''The Rite of Spring'' is a one-act ballet created by

Kenneth MacMillan Sir Kenneth MacMillan (11 December 192929 October 1992) was a British ballet dancer and choreographer who was artistic director of the Royal Ballet in London between 1970 and 1977, and its principal choreographer from 1977 until his death. Ea ...

in 1962 for the

Royal Ballet The Royal Ballet is a British internationally renowned classical ballet company, based at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, England. The largest of the five major ballet companies in Great Britain, the Royal Ballet was founded in ...

, set to

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 ...

's ''

The Rite of Spring ''The Rite of Spring''. Full name: ''The Rite of Spring: Pictures from Pagan Russia in Two Parts'' (french: Le Sacre du printemps: tableaux de la Russie païenne en deux parties) (french: Le Sacre du printemps, link=no) is a ballet and orchestral ...

'' (1913). The conductor was

Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

, and the designs were by

Sidney Nolan Sir Sidney Robert Nolan (22 April 191728 November 1992) was one of Australia's leading artists of the 20th century. Working in a wide variety of mediums, his oeuvre is among the most diverse and prolific in all of modern art. He is best known ...

. The first performance was given at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

Covent Garden Covent Garden is a district in London, on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit-and-vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist si ...

on 3 May 1962. The central role of the Chosen One was danced by

Monica Mason Dame Monica Mason (born 6 September 1941) is a former ballet dancer, teacher, and artistic director of The Royal Ballet. In more than fifty years with the company, she established a reputation as a versatile performer, a skilled rehearsal dire ...

who continued to tale the part in revivals up to 1982. Mason supervised later revivals, in which the Chosen One was danced by, among others,

Tamara Rojo Tamara Rojo CBE (born 17 May 1974) is a Spanish ballet dancer. She is the English National Ballet's artistic director (2012–2022) and a lead principal dancer with the company. She was previously a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. She ...

(2005 and 2008),

Mara Galeazzi Mara Galeazzi (born 1973) is an Italian ballet dancer. She was a Principal Dancer of The Royal Ballet. Early life Galeazzi was born in Brescia, Italy. At age 10, she started ballet training at La Scala Theatre Ballet School, where she graduated ...

(2005),

Zenaida Yanowsky Zenaida Yanowsky, Lady Keenlyside (born 23 December 1975), is a French-born Spanish ballet dancer and a former principal dancer with the Royal Ballet in London. Early life Yanowsky was born in Lyon, France, where her parents, Russian ballet dan ...

(2005),

Steven McRae Steven McRae (born 19 December 1985) is an Australian ballet dancer and tap dancer. He is a principal dancer with the Royal Ballet, London.

(2011) and

Edward Watson Edward Watson may refer to: * Edward Watson (died 1617), MP for Stamford *Edward Watson (dancer) Edward Watson MBE (born 21 May 1976) is a British ballet dancer. He is a principal dancer and coach with the Royal Ballet in London. Early years E ...

(2011)."The Rite of Spring (1962)"
Royal Opera House Collections Online, retrieved 9 October 2014

Background

MacMillan had been invited to create a new production of ''The Rite of Spring'' for the Royal Ballet in 1959, but had declined. The company had little history of presenting Stravinsky ballets, with the exceptions of Ashton's ''

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 sh ...

'' (1935) and '' Scènes de ballet'' (1948), and MacMillan's '' Dances concertantes'' (1955), ''

Agon Agon (Greek ) is a Greek term for a conflict, struggle or contest. This could be a contest in athletics, in chariot or horse racing, or in music or literature at a public festival in ancient Greece. Agon is the word-forming element in 'agony', ...

'' (1958) and ''Le baiser de la fée'' (1961).Jordan, p. 34 MacMillan took ''The Rite'' up in 1962, creating a work conspicuously removed from the Royal Ballet's classical tradition. His conception of the piece, supported by

's designs, was what the commentator Stephanie Jordan calls "a generalized primitivism". The scenario generally follows that of the original 1913 ballet, with minor changes such as the replacement of the Sage with three Elders, and bringing two key plot points forward in the action: the selection of the chosen one and the start of her sacrificial dance.Jordan, p. 35

Premiere

The premiere took place on Friday 3 May 1962 at Covent Garden. Notable audience members included

Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

and

Princess Margaret Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon, (Margaret Rose; 21 August 1930 – 9 February 2002) was the younger daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and the younger sister and only sibling of Queen Elizabeth ...

Original cast

::Source: Royal Opera House archive.

Critical reception

Early reviews were mixed but generally positive; ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' concluded that the Royal Ballet had "made a brave musicianly and tasteful attempt" while questioning whether "the stage can really be its home – that remains unproven"; ''

dance and dancers ''Dance and Dancers'' was a magazine about ballet. The magazine was founded in 1950 by publisher Philip Dosse and editor Peter Williams (dance critic), Peter Williams. John Percival edited the magazine from 1951 to 1995. The publishing company, ...

'' described it as "a singular and signal triumph"; Mason's performance was judged "brilliantly done", "one of British ballet's most memorable performances". In ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' John Percival commented that ever since

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 ...

's original attempt in 1913 ''The Rite'' had been waiting for a choreographer who could make it work on stage, and MacMillan's was the most successful version to date: "Mr MacMillan's invention can never have been more musical or assured. Time and time again Stravinsky's music, unaffectedly conducted by Mr Colin Davis, meets its match, as the choreography, with its blend of primitivism and modern jive, piles climax on climax."Percival John. "A Gala Worthy of the Name", ''The Times'', 4 May 1962, p. 20

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rite of Spring Ballets by Kenneth MacMillan 1962 ballet premieres