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''Allegro Brillante'' is a ballet choreographed by
George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze;, Romanization of Georgian, : April 30, 1983) was a Georgian-American ballet choreographer, recognized as one of the most influential choreographers ...
to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 3. The ballet is danced by a principal couple and a corps de ballet of eight. Balanchine said it "contains everything I knew about classical ballet." ''Allegro Brillante'' was made for the
New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company's fir ...
, and premiered on March 1, 1956, at the City Center of Music and Drama, with
Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...
and
Nicholas Magallanes Nicholas Magallanes (November 27, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was a Mexican-born American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet. Along with Francisco Moncion, Maria Tallchief, and Tanaquil Le Clercq, Magallanes was among t ...
originating the two principal roles.


Choreography

''Allegro Brillante'' is danced by a lead couple and a small corps de ballet of eight. The ballet is set to Piano Concerto No. 3, which Balanchine found to be "brisk and declarative but is also deeply contemplative." Balanchine said the ballet "contains everything I knew about classical ballet – in thirteen minutes." He also wrote, "I had no narrative idea for the work, only wishing to have the dancers complement the music as best I could."
Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...
, who originated the lead ballerina role, noted both the ballet's "expansive
Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...
romanticism," and the fast speed of some of the choreography. Author Nancy Reynolds commented that the ballet "offers a chance for virtuoso display and is at the same time 'dancey' and flowing". She added that while the tempo of the score made the ballet seem "impossibly difficult", Balanchine strategically placed exits for the performers so most dancers find their roles easier. The lead ballerina, according to Balanchine, "follows the piano in the
cadenza In music, a cadenza, (from , meaning cadence; plural, ''cadenze'' ) is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist(s), usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing virtuosic display ...
", while her partner and the corps de ballet play the supporting role in conveying "what I hope is the spirit of the work." Dancer
Violette Verdy Violette Verdy (born Nelly Armande Guillerm; 1 December 1933 – 8 February 2016) was a French ballerina, choreographer, teacher, and writer who worked as a dance company director with the Paris Opera Ballet in France and the Boston Ballet in the ...
described the lead role,
There's a lot of strong, broad dancing spaced in very little time. The gestures have to be big, ample, spacious, and they have to look free. Under all that freedom has to be control – the
pirouette In dance and gymnastics, a turn is a rotation of the body about the vertical axis. It is usually a complete rotation of the body, although quarter (90°) and half (180°) turns are possible for some types of turns. Multiple, consecutive turns are ...
s, exactness, beats and turns, and, as always with him, the fast work. But if the ballerina is afraid that it will not produce enough of an effect by itself, if she feels she has to compensate by telling the audience that it is hard, a false drama is created. It should be left alone, and one should dance it with passion but with happiness. It's quintessentially Russian in its best possible meaning – a great, romantic, beautiful plastic piece.


Original cast

*
Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...
*
Nicholas Magallanes Nicholas Magallanes (November 27, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was a Mexican-born American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet. Along with Francisco Moncion, Maria Tallchief, and Tanaquil Le Clercq, Magallanes was among t ...
* Carolyn George * Barbara Fallis * Barbara Milberg *Barbara Walczak * Arthur Mitchell * Richard Rapp *Jonathan Watts *Roland Vasquez Source:


Production

Balanchine made ''Allegro Brillante'' at the last minute, after
Jerome Robbins Jerome Robbins (born Jerome Wilson Rabinowitz; October 11, 1918 – July 29, 1998) was an American dancer, choreographer, film director, theatre director and producer who worked in classical ballet, on stage, film, and television. Among his nu ...
canceled the premiere of ''Suite from "The Guest"'', a revival of his earlier work, because his work on '' The Concert'', another ballet slated to premiere in March 1956 was too time-consuming. Balanchine then decided to choreograph to Piano Concerto No. 3. The concerto was Tchaikovsky's last work, as he died less than a month after completing its first movement, Allegro Brillante. Balanchine had previously choreographed '' Ballet Imperial'' to Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 2. The principal roles of the ballet were originated by
Maria Tallchief Maria Tallchief, born Elizabeth Marie Tall Chief ( "Two-Standards"; Osage language, Osage family name: , Osage script: ; January 24, 1925 – April 11, 2013), was an Osage Tribe, Osage and American ballerina. She was America's first major p ...
and
Nicholas Magallanes Nicholas Magallanes (November 27, 1922 – May 2, 1977) was a Mexican-born American principal dancer and charter member of the New York City Ballet. Along with Francisco Moncion, Maria Tallchief, and Tanaquil Le Clercq, Magallanes was among t ...
. The costumes were designed by Karinska. The original lighting was designed by
Jean Rosenthal Jean Rosenthal (born Eugenia Rosenthal; March 16, 1912May 1, 1969) is considered a pioneer in the field of Lighting Design, theatrical lighting design. She was born in New York City to Romanian-Jewish people, Jewish immigrants. northern.edu, ret ...
.


Performances

''Allegro Brillante'' premiered on March 1, 1956, at the City Center of Music and Drama.
Léon Barzin Léon Eugene Barzin (November 27, 1900April 29, 1999) was a Belgian-born American conductor and founder of the National Orchestral Association (NOA), the oldest surviving training orchestra in the United States. Barzin was also the founding mu ...
conducted while Nicholas Kopeikine played the piano. Despite being made as a last minute addition, the New York City Ballet performs ''Allegro Brillante'' regularly. Due to its small cast size and short length, the ballet is often placed in the middle of a mixed bill when performed. ''Allegro Brillante'' has been performed by other ballet companies, including
Sadler's Wells Royal Ballet Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) is one of the five major ballet companies of the United Kingdom, alongside The Royal Ballet, the English National Ballet, Northern Ballet and Scottish Ballet. Founded as the Sadler's Wells Theatre Ballet, the co ...
,
San Francisco Ballet San Francisco Ballet is the oldest ballet company in the United States, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet under the leadership of ballet master Adolph Bolm. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Fra ...
,
Royal New Zealand Ballet The Royal New Zealand Ballet is a ballet company based in Wellington, New Zealand. It was originally known as The New Zealand Ballet Company. History New Zealand Ballet was established in 1953 as an independent charitable trust by Royal Danis ...
,
Morphoses Christopher Peter Wheeldon (born 22 March 1973) is an English international choreographer of contemporary ballet. Early life Born in Yeovil, Somerset, to an engineer and a physical therapist, Wheeldon began training to be a ballet dancer at th ...
,
American Ballet Theatre American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is a classical ballet company based in New York City. Founded in 1939 by Lucia Chase and Richard Pleasant. Through 2019, it had an annual eight-week season at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center) in the spr ...
,
Stuttgart Ballet Stuttgart Ballet is a leading German ballet company. Dating back to 1609, then the court ballet of the dukes of Württemberg, the modern company was founded by John Cranko and is known for full-length narrative ballets. The company received the ...
,
Les Grands Ballets Canadiens Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal (GBCM) is a ballet company based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. A creative and repertory company, it performs works that reflect the diverse trends of contemporary ballet. History Les Grands Ballets Canadien ...
,
National Ballet of Canada The National Ballet of Canada is a Canadian ballet company that was founded in 1951 in Toronto, Ontario, with Celia Franca, the first artistic director. A company of 70 dancers with its own orchestra, the National Ballet has been led since 2022 ...
, Ballet BC,
Royal Winnipeg Ballet The Royal Winnipeg Ballet is Canada's oldest ballet company and the longest continuously operating ballet company in North America. History It was founded in 1939 as the "Winnipeg Ballet Club" by Gweneth Lloyd and Betty Farrally (who also fou ...
,
Miami City Ballet Miami City Ballet is an American ballet company based in Miami Beach, Florida, led by artistic director Gonzalo Garcia. MCB was founded in 1985 by Toby Lerner Ansin, a Miami philanthropist. Ansin and the founding board hired Edward Villella ...
,
Pennsylvania Ballet Philadelphia Ballet (formerly known as Pennsylvania Ballet until its rebranding in 2021) is the largest ballet company in Philadelphia. The company's annual local season features six programs of classic pieces, such as George Balanchine's ''The ...
,
Washington Ballet The Washington Ballet (TWB) is an ensemble of professional ballet dancers based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 1976 by Mary Day and has been directed by Edwaard Liang since 2024. The Mary Day years (1976–99) Mary Day ''(née'' Mary H ...
, Suzanne Farrell Ballet,
Dance Theatre of Harlem Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) is an American professional ballet company and school based in Harlem, New York City. It was founded in 1969 under the directorship of Arthur Mitchell and later partnered with Karel Shook. Milton Rosenstock served ...
, Kansas City Ballet, Ballet Arizona, BalletMet and
Ballet West Ballet West is an American ballet company based in Salt Lake City, Utah. It was founded in 1963 as the Utah Civic Ballet by Willam F. Christensen, the company's first artistic director, and Glenn Walker Wallace, who served as its first president. ...
. Students of the
School of American Ballet The School of American Ballet (SAB) is the associate school of the New York City Ballet, a ballet company based at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City. The school trains students from the age of six, with professional voc ...
, the New York City Ballet's affiliated-school, has performed ''Allegro Brillante'' in its annual workshop performance.


Critical reception

John Martin of the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' commented, "Whether the Balanchine work had been planned previously or was a short-notice assignment does not appear in the quality of the work itself, for though it is certainly not one of his masterpieces, it is put together with all his skills and authority. Its main handicap is its music, which is choreographically unevocative in the extreme."


Videography

In 1979, a New York City Ballet performance of ''Allegro Brillante'' was televised on
PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...
's ''
Great Performances ''Great Performances'' is a television anthology series dedicated to the performing arts; the banner has been used to televise plays, musicals, opera, ballet, concerts, as well as occasional documentaries. It is produced by the PBS member statio ...
''. The performance was led by
Suzanne Farrell Suzanne Farrell (born August 16, 1945) is a former American ballerina and the founder of the Suzanne Farrell Ballet at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. Farrell began her ballet training as a child in Cincinnati. In 1960, she received a ...
and
Peter Martins Peter Martins (born 27 October 1946) is a Danish former ballet dancer and choreographer. Martins was a principal dancer with the Royal Danish Ballet and with the New York City Ballet, where he joined George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, and J ...
, and the corps de ballet consisted of Renee Estopinal, Lisa de Ribere, Marjorie Spohn, Heather Watts, Tracy Bennett, Stephen Caras, Victor Castelli and Joseph Duell. In 2020, the New York City Ballet released an archival video of an ''Allegro Brillante'' online, as the first program of its digital season, after its repertory season had to be canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The recording features
Tiler Peck Tiler Kalyn Peck (born January 12, 1989) is an American ballet dancer who is a principal dancer with the New York City Ballet. As well as ballet, she has performed in musical theatre shows and has made cameo appearances in films including '' Don ...
and Andrew Veyette, and was filmed in 2017.


References


External links


''Allegro Brillante''
on the New York City Ballet website
''Allegro Brillante''
on the George Balanchine Trust's website {{Balanchine ballets 1956 ballets Ballets by George Balanchine Ballets to the music of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky New York City Ballet repertory