Dutch National Ballet

Stravinsky Fairy Tales

Alexei Ratmansky

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Dates

15-25 June 2024

Location

Dutch National Opera & Ballet, Main Stage

Running time

2:10, incl. 1 interval

Tickets

The Ice Maiden and The Firebird

Besides being today’s most important classical ballet choreographer, Alexei Ratmansky is also one of the main criticasters of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Following the staging of his Giselle in The Hague (2022), for the hastily founded United Ukrainian Ballet, Dutch National Ballet is now presenting in Stravinsky Fairy Tales two of his most successful and imaginative ballets: his dazzling Firebird and the European premiere of the poetic The Fairy’s Kiss. Both are set to the magisterial music of Igor Stravinsky.

Dutch National Opera & Ballet recommends that children be at least 8 years old for this performance.

The Ice Maiden and The Firebird

Ratmansky – artist in residence with New York City Ballet – was enthralled by Stravinsky’s music from an early age. The American-Ukrainian-Russian choreographer is a master in reinterpreting famous ballets, folk tales and fairy tales, including The Ice Maiden and The Firebird – fairy tales that previously inspired Stravinsky to write two wonderful scores: Le baiser de la fée and L’Oiseau de feu.

Icy kiss

Stravinsky’s Le baiser de la fée, composed in 1928 for Les Ballets Russes, is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Ice Maiden. During a snowstorm, a boy is saved by the kiss of a fairy. He grows into a handsome young man, but on the eve of his wedding, the fairy returns to claim him, sealing his fate with an icy kiss.

The legend of the firebird was the inspiration for Stravinsky’s L’Oiseau de feu from 1910. It tells the story of the tsar’s son Ivan, who captures a firebird in a magical garden. When she manages to escape, Ivan gets one of her feathers, which will save him in times of need.

Moving and passionate

Ratmansky has interpreted both fairy tales in dance in an extremely original way. In Ratmansky’s hands, The Fairy’s Kiss – with gorgeous sets and costumes by Jérôme Kaplan – becomes a moving story of a choreographer who cannot escape his fate. His passionate Firebird is a feast for the eyes, in which his firebird also stands for a force of nature that is difficult to evade.

Credits

The Fairy’s Kiss
European premiere
Choreography Alexei Ratmansky
Music Igor Stravinsky – The Fairy’s Kiss (1928)
Set and costume design Jérôme Kaplan
Lighting design James F. Ingalls
Co-production with Norwegian National Opera and Ballet

Firebird
Choreography Alexei Ratmansky
Music Igor Stravinsky – The Firebird (1910)
Set design Simon Pastukh
Costume design Galina Solovjeva
Lighting design Brad Fields
Co-production with American Ballet Theatre

Musical accompaniment Dutch Ballet Orchestra conducted by Matthew Rowe

School matinees
One performance of Firebird will be given especially for schools. Learn more about the school matinees.

Part of the Holland Festival

Online programme

Along with the printed programme book, we also offer online programme information for this performance. The online programme will take you behind the scenes with in-depth stories, articles, and interviews with the creators and cast.

Check out the online programme

5 reasons to look forward to … Stravinsky Fairy Tales

Alexei Ratmansky

Giorgi Potskhishvili en Maia Makhateli in Firebird

Fairy tales - Firebird (2014)

Firebird (2014)

Firebird - HNB 2012 | Photo's: Altin Kaftira

Alexei Ratmansky is generally considered today’s most talented classical choreographer (...) His new work is everywhere – Paris, Toronto, Amsterdam, Miami, as well as New York

19 June

Alexei Ratmansky’s latest ballet, The Fairy’s Kiss, feels like skilful, page-turning prose that opens in each scene into different forms of poetry

12 February

A narrative steeped in music

An interview with principal conductor Matthew Rowe

Matthew Rowe will soon step down as chief conductor of Dutch Ballet Orchestra and music director of Dutch National Ballet. Having served 12 years in this dual role and acting as a bridge between music and ballet, Matthew has decided to move on and embark on other adventures in music. In June, he will be conducting the Stravinsky Fairy Tales ballet programme – featuring the captivating Firebird and The Fairy’s Kiss – before taking on his new role as principal guest conductor.

Photo: Matthew Rowe | © Frances Marshall

Read the full article here

Dutch Ballet Orchestra

Dutch Ballet Orchestra’s mission is ‘to inspire movement in dance’. Since its inception in 1965, the orchestra has been the proud musical partner of Dutch National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater. In every performance, the orchestra searches for inspiring synergy between music and dance, in order to give the audience a magical experience.

Dutch Ballet Orchestra

Led by principal conductor Matthew Rowe, Dutch Ballet Orchestra is the leading orchestra for dance in the Netherlands. The orchestra accompanies performances ranging from traditional ballet to modern dance, alongside its activities in music education and talent development.

Besides performances with Dutch National Ballet and Nederlands Dans Theater, Dutch Ballet Orchestra has a long tradition of innovative – and award-winning – family performances. For instance, Creatures (in collaboration with ISH Dance Collective) received the international Young Audiences Music Award, and the production Hansel and Gretel (in collaboration with Orkater) won various Musical Awards. In these productions, the musicians play from memory, without a conductor and in costumes, so that they form an integral part of the performance.

And finally, Dutch Ballet Orchestra has a long-term partnership with the Dutch National Ballet Academy. They are therefore involved in the music curriculum for pupils and students, facilitate student visits to orchestra rehearsals and provide music for the academy’s end-of-year performance, where possible.

hetballetorkest.nl/en

Rehearsal Firebird - Stravinsky Fairy Tales (2024) | Jacopo Tissi and Riho Sakamoto | Photos: Altin Kaftira

Rehearsal Firebird - Stravinsky Fairy Tales (2024) | Maia Makhateli and Giorgi Potskhishvili | Photos: Altin Kaftira

Group rehearsal Stravinsky Fairy Tales - DNB (2024) | Photos: Altin Kaftira

Rehearsal The Fairy’s Kiss - Anna Tsygankova and Victor Caxieta | Photos: Altin Kaftira

Rehearsal The Fairy’s Kiss - Anna Tsygankova | Photo: Altin Kaftira

Rehearsal The Fairy’s Kiss - Young Gyu Choi | Photo: Altin Kaftira

Rehearsal The Fairy’s Kiss - Elisabeth Tonev and Timothy van Poucke | Photos: Altin Kaftira

Rehearsal The Fairy’s Kiss - Elisabeth Tonev | Photo: Altin Kaftira

Rehearsal The Fairy’s Kiss - Erica Horwood and Timothy van Poucke | Photos: Altin Kaftira

Podcast - Stravinsky Sprookjes

De volgende fragmenten van opnames zijn gebruikt voor het samenstellen van deze podcast:

L'oiseau de Feu - Stravinsky - Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg o.l.v. Gustavo Gimeno
The Fairy’s Kiss - Stravinsky - Scottish Symphony Orchestra o.l.v. Ilan Volkov
Le Sacre du printemps - Stravinsky - The Philadelphia Orchestra o.l.v. Riccardo Muti
Songs for Children - Tsjaikovsky - Marina Philippova (zang), Dmitry Barbashin (piano)
Humoresque - Tsjaikovski - Valentina Lisitsa (piano)
Notenkraker & Muizenkoning - Tsjaikovski - Het Balletorkest o.l.v. Matthew Rowe

About Holland Festival

Holland Festival is the largest international performing arts festival in the Netherlands and one of the oldest festivals in Europe. The festival was established in 1947 and will celebrate its 77th anniversary in 2024.

The festival takes place every year, In June, in and around Amsterdam, at various locations, indoors and outdoors, large-scale and intimate, online and offline.