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The Seasons (Russian: Времена года, Vremena goda; also French: Les Saisons) is an allegorical ballet in one act, four scenes, by the choreographer Marius Petipa, with music by Alexander Glazunov, his Op. 67. The work was composed in 1899,^[1] and first performed by the Imperial Ballet on 26 February [O.S. 13 February] 1900 in St. Petersburg, Russia.

History

Composition history

The score for Marius Petipa's Les Saisons (The Seasons) was originally intended to have been composed by the Italian composer and conductor Riccardo Drigo, who was Glazunov's colleague and close friend. Since 1886, Drigo held the posts of director of music and chef d’orchestre to the Ballet of the St. Petersburg Imperial Theatres, while also serving as conductor for performances of the Italian operas in the repertory of the Imperial Opera. Petipa's Les Millions d’Arlequin (also known as Harlequinade) was also in its preliminary stages at the same time as Les Saisons, and was originally intended to have had a score supplied by Glazunov. Since Drigo and Glazunov had an affinity towards each other's assigned ballet, the two composers agreed that Glazunov would compose Les Saisons and that Drigo would compose Les Millions d’Arlequin.

Petipa's Les Millions d'Arlequin was presented for the first time at the Imperial Theatre of the Hermitage on 23 February [O.S. 10 February] 1900. Les Saisons premiered three days later. For both performances the whole of the Imperial court was in attendance.

In 1907, Nikolai Legat staged a revival of Les Saisons at the Imperial Mariinsky Theatre. This production was performed on occasion by the Imperial Ballet after the Russian Revolution, being performed for the last time in 1927.

Les Saisons lived on in an abridged edition in the repertory of Anna Pavlova's touring company.

Performance history

St. Petersburg premiere (World Premiere)

Date: 20 February [O.S. 7 February] 1900
Place: Imperial Theatre of the Hermitage, Winter Palace, St. Petersburg
Balletmaster: Marius Petipa
Conductor: Riccardo Drigo
Scene designer: Pyotr Lambin
Costume designer: Yevgeni Ponomaryov

Other notable productions

1900, February 13, St. Petersburg, Imperial Mariinsky Theatre, same ensemble as the premiere
1907, St. Petersburg, Mariinsky Theatre, balletmaster Nikolay Legat, conducted by Drigo, décor by Lambin, costumes by Aleksandr Golovin.

Roles and original cast

Role	St. Petersburg 1900	St. Petersburg 1907
Winter	Aleksey Bulgakov	Nikolay Solyannikov
Frost	Anna Pavlova	Agrippina Vaganova
Ice	Yuliya Sedova	E. Vill
Hail	Vera Trefilova	Lidiya Kyaksht
Snow	L. Petipa	Y. Ofitserova
Zephyr	Nikolay Legat	Mikhail Obukhov
Rose	Olga Preobrazhenskaya	Vera Trefilova
Swallow	Varvara Rïkhlyakova	Varvara Rïkhlyakova
Spirit of the Corn	Matilda Kshesinskaya	Olga Preobrazhenskaya
Faun	Mikhail Obukhov	Georgiy Kyaksht
Satyr	Aleksandr Gorsky	Leonid Leontyev
Satyr	Aleksandr Shiryayev	A. Matyatin
Bacchus	Pavel Gerdt	Samuil Andrianov
Bacchante	Marie Petipa	Anna Pavlova

Publication history

1901, M.P. Belyayev, Leipzig

Instrumentation

Woodwinds: 1 piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes (2nd doubling english horn in F), 2 clarinets in B-flat and A, 2 bassoons

Brass: 4 french horns in F, 2 trumpets in B-flat, 3 trombones, tuba

Percussion: timpani, triangle, tambourine, military drum, cymbal, bass drum, glockenspiel

Keyboard: celesta, pianino (upright piano)

Strings: harp, 1st and 2nd violins, violas, cellos, contrabass

Synopsis

Tableau 1 — A winter landscape

Winter is surrounded by his companions: Hoar-frost, Ice, Hail and Snow, who amuse themselves with a band of snowflakes. Two gnomes enter, and soon light a fire that causes all assembled to vanish.

Tableau 2 — A landscape covered with flowers

Spring dances with Zephyr, flower fairies, and enchanted birds. Upon feeling the heat of the sun, the assembly takes flight.

Tableau 3 — A landscape of flowing fields of wheat

Cornflowers and poppies revel in the light and warmth of the sun. They take rest after their exertion. Now naiads appear, who bring water to refresh the growth, and the Spirit of Corn dances in thanksgiving. Satyrs and fauns enter playing their pipes, and attempt to carry off the Spirit of the Corn, but she is rescued by the wind of Zephyr.

Tableau 4 — A landscape in Autumn

The Seasons take part in a glorious dance (the well-known "autumn bacchanale") while leaves from autumn trees rain upon their merriment.

Apotheosis — The Sable sky

Constellations of stars sparkle above the earth.

Résumé of dances and the mise-en-scène

List of the numbers comprising The Seasons taken from the Yearbook of the Imperial Theatres, 1899-1900, being the original titles of the dances and mise en scène as originally staged.

No.01 Prélude

Tableau I — L’Hiver (winter)

No.02 Scène de l’Hiver
No.03 Variation du givre (frost)
No.04 Variation de la glace (ice)
No.05 Variation de la grêle (hail)
No.06 Variation de la neige (snow)
No.07 Coda

Tableau II — Le Printemps (spring)

No.08 Entrée de Printemps, Zéphyre, les Fées des fleurs, les oiseaux et les fleurs

Tableau III — L’Été (summer)

No.09 Scène de l’Été
No.10 Valse des bleuets et des pavots (Waltz of the Cornflowers and Poppies)
No.11 Barcarolle – Entrée des naïades, les satyres et des faunes
No.12 Variation de l’Esprit du maïs
No.13 Coda

Tableau IV — L’Automne (fall)

No.14 Grande bacchanale des saisons
No.15 Petit adage
No.16 Variation du Satyre
No.17 Coda générale

Tableau V — Apothéose

No.18 La Révélation des étoiles

Discography

1929, Aleksandr Glazunov, unknown orchestra
1953, Roger Désormière, Orchestre National de France
1956, Albert Wolff, Paris Conservatoire Orchestra
1966, Ernest Ansermet, Suisse Romande Orchestra
196?, Konstantin Ivanov, USSR Symphony Orchestra
196?, Robert Irving, Concert Arts Orchestra
1978, Yevgeny Svetlanov, Philharmonia Orchestra
1987, Neeme Järvi, Scottish National Orchestra
1989, Vladimir Ashkenazy, Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
1993, Edo de Waart, Minnesota Orchestra
1987, Ondrej Lenard, Czecho-Slovak Radio Symphony Orchestra
2004, José Serebrier, Royal Scottish National Orchestra

References

^ Tuttle, Raymond (2021). "Slightly Off the Beat". Fanfare: The Magazine for Serious Record Collectors. Vol. 44, no. 6. pp. 504–507. Retrieved 2024-06-22 – via EBSCOHost.