Symphony in C (ballet)
Symphony in C , also known as Le Palais de Cristal (German: Der Kristallpalast ), is a ballet by the choreographer George Balanchine to Bizet's Symphony in C major .
music
Georges Bizet composed his symphony in C major in 1855 at the age of 17 while studying with Charles Gounod at the Paris Conservatory . The score of the symphony was initially lost, but was rediscovered and published in 1933. Igor Stravinsky informed Balanchine about the existence of the symphony.
Performance history
The premiere of the ballet took place on July 28, 1947 at the Théâtre National de L'Opéra with the Paris Opera Ballet , where Balanchine was guest ballet master.
It premiered at the New York City Ballet on October 11, 1948 at the City Center for Music and Dance , with costumes by Barbara Karinska and lighting effects by Mark Stanley . Jerome Robbins saw the performance and said he wrote to Balanchine immediately to ask if he could be hired in any capacity. Suzanne Farrell said that Symphony in C was the first ballet she ever saw and decided to immediately become a ballerina and join the New York City Ballet, which did both. In a rehearsal, Balanchine asked if she could touch the nose en penchée with her knee , which she could, so that by adding this he included it in his chographies.