Aschenbrödel
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Aschenbrödel | |
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Choreographer | Emil Graeb |
Music | Johann Strauss II Josef Bayer |
Premiere | 2 May 1901 Berlin |
Original ballet company | Berlin Royal Opera |
Type | classical ballet |
Aschenbrödel (Cinderella) is a ballet written by Johann Strauss II. He had written all the principal parts of the ballet, and was intending to fill in the orchestration as time permitted. However, Strauss died in 1899, and it was finished by composer Josef Bayer in 1900.
History
The idea for Strauss to write a ballet came from
Finally, it was decided (after receiving over 700 entries) that the winner was a certain A. Kollmann from Salzburg. The prize money was even effected through a lawyer representative and there were even rumors circulated that Kollmann was a pseudonym and that he may even be a member of the royalty in Emperor Franz Josef's court.
Strauss was not particularly impressed with the scenario set in a modern department store, although he set to work almost immediately. He worked at his pace and refused to be rushed, and by the winter of 1898, he had completed act 1 and was able to perform small parts of the orchestral version on the piano. By the time Strauss died in Vienna on 3 June 1899, the work lay unfinished, although sketches of the entire work were already done.
In 1901,
Mahler left the Vienna Court Opera at the end of the 1907 season. The new director, Felix Weingartner, who was impressed with the score, eagerly sought it out and conducted the orchestra himself at the premiere in Vienna on 4 October 1908. The ballet was regularly performed for seven years, achieving forty-six performances until the outbreak of World War I. Ironically, Mahler proved to be more accurate in his judgment as to the cost of the production, as the Viennese performances were expensive, and it was neglected until 1975 when the ballet was resurrected.
Summary of plot
The action takes place in a department store, The Four Seasons. The leading characters are Gustav, owner of the store, and Franz, his younger brother and rival for the love of Grete (Cinderella), who works in the women's fashions department. Grete's stepmother, Mme. Leontine, is the department's supervisor. She has, of course, two daughters who lord it over Grete and do not seem to work though they are often in the store. Another key character, Piccolo, Gustav's valet, is a travesty role. As mentioned, the ballerina (the part is referred to as "Floral") appears only in the ballroom (act 2) for the floral divertissement.
Typically, the printed program for Cinderella lists all the dances. From this inventory one gets an inkling how Viennese ballets at the time differed from those of Saint Petersburg, which we know at least a little. There are four dances in act 1. The first, called "Franz's Self-portrait", introduces the ballet's junior male lead (probably demicaractère) to the female cast of characters and to the audience. In this solo, Franz (Ferdinand Rathner) proclaims who he is and what he does. One of the things he masters is driving an automobile—dancemiming this topic seems very Léonide Massine. The stepsisters (danced by real sisters, Lydia and Olga Berger) have a Promenade Adventure and Piccolo (Luise Wopalenski) does a "Love Letter Delivery" to Grete (Marie Kohler) who, with her trained birds, dances the "Waltz of the Doves".
Apparently there are no ensemble dances in act 1, though there are several in act 2, at the party thrown by Gustav. First comes the "Marveilleusen Quadrille" for Franz and the female corps. A pas de trois, "Masked Game", is for the stepsisters and Gustav (Karl Godlewski, one of Joseph Haßreiter 's deputy choreographers). Grete dances a solo named the "Blue Domino" after the costume she wears (probably as covering as she arrives at the party). The "Confections Waltz" (which may have something to do with the refreshments being served) features nine female soloists and the female corps; this is followed by a "Salon Quadrille" for four couples, a mazurka for the stepsisters, and Grete's big solo, the "Cinderella Waltz". The ballerina (Cäcilie Cerri, Vienna's last Italian prima, was "Flora") enters in a "Welcome with Flowers", which leads into the biggest dance number, the "Flowertorch Polonaise" with "Flora," Grete, thirteen female soloists, Gustav, four male soloists, the adult female corps and the group of female students.
An "Amoretten Polka" is the first dance in act 3, followed by the "Bridal-Treasure Waltz" for Grete, a female soloist, Piccolo, Gustav, and the female students. The next dance, "Old Vienna Porcelain", for Piccolo plus four solo women and four solo men, may represent a wedding present, and the final "Jewels Waltz" for Piccolo, nine female soloists and the female corps, is perhaps, the setting for the bridegroom's gift to his bride.
References
Based on original text by Peter Kemp, The Johann Strauss Society of Great Britain. Used with permission.[full citation needed]