Stravinsky Rite Of Spring Analysis

The premier of The Rite of Spring, beginning with a bassoon solo but ending with a brawl, is one of the Russian composer, Igor Stravinsky’s most famous works. However, the reception of this composition was one that was fuelled by outrage from the audience watching from the seats of Paris's Théâtre des Champs-Élysées on the 29th of May 1913. Today, however, The Rite of Spring has become one of the most influential compositions, changing the history of the ballet.

As the evening of the 29th of May came around, the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées was packed. As Gusatv Linor reported: ‘Never ... has the hall been so full, or so resplendent; the stairways and the corridors were crowded with spectators eager to see and to hear.’ What the audience were about to witness was the newest ballet from the Ballets Russes, an elite, well-established theatre company imported from Russia. Prior to the premier of The Rite of Spring, Stravinsky had great achievements the year before with his ballet, Petrushka, which added an element of excitement to a traditional Russian folklore and Stravinsky had hoped that The

It was stated that it was not just Stravinsky’s music that shocked but the stumbling around of the dancers which had been choreographed by Vaslav Nijinsky. At this point, what ensued was nothing more than a riot. The sound of shouting overpowered Nijinsky who was on stage directing the dancers, attempting to keep them in time and it was believed that the dancing had offended the sense of beauty that the audience had hoped for in the ballet. During this time in Paris, ballets were generally attended by either wealthy people expecting to see a traditional performance with exquisite music or by those who would praise anything that was new. They expected classical dance which was floaty and elegant but were presented with strange stamping which defied every idea of