''Trapèze'' (russian: Трапе́ция) is a ballet by
Sergei Prokofiev
Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev; alternative transliterations of his name include ''Sergey'' or ''Serge'', and ''Prokofief'', ''Prokofieff'', or ''Prokofyev''., group=n (27 April .S. 15 April1891 – 5 March 1953) was a Russian composer, p ...
. Closely related to his
Quintet, Op. 39 (1924), it contains eight movements (in five parts) and lasts 20–25 minutes.
The complete ballet in eight movements was first performed in
Gotha, a German town near
Hanover
Hanover (; german: Hannover ; nds, Hannober) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Lower Saxony. Its 535,932 (2021) inhabitants make it the 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-largest city in Northern Germany ...
, on 6 November 1925.
Background
In 1924, when Prokofiev was staying in Paris, a travelling troupe commissioned a chamber ballet from him. However, the ensemble that provided music accompaniment to the troupe only contained five members. This provided Prokofiev an opportunity to write more chamber music. His most recent chamber piece had been the ''
Overture on Hebrew Themes
Sergei Prokofiev wrote the Overture on Hebrew Themes, Op. 34, in 1919 while he was in the United States. It is scored for the rare combination of clarinet, string quartet and piano. Fifteen years later the composer prepared a version for chambe ...
'', Op. 34 (1919).
Later, Prokofiev incorporated the ballet music into two pieces: Quintet, Op. 39 (1924) and
Divertissement ''Divertissement'' (from the French 'diversion' or 'amusement') is used, in a similar sense to the Italian 'divertimento', for a light piece of music for a small group of players, however the French term has additional meanings.
During the 17th and ...
, Op. 43 (1925–29).
Movements
The ''Trapèze Ballet'', reconstructed in 2002, is in five parts and eight movements:
# Overture
##
Moderato, molto ritmato
# "Matelote"
##
Allegro
Allegro may refer to:
Common meanings
* Allegro (music), a tempo marking indicate to play fast, quickly and bright
* Allegro (ballet), brisk and lively movement
Artistic works
* L'Allegro (1645), a poem by John Milton
* ''Allegro'' (Satie), an ...
# "The Ballerina"
##
Tema con variazioni
##
Andante energico
# "Dance of the Tumblers"
##
Allegro sostenuto, ma con brio
##
Adagio pesante
##
Allegro precipitato, ma non troppo presto
# "Mourning the Ballerina"
##
Andantino
The related Quintet is in six movements as follows:
# Tema con variazioni
#
Andante energico
#
Allegro sostenuto, ma con brio
#
Adagio pesante
#
Allegro precipitato, ma non troppo presto
#
Andantino
See also
*
List of ballets by title
__NOTOC__
The following is a list of ballets with entries in English Wikipedia. The entries are sorted alphabetically by ballet title, with the name of the composer (or the composer whose music the ballet is set to) and the year of the first perf ...
References
Notes
Sources
* Press, Stephen D. (2006). ''Prokofiev's Ballets for Diaghilev ''. Ashgate Publishing Limited.
External links
*
Video – Prokofiev ''Trapèze'' Ballet/scene (04:05).Video – Prokofiev ''Trapèze'' Ballet/quintet (22:10).Video – Prokofiev ''Trapèze'' Ballet/piano (20:45).
{{Authority control
Compositions by Sergei Prokofiev
Ballets by Sergei Prokofiev
20th-century classical music
1925 ballet premieres
1924 compositions