New York City Ballet: All Balanchine
$40-$218
Emmanuel Chabrier — Bourrée fantasque (part of 'Bourrée Fantasque')
Emmanuel Chabrier — Prelude to Gwendoline (part of 'Bourrée Fantasque')
Emmanuel Chabrier — "Fête Polonaise" from Le Roi Malgré Lui (part of 'Bourrée Fantasque')
Georges Bizet — Jeux d'enfants ("Children's Games"), Op. 22 (Nos. 6, 3, 11, 12; part of 'The Steadfast Tin Soldier')
Maurice Ravel — Tzigane (part of 'Errante')
Georges Bizet — Symphony No. 1 in C major "Symphony in C" (part of 'Symphony in C')
While known for his loyalty to composers from his native Russia, Balanchine also displayed a deep affection for French music, as the dances in this program illustrate. The rarely seen Bourrée Fantasque, set to the music of Chabrier, includes romping comedy in the first movement and a blazing finale for the corps de ballet. Errante, originally titled Tzigane after the name of Ravel's rhapsodic score and last revived for the 1993 Balanchine Celebration, returns in a staging by Suzanne Farrell, for whom it was choreographed in 1975. The evening also includes two disparate dances to Bizet scores: the animated pas de deux The Steadfast Tin Soldier, with its fairy-tale characters who spring to life, and Symphony in C, one of Balanchine's most brilliant and cherished displays of the variety of classical style.
Runs. Apr. 23-May 5.