Petrushka - Definition and Overview

Petrushka is a ballet with music by the Russian composer Igor Stravinsky. An alternative title for this work, in Russian, is "Petrouchka". Petrushka is the story of a puppet who is only made of straw and with a bag of sawdust as his body, but who comes to live and has the capacity to love. He is to the Russians what Pinocchio is to the Italians—a not-quite-real “being” whose tragedy is his very real passion, which make him yearn for an unattainable human life. His movements are sometimes jerky and awkward, conveying the torture of imprisoned emotions within the body of a puppet.

Composition

The work was composed during the winter of 1910-11 for Serge Diaghilev's Ballets Russes. It was premiered at the Paris Théâtre du Chatelet on 13 June 1911 in Paris. While the production was generally a success, more than a few observers were taken aback by music that was brittle, caustic, and at times, even grotesque. One critic approached Diaghilev after a dress rehearsal and said: “And it was to hear this that you invited us!”, to which Diaghilev succinctly replied, “Exactly.” When Diaghilev and his company traveled to Vienna in 1913, the Vienna Philharmonic initially refused to play the score, deriding Pétrouchka as “schmutzige Musik” (“dirty music”).

The original 1911 version of Pétrouchka is scored for 2 piccolos, 4 flutes, 4 oboes, English horn, 4 clarinets, bass clarinet, 4 bassoons, contrabassoon, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 cornets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, 2 harps, piano, celeste, bass drum, cymbals, glockenspiel, snare drum, tambourine, triangle, xylophone, tam-tam, off-stage snare drum and tambourine, and strings.

Story

The play opens up at a carnival/fair, called Shrovetide, which is a celebration a few prior a long religious fast. The people rejoice before the long fast when they won’t be able to enjoy themselves for a while.

Stravinsky's orchestration and rapidly changing rhythms depict the hustle and bustle of the fair. An organ grinder and dancing girl entertain the crowd. Drummers announce the appearance of the Old Wizard, who charms the captivated audience. Suddenly, the curtain rises on a tiny theater, as the Wizard introduces the inert, lifeless puppet figures of Petrushka, the Ballerina and the Moor (the brute).

The Old Wizard uses a flute to cast a magic spell. The vivified puppets leap from their little stage and dance among the astounded carnival-goers. The puppets, now alive, perform a vigorous Russian dance.

After the performance, we are taken back to Petrushka’s room (the 2nd scene) where the walls are dark colors, and are decorated with black stars, a half-moon, and a portrait of the frowning Old Wizard. Pétrouchka lands in his cell with a resounding crash, as he is kicked into his dismal cell by the Wizard.

Petrushka leads a dismal life behind the show curtains, and is smitten with the love for the ballerina puppet. The frowning Wizard’s portrait hangs there, looming, as if to remind Petrushka that he is a mere puppet, which is nothing compared to a human, and that he should be submissive and humble. This causes Petrushka to become angry and shake his fists at the Wizard's glare.

Although Pétrouchka is a puppet, he feels human emotions, including bitterness toward the Old Wizard for his imprisonment, as well as love for the beautiful Ballerina. Pétrouchka unsuccessfully tries to escape from his cell.

The Ballerina enters. Pétrouchka attempts to profess his love, but the Ballerina rejects his pathetic advances. As Petrouchka is treated without compassion by the Magician, the Ballerina engages in wanton affairs with the Moor, and this snaps the poor puppet's sensibilities. In The 3rd scene, it is very easy to see that the Moor lives a better life just by glancing into the Moor’s lavishly decorated cell. The Moor has a couch to lounge on, where he is playing with a coconut. His room is much more spacious. The bright colors give off a happy, luxurious atmoshpere. Red, green and blue are the prominent colors, and rabbits, palm trees and exotic flowers decorate the walls, along with a red floor. Instead of going to a cell like Petrushka's, this puppet goes on a vacation to a happy room where he has luxury at the tip of his fingers

Then the Ballerina, who is attracted by the Moor’s handsome appearance, enters his room. She plays a saucy tune and she and the Moor begin to dance.

After petrouchka finally breaks from his cell-like room, he bursts in to the moor’s room to interrupt the ballerina’s seduction. Petrushka begins to attack the Ballerina's lover, but realizes he is only small and weak. The Moor shows his extreme displeasure by working him over and chasing him, as Petrushka runs for his life escaping out of the room

The fourth and final scene, is back at the fairground, where a series of (unrelated) characters of the fair come and go. The orchestra becomes a giant accordion to introduce the chain of colorful dances, the first and most prominent being the Wet-Nurses’ Dance (to the tune of the folk song “Down the Petersky Road”). Then comes a peasant with his dancing bear, followed in turn by a rake merchant and Gypsies, coachmen and grooms, and masqueraders.

As the merrymaking reaches its peak, (after some time has passed), a cry is heard from the puppet-theater. Petrushka suddenly runs across the scene, followed by the Moor in hot pursuit with an axe. The crowd is horrified when the Moor catches up with Petrushka and hacks him to death. The moor becomes a metaphor for the mindless world, indifferent to the sufferings of the human soul.

The police at the fair question the Old Wizard, who seeks to restore calm by shaking sawdust from the “corpse” to reminds everyone that Pétrouchka is but a puppet with a wooden head and a body filled with sawdust.

As Night falls and the crowd disperses, the wizard leaves, carrying Petrushka’s limp body with him, his ghost appears on the roof of the little theater, his cry now in the form of an angry protest. Petrushka’s death only enlivens his spirit, which thumbs its nose at his tormentor from beyond the wood and straw of his carcass.

Now completely alone, the Old Wizard is terrified to see the leering ghost of Pétrouchka. The wizard scampers off, with a single frightened glance over his shoulder, and the scene is hushed, leaving the audience to wonder who was “real” and who was not.

Sections

The work is divided into four parts with the following scenes:

First Part: The Shrovetide Fair

• Introduction (at the Shrovetide Fair)
• The Charlatan's Booth
• Russian Dance

Part II: Petrushka's Room

• Petrushka's Room

Part III: The Moor's Room

• The Moor's Room
• Dance of the Ballerina
• Waltz - The Ballerina & the Moor

Part IV: The Shrovetide Fair (Evening)

• Dance of the Wet Nurses
• The Jovial Merchant with Two Gypsy Girls
• Dance of the Coachmen and Grooms
• The Masqueraders
• The Fight - The Moor and Petrushka
• Death of Petrushka
• Appartition of Petrushka's Double.

Other versions

In 1947, Stravinsky penned a revised version of Pétrouchka for a reduced orchestra. The 1947 version also provides an optional fff close to the ambiguous, piano conclusion of the original. In either guise, Pétrouchka—along with its Ballets Russes siblings, The Firebird and The Rite of Spring—continue to challenge and thrill audiences with a dramatic impact that is as fresh today as when the works first appeared.

Sources

• Carnegie Hall's Program Notes (http://carnegiehall.org/article/box_office/events/evt_3377699735790982_pn.html?selecteddate=11162004) for the performance on Nov 16th 2004.