Tuesday 21 November 2023

Andersen, Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky & Rowling

The not so well known neo-classical ballet "Le Baiser De La Fee" (The Fairy's Kiss) by Stravinsky is based on a chilling story by Hans Christian Andersen. Rudy, as a baby is separated from his mother, who dies of grief. It is caused by an evil fairy. Later Rudy as a young man, falls in love with Babette, a miller's daughter. But the evil fairy covets him & kills him with the kiss of death. 

It was composed on the 35th death anniversary (1928) of Tchaikovsky, whom Stravinsky greatly admired. The themes are wholly derived from the early chamber music works of Tchaikovsky & orchestrated by Stravinsky. It is in one act & four scenes.

The story is similar to Harry Potter, whose mother Lili was killed by Lord Voldemort. But unlike in Andersen's story, Voldemort did not succeed in killing Harry, but was killed himself instead.

No comments:

Post a Comment