Fanfare (ballet)
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City Center of Music and Drama
| Fanfare | |
|---|---|
| Choreographer | Jerome Robbins |
| Music | Benjamin Britten |
| Premiere | June 2, 1953 City Center of Music and Drama |
| Original ballet company | New York City Ballet |
| Genre | Neoclassical ballet |
Fanfare is a one-act ballet choreographed by Jerome Robbins to Benjamin Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, in celebration of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II. The ballet premiered on June 2, 1953, the night of the coronation, at the City Center of Music and Drama, danced by the New York City Ballet.[1]
The ballet starts with a majordomo on stage reading Britten's explanatory text from the score, then proceeds to an ensemble performance with dancers representing different instruments,[2] including three women as a piccolo and two flutes, a woman as the oboe, a man and a woman as the clarinets, two men as the bassoons, a man and a woman as the violas,[3] three women as the cellos, a man as the double bass, a woman as the harp,[4] two men as trumpets, four men as a tuba and three trombones[5] and three men as the percussion instruments.[4] There are no major solos in the ballet.[1]
Production
According to Deborah Jowitt's biography of Jerome Robbins, it is believed that George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein, both New York City Ballet co-founders and Anglophiles, requested Robbins to create a new ballet on the occasion of the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II.[6] Balanchine wanted to contribute to the ballet. When Robbins was unavailable, he requested Balanchine to lead a rehearsal, but Balanchine added his touch to the choreography, which Robbins reversed once he found out. Balanchine would say "I fixed, but you changed" to Robbins whenever Fanfare was revived.[7]
The ballet is set to Britten's The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, which is based on a theme by Henry Purcell and was commissioned for the 1946 BBC documentary, Instruments of the Orchestra.[1][2][5] At the premiere, the costumes and set were uncredited,[1] though Irene Sharaff was later credited.[4][8]