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...
. (For a comparison of the Previn and Dutoit versions, see
here
Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to:
Software
* Here Technologies, a mapping company
* Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here
Television
* Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...
.)
The original pantomime ''El corregidor y la molinera'' has been recorded by
Josep Pons
Josep Pons (born Josep Pons i Viladomat; 1957) is a Spanish conductor.
Biography
Pons was born in Puig-reig, Berguedà. He received his musical training at L'Escolania de Montserrat and continued his musical studies in Barcelona with such teac ...
and Orquestra del Teatro Lliure for
Harmonia Mundi
Harmonia Mundi is an independent record label which specializes in classical music, jazz, and world music (on the World Village label). It was founded in France in 1958 and is now a subsidiary of PIAS Entertainment Group.
Its Latin name ''ha ...
.
Film versions
The
Paris Opera Ballet
The Paris Opera Ballet () is a French ballet company that is an integral part of the Paris Opera. It is the oldest national ballet company, and many European and international ballet companies can trace their origins to it. It is still regarded ...
has issued a performance of the complete ballet on a DVD entitled ''Picasso and Dance''. The performance uses not only Massine's original choreography, but actual reproductions of Picasso's sets and costumes.
References
Bibliography
*
Kennedy, Michael (2006). ''The Oxford Dictionary of Music''. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Three-Cornered Hat, The
Ballets by Léonide Massine
Ballets by Manuel de Falla
Ballets designed by Pablo Picasso
1919 ballet premieres
1919 compositions
1910s in Spanish music