The Firebird (French: L'Oiseau de feu; Russian: Жар-птица, romanized as Zhar-ptitsa) is a ballet and orchestral concert work by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. It was written for the 1910 Paris season of Sergei Diaghilev's Ballets Russes company; the original choreography was by Michel Fokine, who collaborated with Alexandre Benois and others on a scenario based on the Russian fairy tales of the Firebird and the blessing and curse it possesses for its owner. It was first performed at the Opéra de Paris on 25 June 1910 and was an immediate success, catapulting Stravinsky to international fame and leading to future Diaghilev–Stravinsky collaborations including Petrushka (1911) and The Rite of Spring (1913). Set in the evil immortal Koschei's castle, the ballet follows Prince Ivan, who battles Koschei with the help of the magical Firebird in the fairy tale "Tsarevich Ivan, the Firebird and the Gray Wolf".
Shortly after the completion of The Firebird, Stravinsky wrote a piano solo reduction of the whole ballet. The composer later arranged three version suites for concert performance, dated 1911, 1919, and 1945.
It was only used in the series finale, Rocket's Firebird Rescue.
Summary[]
In Rocket's Firebird Rescue, The Firebird Suite was used when the Little Einsteins are on a special mission to rescue the Firebird from the evil hands of Katschai.
Structure[]
Three version suites based on the music used in the Firebird were written by Stravinsky for concert performance, dated 1911, 1919, and 1945:
The Firebird Suite (1911 version)[]
The first suite, titled "suite tirée du conte dansé 'L'oiseau de feu'", was composed in 1911 and published by P. Jurgenson the following year. The instrumentation is essentially the same as that of the ballet. The score was printed from the same plates; only the new endings for the movements were newly engraved.
A performance of the 1911 suite lasts about 21 minutes.
- Introduction – Koschei's Enchanted Garden – Dance of the Firebird
- Supplication of the Firebird
- The Princesses' Game with Golden Apples
- The Princesses' Khorovod
- Infernal Dance of all Koschei's Subjects
The Firebird Suite (1919 version)[]
This suite was composed in Morges, Switzerland, for a smaller orchestra. Walsh alleged the suite was composed to re-copyright the work, as Stravinsky sold the new suite to his publisher J. & W. Chester, despite the original ballet still being in copyright. The score contained many errors; Stravinsky wrote in 1952 that "the parts of the 1919 version were in such poor condition and so full of mistakes". Regardless, the 1919 suite remains the most popular today.
A performance of the 1919 suite lasts about 26 minutes.
- Introduction – The Firebird and its Dance – Variation of the Firebird
- The Princesses' Khorovod (Rondo)
- Infernal Dance of King Kashchei
- Lullaby
- Finale
The Firebird Suite (1945 version)[]
In 1945, shortly before he acquired American citizenship, Stravinsky was contacted by Leeds Music with a proposal to revise the orchestration of his first three ballets to recopyright them in the United States. The composer agreed and fashioned a new suite based on the 1919 version, adding to it and re-orchestrating several minutes of the pantomimes from the original score. The only instrumentation change was the addition of a snare drum.
A performance of the 1945 suite lasts about 28 minutes.
- Introduction – Prelude and Dance of the Firebird – Variations (Firebird)
- Pantomime I
- Pas de deux: Firebird and Ivan Tsarevich
- Pantomime II
- Scherzo: Dance of the Princesses
- Pantomime III
- Rondo (Khorovod)
- Infernal Dance
- Lullaby (Firebird)
- Final Hymn
Episode Appearances[]
Season 2[]
Songs adapted from The Firebird Suite[]
Rocket's Firebird Rescue[]
Trivia[]
General[]
- The 1919 version of the suite remains the most iconic version of the Firebird Suite still performed today.
- The Firebird's mortal and supernatural elements are distinguished with a system of leitmotifs placed in the harmony dubbed "leit-harmony". Stravinsky intentionally used many specialist techniques in the orchestra, including ponticello, col legno, flautando, glissando, and flutter-tonguing.
In popular culture[]
- The music was also used in 1999 for the Premiere and 2000 for the IMAX release and the theatrical release of the early Y2K Disney movie, Fantasia 2000.
- The Finale from The Firebird Suite was played during the Cauldron Lighting segment at the opening ceremonies of the Salt Lake City 2002 Olympic Winter Games and the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games.
Audio Gallery[]
