Atavistic Rituals as Messengers of Modernism
100 Years of “The Rite of Spring”
Deutsche Fassung
Abstract
“The Rite of Spring” is a key work in the history of music and dance. Directed by Sergei Diaghilev, the impresario of the Ballets Russes, a small group of exceedingly talented and progressive Russians revolutionised the conventional art forms. The polytonal dissonance of the music of Igor Stravinsky, Vaslav Nijinsky’s bold choreography, and the set designed by Slavic folk art specialist Nicholas Roerich anticipated much of what ultimately prevailed only towards the end of the 20th century. Nevertheless, at its premiere in the Théâtre des Champs-Elysées on 29 May 1913, the ballet was a scandal. What was the source of this éclat?
(Osteuropa 2-3/2013, pp. 195–210)