does this make cents?
igor stravinsky's firebird is a ballet which tells about a russian prince ivan who unknowingly entered the enchanted garden of the evil king kashchei. he saw a firebird dancing in the garden. her beautiful feathers emitted a golden light that illuminated everything around her. prince ivan captured the firebird. she pleaded him to let her go. in return, she gave him one of her feathers, and said that if he ever needed help, all he had to do was to wave the feather, and she would come to help him. she flew away.
darkness returned. prince ivan then saw a princess entering the enchanted garden, followed by twelve other girls. he hid behind a tree. the girls started playing a game with the golden apples hanging on the trees. they tossed the apples to and fro. the princess missed one of the apples, an it came rolling directly to the prince. he picked up the apple, stepped out and handed it to her. she was shocked by the appearance of the prince. their eyes met with a loving glance. the twelve girls circled around them, and the two of them danced in the centre of the circle. the princess' name was vasilisa.
just then, the magical bells at the gates of the enchanted garden rang. it was sunrise. the girls panicked. 'no! we must go!' princess vasilisa told prince ivan. 'why? what's wrong?' he asked. 'this garden belongs to the evil king kashchei. we are under his spell and cannot go. you must escape before it is too late, or king kashchei will turn you into stone!' she ran off with the twelve girls. prince ivan ran to the gate, but it was locked. he ran to the garden walls and tried to climb.
the gates flew open and monsters flooded into the garden. the monsters were once men, but king kashchei turned them into evil beings. they surrounded prince ivan, grinning and grimacing. the captured him. all of them were dancing triumphantly. suddenly, a hush fell over the garden, and the shadows lengthened menacingly. the monsters drew back. an enormous clap of thunder announced king kashchei's arrival. king kashchei struck prince ivan to the ground. prince ivan began to lose consciousness. just then, princess vasilisa and the twelve girls entered the garden and pleaded with king kashchei to let prince ivan go. king kashchei refused, and was going to deliver the final blow. prince ivan remembered the feather and waved it in the air. the firebird swooped into the garden, illuminating the garden once again.
the firebird flew over the trees. the monsters followed after her glow as if in a trance. she brought them running all around the garden. even king kashchei fell under the spell. round and round she flew, and all the monsters broke into an infernal dance. princess vasilisa and her friends were drawn into the dance. finally they were all too tired and fell to the ground. the firebird circled above all of them and sang a lullaby. everyone sank into a deep sleep. 'sleep. sleep,' she called, 'by all my power i command you to sleep. sleep, brave warriors. sleep, enchanted princesses. sleep, all creatures, and dream of the days before you were imprisoned here.'
prince ivan, still hiding in the shadows, was awestruck. the firebird pointed to a tree and told prince ivan, 'inside there is a golden casket. in the golden casket lies an egg. you must destroy the egg, which contains king kashchei's power. this will free the princesses and all the monsters.' prince ivan walked over to the tree and retrieved the golden casket. he opened it. indeed, an egg lay in the casket. he carried the egg and walked towards the sleeping king kashchei. king kashchei stirred, and opened his eyes. he looked in disbelief at the egg in prince ivan's hands. he rose to his feet, staggering menacingly to words the prince. prince ivan crashed the egg to the ground. the egg shattered into hundreds of peaces. king kashchei sank lifeless to the ground. all sounds ceased. all motion stopped. mist sank into the garden. darkness fell everywhere.
gradually, the mist began to clear. the sky grew pink with the dawn of a new day. the sun appeared. king kashchei's spell was broken. the monsters had become men again. princess vasilisa and her friends were free. everyone cheered prince ivan and princess vasilisa, who were married on this happy day. as the royal procession moved triumphantly towards the palace, everyone celebrated a bright future. but when they thanked prince ivan for breaking the spell, he said, 'do not thank me. thank the firebird.'
high above the clouds, a blaze of light could be seen. a brilliant bird with flashing eyes and fiery wings, giving her blessing to the new king and queen.
darkness returned. prince ivan then saw a princess entering the enchanted garden, followed by twelve other girls. he hid behind a tree. the girls started playing a game with the golden apples hanging on the trees. they tossed the apples to and fro. the princess missed one of the apples, an it came rolling directly to the prince. he picked up the apple, stepped out and handed it to her. she was shocked by the appearance of the prince. their eyes met with a loving glance. the twelve girls circled around them, and the two of them danced in the centre of the circle. the princess' name was vasilisa.
just then, the magical bells at the gates of the enchanted garden rang. it was sunrise. the girls panicked. 'no! we must go!' princess vasilisa told prince ivan. 'why? what's wrong?' he asked. 'this garden belongs to the evil king kashchei. we are under his spell and cannot go. you must escape before it is too late, or king kashchei will turn you into stone!' she ran off with the twelve girls. prince ivan ran to the gate, but it was locked. he ran to the garden walls and tried to climb.
the gates flew open and monsters flooded into the garden. the monsters were once men, but king kashchei turned them into evil beings. they surrounded prince ivan, grinning and grimacing. the captured him. all of them were dancing triumphantly. suddenly, a hush fell over the garden, and the shadows lengthened menacingly. the monsters drew back. an enormous clap of thunder announced king kashchei's arrival. king kashchei struck prince ivan to the ground. prince ivan began to lose consciousness. just then, princess vasilisa and the twelve girls entered the garden and pleaded with king kashchei to let prince ivan go. king kashchei refused, and was going to deliver the final blow. prince ivan remembered the feather and waved it in the air. the firebird swooped into the garden, illuminating the garden once again.
the firebird flew over the trees. the monsters followed after her glow as if in a trance. she brought them running all around the garden. even king kashchei fell under the spell. round and round she flew, and all the monsters broke into an infernal dance. princess vasilisa and her friends were drawn into the dance. finally they were all too tired and fell to the ground. the firebird circled above all of them and sang a lullaby. everyone sank into a deep sleep. 'sleep. sleep,' she called, 'by all my power i command you to sleep. sleep, brave warriors. sleep, enchanted princesses. sleep, all creatures, and dream of the days before you were imprisoned here.'
prince ivan, still hiding in the shadows, was awestruck. the firebird pointed to a tree and told prince ivan, 'inside there is a golden casket. in the golden casket lies an egg. you must destroy the egg, which contains king kashchei's power. this will free the princesses and all the monsters.' prince ivan walked over to the tree and retrieved the golden casket. he opened it. indeed, an egg lay in the casket. he carried the egg and walked towards the sleeping king kashchei. king kashchei stirred, and opened his eyes. he looked in disbelief at the egg in prince ivan's hands. he rose to his feet, staggering menacingly to words the prince. prince ivan crashed the egg to the ground. the egg shattered into hundreds of peaces. king kashchei sank lifeless to the ground. all sounds ceased. all motion stopped. mist sank into the garden. darkness fell everywhere.
gradually, the mist began to clear. the sky grew pink with the dawn of a new day. the sun appeared. king kashchei's spell was broken. the monsters had become men again. princess vasilisa and her friends were free. everyone cheered prince ivan and princess vasilisa, who were married on this happy day. as the royal procession moved triumphantly towards the palace, everyone celebrated a bright future. but when they thanked prince ivan for breaking the spell, he said, 'do not thank me. thank the firebird.'
high above the clouds, a blaze of light could be seen. a brilliant bird with flashing eyes and fiery wings, giving her blessing to the new king and queen.
posted by ivan at 6:38 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home