''Jeu de cartes'' (Card Game) is a

neoclassical ballet Neoclassical ballet is the style of 20th-century classical ballet exemplified by the works of George Balanchine. The term "neoclassical ballet" appears in the 1920s with Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes, in response to the excesses of romanticis ...

in three "

deal A deal, or deals may refer to: Places United States * Deal, New Jersey, a borough * Deal, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * Deal Lake, New Jersey Elsewhere * Deal Island (Tasmania), Australia * Deal, Kent, a town in England * Deal, ...

s", composed 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 ...

in 1936–37 with libretto by the composer in collaboration with Nikita Malayev, a friend of Stravinsky's eldest son Théodore, and with choreography by

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

. The ballet was premiered by the

American Ballet The American Ballet was the first professional ballet company George Balanchine created in the United States. The company was founded with the help of Lincoln Kirstein and Edward Warburg, managed by Alexander Merovitch and populated by students of ...

at the Metropolitan Opera House, New York City on 27 April 1937, with the composer conducting; the European premiere followed on 13 October 1937 performed by the

Staatskapelle Dresden The Staatskapelle Dresden (known formally as the Sächsische Staatskapelle Dresden) is a German orchestra based in Dresden, the capital of Saxony. Founded in 1548 by Maurice, Elector of Saxony, it is one of the world's oldest and most highly re ...

under the direction of

Karl Böhm Karl August Leopold Böhm (28 August 1894 – 14 August 1981) was an Austrian conductor. He was best known for his performances of the music of Mozart, Wagner, and Richard Strauss. Life and career Education Karl Böhm was born in Graz. T ...

. ''Jeu de cartes'' was commissioned in November 1935, although the idea of a card game, especially the game of

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

, did not get firmly formed in Stravinsky's mind until after August 1936. The work was written during Stravinsky's neoclassical period. The main character is the deceitful Joker, who fashions himself unbeatable, owing to his chameleon-like ability to become any

card Card or The Card may refer to: * Various types of plastic cards: **By type ***Magnetic stripe card *** Chip card *** Digital card **By function ***Payment card ****Credit card **** Debit card ****EC-card ****Identity card ****European Health Insur ...

. There are also other cards—

Queen Queen or QUEEN may refer to: Monarchy * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom ** List of queens regnant * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...

Ace An ace is a playing card, Dice, die or domino with a single Pip (counting), pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit (cards), suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large a ...

s and several card players portrayed in the ballet. ''Jeu de cartes'' shows that even the higher value cards, in much the same way as the people of higher position, may be occasionally defeated by the lower value cards.

Music

The music takes approximately 25 minutes to perform and consists of three scenes, referred to by the composer as "deals". The entire work can also be subdivided into its tempo markings: 1. First Deal (''Première donne'') * Introduction. Alla breve * Pas d'action. Meno mosso * Dance variation. Moderato assai * Dance of the Joker. Stringendo * Waltz-Coda. Tranquillo 2. Second Deal (''Deuxième donne'') * Introduction. Alla breve * March. Marcia * Variation I. Allegretto * Variation II * Variation III * Variation IV * Variation V. Sostenuto e pesante * Coda. Più mosso * Reprise of March. Marcia * Ensemble. Con moto 3. Third Deal (''Troisième donne''). * Introduction. Alla breve * Waltz. Valse * Battle between Spades and Hearts. Presto * Final Dance * Coda. Tempo del principio

Casts

Original

Annabelle Lyon Annabelle Lyon (New York City, January 8, 1916 – November 4, 2011, Mansfield, Massachusetts) was an American ballerina. She was a principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre. She was raised in Memphis, where her father Max ran a chain of ...

Leda Anchutina Leda may refer to: Mythology * Leda (mythology), queen of Sparta and mother of Helen of Troy in Greek mythology Places * Leda, Western Australia, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia * Leda makeshift settlement, Bangladesh, a refugee camp f ...

Ariel Lang Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award *Ariel (film), ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki *Ariel (novel series), ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video ...

Hortense Kahrklin Hortense is a French feminine given name that comes from Latin meaning ''gardener''. It may refer to: Persons * Hortense Allart (1801–1879), Italian-French feminist writer and essayist * Hortense de Beauharnais (1783–1837), stepdaughter of N ...

William Dollar William Dollar (April 20, 1907 – February 28, 1986) was an American dancer, ballet master, choreographer, and teacher. As one of the first American ''danseurs nobles'', he performed with numerous companies, including the Philadelphia Opera Ballet ...

Reviews

* NY Times review by

Anna Kisselgoff Anna Kisselgoff (born 12 January 1938) is a dance critic and cultural news reporter for ''The New York Times''. She began at the ''Times'' as a dance critic and cultural news reporter in 1968, and became its Chief Dance Critic in 1977, a role she h ...

, May 30, 1992NY Times review
/ref>

References

External links

{{Authority control Ballets by Igor Stravinsky Ballets by George Balanchine 1937 ballet premieres 1937 compositions Neoclassicism (music)