''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a ballet in two acts choreographed by

John Cranko John Cyril Cranko (15 August 1927 – 26 June 1973) was a South African ballet dancer and choreographer with the Royal Ballet and the Stuttgart Ballet. Life and career Early life Cranko was born in Rustenburg in the former province of Transv ...

to keyboard works by Domenico Scarlatti arranged and orchestrated by Kurt-Heinz Stolze. With scenery and costumes designed by Elizabeth Dalton, it was first presented as ''Der Widerspenstigen Zähmung'' by the Stuttgart Ballet at the Wṻrtembergische Staatstheater in Stuttgart on 16 March 1969.

Background

Cranko's ballet is a dance version of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's play ''

The Taming of the Shrew ''The Taming of the Shrew'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1590 and 1592. The play begins with a framing device, often referred to as the induction, in which a mischievous nobleman tricks a drunken ...

'' (1590–1592). The story is a comedy about Petruchio's determination to subdue the irascible Katherine; he woos her, marries her, and makes her an obedient wife. Shakespeare chose his title to signify to his audiences that the play was about the marriage of a man to an ill-tempered woman given to scolding, nagging, and aggression. Such a woman, especially a wife, was known in the sixteenth century as a

shrew Shrews (family Soricidae) are small mole-like mammals classified in the order Eulipotyphla. True shrews are not to be confused with treeshrews, otter shrews, elephant shrews, West Indies shrews, or marsupial shrews, which belong to differ ...

, so called after a tiny rodent with a notoriously hostile and unpleasant nature. A woman convicted in court for being a shrew was often punished in Shakespeare's day by being confined to stocks on the village green or repeatedly dunked in a nearby pond or lake.

Scenario

The setting is Padua, a city in northern Italy, not far from Venice. Three suitors—Hortensio, Lucentio, and Gremio—come to Baptista's house to serenade Bianca, his younger daughter. Baptista declares that Bianca shall not marry until her older sister, Katherina, is wed. An ensuing rumpus is dispelled when Katherina angrily sends everyone packing. In a tavern, a tipsy Petruchio is robbed of his money. Hortensio, Lucentio, and Gremio offer to introduce him to an heiress. He accepts and determines to "wive it wealthily in Padua." At Baptista's house, Petruchio asks for Katherina's hand. After a stormy courtship, she agrees. Bianca's three suitors press their case. Bianca favors Lucentio. The first act culminates at Katherina and Petruchio's wedding, where he arrives late and behaves outrageously. He carries off his bride without waiting for the festivities to begin. At Petruchio's house, the newly wedded couple are at supper, but he does not allow her to eat, protesting that the food is not good enough. She refuses to consummate the marriage and spends the night on the kitchen floor. Then, at a carnival, Lucentio tricks Hortensio and Gremio into marrying two ladies of the street, thus clearing his way to woo Bianca on his own. Petruchio's mockery and trickery continue to provoke Katherina. Eventually she surrenders, and they admit that they love each other. On the way to Bianca's wedding, Petruchio indulges in some whims, but Katherina has learned to humor him. At the wedding, Bianca treats her husband scornfully, but Katherina shows her how a wife is expected to behave. Left alone, she and Petruchio revel in their new-found love.

Original cast

Marcia Haydée Marcia Haydée Salaverry Pereira da Silva (born 18 April 1937) is a Brazilian ballet dancer, choreographer and ballet director. She was prima ballerina of the Stuttgart Ballet under John Cranko and succeeded him as the company's director, serv ...

– Katherina (Kate) * Richard Cragun – Petruchio * Susanne Hanke – Bianca * Egon Madsen – Gremio * Heinz Claus – Lucentio *

John Neumeier John Neumeier (born February 24, 1939) is an American ballet dancer, choreographer, and director. He has been the director and chief choreographer of Hamburg Ballet since 1973. Five years later he founded the Hamburg Ballet School, which also in ...

– Hortensio

Critical reception

Cranko's ballet was an immediate success, with Richard Cragun winning particular acclaim for his performance as Petruchio. "Cragun was a strikingly handsome Petruchio, by turns self-mocking, overbearing, funny, and tender. The role suited his robustly masculine and charismatic stage personality and provided a first-class showcase for his virtuosity and partnering skills. A reviewer of an early performance in Stuttgart wrote, "I have been trying to think when—or whether—I ever laughed so much at a ballet as I did at John Cranko's ''The Taming of the Shrew''. . . . Perhaps the subject sounds an unlikely one for dancing, but to think so is to leave out of account Cranko's absolute genius for comic invention."John Percival, "Wildly Funny Ballet on 'The Shrew'", ''The Times'' (London), 7 May 1969, p. 13.

Videography

''The Stuttgart Ballet: The Miracle Lives'', a video recording, includes an excerpt from ''The Taming of the Shrew'', danced by Marcia Haydée and Richard Cragun (West Long Branch, N.J.: Kultur International Films Ltd., 1983). ''Ballerina'', a BBC Television recording produced and directed by Derek Bailey (London: BBC TV, 1987), also includes an excerpt from the ballet but is currently not commercially available.

References

{{Reflist, group=n Ballets by John Cranko Ballets to the music of Domenico Scarlatti 1969 ballet premieres Ballets based on works by William Shakespeare Works based on The Taming of the Shrew