Ballet

Monumentum pro Gesualdo

Monumentum pro Gesualdo is a ballet choreographed by George Balanchine to music by Igor Stravinsky. Monumentum pro Gesualdo is a 1960 arrangement and recomposition by Igor Stravinsky of three madrigals by Carlo…

Monumentum pro Gesualdo
Image: Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY-SA 3.0 nl · Wikimedia Commons
Choreography
George Balanchine
Music
Igor Stravinsky
Premiere
—
First performed at
—

About the work

Monumentum pro Gesualdo is a 1960 arrangement and recomposition by Igor Stravinsky of three madrigals by Carlo Gesualdo:

Asciugate i begli occhi (Book 5, XIV)

Ma tu, cagion di quella (Book 5, XVIII)

Beltà poi che t'assenti (Book 6, II)

It was composed to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Gesualdo's birth and was intended to complement Stravinsky's similar Tres Sacrae Cantiones. It was premiered on September 27, 1960, at the Venice Biennale, played by the Orchestra del Teatro la Fenice conducted by Stravinsky.

The piece was later choreographed by the New York City Ballet (NYCB) co-founder and balletmaster George Balanchine. The premiere took place on Wednesday, November 16, 1960, at City Center of Music and Drama, New York, with scenery and lighting by David Hays (new lighting by Ronald Bates in 1974; current production's lighting by Mark Stanley).

It was first performed in conjunction with Balanchine's choreographic interpretation of Movements for Piano and Orchestra in 1963 and was regularly performed in this pairing thereafter.

From the Wikipedia article “Monumentum pro Gesualdo”, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

More ballets by the composer

All ballets by Igor Stravinsky (48) →

Other works by the same choreographer

Credits from Wikidata (Q3323503), CC0.