Mozartiana (ballet)

Previous versions#

In 1933, George Balanchine and librettist Boris Kochno co-founded Les Ballets 1933, after being dismissed from the Original Ballet Russe. The company was mainly funded by Edward James, and also backed by friends such as composer Cole Porter and fashion designer Coco Chanel. One of the ballets Balanchine choreographed for the company was Mozartiana, to Tchaikovsky’s Orchestral Suite No. 4, Mozartiana, The company disbanded after four weeks of performances in Paris and London between June and July. Among the students in Mozartiana were Marie-Jeanne. Some of the girls had to perform roles that were meant for men. In 1956, Danilova’s troupe performed Mozartiana. This was the last revival of the original Mozartiana, making it the longest-lived ballet in the Les Ballet 1933 repertory.

Production#

In 1981, Balanchine, who had made thirty-seven ballets to music by Tchaikovsky, decided that the New York City Ballet would hold an eleven day-long Tchaikovsky Festival to pay tribute to the composer. Despite her initial reservations, Farrell soon realized that Andersen fitted the vision Balanchine had for the ballet. It took one to three hours for Balanchine to work on each sections of the ballet, with few changes made afterwards. Preghiera was the last section Balanchine worked on, Mozartiana was made after Balanchine signed his will. As one of the ballets not specified in his will, the rights to the ballet went to dancer Karin von Aroldingen and his secretary Barbara Horgan, both of whom inherited many of his works, following his death in 1983.

Choreography#

Mozartiana is danced by a principal ballerina, two men, a corps de ballet of four tall women, and four young girls.

Performances#

Mozartiana premiered on June 4, 1981, at the New York State Theater, Other troupes that had performed the ballet include the Paris Opera Ballet, American Ballet Theatre, National Ballet of Canada, Birmingham Royal Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and Kansas City Ballet. In 2005, after Castelli’s death, the New York City Ballet dedicated a performance of Mozartiana to him.

Critical reception#

Following the premiere, New York Times critic Anna Kisselgoff commented that “Mozartiana is a subtle work, deliberately simple-looking, from a choreographer who can create the most complex ballets in the world.” However, she noted that the ballet was underrehearsed. Later that year, she reviewed the ballet again, now “performed properly”, and wrote, “For all its seriousness as a work of art, Mozartiana is also a work of gaiety. Here is a ballet as sublime as the not-so unrelated Balanchine-Mozart Divertimento No. 15. It has a similar pristinely crystalline quality. But it also has a new wit and epigrammatic tone that manifest themselves in several ways.” Mozartiana is considered Balanchine’s last major work.

External links#

• Mozartiana on the New York City Ballet website
• Mozartiana on the George Balanchine Trust website
• Mozartiana introductory notes on the Birmingham Royal Ballet website