By the 1910s, Igor Stravinsky had established himself as the legendary composer of Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The Firebird, Petrushka and The Rite of Spring remain Stravinsky’s best-known works, the latter sealing his status and that of choreographer Vaslav Nijinsky when part of the audience loudly protested during the Paris premiere. It was time for something new.
“They had done the three big ballets, but Diaghilev had to keep making money,” explains Grover Wilkins III, artistic director of Orchestra of New Spain, which with Avant Chamber Ballet is producing what came next, the commedia dell’arte inspired Pulcinella, marking the start in 1920 of Stravinsky’s long neoclassical period.
It wasn’t easy. Stravinsky was at a loss about where to take his music. Diaghilev suggested some early baroque pieces he had encountered in his travels and thought they might be a good place to start for their next ballet together, Wilkins says in an interview about the program, which also includes Spanish composer Manuel de Falla’s Andalusian-flavored El amor brujo.
“That sparked in Stravinsky the next 30 years of his major works, totally changing the direction of what he was up to.”
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Wilkins was reminded how much he loved Pulcinella when he and his wife, New Spain marketing director Freya Bergren, saw a 2024 performance at the Opéra Comique in Paris. “At the intermission, I said to Freya, ‘We have to do this.’ It’s fun, it’s happy, it’s curious.”
They approached Avant artistic director Katie Puder about a collaboration, having previously worked with the company on a flamenco show in 2017. Puder had choreographed a shorter, voiceless version of Pulcinella called The Italian Suite in 2013, so she jumped at the opportunity.
“I knew the music, I loved it and I’ve been wanting to restage that ballet anyway,” Puder says on a Zoom call with Wilkins and Bergren. “To be able to do in its full form with a full orchestra and voice was just something I couldn’t say no to.”
Originally with a set and costumes designed by Picasso, the piece has been relocated from Italy to Mexico for local relevance and dubbed Pulcinella: Reimagined. The costumes are by Fernando Hernandez, and Fernanda Oliveira supplies additional new choreography.
“You don’t want to re-create the Diaghilev ballet because that’s a masterpiece on its own,” Puder says. “But you can evoke the bright, beautiful colors and some of the same hints of the graphic design of the harlequin.”
The new version will be performed by a 25-piece orchestra and about 20 dancers.
Avant Chamber Ballet dancers Mackenzie Oborny and Diego Miranda Monsman will perform in the production of Stravinsky’s “Pulcinella.”
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Pulcinella and El amor brujo couldn’t be more different in temperament even as they share plot points. Both are love stories involving cheating that nonetheless end well.
“We chose to contrast the light of Pulcinella with the dark of El amor brujo,” Bergen says. “We were drawn to pairing the Spanish sounding piece with the French comedy. The combination struck us as very audience friendly.”
Pulcinella uses stock characters from broad 18th-century Italian theater. The title character cheats on his girlfriend but is forgiven after staging a mock stabbing. Brujo is about a woman who marries a man she doesn’t love and who cheats on her. After his death, she’s haunted by his ghost. Eventually through a series of rituals, she winds up with her true love.
As Puder points out, there are only three or four human narratives. “Brujo has the element of the ghost and that mysticism to it. Pulcinella is just pure comedy with a little bump in the road and then a big happy ending.”
The original vocals of Pulcinella are played in this version by instruments while Brujo features mezzo-soprano Carla Lopez-Speziale. The sprawling Brujo, choreographed by Puder, is danced by a cast of 33.
Classical guitarist and educator Stephen Lochbaum will give a preconcert performance. Pulcinella: Reimagined, dubbed Pulcinella Jr., will be performed on its own as part of Avant’s Family Series.
Details
Full program on March 27-28 at 7:30 p.m., with a preshow performance at 6:30 p.m. $45-$81. Pulcinella Jr. on March 28 at 2 p.m. $27. Moody Performance Hall, 2520 Flora St. orchestraofnewspain.org. avantchamberballet.org.
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