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Masterpiece Theatre: Part Three - Prokofiev's Cinderella
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Prokofiev was Tchaikovsky's greatest successor in the realm of narrative Russian ballet, evidenced by a body of works which have earned a permanent place in the international repertoire. The scenario of the composer's Cinderella is essentially faithful to the beloved tale by Charles Perrault.
Act One serves largely to introduce the characters. The heroine's father is a weak man who fails to protect his daughter from the wickedness of a stepmother and two stepsisters. Cinderella takes pity on an old beggar woman, who reveals herself as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother after all the others have departed for the Prince's ball.
The ball itself is the setting for Act Two, which is dominated by an exquisite, lusciously scored waltz. The Prince and Cinderella, in a classic instance of love at first sight, dance a rapturous pas de deux. The music for this concluding number of the act, when Cinderella realizes she must leave just as the clock strikes midnight, is remarkably powerful and threatening; snarling trombones and bass drum dominate the musical texture.
Act Three focuses on the Prince's search for the mysterious woman he has fallen in love with. To the accompaniment of an amusing recurring passage of "traveling" music, the Prince visits a number of foreign lands. In each he encounters a tempting beauty who dances for him. The next scene, "The Morning After the Ball," opens with all the characters in Cinderella's household discussing the events of the previous night. The Prince arrives in search of his love, and when Cinderella's identity is revealed, the Fairy Godmother magically transports the two lovers to an enchanted realm.
Composed over the span of four years, the score took Prokofiev an uncommonly long time to complete. Because of the German invasion of Russia in 1941, Prokofiev set aside the ballet to take on more patriotic themes, devoting his effort to the epic opera War and Peace (1941-1943). He resumed work on Cinderella after an Allied victory over Germany seemed imminent, and it received a triumphant premiere on November 21, 1945. In the following year Prokofiev extracted three suites from the ballet which have become concert favorites; the third is notable for its incorporation of "The Three Oranges" from the composer's opera The Love for Three Oranges (1919). Other numbers from the ballet found their way into an independent Waltz Suite (1946) that also includes excerpts from War and Peace and the film score Lermontov (1941).
[Article taken from All Music Guide]
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One of my favorite ballets from Prokofiev. I was just revisiting the Michail Jurowski performance on CPO yesterday and found it absolutely riveting. I need to revisit the Ashkenazy recording on Decca as I remember it being outstanding. Then there is Rozhdestvensky who is excellent, especially in the newest remastering from Melodiya.
What do you guys think of this ballet? A masterpiece? Any favorite performances?
Prokofiev was Tchaikovsky's greatest successor in the realm of narrative Russian ballet, evidenced by a body of works which have earned a permanent place in the international repertoire. The scenario of the composer's Cinderella is essentially faithful to the beloved tale by Charles Perrault.
Act One serves largely to introduce the characters. The heroine's father is a weak man who fails to protect his daughter from the wickedness of a stepmother and two stepsisters. Cinderella takes pity on an old beggar woman, who reveals herself as Cinderella's Fairy Godmother after all the others have departed for the Prince's ball.
The ball itself is the setting for Act Two, which is dominated by an exquisite, lusciously scored waltz. The Prince and Cinderella, in a classic instance of love at first sight, dance a rapturous pas de deux. The music for this concluding number of the act, when Cinderella realizes she must leave just as the clock strikes midnight, is remarkably powerful and threatening; snarling trombones and bass drum dominate the musical texture.
Act Three focuses on the Prince's search for the mysterious woman he has fallen in love with. To the accompaniment of an amusing recurring passage of "traveling" music, the Prince visits a number of foreign lands. In each he encounters a tempting beauty who dances for him. The next scene, "The Morning After the Ball," opens with all the characters in Cinderella's household discussing the events of the previous night. The Prince arrives in search of his love, and when Cinderella's identity is revealed, the Fairy Godmother magically transports the two lovers to an enchanted realm.
Composed over the span of four years, the score took Prokofiev an uncommonly long time to complete. Because of the German invasion of Russia in 1941, Prokofiev set aside the ballet to take on more patriotic themes, devoting his effort to the epic opera War and Peace (1941-1943). He resumed work on Cinderella after an Allied victory over Germany seemed imminent, and it received a triumphant premiere on November 21, 1945. In the following year Prokofiev extracted three suites from the ballet which have become concert favorites; the third is notable for its incorporation of "The Three Oranges" from the composer's opera The Love for Three Oranges (1919). Other numbers from the ballet found their way into an independent Waltz Suite (1946) that also includes excerpts from War and Peace and the film score Lermontov (1941).
[Article taken from All Music Guide]
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One of my favorite ballets from Prokofiev. I was just revisiting the Michail Jurowski performance on CPO yesterday and found it absolutely riveting. I need to revisit the Ashkenazy recording on Decca as I remember it being outstanding. Then there is Rozhdestvensky who is excellent, especially in the newest remastering from Melodiya.
What do you guys think of this ballet? A masterpiece? Any favorite performances?
