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“My Boléro,” commented Ravel, “had to stick in one’s head!” More seriously, he explained: “In 1928, upon request by Madame Ida Rubinstein I composed a Bolero for an orchestra. This is a dance with a very moderate and continuously even movement, both due to its melody and to its harmony and rhythm. The rhythm is continuously marked by the drum. The element of diversity is added by the orchestral crescendo.” Maurice Béjart describes the creation of Ravel’s work in these terms: “Music that is too well-known and yet still fresh due to its simplicity. A melody (originally oriental and not Spanish) winds slowly around itself, increasing in volume and intensity, devouring the sound space and swallowing it up at the end of the melody.” Without further describing a ballet that needs no introduction, let us simply point out that Maurice Béjart returns to the spirit of the Rite of Spring in a very different style. In this sense, unlike most artists who have illustrated Boléro choreographically before him, he spurns the easy choices of a picturesque exterior to simply – but so forcefully – express the essential.
The Firebird, Nuages, The Bolero, Clair de Lune, The Bartered Bride
Nicolas Le Riche, Yann Bridard, Dorothée Gilbert, Manuel Legris, Benjamin Pech, Orchestra and Dancers of the Paris Opera
Music by Maurice Ravel, Igor Stravinsky, Claude Debussy, Smetana, Choreography by Maurice Béjart and Jiri Kylian
French
English, French
Production compagny : Bel Air Media
Coproduction compagny : Arte France, Opera National De Paris
Running Time : 1X 63’
Production Year : 2008
Distribution compagny : Telmondis distribution
Video Format : HD CAM